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Old 03-04-2013, 06:55 PM   #21
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I've towed over 6,000 miles with my rig. No weight distibution or sway bars. 18 wheelers cause me no trouble. High winds? Again, no trouble. It all depends on the trailer and TV. If you have a stable trailer and a good TV, you don't need anything else.
Like I said before, our old rig needed both WD and SC. If I was just moving it locally (under 45 mph) I really didn't need anything. You've just got to try it out and see how it runs. 150 miles is just a short hop.
I go with the less is more theory. If you don't need it; don't use it.
You have the perfect chance to see how things will work out without spending a dime. Even if the trailer fishtailes at 60 mph you can always limp home at 45. Your looking at the differeance of 3 hours and 30 min. to get home instead of 2 hours and 20 min.

Check this video out, posted on this forum a while ago:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f224...deo-63607.html
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Old 03-04-2013, 07:20 PM   #22
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Need to tidy up some loan issues - might be towing it home this weekend
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Old 03-04-2013, 07:43 PM   #23
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You do have a trailer brake controller installed, yes? That's probably the most important thing for controlling sway if something started to go wrong.
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Old 03-04-2013, 07:49 PM   #24
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Originally Posted by srpuywa View Post
Need to tidy up some loan issues - might be towing it home this weekend
srpuywa,

As you see by the posts expressed here its a "level of risk" issue and you're the ultimate decision maker. This is a great forum where members really want to help each other and we want your towing experience to be pleasurable. However you proceed just be careful. At some point in your towing career you may find that this is not an "if I need it" thing, but rather a "when I will need it" deal. Then again you may not. No one here plans for the car, deer, or child to pull or run in front of them, or an induced tail wag to occur due to wind, a passing semi truck, or an unbalanced trailer load, but things go wrong on occasion and being prepared will make the difference in those instances.

From the physics point of view having a TV that weighs in at 1.5 to 2 times the trailer weight is a plus, but that may not save you in a sudden reaction event. I was witness to such an event.several years ago and it did not end well.

Hoping your trip is uneventful (in a good very way that is). Kevin
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Old 03-04-2013, 08:24 PM   #25
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Folks are free to tow how they wish but I've always been a bit surprised at anyone who voluntarily turns down weight distribution and sway control.

The tongue weight may only be 300 lbs but surely it's better to get it spread across two axles than one? As for sway control, I don't see what influence the size or weight of the TV has, it's the trailer that sways isn't it? If nothing else, sway control is cheap insurance , no? To me it's a bit like wearing a seatbelt; hopefully we never need it but you might be grateful for it one day...

Just sayin'
This is true, the worst case of trailer sway I have seen was a 10 wheel dump truck towing a generator, I stayed way back afraid it would flip and come loose from the truck, the driver probably couldn't feel it at all with 10-15 ton vehicle and load and under 1000lb trailer.

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Gosh I must be over equipped, I tow a 16 Bambi Sport 2011 and I have the WD and antisway bar ... The feel is so good that my wife tows with confidence and often travels on her own .... However, I would tow the 19' without to bring it home ...but carefully on every mile of the way. It really is a personal decision and one I would contemplate only if the weather was dry, calm, and mild......good luck on your decision.
And yet I still agree with this.
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Old 03-04-2013, 08:40 PM   #26
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Brake controller installed last weekend, teknosha P3
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Old 03-04-2013, 09:44 PM   #27
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If you decide to do it, pick a day and time of day with favorable conditions; very light wind if any, dry roadway, and minimum big truck traffic. Keep speed down, especially on downgrades.

If your truck has electronic sway control that will help if not severe. I have heard a full, not partial, fresh water tank helps stability. Put nothing in the bed of the truck that adds weight over rear axle and lightens front axle.

Hopefully, the stock trailer will have at least 10% of its weight on the tongue, a trailer light on the tongue is much more likely to sway, especially downhill when the trailer wants to go faster and overtake the truck.

doug k
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Old 03-05-2013, 08:03 AM   #28
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dlb435 View Post
I've towed over 6,000 miles with my rig. No weight distibution or sway bars. 18 wheelers cause me no trouble. High winds? Again, no trouble. It all depends on the trailer and TV. If you have a stable trailer and a good TV, you don't need anything else.
Like I said before, our old rig needed both WD and SC. If I was just moving it locally (under 45 mph) I really didn't need anything. You've just got to try it out and see how it runs. 150 miles is just a short hop.
I go with the less is more theory. If you don't need it; don't use it.
You have the perfect chance to see how things will work out without spending a dime. Even if the trailer fishtailes at 60 mph you can always limp home at 45. Your looking at the differeance of 3 hours and 30 min. to get home instead of 2 hours and 20 min.

Check this video out, posted on this forum a while ago:
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f224...deo-63607.html
Been doing the same for more than 22k with our rig and agree with above. I don't have "fishtail". I've had to slam on the choppers more than once when deer bolted out with no issues. Passing semis are no issues. I run at 62 mph because the rig feels like it likes that speed.
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Old 03-05-2013, 08:16 AM   #29
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sway is more of the issue with a 19 footer. I would keep my speed down and definately have a brake controller in the tow vehicle. if things start sway too much don't touch you TV brakes, use the controller first.
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Old 03-05-2013, 12:28 PM   #30
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I don't know much about weight distribution hitches but I recall an old photo (which I can't find now) showing an RV trailer attached to a car with a distribution hitch. The rear tires had been removed from the car and its rear end was suspended off the ground so that the RV/TV formed a single truss with all the weight now divided between the front axle of the car and the single axle of the trailer. Of course this was an extreme demonstration and would not be functional with rear-wheel drive. But the physics intrigued me. While half the car's former rear axle weight was now sent to its front axle (good) the other half was sent to the trailer's axle (not so good, especially for the tires).
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Old 03-06-2013, 07:46 PM   #31
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looks like I'll be picking up a 2012 airstream 19 this weekend - wooo hooo

be towing it back without WD or SC for now and will be taking it easy, taking a buddy along who tows all the time
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Old 03-07-2013, 04:30 PM   #32
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towing without a weight distribution /sway control

Greetings DonS!

Quote:
Originally Posted by 50KIP View Post
I don't know much about weight distribution hitches but I recall an old photo (which I can't find now) showing an RV trailer attached to a car with a distribution hitch. The rear tires had been removed from the car and its rear end was suspended off the ground so that the RV/TV formed a single truss with all the weight now divided between the front axle of the car and the single axle of the trailer. Of course this was an extreme demonstration and would not be functional with rear-wheel drive. But the physics intrigued me. While half the car's former rear axle weight was now sent to its front axle (good) the other half was sent to the trailer's axle (not so good, especially for the tires).
The image below may be one that you are referencing. There is also another image from either late 1960s or early 1970s that featured an Oldsmobile Toronado in a similar setting:



I can still remember when the above first appeared with the 1980 Chevrolet Citation . . . something had to be overloaded . . . with the 1960s-1970s Eldorado/Tornado the ball joints had short lifespans with just the weight of the car by itself without trailer towing of any kind (at least my family felt that we were doing well to get 70,000 miles out of a set of ball joints on our Toronado).

Kevin

P.S.: As an obvious advertising ploy, I am almost surprised that it didn't contain the phrase . . . Please don't try this at home . . .
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Old 03-07-2013, 05:46 PM   #33
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The biggest cause of trailer sway is with the trailer loaded tail-heavy.

Make sure your tires are aired properly and the brakes work on it.

Put something heavy in the front of the trailer (inside). As long as it's nose heavy, you will greatly reduce the chance of sway.

Where is the freshwater tank on this model? Is it forward of the axles? If so, fill it completely up. Put your blacksmith tools up against the front wall. Seriously, load it as nose heavy as you can.

Keep your speed reasonable and you should be fine.

I towed my 34 footer home 600 miles on just the ball. Never swayed a bit. But it is a triple axle and they do naturally want to track straight. A single axle is the most prone to sway.

Keep her nose heavy, take it easy, and you should be fine.

When you get it home, then get yourself a good weight distributing antisway rig. I like the Equal-I-Zer. Many others like the Reese Dual Cam. Both are great. If you want to up the ante, get a ProPride or Henseley.

Just always remember, even with an antisway hitch, a nose heavy trailer is always naturally stable. A tail heavy one is always wanting to wreck you.

I saw a guy with a bobcat on a 16' flatbed, but he had the bobcat clear at the back of the trailer. I was beside him and it started oscillating badly. I nailed the gas and got ahead of him, just as the trailer flipped around nearly 180 degrees, then went up, and it rolled the truck and trailer to the right, up and over the guard rail! I'd never seen anything like it...it was worse than the classic trailer sway videos you see on youtube. The man got out unhurt, but it trashed his pickup and the bobcat wasn't in very good shape either. He had it tail heavy.

Best of luck,
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Old 03-07-2013, 07:04 PM   #34
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Greetings DonS!



The image below may be one that you are referencing. There is also another image from either late 1960s or early 1970s that featured an Oldsmobile Toronado in a similar setting:



I can still remember when the above first appeared with the 1980 Chevrolet Citation . . . something had to be overloaded . . . with the 1960s-1970s Eldorado/Tornado the ball joints had short lifespans with just the weight of the car by itself without trailer towing of any kind (at least my family felt that we were doing well to get 70,000 miles out of a set of ball joints on our Toronado).

Kevin

P.S.: As an obvious advertising ploy, I am almost surprised that it didn't contain the phrase . . . Please don't try this at home . . .
That warning is actually in the Reese installation instructions:
"FRONT-WHEEL-DRIVE VEHICLES: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HOOK-UP OR TOW WITH REAR WHEELS OF TOWING VEHICLE REMOVED. Severe structural damage to towing vehicle, hitch, and trailer may result. A towing vehicle/trailer combination cannot be controlled adequately unless the towing vehicle's rear wheels are carrying their share of the load."
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Old 03-08-2013, 08:49 AM   #35
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He owner said the same thing keep it nose heavy - the freshwater tank is in front of the axle and is full
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Old 03-10-2013, 08:04 PM   #36
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trip report:

Towed our (new to us) 2012 Airstream 19 from Portland OR back to Puyallup WA, about 140 miles. Luckily my buddy brought a spare hitch with about a 2 inch drop because the one I had was way too high. Hooked up and tested the brake controller and off we went, kept speeds around 50mph until I got comfortable towing and using the trailer brakes. Got speeds up to 70 mph with no swaying at all and slowed using the brake controller going down some grades. Tows great at 60-65.

Will be looking into WD and SC next week some time
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Old 03-10-2013, 08:06 PM   #37
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Old 03-11-2013, 09:53 AM   #38
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SR,

Nice looking trailer! It is identical to my 2009 CCD. And your TV (Silverado) is virtually the same as my F150. Towing from Portland to Puyallup is not much of a test, except for patience. I don't use WD/SC and never felt the need for it, but you will have an extra measure of insurance with it. I just got back from Arizona (2600 mile round trip) without incident. Last year I did the California coastal highway (CA 1). Now that is a challenge. I had to pay more attention to my brakes than anything (oh, except for the cliff over my shoulder). Enjoy!
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