Towing a Basecamp 20X

[ToadHall]

I am new to towing in general and this Basecamp is my first travel trailer. I am trying to get up to speed on how to do this safely. When purchasing the unit I had a WD anti sway hitch included in the sale, installation and adjustments included. $1200. When I picked it up I was told that they couldn’t install the hitch I had purchased, and that Airstream and the hitch maker both said not to install it. I received this email.

“Mr. Rimmer, I had an opportunity to speak with our Service manager along with the folks at Airstream. And both are in agreement. The Basecamp 20X does not require a sway bar to be towed. If a customer wants to purchase a lightweight swaybar that is the customers choice to do so and is welcome to install it. Unfortunately the dealership will not install a swaybar on the Basecamp.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Kind of surprised Airstream position on sway bars and Basecamp 20X. Thanks”

It is an Airstream dealership. Any opinions?

[AbstractLogc]

Strange. I'm waiting for my Basecamp 16 and reading the on line users manual it seemed to assume that you would do a WD hitch? My research seems to show that the 3500# RV with a 425# tongue weight might not need a WD hitch but, I intended to do one to be on the safe side. I don't know why a WD hitch with sway control would be a negative....maybe not necessary, but not a negative.

[Rolind]

There are a lot of great opinions regarding the Basecamp, WD hitches and sway on this site. Plenty of Basecamp owners have WD and anti sway hitches installed. We have an equalizer and have been very happy with it to date. At one point, there were some who stated the sway bar brackets on E4 and E2 hitches could not be installed bc of the propane cover. This is not correct. Others have mentioned concerns regarding Anderson hitches not being compatible with Demco couplers the Basecamp have. Lastly, some tow vehicles do not recommend using a WD hitch.
Search the forum, lots of great advice and knowledge to be had. The learning is part of the fun of the journey.

[dkmcgrath]

I haven’t found any need for it, but I think it would depend on your TV. I use a 3/4 ton lifted gasser and have no issues pulling mine with all default setup. My only issue now is determining light electric brake settings vs heavy electric brake settings.

[DellCook]

I rented a 16X and it had the WD/sway-control hitch... it made a HUGE difference towing with a Jeep Wrangler - you could visually see how much weight it took off the back end of the Jeep before/after connecting it. We just placed an order for the 16X and the dealer recommended installing the WD/sway-control hitch - and I agreed. Not a 20, I know - but some feedback, nonetheless.

[Rainer]

I have stock newer Honda Ridgeline towing my 20X. It tows with with no sway and good control. I've swerved a few times to avoid some traffic with no problems. A WD sway control hitch would have been a waste of money. I also don't need to add any extra weight to my setup.

Perhaps it depends on your tow vehicle. Like dkmcgrath noted.

[dkmcgrath]

I said this, then towed in high winds in the gorge*. Sway control would be a nice addition, even on a large vehicle. At least in high winds.

*Columbia River Gorge — apparently I have been fully assimilated into the PNW.

[Q-man13]

I tow with a 2018 big engine Tundra CrewMax 4X4 with tow package(which includes electronic sway control). I've never experienced sway. No WDH nor friction bar. I'm closing on 8K miles towed in the 6 months since delivery of our BC20X.

[ROBERT CROSS]

My 'opinion'...

I would not trust any AS 'dealer' that gave such misleading 'advice'.
I translate that letter as "we didn't sell that hitch so we're not installing it."

ANY Airstream will benefit from a properly sized and installed WD/sway management hitch. The smaller lighter single axle AS's the most.

Two friction bars worked very well on the 'Frantic Banana' our '63 22' Safari.
In my experience...the "Banana" did sway, unnoticed, with both our Jeep GW and a 2500 Burb before adding the friction bars.

Bob
🇺🇸

[corvettes]

Hi, I have a 4500 lb rated Reese Swap bar hitch i tow my 2019 Basecamp 16X with while towing with my 14000 lb rate F150. It makes a huge difference when taking long trips out west, reduces the bounce substantially whne going over bumps and unequal pavement, and helps a bit with cross winds in Nebraska, I am surprised Airstream gave any opinion as usually they say its up to the customer. Just follow the mfg instruction on how to install and you should be fine. Btw, my experience with Airstream is thta they are far from experts along many fronts, as have had my stone guards replaced 2 times under warranty and third time is coming up soon, as one side still bends in when driving down the highway...Hope this helps