Sway bar for Basecamp X

[Floatingair]

Originally Posted by Adventure.AS

As mentioned by others, if the BaseCamp coupler as the same as those used on other Airstreams the Anderson WD system is not compatible.

My neighbor has a ‘18 Basecamp & he has expressed satisfaction about his Andersen hitch towing his Basecamp.

[AlinCal]

Why not post for himself? Sounds like Oceans 13, I know a guy......

[Lmnhead]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Then I guess you will never tow a Basecamp. I will repeat myself, for those that didn't read all the posts before commenting:
There is no WD hitch available for Basecamp trailers. Sway bay only. There is no place to install snap up brackets, as the trailer is manufactured.

Curt WD hitch, Basecamp.

[rmkrum]

QED. Proof by counter example ....

Just proves there is more than one way to get WD and some anti sway on anything.

[hawksbil]

This is our hitch for the base camp

[hawksbil]

Sorry photo did not attach

[stevejones]

Originally Posted by sswanson15

I recently purchased a 2019 Basecamp X. I am considering adding a sway bar, so I am interested in your opinions and experiences on whether it would be helpful, needed, not required, or ...

Thank you in advance for response.

May depend somewhat on what you are towing with. Back when we had a pop up trailer (a 1999 Starcraft Starmaster which as I remember weighed around 2500 loaded so may be comparable to the Basecamp?), towed pretty well with a mini van but the van didn't have quite enough power. Then I got a Jeep Liberty with more tow capacity. The wheel base on the Liberty was pretty short. When I towed the pop up at any speed over 50 it would sway and actually move the Jeep. The dealership suggested a sway bar (friction bar like in picture posted by ROBERT CROSS) so I had them install one on our hitch.

With the sway bar I could drive up to 70 and not have sway. Big difference. I would just always take it off before I backed up into a spot where I'd need to make a sharp turn. A sharp turn can put a lot of force on the mounting balls. Typically I took it off when I got to the park/campground and would put it back on when leaving.


Steve

[sswanson15]

Thanks to everyone that has replied, I appreciate your comments and opinions.

My TV is a 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 crew cab with 4x4 and 5.3l engine.

[lynnsr]

Originally Posted by pteck

Nice Flatingair. Definitely looks to be compatible with WD bars.

I think the Anderson would be an incredible pairing with the Basecamp-X. Because of it's lightweight and easy to setup nature. But more importantly, because of it's adjustable WD/sway control feature. As a Basecamp-X is suited for off-road use, being able to lesson the WD/sway tension is huge IMO. Something that many hitches including the one pictured there and my Equilizer cannot do on the fly.

I've used Anderson and Equalizer hitches before. Again, I think the Anderson to be perfectly suited for this.

RIGHT ON


LynnSr

[Rak187]

So I bought one when I picked up my Basecamp from the dealer. Do you need it? I used it on the 8 hour drive home. I haven’t used it since though. I pull with a 2500 HD. A little overkill.
You might need it if it is super windy...... it’s not a huge investment.... better to have and not need or need and not have??
I was told if you back up at all you need to take it off or you will snap it, Unless you go straight back.

[Lee-Robert]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Yes...do it. Light, single axle...the BCamp will benefit.��

Bob
����

I purchased a Blue Ox version of the same anti-sway setup for my 2017 Base Camp. When reading the fine print in the installation instructions it said that that you should not have it installed when driving in wet, slippery conditions. This seemed to defeat the purpose of having it in the first place. So I sent it back. Have you hade any issues when driving in wet, slippery conditions?https://www.carid.com/blue-ox/blue-o...899907277.html

[Lee-Robert]

Originally Posted by AtomicNo13

Unless towing with a Fiat 500, is this a concern with such a short and lightweight trailer?

I towed my 2017 Base Camp 2,000 miles through CA last year with an FJ Cruiser and no weight distribution or anti-sway equipment. Never had a problem; even in LA highway traffic.

[Adventure.AS]

Originally Posted by Lee-Robert

... When reading the fine print in the installation instructions it said that that you should not have it installed when driving in wet, slippery conditions. This seemed to defeat the purpose of having it in the first place.

No, this doesn't defeat it's purpose.

Trailer sway can occur in any improperly loaded trailer, but even so is most likely to occur above 55-60 mph. The anti-sway is designed to help prevent sway when travelling above this speed or in strong cross winds, for example. If the road is slippery from heavy rain or snow hopefully you will be travelling less than 55 - the critical speed. Below this speed the sway bars may not needed. This is the advantage of a system like Eaz-lift that have anti-sway that is separate from the WD and can be backed off in poor driving conditions. The WD will help keep weight on the steering axle, which is critical to avoiding understeer.

If the roads are very slippery and you come to a curve (especially downhill) with the anti-sway bars tight this could cause your rig to want to continue in a straight line - understeer and go off the road to the outside of the curve.

[Floatingair]

Originally Posted by sswanson15

I recently purchased a 2019 Basecamp X. I am considering adding a sway bar, so I am interested in your opinions and experiences on whether it would be helpful, needed, not required, or ...



Thank you in advance for response.

It has been pointed out that an Andersen LDH with anti sway isn’t compatible with Atwood couplers.
Andersen is working on a solution.

https://help.andersenhitches.com/faq...ribution-hitch


Are Atwood Couplers compatible with the Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch?

Only the Atwood 88xxx series couplers are incompatible with our Weight Distribution Hitch. ALL OTHER Atwood couplers are fine (80xxx, 81xxx, 82xxx, etc). Although we have some customers who are using the 88xxx series without problem, for the best solution our official stand is this – if you have one, change out your coupler. Luckily it is not a common coupler, but it is popular on Airstream trailers.

Below is our official announcement:
With thousands of units on the road over the last 2 years, we have had tremendous success and customer satisfaction with the Andersen “No Sway” Weight Distribution Hitch.

A few months ago we heard a few reports of an issue that was specific to the Atwood 88000 series coupler. Although there were only about 10-12 reported cases, it was enough to concern us, and we performed some in-house testing of the coupler.

The issue: A few customers reported the potential of the Atwood 88000 series coupler to come unlatched over time due to wear.

NOTE: The Atwood 88000 series (stamped on the coupler as "Atwood model 88xxx" - xxx being any digits) is the ONLY coupler design in the RV market we have found that has this potential issue. All other Atwood couplers work fine. The similarly designed Marvel coupler also works just fine with the Andersen WD Hitch.

What we have found so far:
We have been performing in-house testing of the Atwood 88000 series coupler, as well as consulting with engineers and RV Technicians. At this point we have not experienced the unit unlatching, but we can see there is the potential for the possibility of this happening over time with the Atwood 88000 series so we are taking the issue very seriously. From the reports given we were told that it is something that happens over time, not immediately.

What can happen:
Because of the particular design of the Atwood 88000 series coupler, there is a lot of extra movement inside the coupler as compared to other couplers on the market. When combined with the reverse pressure that our Weight Distribution system places on it, over time, the slack in the internal mechanism of the some of these couplers slowly works its way backwards trying to unlatch from the top 'fin' - and eventually it can wear the fin down enough that it does not fully latch any more.

The solution:
At this point our official position is that the Atwood 88000 series coupler is incompatible with our Weight Distribution Hitch, so the ONLY current solution we endorse is to replace the coupler. A good quality and sturdy replacement is the Atwood MPD 81911 coupler (seen below). However any coupler other than the Atwood 88000 series will work just fine. We have checked with several welding shops who told us that it would take about 1 hour of shop time to change out the coupler, averaging about $60–$100 in shop fees.

Other solutions:
Although we have heard of a few Airstream owners who have had some success with modifying the latch mechanism and greasing the paw and ball, Andersen Mfg. does not officially endorse any solution other than replacing the coupler itself.

[BayouBiker]

The Marvel/Atwood coupler has a lot of variation in slop due to manufacturing variance. they have no adjustment so you're stuck with the slop. The Andersen design depends on/presupposes tight ball fit. You can add shims to the back of the coupler latch fork and that will fix the issue but that's kind of a hassle for most people. Dometic bought Atwood and didn't care for this issue and so they simply discontinued the hitch.....

On the basecamp, it is a lightweight trailer and the sheer imparted by a weight distribution hitch on the structure of the trailer is excessive thus the recommendations to release tension in certain conditions. Honestly this is not a bad thing to do for any trailer....

[Halford1]

#1 safety starts with proper weight distributing INSIDE the camper. It prevents 95% of swaying. I follow 60/40 weight distributing method.

Swaying could be from improper hitching with overweight Tongue Weight.

I have not used any WDH or anti-Sway system over 26 years of towing. I experienced a sway when I did not properly distributed weight so I pulled over and did the 60/40 method and it solved the swaying. 18 wheelers pass me by without causing any sway. that was with Coleman Niagara popup. now with Bambi I do not use WDH because of successful 60/40 weight distributing method. No swaying at all.

Is there a particular reason why you need a WDH or anti-sway bar?

[BayouBiker]

Too much weight on the tongue does not contribute to sway but it can promote oversteer, jackknife and rollover.

When you're pulling a 16' Basecamp, any vehicle with a curb weight over 4300 lbs will damp out any sway not caused by improper trailer loading and the benefits of WD for a Basecamp are likely offset by potential damage to the trailer. Don't think for a moment this applies to 20' and larger trailers.

[Floatingair]

Originally Posted by BayouBiker

Too much weight on the tongue does not contribute to sway but it can promote oversteer, jackknife and rollover.

When you're pulling a 16' Basecamp, any vehicle with a curb weight over 4300 lbs will damp out any sway not caused by improper trailer loading and the benefits of WD for a Basecamp are likely offset by potential damage to the trailer. Don't think for a moment this applies to 20' and larger trailers.

I’m hoping the intention of this Basecamp X owner will be driving off paved roads.
Potholes, road routes, soft gravel, muddy soft road spots & rainy off road conditions can be a challenge to drive on.
I know a friction anti sway bar will fail when wet.

If a BaseCamp X could be made to work with
an Andersen LDH with anti sway, I think it would
be better than a friction anti sway bar on muddy roads in the rain.

[BayouBiker]

The Basecamp has the Atwood 88007 hitch as well. But if the coupler happens to fit the ball with very little play, which is the case with most of the couplers or if it doesn't and you shim the fork ramp so the ball does fit snug and you also secure the latch handle with a shank or lock that fits the hole tightly, then the Andersen hitch will work well.

A big advantage it has is since the tension is parallel to the trailer frame the tension remains balanced while backing and traversing uneven terrain. Spring bars are tensioned vertically and the forces become unbalanced when the two sides of the trailer frame are at different relative elevations. For light trailers this is a big deal since the frames are not as strong.

[Rolind]

I have a 2020 basecamp x and a equalizer 6k wd with sway and have found it to be a great setup. Stable and decreases the sag on my 2014 taco . You have to be a little creative with the sway bar bracket setup. Let me know if you need more info. I have taken several trips during lockdown and have been very happy with rain, crosswinds and off road trails.