Hi all,

I'm sorry and don't mean to clog the forums with cross posts; but this only got one response in the 2017 forum and now I'm thinking this would have been a better location.

If you have experience with sway bars, could you please read and comment?

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...endations.html

 

I understand what you are going after..

but in this case.. Bigger is not better...

You do not want the rear bar to be equal or larger then the front.... not even close to same size...

Ford and many other companies use a smaller size on the rear.... and for towing big is NOT needed or wanted.

everything needs some flex to avoid metal failure. here we are talking about the frame.. forward and rearward of the rear axle.

my opinion.

rear axle is 6,100 rated .. tires might be 7,000 for both. Plus a safety factor. of 15 percent or more.
we know the frame is a 250/350 unit.

but if you question the metal of nuts and bolts.. replace with upgraded units..
USA, grade 8.. metric 10.9 and USE hardened washers...

 

Chuck, thanks for this. Questions:

1. Are you saying I need to find a rear sway bar that matches the front? Hellwig makes a 'matching' pair where the front is only 1/8" less in diameter -- should I buy both for the reasons you state?

2. Or are you saying I should use a smaller one than this Hellwig? If so, can you recommend one?

3. By addressing the bolt quality issue are you saying you think, despite above, that the Hellwig is ok after all; and if I'm going to use it I should get better bolts?

In summary: I'm looking at a way to make a better, stronger, more capable towing platform for the F250 that I have. Maybe we can start over and say if you were me and going to put a sway bar on, what size, made by who, and why would you pick the one you did?

Thanks!

 

191124X7, I know you've posted here before but I do not recall if you have a 5th wheel yet. If not, then I recommend you wait until you have a few thousand miles towing before you decide on getting a sway bar. I'd be a little surprised if your 2017 needed any aftermarket help towing anything.

Sway bars resist body lean/tilt going around curves. IMO, your fiver will have dangerous issues with body lean before you notice any issues in your truck. And there's no truck sway bar in the world that will catch a fiver if you take a curve too fast. Put another way, if you're taking curves fast enough to make your truck's body lean then you're in jeopardy of losing your fiver.

If you install a slide in camper then that's a different story...a sway bar will help in that situation.

 

Thank you very much for this. I have my first test-pull of my rental 2014 Coachmen Brookstone 325RL next week. I'm going to pull it as is and see how it goes. I also appreciate the tip and comparison about corners above.

 

rear anti-sway bar should always be smaller..
I would look at the Stock Ford rear anti-sway bar... (camper package has it) as does mine.

hardware.. nuts and bolts should be stronger then the material holding them. no harm if overly strong bolts/nuts.

.. I know you are trying to find answers of possible issues.
I find a F 350 DRW (Dually) is not that much stronger then a F 250...
3,000 pounds greater then a SRW F 350

if you follow all the numbers. most of US should have F 550's or greater.

for numbers.. 6.7, in F 250, F 350, F 450. and up.. very few differences... in towing numbers.

axle and springs .. biggest item.

 

You're welcome. Like you, I asked lots of questions at first too. I think you'll like the way a fiver tows. On straight road you may even forget it's back there.

 

I have Hellwig sway bars, and you can see my comments on the post from the 7.3 forum.

The suspension in a 2000 F-250 and the suspension on your truck are two completely different things I would imagine. For my truck, the sway bars helped a lot. Towing or unloaded there is a noticeable difference in the way the truck handles around turns and even just changing lanes.

If I were you, I would wait to see how the truck does and move on from there. I drove my truck for about 2 years towing and unloaded before moving to a stiffer and larger sway bar.

I just looked up the specs on the Coachman you are going to pull. I imagine you won't even hardly know it is there except when you look in the mirrors. We pull a 12K 5th wheel with the truck in my signature and it does just fine.

 

I have a Hellwig rear sway bar on my current truck, but since it's not a Superduty this isn't quite an apples-to-apples comparison. The handling difference on the highway with the sway bar when not towing is - in my opinion - absolutely worth it. Curves at speed are so much more solid. I had to do an emergency maneuver a few weeks back and I don't think it would have turned out as well without the sway bar.

When towing? I'm not sure you're going to notice much of a difference unless you get really squirrelly. I've towed 3,000 to 9,000 lb trailers with my Titan and the tongue weight really plants the rear end.

 

I put on the Hellwig:

Hellwig 7712 Front Sway Bar for Ford 250/350
Hellwig 7271 Big Wig Rear Sway Bar for Ford F-250/350

They are big sway bars. I pull a 2014 Cyclone 3950 and love the Hellwig's.

 

Just for chuckles, here's a picture of my sway bar. It's unintended bling. I bought it used off a guy and he didn't quite get across to me that it was RED.

 

Thanks all! I'm going to see how I like it stock, and then decide from there. Looks like a fun project, but no sense spending money and potentially changing the ride if I can tow fine without it.

For anyone interested, I'm planning on documenting the test pull in a new thread, so I'm looking forward to to next week!

As always, I very much appreciate your wisdom, experience, and time here helping me get started!

 

Slow and steady wins the race. Just learn the trailer and how your truck drives differently with the trailer.

 

I have a '03 F-350 CCLB dually that has both front and rear anti sway bars, they worked good but I wanted a little more so I replaced them with the Roadmaster units, they are both 1 1/2 inch diameter and they are a noticeable improvement over the stock units when pulling my 15K 5'r with an 18 foot boat behind it. I have installed both Helwig and Roadmaster units on many pickups and RV's and both worked well, I just think the Roadmaster's are better.

 

Thanks! So I'm curious. Given your incredibly capable tow vehicle, if you were just pulling the 15k 5'r would you still want a rear sway bar -- and -- have you pulled just the 5'r with both bars and noticed a difference?