Hi Everyone,
I am switching from a 2000 F350 dually towing a 5th wheel to a 2017 F350 SRW towing a conventional travel trailer (total 7000 lbs). I have every confidence in the 2017 to handle to tongue weight. I am a little apprehensive about any sway issues and I am looking for thoughts on the following idea.

It would be great to use the Super Duty's large receiver (2.5" or 3") and place in it the combination of a reducer (to 2" or 2.5") and a mounting point for the sway control ball. The connection point for the sway control could be a ball hole, or perhaps a receiver to allow for tuning of the sway control ball height.

This is a merge of
CURT Sway Tab Ball Mount #45820


and a reducer.

From my picture example, remove the main ball mount and replace it with a receiver. And perhaps the same for the sway control ball mount.

Any thoughts on how this would work? Has anyone seen one for sale?

Thanks
JM-BC

 

How long is your travel trailer? 7k is not much of a load for 350SRW. The truck will have its own software-based anti-sway control; but I find I can control a swaying trailer simply by lightly applying the trailer brake control without operating the truck brakes.

 

Hi Troverman,
The trailer is 25.5" feed plus the A frame. I know that trailer sway control is part of stability control built into the truck. People in other threads point out that it is best to try to mitigate sway from the onset and leave stability control and/or manual braking as Plan B.

I am aware of tongue weight loading issues and I am contemplating getting a Weigh Safe mount. I do not have the truck yet so getting a 3", 2.5" or 2" would depend on the truck and anything learned from this thread.

My root question is really "How to best manage sway without using a weight distribution hitch?"

JM

 

Hi JM,

You can still install the anti-sway bars without having a W/D hitch.

FYI, all the 2017 trucks come with a 2.5" hitch now. Some with higher tow ratings come with the 3".

Personally, I'd be comfortable towing that size travel trailer with an F-350 without W/D or sway control bars...but everyone's comfort level and experience is different.

 

After seeing the TFL video of how far out of control and how violent the ford antisway is Id like to keep some extra saftey. I think it was TFL, let me find it.

 

Interesting video.

But they did everything they could do to induce sway...no tongue weight, sloshing water cargo in the trailer, and rapid side-side maneuvers at speed. The truck did a decent job of correcting.

 

Towing a travel trailer is like pulling a giant sail behind you. I would agree you are better off using a sway control system regardless of the tow vehicle. Passing trucks and wind gusts can still push the trailer around no matter you are pulling with. ANd you don't want to wait for the truck's sway control to kick in - you want to prevent getting to that point.


There is a great YouTube video of a dually delivery driver getting flipped on his side by a monster wind gust.


Check out etrailer or one of the other sites for some possible setups. You could even just get a basic WDH with friction sway control and not use the bars. The only downside is the drawbar for that setup is pretty heavy. Otherwise its a quick and fairly inexpensive solution.


https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Dist...35-946204.html

 

Thanks KMP,
The item in the link is what I had in mind. The issue is how should I best connect the truck end to the truck.

JM

 

I have 2015 F150 super crew with the sway control.
I was towing a 8000 lb 30 ft box travel trailer during windy conditions, and was hit with a sudden 40mph gust sideways after going through an underpass.
The truck immediately went into a violent sway cycle.
Automatic sway control kicked in and saved our bacon. I am certain we would have rolled without it.
I can tell you I never want to be in a situation where the automatic sway control is needed again.
I will be ordering a F350 CCLB XLT 6.2l 4x4 in May to replace the 150.
The new truck will be a far more stable towing platform than the 150, and will most likely not need any weight distribution or sway control. That being said I will not run without sway control towing a large travel trailer due to my previous experience.
I have not decided on a new hitch yet, but I am thinking about an Anderson No Sway.

Happy Trails

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Having a 350 SRW and a travel trailer, I had much the same question as you. MY TT is right at 8k loaded and almost 900lb tongue weight with the batteries and two full LP tanks. If you decide to go without a WD Hitch, you will need to get a drop hitch that is rated to pull your rig and handle the tongue weight. I mention drop hitch, because you will want your setup to be as level as possible. The friction sway bar set-up is a good way to go, because although the truck has 'anti-sway', it will only kick in once the sway event has started. It's always best to avoid it in the first place.

In my case, I had an Eaz Lift WD hitch and sway control. In order to make it work with my new truck, I had to order a 12" drop shank and fine tune everything to have a level tow.

The only issues I have in setting everything up is to find a way to securely attach my safety chains to the hitch. There are a couple of threads addressing this issue. Best wishes!

 

Best way to PREVENT sway is to correctly adjust your load in both the trailer and tow vehicle so that you have sufficient weight on each axle, and the tongue weight.

CONTROLLING sway that has already happened can be done by anti-sway features of the hitch or the truck.

I prefer to prevent it.