I've been searching and reading here and over at diesel stop about how to fix the towing sway of the Excursion. I can't really nail down the answer, though. Let me back up a little first, though.

I have an 03 Ex 4x4 lmtd 6.0PSD. I tow a 19.5'x8.5' dual axle Vee nose enclosed trailer. It's usually pretty empty except for a couple of 220 pound dirtbikes. I've had the same trailer through a 99 GMC 3/4ton 4x4 454 'burb and an 01 Chevy HD2500 CC 4x4 dmax/allison. Both the GM's towed the trailer extremely well. No real sag to speak of and no noticeable sway while towing, at least nothing you notice or have to correct from a drivers perspective.

I towed the trailer with the new Ex about 7 hours each way a couple of weeks back. Nice motor, good ride, more sag than I'm used to seeing and horrible sway problems anytime I passed a semi on the interstate. I was quite surprised and disappointed by this.

So I want to fix the sway problem only. What is the most cost effective way to do that? I've never had to use a weight dist hitch and don't want to start. Is the disc brake anti-sway arm very good at stopping this? What are the con's of that system? Same question with helper springs (I wouldn't think those would help with sway, though), air bags, air shocks, etc.

Again, only wanting to fix the sway problem as cheaply and effectively as I can.

Thanks for any input.

 

Jeb;
I also had the same issues but did not want to spend a lot of $ or end up with a stiff rear end when not towing that is why I did the air bags. You can adjust as neccessary and I found that the X worked better with 20psi in the bags even when I'm not towing. The total cost was around $480.00 and took us 4 hours to install.

 

If you want to control sway, for about $140 or so, you can install a Hellwig anti-sway bar. But that does nothing for the sagging problem you mention. Tow-vehicle sway, trailer sway, and rear sagging can all be overcome with one device ... the one you said you don't wish to install.

I used to tow a 24ft' enclosed car trailer behind an F350 crew-cab (single rear wheel). Even with an empty trailer, and lots of rear payload capacity (hefty springs), AND with the OEM rear sway bar, I felt uncomfortable towing it ... it would tend to wander on me ... like when passing big rigs. That was until I installed a weight-distributing hitch. I use that same hitch on a lighter open car trailer ONLY because it makes towing feel so much more in control.

Once you've used a weight distributing hitch, you'll never go again without one. And you'll kick yourself for not treating yourself sooner to more control when towing.

You may get a trailer anti-sway kit (friction plates) to mount on the hitch, but why solve the problem halfway?

Do as you please. The above is just my opinion.

 

I see a lot of folks get parts from JC Whitney for these trucks. They have an equalizer hitch for like $300. I've heard some go for close to $3000. What's the difference? What are you buying for 10 times the money?

How does a weight distributing hitch help this problem anyway? Maybe I don't understand exactly why the truck wags it's tail so hard when pulling. Is it body roll or is it the leaf springs flexing?

 

$3,000??? Either that's a gross misprint, or they throw in a driver to do all the work. I've never seen them over $300. I paid around $250 for mine from a local Northern Hydraulics store.

A weight-distributing (w-d) hitch does what it says ... it distributes the tongue weight of the trailer to both the rear AND front axles of the tow vehicle. No more sagging, trailer-sway is reduced ... not entirely eliminated, but greatly reduced ... and the feeling when driving with a w-d hitch is so much more comfortable than without. You "feel" as if you have much better control. Whenever I sense the trailer may start "wagging," I simply touch the manual lever on the electric brake controller. It's kind of like dropping an anchor out back, and straightens things out.

The w-d hitch accomplishes its task with a pair of bar-springs, and a hitch-receiver-mounted hinge system. I'm a little rushed at this moment to type a lengthy description, but I would highly suggest you look at & study such a hitch arrangement. Often, RV-type stores have scale models on display to illustrate how they work.

And like I said ... AFTER you get one, you'll wonder why you went so long without one ... especially on such an undersprung vehicle as the Mighty-X.

 

I tow a 30' travel trailer - about 7,000 pounds, and have always towed it with a weight distributing hitch. I second the previous comments about control. It has never been a problem. I have what is called a "dual-cam" control, which not only levels the load, but provides a good amount of sway control without a friction plate. Hard to explain here, but it works great. Another pointer on towing is that the trailer load also needs to be properly weight distributed. I try to keep 10-15% of the total trailer weight on the hitch. I've seen trailers flipped over on the highway, and this is due to improper loading of the trailer, coupled with an inadequte tow vehicle and lack of sway and levling devices.

 

The $3000 hitch is a Hensley Arrow. Don't knock the price until you have used one. If you don't think its worth it, they'll refund your money. And I believe they'll buy a used one back from the original owner for 1/2 what they paid. If you have towing problems that are hitch related, this hitch will cure them.

Reese Dual Cam and Equal-I-Zer brands also address sway in different manners, for about $250-$300.

The friction bars help a lot, but tend to bend if not installed correctly.

 

I used one on my '99 SD. It helped a lot. Didn't eliminated the suction effect around semis, but made it manageable.

Cost me around $100. Installled in 1 hour. Have to drill 3 holes.

 

Any drawbacks that you found using this system?

 

I believe that it only hooks up to a WD system, so you may have to get both.

Other than that, it was easy to use and worked pretty good.

 

Check out my gallery, big trailer. I am using WD and sway control, integrated cam type it is assume and the only way to go. It REALLY works.

NO draw backs, saftey first cost later. The rig is worth too much not to run the WD.

 

Can you be more specific, please? Is this just a WD hitch or is something special or is integrated with some "integrated cam type" device?

 

I think that he means something like this:

http://www.reesehitch.com/sway_control.html

 

Jeb - It appears Tim Lankin is using BOTH a WD hitch and sway control. Most sway control devices for towing can only be used with a WD hitch anyway. So, the sequence is you start with the WD hitch, and if you then find you need additional control, you upgrade to the sway control devices. Most WD hitches come with the xtra mounting hole for a sway control device. In my case (24' enclosed & 18' flatbed car trailers), I found the WD hitch alone to be sufficient, and never bothered with the sway control add-ons.

 

My biggest problem was when either passing or being passed by a semi. With the large frontal area (see gallery) that creates "the" bow wave effect it can disturb the vehicle impressively. I had tried, barrowed one, of the units that is like a shock with friction drag, no noticeable change. Spent the money for the larger one and WOW. The trailer is up for the winter, but when I get it back out I will shoot some photos and post in gallery for all to see. It came in a small box and had a huge impact on drivability.