I suspect that any option in FORScan that allows in-motion functionality of other features (navigation, etc) may also work to allow you to change the towing settings. But I haven't tried changing any of the in-motion parameters.

 

I think the answer is “no” which is why the conversation steered toward finding the root of the problem rather than how to turn it off.

again … the sway control on my 2014 expedition never did anything. The sway control on my 2020 has never done anything. It won’t make any difference if it is “on” or “off” once you get it squared away correctly. There is no need to turn it off because it doesn’t do anything unless it is detecting sway.

I actually forgot that they had that feature until this thread.








no sway … just properly loaded trailers.

 

Well if someone gets a horse trailer to sway they DEFINITELY screwed something up! A horse trailer is one of the most inherently stable trailers out there.

 

We have one that sways when empty. Not enough tongue weight.

The slant load pictured above has a crap ton of tongue weight. In the 800 lbs range even when empty. For a half ton that can cause problems on the steering axle which can cause sway.

it’s not as brainless as you are making it out to be. It is very easy to get too much weight up front or not enough depending on how you load them.

they also sway when the animals move around. It’s not like hauling a camper. The trailer is alive and moves when the animals shift around. Much more on a stock trailer than a slant load, but even in a slant they move around and it can be unsettling.

 

Put thousands of miles with Thoroughbreds in mine with a 1997 Explorer and cheap WDH with no sway. 20 years hauling those buggers around. Have a 1999 New Yorker side by side. On the F150, no WDH required. Never had it sway even on windy days.

 

will all respect, straight loads are different (I'm assuming that is what you are talking about with a "1999 new yorker side by side") ((around here a side-by-side is something you put on a trailer to spend a weekend hitting the logging trails in the hills))

Straight loads put the horses front feet just in front of the axles. that puts 70% of the horses weight in a perfect spot to balance the load with about 85-90% going on the trailer axles. So, yeah, you have to try pretty hard to get that wrong.

Slant loads and stock trailers are decidedly different.

In a 3-stall slant load, 100% of the front stall gets split pretty evenly between the trailer and truck. The second stall puts 70% of the weight forward of the trailer axles similar to the way a straight load balances. The rear stall goes 100% on the trailer axles and removes some tongue weight. Look at the placement of the windows on the driver's side of the trailer. A horse carries 70% of it's weight on the front feet. Their front feet are right behind that window, so that's where 70% of the horses weight is going to go. That front window on ours is half way between the tongue and trailer axles. On the passenger's side, only 30% is going to be at that window. So even at the back, only 30% of the rear stall is behind the axles.

So when hauling 1 or 2 horses, where do you put them? In a 3/4 ton it don't matter much, but in a half ton it matters. Unloaded our is around 800 lbs on the tongue with the tack in the compartment. putting 50% of a horse on the tongue is too much and you'll loose all of the weight on your front axle which will cause stability problems.

Stock trailers are worse. if you are hauling one, you have to put him up front, then he wanders all over because there is lots of room. Hauling 2 puts one up front and one in the back. Even if you tie them with their noses together at the divider wall, they still wander all over with their back legs and the trailer shifts all the time going down the road.

put a Belgian that hasn't been hauled in a few years in the front of a stock trailer and then talk to me about how it's "pretty hard to mess it up" That big boy's speed limit was 50 mph. anything over that and the trailer was driving the truck because he was all over the trailer.

a 2-horse straight load makes it pretty hard to mess up ... i agree with that. but a slant or stock trailer is a different deal, and you better know what you are doing. But done right, you still won't need the electronic sway control - at least, mine has never done anything.

 

Were you are the Lake Vermillion CG in this photo?

 

yes sir! Good eye.

first trip out with that camper and the new to me 2020 expedition. This was how I saw that I needed to lower the hitch one hole.