Load Distribution Hitch - sway control?
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Senior User
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Load Distribution Hitch - sway control?
I just bought a 2001 28' "light" travel trailer, 5200# with all options, water in tanks, and full propane, but no payload. Electric brakes, both axles.
I will be pulling it with my '06 F-150 SCrew, 4x2, 5.4L, 17" rims, 3.55LS, Prodigy brake controller.
I am going to put a "round bar" weight distribution hitch on it (est. tongue weight is about 680# unloaded).
A couple questions:
750# or 1000# hitch bars??? Will going to 1000# make it too stiff???
What brand, if any is a better set-up? (I'm leaning toward Reese/Draw-Tite)
Sway Control:
Will I need it???
Is a simple single side fiction sway controller worth the $85-100.....or do you need to move up to the dual cam versions to really see a benefit?
Thanks for all of the help.
I will be pulling it with my '06 F-150 SCrew, 4x2, 5.4L, 17" rims, 3.55LS, Prodigy brake controller.
I am going to put a "round bar" weight distribution hitch on it (est. tongue weight is about 680# unloaded).
A couple questions:
750# or 1000# hitch bars??? Will going to 1000# make it too stiff???
What brand, if any is a better set-up? (I'm leaning toward Reese/Draw-Tite)
Sway Control:
Will I need it???
Is a simple single side fiction sway controller worth the $85-100.....or do you need to move up to the dual cam versions to really see a benefit?
Thanks for all of the help.
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,436
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From: Sunny SOCAL!
You will have tons of fun with your trailer. I know my family and I do.
I have a 30ft Jayco TT (bumoer to tounge). Fully loaded comes in about 9800lbs. I use a weight distribution hitch. My suggestion is to buy the bigger"stouter" hitch in the event you decide to upgrade your trailer. That is what I did and never had an issue. I have never used sway bars with it as I have never seen a need to.
For reference I have towed my trailer about 15,000miles in the last 2 years including round trips from CA to Georgia and CA to St Louis.
Get your hitch, get it all dialed in and take a trip or two. If you feel enough sway to worry you "tail wagging the dog syndrome" then hook youself up with some. I have been told anything 25ft or more would require two, one on each side.
I have towed the same trailer with a 2000 F150, 2004 Suburban and now my 2006 F350. All towed it fine no worries.
Good Luck!
Edit:Check my gallery for my rig and set-up
I have a 30ft Jayco TT (bumoer to tounge). Fully loaded comes in about 9800lbs. I use a weight distribution hitch. My suggestion is to buy the bigger"stouter" hitch in the event you decide to upgrade your trailer. That is what I did and never had an issue. I have never used sway bars with it as I have never seen a need to.
For reference I have towed my trailer about 15,000miles in the last 2 years including round trips from CA to Georgia and CA to St Louis.
Get your hitch, get it all dialed in and take a trip or two. If you feel enough sway to worry you "tail wagging the dog syndrome" then hook youself up with some. I have been told anything 25ft or more would require two, one on each side.
I have towed the same trailer with a 2000 F150, 2004 Suburban and now my 2006 F350. All towed it fine no worries.
Good Luck!
Edit:Check my gallery for my rig and set-up
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 3,955
Likes: 50
From: Mesa
Forget those flat bar sway controllers. If you want the Reese then get the Reese Straight Line dual cam hitch. Another option is the Equal-i-zer brand hitch. Look here for good prices. http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/home.php?cat=74
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
What I have seen is that the smaller the trailer, the more likely it is to begin "DANCING" - and that is what a sway control is designed to prevent.
Then again - if you don't plan to break the sound barrier while towing you could be alright. The worst experience I ever had in my life while towing was a trailer made out of the back half of a 68 Dodge pickup. It had a high center of gravity to begin with, and once it began to duck and weave it almost instantly whipped left and right from one wheel to the other.
SERIOUSLY!
WHIPPED so hard it was on only one wheel at a time going around 60 MPH. And it only takes one crosswind to get it started.
When I saw it in my rear view, I was dead certain it was going to turn upside down, rip loose, and all the goods in it be scattered all over the highway.
You never want your heart to hammer that hard!
After I retired from the NAVY I gave that trailer to one of my neighbors (YES! FOR FREE).
He uses it to haul manure, and I find that so fitting I am at a loss for words...
Then again - if you don't plan to break the sound barrier while towing you could be alright. The worst experience I ever had in my life while towing was a trailer made out of the back half of a 68 Dodge pickup. It had a high center of gravity to begin with, and once it began to duck and weave it almost instantly whipped left and right from one wheel to the other.
SERIOUSLY!
WHIPPED so hard it was on only one wheel at a time going around 60 MPH. And it only takes one crosswind to get it started.
When I saw it in my rear view, I was dead certain it was going to turn upside down, rip loose, and all the goods in it be scattered all over the highway.
You never want your heart to hammer that hard!
After I retired from the NAVY I gave that trailer to one of my neighbors (YES! FOR FREE).
He uses it to haul manure, and I find that so fitting I am at a loss for words...
Last edited by Greywolf; Jan 25, 2007 at 08:10 PM.
Postmaster
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 4,968
Likes: 3
From: So Cal
I tow an 8000# 30 footer and use an Eaz lift WD and a flat bar sway control. Works excellent for me. I only use the one bar, never had a sway that it couldn't damp out.
Wolf is right about shorties swaying more. Been there done that, and it is definitely something that hammers the lesson home. Those years of waiting for the fishtailing to stop are the longest you will probably experience. Trying to correct is a beeg mistake, steady nerves, calm control and lots of prayers might work.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
Wolf is right about shorties swaying more. Been there done that, and it is definitely something that hammers the lesson home. Those years of waiting for the fishtailing to stop are the longest you will probably experience. Trying to correct is a beeg mistake, steady nerves, calm control and lots of prayers might work.
Good Luck,
Jim Henderson
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Senior User
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Thanks guys!
I did some more research, comparing the Reese Straight Line cam system with the Equal-I-Zer...and ended up ordering an Equal-I-Zer set-up last night. I ended up getting the 1000x10,000# hitch, 2-5/16" 10K ball, and a spare parts kit for $425 shipped to my door from the RVwholesalers link you guys posted above. (Thanks, great deals there...)
I read on other topics and forums that the Reese system can loose some of it's effectiveness on long turns and winding roads due to the cams riding out of their pockets on the bars. That plus the $75+ price difference made up my mind for me.
Looks like the Equal-I-Zer is about as simple a set up as can be found that still provides weight dist. and sway control.....we'll see how it does this spring when we break out the new TT and have some fun!!!
Thanks again for the help.
I did some more research, comparing the Reese Straight Line cam system with the Equal-I-Zer...and ended up ordering an Equal-I-Zer set-up last night. I ended up getting the 1000x10,000# hitch, 2-5/16" 10K ball, and a spare parts kit for $425 shipped to my door from the RVwholesalers link you guys posted above. (Thanks, great deals there...)
I read on other topics and forums that the Reese system can loose some of it's effectiveness on long turns and winding roads due to the cams riding out of their pockets on the bars. That plus the $75+ price difference made up my mind for me.
Looks like the Equal-I-Zer is about as simple a set up as can be found that still provides weight dist. and sway control.....we'll see how it does this spring when we break out the new TT and have some fun!!!
Thanks again for the help.
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Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
The only way to get a dancing short rig back in line is to let off the throttle and steer as straight as you can. DO NOT stab the brakes...
If you do, you will not only lose it - it will probably slam into you.
If you do, you will not only lose it - it will probably slam into you.
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Logistics Pro
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From: Mesa
Originally Posted by Greywolf
The only way to get a dancing short rig back in line is to let off the throttle and steer as straight as you can. DO NOT stab the brakes...
If you do, you will not only lose it - it will probably slam into you.
If you do, you will not only lose it - it will probably slam into you.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
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From: Drummonds, TN USA
IF you have one. I didn't at the time.
But yeah - that's what the "OH NO!" button is there for.
- It's also a good reason to mount the brake control where you can grab it without fumbling...
In fact - I'm going to suggest to my boss that we offer the option of having it mounted on top of the dash panel, to the left of the steering wheel, in plain sight of the driver.
That makes a lot more sense to me...
But yeah - that's what the "OH NO!" button is there for.
- It's also a good reason to mount the brake control where you can grab it without fumbling...
In fact - I'm going to suggest to my boss that we offer the option of having it mounted on top of the dash panel, to the left of the steering wheel, in plain sight of the driver.
That makes a lot more sense to me...
Last edited by Greywolf; Jan 27, 2007 at 07:47 PM.
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 700
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From: Fairbanks
I drive a truck for a living mostly pulling doubles and triples. Stoping a trailer from swaying is not that hard, the easiest way is to acerlate. Letting off the gass will make it worse keeping the same speed will allow it to continue. If you have electric trailer brakes and they are set up correctly this will work also you can use the controler to apply it and it will straighten it out as well.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
Yes but - sooner or later you HAVE to slow down.
What then?
My situation at the time was a trailer with no controls on it at all. No electric brakes, no sway control, NOTHING!
It was an outright suicide rig...
What then?
My situation at the time was a trailer with no controls on it at all. No electric brakes, no sway control, NOTHING!
It was an outright suicide rig...
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 327
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From: newark,de
I used the Reese dual cam system for the better part of 30 years. Started with the 500# bars and bent them with a new RV that was a bit too heavy. Got a good deal on the 1000# bars and never looked back. They worked and did what they were meant to do without any problems. Never needed any other sway control but have seen others add on the brake pad type sway bar in addition to the sway bars. Seemed unnecessary but whatever works!