anti-sway bar, worth it or not??

[pwr2tow]

I'am thinking about adding an anti-sway bar to the truck in my signature. Are they worth the $250. 00 for better control while towing a 10,000 lb 5th wheel? Am I just throwing away money because you really can not tell any difference anyhow? Unless there's a significant difference I don't think it's worth spending the money. For you guys who towed without an anti-sway bar and then added one was it worth the money?
Thanks,
Ron

 

[DonTX]

I never heard of such a device, a google search did not turn up any either. Do you have a link to a manufacturer or a product name?

 

[seemore]

There has been a few discussions on here about sway bars.

Here is a link to a popular one.



Hellwig Products

 

[CDonaldson]

This is the first 1-ton truck I have owned that did not come with one from the factory or was not a factory option. I too have considered adding it, but decided to go with the Ride Rite air bags from Firestone, costs were about the same. The ride rites solved the body roll and slight pogo I was experiencing. Not sure whick of the two would have been the better choice, but I am happy with what I did. If I have sway down line as the suspension system ages, I think I will go toward Carli or Lorentz to deal with the issue, possibly look at a sway bar then.



CD

 

[Grizzly]

I'am thinking about adding an anti-sway bar to the truck in my signature. Are they worth the $250. 00 for better control while towing a 10,000 lb 5th wheel? Am I just throwing away money because you really can not tell any difference anyhow? Unless there's a significant difference I don't think it's worth spending the money. For you guys who towed without an anti-sway bar and then added one was it worth the money?

Thanks,

Ron

Since you have the box frame on your 06, you don't need the sway bar. My 05 dually handled the Lance camper (11' 3") better, without the sway bar then the 95 dually did with the sway bar. With the longer wider springs you don't need air bags either.

 

[Grizzly]

My brother-in-law bought an 08 Furd, 6. 4 Powerjoke against my better judgment and advice. In looking at his new truck, I notice that it has the "C" channel frame and the skinniest sway bar I have ever seen. It can't be more then 5/8" diameter. What good will that do? My 95 CTD had a much larger sway bar. I was not at all impressed with the Furd. The front end with the, "SUPER DUTY", is butt ugly.

 

[tgrfan2]

I'am thinking about adding an anti-sway bar to the truck in my signature. Are they worth the $250. 00 for better control while towing a 10,000 lb 5th wheel? Am I just throwing away money because you really can not tell any difference anyhow? Unless there's a significant difference I don't think it's worth spending the money. For you guys who towed without an anti-sway bar and then added one was it worth the money?

Thanks,

Ron

I put one on my 95 to tow a heavy TT and it helped. I don't think it will do much for your fiver though. If I were going to spend $250 on an 06 suspension it would be for air bags.

That is what I plan to do with my 3500. My normal load is at the worst possible weight for the overloads. I call it a tweaner that gives you the pogo effect real bad on humps and bumps.

 

[CUMMINZ]

I put a Helwig swaybar on my 2500 04. 5 SRW when I was towing my 5er. The truck was already stable due to the 2 extra full length rear springs I had added. That was the best thing I had done to that truck. I don't think there is much flex in any modern truck frame or do I think that is what causes sway. A tall vehicle is moving the springs up or down on one side and the opposite on the other. Air bags actually help just one of those effects. They may hold up better the side that is wanting to flex your spring down on one side but the opposite effect on the other. An air bag is actually pushing up on the side that is wanting to go up. Adding extra springs has a neutral effect. They have a reasonable center. Holding down and pushing up. Sway bars do give you kinda a funny ride when empty if you drive through a dip in the road at an angle.

 

[CUMMINZ]

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[tgrfan2]

That is an impressive stack of springs! I don't follow your air bag theory though. My heory is all those springs are stiff enough to pound your pin pretty hard though. Have you ever ridden beside one of those F450?550s towing a fiver to see how they ride? No wonder some have cracks in their fiver frames!
Most moving vans have air bags for a reason and it isn't even their stuff they are hauling.

 

[CUMMINZ]

More the reason to use an air ride pin. We were talking about sway and not ride.

 

[tgrfan2]

I don't have any sway with OE springs and air bags. That looks like my farm truck suspension from forty years ago!

 

[CUMMINZ]

Have you seen the springs on the new chassis cab? It has a stack of 8 leafs with 2 overloads.



I don't have any sway with my 5er either but with an over-cab it is a different story.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Off subject

Picture below is a good example and a real off subject thing. Notice the two top stock springs how they are in an upward bow. The stack of springs added were done by someone who did not know much about spring building. I see many truck up & down the road that have stock springs and carrying much weight that the entire spring set is bowed downward. Especially from the second spring out to the spring hanger bolt. That is why my builder added full length springs to support the next spring above it. If you will notice we added the second and fourth spring. That gives you less chance of spring failure. Few companies are selling single leaf super springs that are extremely rough riding and don't help the first two springs much. Air bags push up on the load only. OEM and modified springs work both ways retarding bounce and sway. Air bags retard sway in one direction only.



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[Bob4x4]

No sway here and a nice ride



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Bob

 

[tgrfan2]

More the reason to use an air ride pin. We were talking about sway and not ride.

And RW was talking about $250 too! I guess you are going to tell me you got the springs and air ride pin for that!

 

[CUMMINZ]

Tg

I wish! The springs were $500. 00



I sold that truck and spent $45,000. 00 for an 06 dually then traded my 06 Cedar Creek @ $45,000. 00 for a 37' DayDreamer @ $80,000. 00 then sold my 06 dually and purchased my 07. 5 dually at $52,000. 00 The air ride came with the DayDreamer.



It's not all about cost. :-laf

 

[Grizzly]

I wish! The springs were $500. 00

I sold that truck and spent $45,000. 00 for an 06 dually then traded my 06 Cedar Creek @ $45,000. 00 for a 37' DayDreamer @ $80,000. 00 then sold my 06 dually and purchased my 07. 5 dually at $52,000. 00 The air ride came with the DayDreamer.

It's not all about cost. :-laf

Did you rob a bank or what? haha!



How do you like your Day Dreamer? Who makes it, because I can't find it on my RV Consumer Group Guide.

 

[Regcabguy]

Since you have the box frame on your 06, you don't need the sway bar. My 05 dually handled the Lance camper (11' 3") better, without the sway bar then the 95 dually did with the sway bar. With the longer wider springs you don't need air bags either.

I have a srw 2500 and after adding the 2000# popup camper,the suspension sucked big time. I was darn near bottomed out parked at the curb. Even with Kore,Carli or Lorenz upgrades,airbags are a necessity. I'm only running 20psi but the bags are necessary unless I had a rear leaf pack designed for my load,which would beat me to death upon removal of the camper. The 3500's have the overloads and Lorenz and maybe others have replacement bumpstops which help the overloads do their job by narrowing the gap between spring and stock bumpstock.

 

[Grizzly]

I have a srw 2500 and after adding the 2000# popup camper,the suspension sucked big time. I was darn near bottomed out parked at the curb. Even with Kore,Carli or Lorenz upgrades,airbags are a necessity. I'm only running 20psi but the bags are necessary unless I had a rear leaf pack designed for my load,which would beat me to death upon removal of the camper. The 3500's have the overloads and Lorenz and maybe others have replacement bumpstops which help the overloads do their job by narrowing the gap between spring and stock bumpstock.

My 11' 3" Lance camper weighed 3400 plus empty and 4500+/- loaded for travel. The springs with overloads worked great. We drove 11,000 miles to Alaska and back last summer without any problem. The truck squatted very little.