Anti-sway hitch arrangements (long post)

[Kirwin]

Picked up our new Holiday Rambler on Tuesday the 28th of January. Noted on the 250 mile trip home that at speeds above about 60 MPH that the trailer can get to swaying pretty good. Enough to move the truck around which is a pretty uncomfortable feeling. First issue was that the dealer didn't set my hitch height high enough as we were towing with a significant low forward condition on the trailer. I have been using the same Reese weight distrbuting hitch (with 750 lb spring bars) since 1991 with now 3 (the new one being the third) different trailers. The new trailer owners manual states that the hitch height is 23 inches but it is closer to 26 with the trailer level. I weighed the trailer in the original height configuration and it shows 1220 lbs tounge weight and an over all weight of 10,160 lbs, giving me a GVW of 17,640. I know I am over my trucks GVWR by 1,640 lbs but if I had the 4. 10 ratio It would be rated at 18,000 and if my truck were a 98 model with the exact same power train it would have been rated at 20K no matter which rear end ratio I had, so I am not too woried. So I talked to the local camper dealer and discussed my new trailers trendency to sway with him. He said that towing with the tounge low was better that towing with the tounge high which makes sense to a point. He recommened a Reese improved dual cam sway control hitch rated at 1,200 lbs tounge weight. I have also replaced my stock reciever with a Draw-Tite Ultra Frame reciever rated at 12,000 lbs. The trailer is on 235/85R-16 E Goodyear Wrangler HT radials. It sets much higher off the road than either of my two previous traliers. SO here are my questions; anyone used this new and improved dual cam sway control hitch? Will leveling the trailer alone make the sway better or worse? Will the 1,200 lb spring bars make the situation better without the sway control portion? As always thank you for your help and input as I try to sort this out. Ken Irwin

 

[scotmartin]

From what it sounds like, you have a standard load leveling hitch. I didn't notice you mentioning any type of sway control that is currently installed. Those two spring bars are simply load levelers and don't help with sway much at all. The dual cam bars which were suggested to you do have a built in sway control mechanism and should help with your problem. they can be a little annoying because they make some noise when turning at low speed. But with our diesels, who cares. They also are not cheap. You might want to simply consider adding a friction sway control. The cost about $90-110. It attaches to the side of the tongue and to the side of the hitch and simply acts as a brake, to dampen the sway by trying to force the truck and trailer to stay in line with each other. They may not be the best sway control method, but it should cure your problem. It helped me a lot. I laso noticed that some people with big trailers have added one of these to each side.



I hope I helped.



Scot

 

[R-N-R]

I have never used the friction sway control but I have read that they will work against you in an emergency situation. The Reese dual cam was a brand new product when I purchased my trailer in April of '01. Pull-rite has a vehicle specific product that effectively controls sway. Expensive, compared to what? I went to the extreme, in both price and performance, and purchased the Hensley Arrow which provides sway control and load leveling. It certainly was not cheap, but then neither were my trailer or my truck. The family is priceless as well, well the dog might go to a low bidder but the wife and kids are keepers. The hensley can be a bit of a PITA to hook up, but a fasthitch mirror and tongue twister help a lot.



FWIW,

Bill

 

[HBarlow]

Your biggest problem is the towing height of your rig. A trailer will almost always exhibit instability if towed with nose up or down because the trailer wheels and tires are loaded unevenly. Your first priority should be to get your hitch head cut and reset by a qualified welder or buy an adjustable head with a long drop shank.



I've used a Reese dual cam hitch for many years. The design provides outstanding sway control as well as weight distribution. I swear by them. The design was introduced long before 1991 but a modification was introduced about that time. Airsteamers have used them for many years.



It is true that Reese dual cam hitches can make clunking noises when maneuvering at slow speeds but most of your towing time will not be spent in that mode.



In cases of extreme sway issues it is possible to add one or two friction sleeve sway control devices to your trailer's A frame along with the Reese dual cam assembly.



My 32' Avion TT had one Reese friction sleeve sway control installed on the A frame and I already had a couple of Reese dual cam sway control hitches. I use the dual cam hitch assembly and the friction sleeve sway control together. The combo provides absolutely stable and sway-free towing.



I will offer the opinion that the Reese dual cam sway control hitch assembly will please almost any owner. I recommend it.



Harvey

 

[Diesel Gunner]

I will also chime in here in support of the Hensley Arrow. I did plenty of white knuckle driving with my old rig and decided that I had had enough of that. While the Arrow is expensive compared to other systems, it does exactly what they claim it does. I now can drive with one hand on the wheel and change radio channels, insert a CD, have a sip of coffee, or just switch hands. I absolutely love mine and will never be without one again. Until it was brought up here, I had forgotten about sway.

 

[Roger rodbolt]

Kirwin,

I agree with the comments regarding the Hensley Arrow hitch. I was skeptical until I purchased a used one for 20% of new price. My travel trailer, Hensley installed, tracks better in corners then my previous two 5th wheels and eliminates sway (even driver induced sway).



That said I would be wary of a brand new trailer that sways while driving in no wind conditions at legal highway speeds. Make sure that you have proper level, weight bar adjustment etc, and if the trailer doesn't tow properly make the dealer check it out. Misalignment of axles and sloppy frame jobs can cause the sway.

Newer Holiday's seem to have a vary a bit in quality.

Larry

 

[R-N-R]

Kirwin,



Sorry about the bad information regarding production of the Reese Dual Cam, for some strange reason I thought that it was a new design a couple of years ago. Certainly must be a proven product being that's it's been around since before '91.



Although I recommend the Hensley unit, do an internet search on each product that you are interested in. I'm sure that you will find a considerable amount of information and testimonials on each. I also found the patent information on the Hensley on the patent web site (no idea what the site name is at this point). It was very interesting reading albeit also very technical.



btw, Larry made a really good point on the turning radius of the Hensley. I only sheared one mounting screw (replaced with tapped hole & bolt) while backing up the TT out of a ditch while jackknifed... but thats another story.

 

[FredNeise]

Ken,

Interesting subject on your new trailer regarding tongue weight and what to do to try to correct the swaying. I have had the same problem. What I would recommend would be 1200-lb. spring bars, which can be converted to dual cam sway control later. Set your snap up brackets so the chain is straight up and down. Make a mark on the frame where they are set and move them 4-1/2 inches back toward the trailer. This worked for me. It might work for you without using any sway control.



You need to check your tire pressure. You also might want to consider 10-ply tires since the tongue weight is so heavy. If this fails, then you can go to the dual cam sway control hitch. I don't think you need to go to something as severe as Henley hitch. Too much money for what it does.



Keep me posted.

Good luck.

 

[Deezul1]

I tow a 32ft airstream and had never pulled a bumper pull this long before. It came with a load equalizing hitch with 2 friction sway controls and I am amazed at how stable it is. I towed it a little way without the friction sway controls and there was a big difference with them on. Whether you use 1 friction control or 2 depends on the length of the trailer, anything over about 25 feet requires 2.

 

[Spyke]

I currently use ther Reese dual cam anti-sway bars. I have replaced the wear pads on the tension bars twice. My dad started with this set up back in the late seventies and I started using it in the mid eighties.