Opinions on rear anti-sway bars

[DonFitzwater]

Thinking about installing a rear anti-sway bar kit on my 1995 2500 4x4 Ram. Any recommendations? I see a couple different brands floating around on the internet and would like to hear if any of you have installed one.

 

[Wiredawg]

One of the first upgrades I do to my Ram trucks is replace the factory one with a Helwig.

Cheers, Ron

 

[Ozymandias]

I'm not a fan of that additional sway bars, going offroad they are like a shot in the knee.
My opinion is that if the SPRINGS (and shocks) are up to the task then there is no need for a rear sway on a leaf spring vehicle.

 

[Tuesdak]

I put a Helwig on my 2003 as I was planning on a slide in camper. It tightened up (eliminated) the "lean" in corners, but, added more bump feel from the rear. Well worth it even though I never got a slide in camper.

 

[Wiredawg]

As a follow up, I don't offroad my vehicles, so the anti sway bars really improve ON ROAD handling, especially under load.

Cheers, Ron

 

[petersonj]

I think anti-sway bars have great value, especially a rear anti-sway bar on a truck with a top heavy load - such as a slide-in camper.

By design, an anti-sway bar does nothing when the road is smooth and the truck is traveling down a straight road. But the moment the truck enters a curve, the truck will begin to lean and the anti-sway bar will immediately go into action to counteract the lean. As the truck frame gets closer to the axle on the compression side of the truck, the anti-sway bar twists and uses that energy to unweight the axle on the opposite side of the truck. This action significantly reduces and controls lean and provides stability throughout the curve.

Even driving down a straight road, if the elevation of one side of alane changes abruptly (like in some slide areas), an anti-sway bar shines - especially if there is one on the front and the rear of the truck.

Just another opinion...

- John

 

[mpaulson]

A vote for the Hellwig Bigwig here. I've had one on the last three truck due to needing it for a top heavy load. Never a problem with them yet.

 

[TFucili]

Pluses and minuses, for sure. For high CG loads and heavy campers, a big benefit. If you drive on a pool table there is no downside, but on real roads anytime one wheel encounters a bump or hole, the bar causes the other side to react, making the ride much more harsh. I'd prefer a bar with less rate on the front of my 3500. It binds the front up way too much.

 

[Ozymandias]

Pluses and minuses, for sure. For high CG loads and heavy campers, a big benefit. If you drive on a pool table there is no downside, but on real roads anytime one wheel encounters a bump or hole, the bar causes the other side to react, making the ride much more harsh. I'd prefer a bar with less rate on the front of my 3500. It binds the front up way too much.

Go Thuren, i drive the active rate sway bar and it's a charm. No more harsh reaction from the front end hitting a pothole.

 

[Regcabguy]

I've got a standard Hellwig simply because of the 2000# popup. It improves highway handling tremendously. Off road though different deal. It's keeping the frame and axle in a common plane,just what you don't want offroad. I drove a few hundred miles offroad in Utah and if I do it again I'll disconnect one side until I hit the highway. I had the stock one on my 24v and didn't really feel it being so small.

 

[DonFitzwater]

Go Thuren, i drive the active rate sway bar and it's a charm. No more harsh reaction from the front end hitting a pothole.

I looked at the Thuren.....too bad it won’t fit my 1995.

 

[slowmover]

Add one where it didn't exist, and front needs to be upsized. (That’s not optional).

I added the smallest diameter bar to the rear, and went up the smallest diameter increase on the front.

That both have poly bushings causes them to act faster.

My 2WD (IFS + rack & pinion) was already good handling, now it’s a diesel Corvette compared to the straight axle dinosaurs.

The second addition is a rear Panhard Rod (rear track bar) to finish the elimination of body movement against the suspension.

HENDERSONS LINE-UP carries a kit part #

If you tow anything with large sail area, the difference is night & day.

Coming down a cloverleaf, the trailer now pushes against the whole truck versus the rear leaf bushings (if that image helps). Much more “felt” stability.

New leaf bushings + tie rod ends (and high quality shocks) make a new truck.

Most truck owners try to solve this (but make things worse) by increasing truck tire air pressure. Get the actual axle load from a CAT Scale and set it the proper value.

Steering control is the non-negotiable parameter. Even brakes aren’t as important.

The change does increase felt vibration and some road-roughness. So it’s also time for new seat cushion foam.

.

 

[slowmover]

Add one where it didn't exist, and front needs to be upsized. (That’s not optional).

I added the smallest diameter bar to the rear, and went up the smallest diameter increase on the front.

That both have poly bushings causes them to act faster.

My 2WD (IFS + rack & pinion) was already good handling, now it’s a diesel Corvette compared to the straight axle dinosaurs.

The second addition is a rear Panhard Rod (rear track bar) to finish the elimination of body movement against the suspension.

HENDERSONS LINE-UP carries a kit part #

If you tow anything with large sail area, the difference is night & day.

Coming down a cloverleaf, the trailer now pushes against the whole truck versus the rear leaf bushings (if that image helps). Much more “felt” stability.

New leaf bushings + tie rod ends (and high quality shocks) make a new truck.

Most truck owners try to solve this (but make things worse) by increasing truck tire air pressure. Get the actual axle load from a CAT Scale and set it the proper value.

Steering control is the non-negotiable parameter. Even brakes aren’t as important.

The change does increase felt vibration and some road-roughness. So it’s also time for new seat cushion foam.

.

Henderson’s Lineup
Grants Pass, OR

Super Steer SS725 Rear Trac Bar

See April, 2009 TruckTrend (Chris Hemer) article on installation (many pics)

1). Like a rear anti-roll bar it’s a one-hour bolt-on. Truck sits on ground.

Suspension ride/fall not affected.
Axle stays centered.

The work by both bar types is in two planes:

— The RTB is the vertical division side-to-side. No waggle

— The ARB is the horizontal. Keeps level against road plane.

— Imagine a crosshair from truck rear. No more ROTATION on that.

Trailers make that rotation worse.

A trailer is ALWAYS oscillating around the hitch ball. Sway is where it becomes uncontrollable.

Your trailer LOSES leverage against the truck now that the degree, duration & rate of movement is almost eliminated AT THE TRUCK BODY versus suspension/tires.

Is your trailer hitched to the body or the axle?

Stiff springs and over-inflated tires CAUSE wrecks, not just worsen braking and handling.

Trailer leverage can cause a live axle pickup to be MORE LIKELY to lose tire contact partially or entirely. Potholes, camber changes, wet/oily patches. (Buh-Bye). Pickups don’t need this. They’re already the most rollover-prone type.m

On a rough road pickups can start catching under the tires BELOW highway speeds.

Address the problems CORRECTLY and towing plus ordinary driving both benefit. Stay in your lane, upright & centered.

A CTD Corvette?

You’d believe it in a comparison ride.

.

 

[AH64ID]

Older thread but I’ll throw my 0.02 in.

On my 05 I added the smaller Hellwig rear bar after getting a heavy tongue weight camper. Even thou the TW is low I would feel it rock the rock on off camber dirt roads thru the WDH. Night and day difference. The truck was much more stable towing on paved and unpaved surfaces.

I then added 2 ATV’s above the bed rails and the anti-sway bar was noticeable and handling was great.

Empty on the interstate it handled like a car, or better.

I do a lot of back woods dirt road driving and never felt like it limited me at all. I don’t 4wheel the truck, it’s too long, low, and heavy but for all the forest service roads I drive on it was always a benefit. If I ever did need more articulation I’d would have just unhooked one end, like I used to do for crawling in Toyota’s.


Fast forward to my ‘18 and it handles the same loads and roads better, much better, without the need for an aftermarket sway bar. I never had a single complaint with the 05, but I sure do love the ‘18.

 

[slowmover]

Older thread but I’ll throw my 0.02 in.

On my 05 I added the smaller Hellwig rear bar after getting a heavy tongue weight camper. Even thou the TW is low I would feel it rock the rock on off camber dirt roads thru the WDH. Night and day difference. The truck was much more stable towing on paved and unpaved surfaces.

I then added 2 ATV’s above the bed rails and the anti-sway bar was noticeable and handling was great.

Empty on the interstate it handled like a car, or better.

I do a lot of back woods dirt road driving and never felt like it limited me at all. I don’t 4wheel the truck, it’s too long, low, and heavy but for all the forest service roads I drive on it was always a benefit. If I ever did need more articulation I’d would have just unhooked one end, like I used to do for crawling in Toyota’s.


Fast forward to my ‘18 and it handles the same loads and roads better, much better, without the need for an aftermarket sway bar. I never had a single complaint with the 05, but I sure do love the ‘18.

(For anyone; quote linked as example).

What’s the total suspension travel on the 5’er?
Three-inches?

Trailer sail-area is where 5ers are over-burdened. Once it starts to lean port or starboard against steady winds is where pickup leaf spring bushings are overtaxed. Sudden gusts can do the same.

I’ve been passed by 5ers leaning precipitously.
Doesn’t end well.

Leaf spring has limited stability. The attach points to the axle are the width of the track in a general sense. But the wheels are much farther out. So is the body of both vehicles.

Any weight “outside” the axle attach points isn’t well-constrained (is how to see it). It’s swinging a rock on a string. Now make the rock heavier.

One needs to move the wheels far enough out that the axle attach points are directly under the walls (truck bed or trailer body) to equal independent suspension. (U-Haul trailers are like this).

MOR/Ryde IS on the trailer takes that dynamic point out to that wheel face (where it belongs). The truck doesn’t work anywhere near as hard to stay upright.

Rear ARB + RTB + Trailer IS is a whole other world.

 

[AnonEd]

@slowmover. I've had good experiences with Henderson parts, and note Jeep and GM both used Panhard rods (track bars) in back on leaf-suspended vehicles. I couldn't access the story link but when the author is a PR consultant for the manufacturer you'd hope the product gets a good review!

 

[Regcabguy]

I'm not a fan of that additional sway bars, going offroad they are like a shot in the knee.
My opinion is that if the SPRINGS (and shocks) are up to the task then there is no need for a rear sway on a leaf spring vehicle.

Same here but not everyone can spring for a $1200 custom spring pack + labor. The swaybars do beat you to death offroad. If I didn't have my camper,I wouldn't have one. I don't tow.

 

[slowmover]

@slowmover. I've had good experiences with Henderson parts, and note Jeep and GM both used Panhard rods (track bars) in back on leaf-suspended vehicles. I couldn't access the story link but when the author is a PR consultant for the manufacturer you'd hope the product gets a good review!

Panhard Rods used even on ‘67-‘68 Imperial. Best-handling luxury car of the 1960s (would whup the full-size of all other brands, not just luxury models).

If the body CAN’T move side-to-side, the springs, shocks and steering aren’t as affected by untoward forces. This is logical or it isn’t. Who does PR not relevant.

The greater the rear overhang, the more important this is.

Ever hear, “Don’t load the heavy stuff behind the axle centerline? Why do you think this is?

A wreck while towing is highly correlated to the rear tires losing traction. Gettin’ sideways.

.

 

[slowmover]

Same here but not everyone can spring for a $1200 custom spring pack + labor. The swaybars do beat you to death offroad. If I didn't have my camper,I wouldn't have one. I don't tow.

They also increase felt vibration on-road (upgrades done). Which is why using weight-scale true values to air the tires is important (never go over recommended). Same for highest quality shock absorbers and Mercedes-quality wheel balancing.

One wants his truck to keep the tires firmly on the road.

An empty pickup on the highway is like running with rear brakes disconnected. Man bought wrong vehicle. Dumb guy.

Stiff springs are a flat bad idea. The spring pack meets 90% of use, or it’s a fail.

Just as the trailer oscillates around the hitch ball — up, down, sideways — so too does the tow vehicle from the Steer Axle.

That which regulates these motions (measured at the hitch ball) makes for predictable degree & duration of steering input.

1). The cause of towing accidents with travel trailers is WIND. (Part A)

2). Part B is the driver making INCORRECT steering inputs.

This is as the feedback to the steering wheel is from UNDAMPED MOTIONS against the rear tires from TWO vehicles.

Mario Andretti can’t control a rear wheel slide. No one can.

But deducing what’s happening is GREATLY aided by keeping the pickup “centered”.

It really doesn’t matter I can run a highway cloverleaf at a higher speed.

It DOES matter

1). I can keep lane-centered under adverse conditions LONGER with no actions taken; as

3). Accidents are OVER (as to actions taken) in under three seconds. (Rollovers).

Rollovers are 3% of all accidents, but 25%-plus of fatal accidents.

An uncontrolled rear axle is okay for bumping across a pasture with some cattle feed. Follows the track a little more easily.

On highway, it’s the opposite. Speeds are too high once the rear gets airborne or tires slip. (“Tire Slip”, is pretty much the engineering focus for towing discussions).

Think of not having an anti-spin rear. The advantages are few. The disadvantages are many.

A little extra NVH has workarounds.

Unlike the stupid boy-toy stuff this set of upgrades pays for itself in Fuel Mileage & Tire Life. (Reduced steering gear and front end wear are also postulates).

And it’s been a mechanical aid to why I’ve been able to run a quarter-million miles on only two sets of tires. (Above 4/32 at replacement).

At the very least, replace the existing anti-roll bar bushings with polyurethane.
Same for leaf spring-eye bushing.

That pocket change spent will cause both to react FASTER, BETTER, LONGER.

I’d have any-all of these done the day I bought it. And Bilstein or Koni shocks. HUNTER 9700 wheel balancing. And a trip across the Cat Scale.

.