Effects of trailer brakes and sway
Picture this hypothetical situation: Tandem axle trailer, weight distribution/anti sway hitch, tongue weight 12.5% of trailer weight, trailer at or near (not over) max gross weight, trailer to tow ve...
Forum Discussion
Back to the OP's question..."Effects of trailer brakes and sway"...
No, uneven braking and/or dragging trailer brakes of one side does NOT cause sway
First, understand what trailer sway is...here are some links and youtube videos that might help understand what it is...
Trailer Sway Hensley Mfg., Inc. 1-800-410-6580
Hensley....good explaination of what sway is
ProRideHitch Towing Definitions
ProRide...good explaination of what sway is
Trailer Sway 101 (As seen on RVTV)
A good white paper on sway
HowStuffWorks How Tongue Weight Works
A good series talking about the components that cause and solve sway
YouTube Caravan Sway Crash
A good video showing sway using models on a tread mill
YouTube Trailer Sway Control Demonstration
A good video showing them driving a small trailer that is swaying
So...if trailer brakes do not brake evenly, or only one pulls...it will pull the trailer to one side. Sway is 'yaw' where the trailer will swing from one side to the other side....that oscillates back and forth from one side to the other side with ever increasing amounts of yaw...that if not controlled/snubbed/etc...it WILL potentially cause the whole setup to lose control & possibly flip...
Most discussions end up on singular or only one of the components of the whole system that sway control is all about. It is a SYSTEM made up of many sub systems and components...that all add up to the sway control system... Warn to take a step back to see the big picture...AKA 60,000 foot view of the whole. Then drive down each rat hole to see if that one rat hole fixes or makes it worse, etc...
No, uneven braking and/or dragging trailer brakes of one side does NOT cause sway
First, understand what trailer sway is...here are some links and youtube videos that might help understand what it is...
Trailer Sway Hensley Mfg., Inc. 1-800-410-6580
Hensley....good explaination of what sway is
ProRideHitch Towing Definitions
ProRide...good explaination of what sway is
Trailer Sway 101 (As seen on RVTV)
A good white paper on sway
HowStuffWorks How Tongue Weight Works
A good series talking about the components that cause and solve sway
YouTube Caravan Sway Crash
A good video showing sway using models on a tread mill
YouTube Trailer Sway Control Demonstration
A good video showing them driving a small trailer that is swaying
So...if trailer brakes do not brake evenly, or only one pulls...it will pull the trailer to one side. Sway is 'yaw' where the trailer will swing from one side to the other side....that oscillates back and forth from one side to the other side with ever increasing amounts of yaw...that if not controlled/snubbed/etc...it WILL potentially cause the whole setup to lose control & possibly flip...
Most discussions end up on singular or only one of the components of the whole system that sway control is all about. It is a SYSTEM made up of many sub systems and components...that all add up to the sway control system... Warn to take a step back to see the big picture...AKA 60,000 foot view of the whole. Then drive down each rat hole to see if that one rat hole fixes or makes it worse, etc...
