Electronic sway control trailer option?

IMHO...on 'poor setup'....more and more of these things are going to come out and
become the defacto 'standard' solution to a poor setup

Too many are not willing, maybe don't understand, HOW2 choose well and trying to
make do with the lowest class TV out there based on weighted preference for 'car'
attributes over towing metrics

Therefore the proliferation of 10% tongued trailers vs higher tongue weight trailers

Lippert's Sway Command™ Tow Control Technology press release states:

"

It’s not complicated, it works in conjunction with mechanical sway control equipment, and we were able to take it to market at a very affordable price point.

"

and

"

LCI VP of Electronics Rob Ford explained that Sway Command, coupled with a good weight distribution hitch system, can greatly reduce trailer sway during emergency maneuvers to avoid traffic accidents or other road obstructions. “Using a weight distribution hitch with sway control bars will handle minor sway events, but that alone isn’t enough to handle extreme sway events that can send the trailer into a potentially dangerous situation,” said Ford. “These systems may give drivers a false sense of security, causing them to overcompensate when an extreme sway event occurs and make the situation even worse. Sway Command helps drivers by sensing a sway event before they can, operating the trailer brakes to deter a potentially dangerous situation.”

"

It sounds to me as though Lippert does intend for Sway Command to be used with a WDP plus sway bars (or integrated sway control).

I do not imagine that "overheated" trailer brakes would be a problem.
The mechanical sway control system should be able to damp any frequent small-amplitude yaw excursions.

This Lippert Video indicates, to me, that the Sway Command is programmed to respond to yaw excursions which are outside the effective zone of the WDH/SC.

Since the Sway Command uses differential (left/right) braking (as opposed to the brute force method of using the manual control on the brake controller), it should be able to provide adequate sway control with relatively low levels of braking force.
I think it is unlikely that yaw excursions which cannot be damped by the WDH/SC would occur over long enough duration to cause brake overheating.
If they do, you need to find the cause(s) of the sway (low tongue weight, bad tire pressure, axle alignment, etc.) and eliminate it(them) ASAP.

No sway control system should be expected to compensate for a poor setup.

Ron

There is several problems with "depending" on electronic sway control to control sway.

One is, as Bryan already mentioned is overheated trailer brakes. If you have a poorly designed or poorly loaded trailer that wants to sway and you have one of these systems on it, it can turn on the trailer brakes several times a second. I think you can imagine what that is going to do for trailer brake heat.

Two is trailer brake wear. If you have your trailer brakes on 50% of the time I think you can also imagine what that will do for trailer brake wear. :E

Three is horrid fuel mileage. Yes, you have your trailer brakes on 50% of the time you can imagine what that is going to do for you mileage. :E

These systems are like being fat and going to a doctor and wanting a pill to make you thinner. It's best just to fix the problem that causes the sway in the first place rather than go with Band-Aid systems.

Hopefully its the system developed by Tuscon brake, which has now been licensed to Lippert.

It's essentially electronic stability control that can apply brakes to one side of the trailer at a time to counter yaw. It will be more effective at countering sway in some situations than any hitch, and appears to work better than the OEM stability/sway control on pickups. However, the yaw has to happen first for the system to even turn on. Preventing sway is still your best option. Proper balance and weight distribution should achieve this.

As for hitch-based mechanical sway control vs electronic.... I think it all depends. Mechanical options can continue to dampen sway almost forever. Electronic systems potentially could overheat the brakes. But, electronic sway control will actively help keep you pointed straight. Most mechanical sway hitches (i.e. friction hitches) resist returning to center as much as they resist sway, so on icy roads those hitches can make it harder to regain control.