Friction anti-sway device use in rain or wet roads
So; when trailering in the rain while using the friction anti-sway device, should I loosen or tighten this thing?
Forum Discussion
It's pretty common to weld the second tab on. As noted earlier, the flat steel bar with a hole for the small sway control ball is often supplied with the second sway control device. It usually is a pretty easy job to weld the tab onto the other side of the hitch. I would recommend doing it. I have two sway bars myself for my 28-foot trailer.
The issue of untightening the sway control bars in wet conditions is an interesting one. The theory is that if the trailer is restricted from freely moving behind the tow vehicle, it could prevent the tow vehicle / trailer from properly turning on a slippery surface and / or hinder the trailer from straightening out after a turn.
While this is logical, my curiosity revolves around the fact that most hitches are friction-based (all, that is, except the super-hitches costing $2500 and up). So, all these friction-based designs essentially must have the same characteristics on a slippery surface as the classic anti-sway bars. Should not they also be untightened as well except, as noted, they cannot be, as doing so would also negate their weight-transfer function, which is integrated in their designs.
For me, the classic friction-bar devices have served me over the past 35 years, just as they have done for countless others from the beginning of modern trailering in the 20th Century. I don't usually stop and untighten them in rainy conditions and have never felt any unusual things happen. However, I don't tow on ice and snow, and wouldn't in any case with any hitch.
The issue of untightening the sway control bars in wet conditions is an interesting one. The theory is that if the trailer is restricted from freely moving behind the tow vehicle, it could prevent the tow vehicle / trailer from properly turning on a slippery surface and / or hinder the trailer from straightening out after a turn.
While this is logical, my curiosity revolves around the fact that most hitches are friction-based (all, that is, except the super-hitches costing $2500 and up). So, all these friction-based designs essentially must have the same characteristics on a slippery surface as the classic anti-sway bars. Should not they also be untightened as well except, as noted, they cannot be, as doing so would also negate their weight-transfer function, which is integrated in their designs.
For me, the classic friction-bar devices have served me over the past 35 years, just as they have done for countless others from the beginning of modern trailering in the 20th Century. I don't usually stop and untighten them in rainy conditions and have never felt any unusual things happen. However, I don't tow on ice and snow, and wouldn't in any case with any hitch.
