Which hitch? Sway control? Brake controller?
2005 Nissan Armada 2006 Shamrock 26RS: 6440 GVWR, 27' Experienced drivers, but novices when it comes to towing. Do I need sway control? I assume yes. Which type? Cams are superior performance to ...
Forum Discussion
Hi OP,
I am going to make a few different recommendations with some caveats. The best defense against sway is to have an adequate TV, properly load the trailer and set up the WD hitch correctly. Sway control should only be used to eliminate what I call "Wiggle" between the TV and TT. If your trailer sways you have a problem that should NOT be addressed by slapping on some kind of sway control and calling it good.
The Equal-I-zer and the Reese Dual Cam are great friction hitches. All WD hitches with add on sway control and with built in sway control rely on friction to do the sway controlling. There are three exceptions to this statement.
1) Hensley Arrow
2) ProPride
3) PullRite
These three hitches rely on mechanical means to remove the ball and coupler from the equation and use different pivoting action to articulate the TV and the Trailer. These three hitches actually eliminate sway 100%. You can literally take a badly designed trailer and add one of these hitches and the trailer will pull awesome..... Or so they say. Be for warned these hitches carry a premium upward of $1500-3000.00.... You can find them used for a much lower price from time to time though.
All other hitches utilize the ball in the coupler for both hook up between the trailer and articulation. (Traditional trailer on ball) How integrated sway control works is to increase the pressure from the WD bars in not just a vertical means but in a horizontal means. What this does is tighten the connection between the coupler and the ball. The Dual-Cam in theory also wants to direct the trailer back to center as the bars ride up on the cams.
I personally use the add on sway control. The poster above who experienced a quantum leap between a single friction bar and dual cam would have experienced a similar towing situation if they would have used the sway control per the manufacturers instructions which clearly state to use 2 sway bars for trailers over 25-26 ft. (No disrespect intended, just pointing this fact out) Also if the sway control bar is not tight enough it does have a tension screw to increase the amount of tension. These friction bars do wear over time and periodically need 1/4 turn of the tensioning screw. No biggie.
Now, why do I use and recommend a standard weight distribution hitch and the appropriate amount of sway control bars? Few reasons:
1) Not all dealers are familiar with Dual-Cam, Equal-I-zer, Hensley, ProPride, PullRite, etc but they are ALL familiar with a standard WD hitch and will stock parts that will work for your hitch if something breaks or is lost while camping. (Pins, snap up brackets, etc...)
2) If your WD hitch breaks with an integrated sway control you have lost both sway control and WD. With a standard WD hitch And add on sway control you may lose one or two of your WD bars and still retain full sway control. (And yes they do break from time to time. As one who has experienced a broken hitch head I can assure you that it does happen.)
3) lower cost. I bought my WD hitch and two friction sway controls for under $350.00
As far as the brake control the Prodigy P2 or P3 have great recommendations on this site. A little insider knowledge here. The Primus IQ by Tekonsha is the exact same controller as the original Prodigy (which didn't have electric over hydraulic capability) but its about 20-30$ less than a P2.
Me personally, I use older technology for my brake control. I have a Tekonsha Voyager and it works great. It uses a mechanical pendulum to "sense" the force that the truck is stopping. I set it up per Tekonsha's instructions and it has worked great ever since. The Prodigy uses an internal sensor similar to that used in the Nintendo WII to sense the stopping action. The main point with a brake control is to get a proportional control of some kind, familiarize yourself with it and use it properly.
Whatever brake control or WD/sway control you choose I urge you to learn the equipment completely. Understand the operation and how to install. Keep some spare pins or other small parts that need to be used for your hitch to work.
There are no really bad designs in WD and Sway control, a few different theories and methods but the main point is to buy a WD hitch and sway control system and use it.
Post any other questions that you have and we will do our best to answer them.
Thanks!
Jeremiah
I am going to make a few different recommendations with some caveats. The best defense against sway is to have an adequate TV, properly load the trailer and set up the WD hitch correctly. Sway control should only be used to eliminate what I call "Wiggle" between the TV and TT. If your trailer sways you have a problem that should NOT be addressed by slapping on some kind of sway control and calling it good.
The Equal-I-zer and the Reese Dual Cam are great friction hitches. All WD hitches with add on sway control and with built in sway control rely on friction to do the sway controlling. There are three exceptions to this statement.
1) Hensley Arrow
2) ProPride
3) PullRite
These three hitches rely on mechanical means to remove the ball and coupler from the equation and use different pivoting action to articulate the TV and the Trailer. These three hitches actually eliminate sway 100%. You can literally take a badly designed trailer and add one of these hitches and the trailer will pull awesome..... Or so they say. Be for warned these hitches carry a premium upward of $1500-3000.00.... You can find them used for a much lower price from time to time though.
All other hitches utilize the ball in the coupler for both hook up between the trailer and articulation. (Traditional trailer on ball) How integrated sway control works is to increase the pressure from the WD bars in not just a vertical means but in a horizontal means. What this does is tighten the connection between the coupler and the ball. The Dual-Cam in theory also wants to direct the trailer back to center as the bars ride up on the cams.
I personally use the add on sway control. The poster above who experienced a quantum leap between a single friction bar and dual cam would have experienced a similar towing situation if they would have used the sway control per the manufacturers instructions which clearly state to use 2 sway bars for trailers over 25-26 ft. (No disrespect intended, just pointing this fact out) Also if the sway control bar is not tight enough it does have a tension screw to increase the amount of tension. These friction bars do wear over time and periodically need 1/4 turn of the tensioning screw. No biggie.
Now, why do I use and recommend a standard weight distribution hitch and the appropriate amount of sway control bars? Few reasons:
1) Not all dealers are familiar with Dual-Cam, Equal-I-zer, Hensley, ProPride, PullRite, etc but they are ALL familiar with a standard WD hitch and will stock parts that will work for your hitch if something breaks or is lost while camping. (Pins, snap up brackets, etc...)
2) If your WD hitch breaks with an integrated sway control you have lost both sway control and WD. With a standard WD hitch And add on sway control you may lose one or two of your WD bars and still retain full sway control. (And yes they do break from time to time. As one who has experienced a broken hitch head I can assure you that it does happen.)
3) lower cost. I bought my WD hitch and two friction sway controls for under $350.00
As far as the brake control the Prodigy P2 or P3 have great recommendations on this site. A little insider knowledge here. The Primus IQ by Tekonsha is the exact same controller as the original Prodigy (which didn't have electric over hydraulic capability) but its about 20-30$ less than a P2.
Me personally, I use older technology for my brake control. I have a Tekonsha Voyager and it works great. It uses a mechanical pendulum to "sense" the force that the truck is stopping. I set it up per Tekonsha's instructions and it has worked great ever since. The Prodigy uses an internal sensor similar to that used in the Nintendo WII to sense the stopping action. The main point with a brake control is to get a proportional control of some kind, familiarize yourself with it and use it properly.
Whatever brake control or WD/sway control you choose I urge you to learn the equipment completely. Understand the operation and how to install. Keep some spare pins or other small parts that need to be used for your hitch to work.
There are no really bad designs in WD and Sway control, a few different theories and methods but the main point is to buy a WD hitch and sway control system and use it.
Post any other questions that you have and we will do our best to answer them.
Thanks!
Jeremiah
