Blue Ox Sway Pro Hitch
A year ago we purchased a new TT, a Laredo 331BH, GVWR 10K. At the time I was pulling it with a F150 EB max tow, SC. I scaled the two and I was within specs all around, but the truck never felt soli...
Forum Discussion
Towing when there's continuing gusting side winds is a different ballgame altogether and can be difficult to cope with and is different compared to sway experienced when driving down a freeway and a truck(s) pass you.
Physics 101: The axles on a TT are roughly 2/3 the way from front cap to bumper. The horizontal wind force that is pushing on the sidewall behind the axles cancels out the 1/3 just ahead of the axles. That leaves 1/3 of the sidewall at the forward end of a TT for old man wind to repeatedly push against. When the winds are strong and gusting, it's like someone quickly pushing hard against the coupler with thousands of lbs of force and then suddenly letting go. You can't possibly react quickly and appropriately enough to make steering adjustments to keep the TT & TV pointed in a straight line down the road. As well, the wind is essentially trying to tip your TT over and it's also a sudden/hard punch, then sudden letting go.
We have the Reese DC WDH and it works great in all conditions including gusting sidewinds. I chose it specifically because of it's pro-active self-centering design. A WDH is part of an overall "system" of components including tires, shock absorbers, the tow vehicle, etc. And then the setup of all these components is very important - the right psi in tires, transferring the correct amount of wheels back onto the steer axle, addressing any excessive play between the WDH & receiver, ensuring TT is level to slightly nose down, proper adjustment of the WDH, having the correct rating of spring bars, etc. A trip to a scale should be done and only after the TV & TT are fully loaded for a camping trip. Only then will you be able to correctly size spring bars, ensure any of the TT tires aren't overloaded, verify TV isn't overloaded and can even fine tune the amount of wt. transfer by the WDH.
Before blaming the WDH or being talked into another brand/type, you should consider all the components and adjustments that can contribute. I would say for those that have a Reese DC setup, it takes more work and patience to get it optimally adjusted and you should take another look at it before changing to something else.
I have to say that adding shocks to our TT helped a LOT to keep it from jostling around from the road and/or winds and other than the WDH, has probably been the single most beneficial thing. Adjusting the WDH to get near 100% FLR restoration on the steer axle has also helped a lot. Manufacturers of newer trucks are stating max. of only 50%. Adjusting our hitch head to get the trailer from level to slightly nose down made a noticeable improvements. I'll never give up our Reese DC because I doubt I'd do any better.
Last thing I would ever do is let a dealer install and set up a WDH.
Physics 101: The axles on a TT are roughly 2/3 the way from front cap to bumper. The horizontal wind force that is pushing on the sidewall behind the axles cancels out the 1/3 just ahead of the axles. That leaves 1/3 of the sidewall at the forward end of a TT for old man wind to repeatedly push against. When the winds are strong and gusting, it's like someone quickly pushing hard against the coupler with thousands of lbs of force and then suddenly letting go. You can't possibly react quickly and appropriately enough to make steering adjustments to keep the TT & TV pointed in a straight line down the road. As well, the wind is essentially trying to tip your TT over and it's also a sudden/hard punch, then sudden letting go.
We have the Reese DC WDH and it works great in all conditions including gusting sidewinds. I chose it specifically because of it's pro-active self-centering design. A WDH is part of an overall "system" of components including tires, shock absorbers, the tow vehicle, etc. And then the setup of all these components is very important - the right psi in tires, transferring the correct amount of wheels back onto the steer axle, addressing any excessive play between the WDH & receiver, ensuring TT is level to slightly nose down, proper adjustment of the WDH, having the correct rating of spring bars, etc. A trip to a scale should be done and only after the TV & TT are fully loaded for a camping trip. Only then will you be able to correctly size spring bars, ensure any of the TT tires aren't overloaded, verify TV isn't overloaded and can even fine tune the amount of wt. transfer by the WDH.
Before blaming the WDH or being talked into another brand/type, you should consider all the components and adjustments that can contribute. I would say for those that have a Reese DC setup, it takes more work and patience to get it optimally adjusted and you should take another look at it before changing to something else.
I have to say that adding shocks to our TT helped a LOT to keep it from jostling around from the road and/or winds and other than the WDH, has probably been the single most beneficial thing. Adjusting the WDH to get near 100% FLR restoration on the steer axle has also helped a lot. Manufacturers of newer trucks are stating max. of only 50%. Adjusting our hitch head to get the trailer from level to slightly nose down made a noticeable improvements. I'll never give up our Reese DC because I doubt I'd do any better.
Last thing I would ever do is let a dealer install and set up a WDH.
