Do I need sway control?

rexlion wrote:
OP, you'll always get a few replies from people who don't read your post completely. Just ignore them.

Thank you for letting us know that even a properly loaded trailer with sufficient hitch weight can sometimes sway. Applying trailer brakes (not vehicle brakes) was certainly the right reaction. You did well.

May I ask why you prefer friction bars versus something like the Equal-i-zer or Reese Dual Cam? I've read that those friction bars will act differently when they get wet (as yours were, running into that storm) than when they're dry; have you found that to be true?

On a tangential matter... I wonder if I should give my wife a sway bar? Her back end sways with every step! (Don't tell her I said that...) :B

I must answer this as your statement about applying the trailer brakes is just most definitely the WRONG reaction under the circumstances the OP described. And here is why:

A strong wind coming from the side, in this case lets assume the drivers side, hits your trailer, the physics involved in this are that your trailer will tend to "lift" on the drivers side adding weight and pressure to the tires/axles/wheels on the passenger side.

If you should suddenly apply braking force at that moment the wheels with the most weight would get the greatest part of the braking force causing the trailer to tip farther in the direction already under force.

Acceleration on the other hand by the towing vehicle pulls the trailer back to straight resulting in both sets of wheels being forced back to the ground under equal weight.

In all likely-hood the OP in this case reacted too slowly to have a negative effect by using the trailer brakes making him think he did the right thing and it is possible the blast of wind may not have been as strong as he first thought. While using the trailer brake first is good practice in some emergency situations it is not in this one as the OP described it.

This kind of inaccurate advice can be dangerous. The OP was lucky. Period.