Do I need sway control?

It is like I have ALWAYS said. A properly setup TT will NOT sway in normal driving. Sway control is for those times when sway is induced by an outside force.

So ALWAYS get your TT right to the point it has NO sway. and then, and only then. Add sway control. For those times when not normal things happen.

If someone thinks a gadget saved their bacon, you will never convince them otherwise. While I understand and have used various sway controls, they probably had little effect in the scenario the OP described. I have seen semis blown across the centerline and they don't lack for "sway control".

Sway control is like an insurance policy. You can go 20 years and say you never needed it. But the reality is that you don't need it until you need it. The kicker is that with the many thousands of dollars we spend on our rigs, sway control is one of the cheapest things we can add, and one of things people always seem to want to save a buck NOT doing.

I had an incident once where my back wheels lost grip on the road in heavy rain. Truck went one way, trailer went all over the place. Nearly lost it. I'm convinced that I would have if I didn't have the sway control on.

rexlion wrote:
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

You are one brave man dude!!!

This is for people who wonder if this is needed. This is also for those who have so much pride in their rig that they advise newbies that a properly loaded and balanced rig doesn't need sway control. Granted, my hitch is not the latest greatest. In fact, it's old school. An Eazlift with 1400# bars and 2 friction bars. Over my life, I have logged over 200,000 miles towing. I am no novice. Last Sunday, traveling I-55 south below Jackson, MS there was a really thick thunder storm ahead. Very dark skies, a 15 degree drop in temperature over a 3 mile span, heavy wind and rain. No big deal; done it dozens of times. After crestng a hill and going past a sudden clearing of trees on both sides of the highway, I got hit by a gust of wind. It was the first time I have really been scared while towing. The 2 sway bars gave me enough time to hit the trailer brakes to pull it back into line. Without them, I am convinced I would have lost control. OTo those who wonder if they are needed, most of the time, no. But this time, they saved major damage and possible injury. Sway control is cheap. In my case, lack of them could have been devastating. My rig is well balanced and is pulled by a very capable vehicle. I just encourage you to eat your pride and spend a few dollars on some kind of sway control. Roll your eyes if you want, but I'm home safe.

I am glad you did not end up in the ditch. However, I don't think your sway bars saved your bacon. You hit a microbusrt and no sway bars are going to help as it was not a sway situation. It was a microburst and that could have adversely affected a fifth wheel trailer as well and they (of course) never need sway bars. But, glad it all ended well.

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

campigloo wrote:
This is for people who wonder if this is needed. This is also for those who have so much pride in their rig that they advise newbies that a properly loaded and balanced rig doesn't need sway control. Granted, my hitch is not the latest greatest. In fact, it's old school. An Eazlift with 1400# bars and 2 friction bars. Over my life, I have logged over 200,000 miles towing. I am no novice. Last Sunday, traveling I-55 south below Jackson, MS there was a really thick thunder storm ahead. Very dark skies, a 15 degree drop in temperature over a 3 mile span, heavy wind and rain. No big deal; done it dozens of times. After crestng a hill and going past a sudden clearing of trees on both sides of the highway, I got hit by a gust of wind. It was the first time I have really been scared while towing. The 2 sway bars gave me enough time to hit the trailer brakes to pull it back into line. Without them, I am convinced I would have lost control. OTo those who wonder if they are needed, most of the time, no. But this time, they saved major damage and possible injury. Sway control is cheap. In my case, lack of them could have been devastating. My rig is well balanced and is pulled by a very capable vehicle. I just encourage you to eat your pride and spend a few dollars on some kind of sway control. Roll your eyes if you want, but I'm home safe.

I am sorry about your run in with the wind and glad you came out of it ok. You are lucky since you did exactly the wrong maneuver under those conditions.

A heavy gust of wind wants to lift the trailer and it's wheels off the ground on one side. To get those wheels and the trailer back to level again and the forces all more or less equal you need to ACCELERATE smartly and smoothly. NOT hit your brakes.

Acceleration puts a forward force on the trailer thus pushing the raised side and wheels back firmly on the ground.

No sway bar is needed for this and no sway bar will keep your trailer grounded with the wrong driver inputs under severe circumstances.

In addition a sway bar is designed to counteract side to side movement not up and down. When a gust of wind hits your trailer some part of that force wants to push it side to side. But the more resistance to side movement there is will only increase the lift off the ground. This is one area where the untested and a possibly ill designed anti sway system could actually increase your troubles.

The correct driver inputs are the only true defense against these kinds of things. Allowing ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security by an accessory is a slippery slope.

Also having a well reasoned and scientific basis for a belief or opinion has nothing to do with "pride". Pride has no place in my belief that if your rig is properly set up and loaded you will have no problem with sway. And that you will enjoy towing just as much as anyone without an anti sway system.

Big Love wrote:
I have always heard that if your TT is starting to sway, do not immediately hit the brakes, but accelerate slowly until the yawing subsides, then slowly brake.

When you hit the trailer brakes only the weight of the tow vehicle will straighten out the rig as well.

He didn't hit his brakes. He used the trailer brakes on the brake controller.

I have always heard that if your TT is starting to sway, do not immediately hit the brakes, but accelerate slowly until the yawing subsides, then slowly brake.