Electronic Sway Control....Thoughts?

ScottG wrote:

GaryWT wrote:
I do not know how similar it is but my F350 came with built in sway control that will apply trailer brakes as needed if sway is detected.

The difference is your Ford will bring the whole rig to a stop if it detects sway and is more of a catastrophic event protective system.
The system the OP shows just applies the brakes enough to bring it under control.

When I read about this system it occurred to me that it would be better to spend the money fixing what ever is causing the sway rather than just try to leash it once it starts.

NO...same principle, but the MAJOR difference is that trailers today have one lead for the brake wiring, this system separates the brakes into right side and left side...so it has the ability to apply brakes on just one side of a trailer to stop sway.

Think of the way ABS pulsates brakes, releasing pressure just before lockup and then re-applying. Now picture a swaying trailer....as the front of the TT goes to the right, the left side tires have to be turning faster because they are on the outside of the turn. Since this unit mounts on the trailer, it can tell which direction the trailer is moving and how fast as it sways back and forth.

So similar to ABS, this unit can activate the TT brakes on the side of the TT opposite the sway direction, then switch sides as the TT sways back, and repeat this pattern until no sway is detected.

I think this is good for emergency conditions, but if you have a trailer that sways all the time over a certain speed, it would kill your gas mileage and wear out your brakes using this method to control sway....