Friction Sway Bar Adjustment?

12rvjoe wrote:
Interesting .... I have been using mine wrong all along lol

Question's : How do I know that I have adjusted the tension bolt correctly ?

: When I turn the top handle to off ( loosen it ) the bar slides easily, should it ?

Joe

When I loosen the top lever, the bar slides easily. I think that's as it should be. And then you crank down the lever as much as you can to "turn on" the sway control, leaving the lever in a horizontal position so it doesn't interfere with your WDH.

As for the tension bolt adjustment: trial and error seems to be the answer. On mine, finger tightening seems about right.

Thanks for all the good advice.

I first put the anti-sway bar on when the prairie cross-winds started up on the trip back home. That seemed to work well against the winds so guess that was my initial "test" run. When there was no wind, I didn't seem to need anti-sway. Big trucks and buses rushing by me had little effect. The new trailer is quite heavy with a fair amount of tongue weight.

It was later that I noticed that the adjustment nut was loose and so finger tightened it before clamping down on the upper lever. Again it worked fine afterwards with the cross-winds. I guess there was some initial wear-in on the first day that caused this. And as the friction pads wear, guess I'll keep hand tightening that nut a little bit more.

Interesting .... I have been using mine wrong all along lol

Question's : How do I know that I have adjusted the tension bolt correctly ?

: When I turn the top handle to off ( loosen it ) the bar slides easily, should it ?

Joe

Dtaylor wrote:
The following is from the etrailer website:

On the Draw-Tite Friction Sway Control, the handle is an on and off device. The bolt that is located below the handle is for tension adjustment only.

To adjust the tension on the sway control assembly, a series of road tests should be taken with the loaded trailer. Increase or decrease tension by turning the adjusting bolt in 1/4 turn increments in the direction shown on the label until the desired control is achieved.

Correct answer! :) If you use top, long handle for adjustment, you will never know exactly how much tension you are putting on the bar. It is for on/off use only.
Barney

The following is from the etrailer website:

On the Draw-Tite Friction Sway Control, the handle is an on and off device. The bolt that is located below the handle is for tension adjustment only.

To adjust the tension on the sway control assembly, a series of road tests should be taken with the loaded trailer. Increase or decrease tension by turning the adjusting bolt in 1/4 turn increments in the direction shown on the label until the desired control is achieved.

It ifs extremely rare that anyone needs to change the factory settings so no adjustment necessary. Remember the handle its not an adjustment, it just activates the system when tightened completely and deactivated it when looser than completely tight. Tighten it all the way Or might as well leave it on a shelf in the garage. IF adjustment ever is necessary it is accomplished using the stud with locking nut, usually located below the handle. I used mine for over 60000 towing miles and it never needed adjusting. Like all friction anti sway systems it will make all kinds of noise. Wait till you ride in the rain with it. You may think someone is shooting at you.

On my first trailer, I adjusted mine just like you did, and we had that trailer for ten years.
I now have the same sway bar on my present trailer which we have had for four years, with no different adjustment.
I have never had a problem with sway, so I guess it is adjusted correctly.
I have been tempted several times to leave it off on a long trip to see if there is any difference, but so far I haven't.

Jack L

All the moaning is normal, it's the friction plates rubbing that stops the wagging. I just tighten mine as tight as I get by hand and I'm good to go. Just rember to remove before backing around corners or something will break.

I didn't get instructions...Dealer installed at pick up.
I forgot to remove once when I was practicing backing and popped a cotter pin.
After first trip it moaned so bad I relieved some tightness. Was much better.
The Equalizer bar set up on the TH creaked and moaned all the time.