Mike Up wrote:
busterbrown73 wrote:
I'm surprise no one has mentioned the only known solution.
The OP had the same sentiments I had when I hitched my 1/2 Ton Yukon XL Denali during our first season to a 35 foot travel trailer by way of a Blue Ox Sway Pro. It did ok for the first couple of local trips. But...no so much when any significant wind was present. Towing through a wind storm with uncontrollable sway one July afternoon will forever stay in my memory. A normally 3 hour ride home took 5 hours as I couldn't drive faster than 40 mph. After this hair raising white knuckle experience with 35 MPH crosswinds, I knew it would be the last time I would drive with a Blue Ox.
So, it was either upgrade to a new $50K HD truck or find a different sway solution.
I choose the cheaper route...a Hensley Arrow.
The Hensley solved it completely and provides a completely relaxed towing experience. Lateral trailer sway is now non-existence in ALL driving conditions.
For kicks and giggles, I reverted back to the Blue Ox for 1 trip when I upgraded TVs to a 3/4 ton RAM megacab. I only upgraded TVs as I ran out of payload with my Yukon. Instantly, the 'sway control' hitch brought back white knuckle memories. I was dumbfounded as I assumed the 160 inch wheelbase of my new 3/4 ton truck would inherently curtail trailer sway. My former Yukon XL was limited to 130 inches from axle to axle. The tail was wagging again when passing trucks of any substantial size. The Blue Ox attempted to control it but you could still feel it in the steering wheel.
With the HA, that feeling never exists. Lateral forces on the sides of the trailer are carried over the entire rig, keeping the trailer in perfect alighnment with the TV. There is never a sway condition.
Since using the Hensley on two long distant trips from Michigan to Florida, the ride is extremely relaxed cresting a mountain, passing 100 ft semi's, and movin through 40 mph crosswinds. My DW (who has never towed before) has been in the driver's seat for about half those miles. We almost forget we're towing a 35 foot travel trailer.
Again, you really have to pull with a Hensley in order to understand how well it works.
Good luck.
Nope, Blue Ox does really well in the wind with my light 2016 F150 compared to my Reese HP Dual Cam system (Strait-Line) with my Steel 2012 F150. Seems the Reese was more prone to sway with very high winds (40+ mph) where the Blue Ox wasn't when properly setup.
Sounds like your Blue Ox wasn't setup properly. Never had any sway with the Blue Ox except when it wasn't setup properly and didn't have enough tension on the spring bars to keep sway from happening.
Of course pulling a 35' travel trailer with a short Wheelbase, 130" Suburban SUV is a combination for a bad pull to begin with. Then a 1/2 ton where the axle rating and payload most likely could be overloaded by such a heavy tongue weight of a very large 35' travel trailer.
A Megacab Ram 3/4 ton, would be worlds better pulling a 35' trailer trailer just by wheelbase alone when sway is concerned.
Nope, there was practically no difference with sway control (via the Blue Ox) with the Yukon XL and my current Ram 2500. I've read reviews of Blue Ox owners that pull trailers over 28ft. Many had the same regret. I'm under the impression that a BO is better fitted for sub-28' pull behinds.
And yes, I had my BO setup perfectly. Went to the scales several times. Numbers were perfect. Tongue weight was 14% loaded. In fact, if I didn't have the funds for a Hensley, I would have converted over to a 4pt Equal-i-zer hitch.
