Right and Left sway control a myth?

Nvr2loud wrote:
Forget the kit, just set-up your load properly, maintain the correct air pressure in the tires, and have your brake controller accessible in case of an emergency where you need to apply just the trailer brakes.

I would either run without the friction bar or with a sway-prevention hitch... sway 'reduction' scares me too much. Once there is enough force to overcome the friction bar, you are likely never getting control back again. When I get a slight sway, I adjust my driving and correct (a little gas applied, or a little bit of trailer braking applied)

X2^^^

I've towed my current 30' Jayco first with a 1/2 ton Burb and now with the 3/4, for around 4000 miles with no sway control and NO SWAY. This includes all manner of trucks and semis passing in either direction and a storm with 40mph crosswinds. I'm a firm believer that a properly set up rig should not sway.

If money wasn't an issue, I would go with a sway prevention hitch, but I'm perfectly comfortable towing the way I am.

EldIr wrote:

Nvr2loud wrote:
Forget the kit, just set-up your load properly, maintain the correct air pressure in the tires, and have your brake controller accessible in case of an emergency where you need to apply just the trailer brakes.

I would either run without the friction bar or with a sway-prevention hitch... sway 'reduction' scares me too much. Once there is enough force to overcome the friction bar, you are likely never getting control back again. When I get a slight sway, I adjust my driving and correct (a little gas applied, or a little bit of trailer braking applied)

X2^^^

I've towed my current 30' Jayco first with a 1/2 ton Burb and now with the 3/4, for around 4000 miles with no sway control and NO SWAY. This includes all manner of trucks and semis passing in either direction and a storm with 40mph crosswinds. I'm a firm believer that a properly set up rig should not sway.

If money wasn't an issue, I would go with a sway prevention hitch, but I'm perfectly comfortable towing the way I am.

I'll have to disagree some. Yes when setup correctly there will be no sway. But that is NOT what sway control is for. It is NOT to keep the TT inline in normal driving. Not even when trucks are passing. IF it sways in normal driving. Other problems need to be addressed. In other words. Sway control is NOT to prevent sway. Sway control is only to help control sway AFTER it begins

So you ask, If you normally have no sway. Why put on sway control? Well. Have you ever had to dodge a deer, dog, or child, or a car that turned in front of you., or veered into your lane unexpectedly. Blown a tire, Or well just a hundred things that can go wrong, and cause you to jerk the steering wheel to go around it? That is what sway control is for. To help dampen the movement of the trailer AFTER YOU have caused it to sway by inducing it thru the steering wheel.

I too have O sway. I can run easily down the road at any speed, be passed , and pass trucks. No sway. However. I put sway control on any way. Why? Well, there could be that deer, accident, or stupid driver just around the bend.

You can't always drive out of sway by speeding up. Especially if you are braking hard as you can, and you can't let off the TV brakes, and pull the TT brakes IF you really need to stop now. Or IF you have had to take to the median, or swerve off the road.

THAT is what sway control is for. Don't leave home with out it.

jerem0621 wrote:


Anyway, folks will discount the friction bars and thats fine. They just reliably work. YMMV.. but I can testify from first hand experience that there is no myth to the effectiveness of a properly loaded TT, a properly loaded TV, a properly set up WD hitch, and dual friction sway control.

I don't disagree with this statement, I don't discredit friction bars as non-working... I just find they work up until a certain point, then 'wham' you're done and upside down in a ditch. I would rather experience the wiggles and sways early and correct manually.

I had the exact same problem with my first sport bike. Factory installed steering damper (acts exactly the same as the sway friction bars on a trailer except uses a shock for the friction). The steering damper worked exactly as advertised, I felt no wiggle in the steering at all, I got more and more daring with adding throttle while the bike was leaned over to turn. Once I got so hard on the throttle while cornering that I was light on the front end. The force was strong enough to over-power the steering damper and I got into a mega-tank slapper. I nearly crashed into on-coming traffic. I took that steering damper off and learned how to ride a lot better. When I got a new bike a few years later, I removed the factory damper and put on a really effective aftermarket damper that would never allow a tank slapper. Period.

I see the friction bars as the same thing, I want to have sway prevention or no sway control at all. I understand that thousands of motorists have been using the friction bars successfully for years, and I hope that no one ever exceeds the friction bar's ability to slow the sway, but it is possible and I don't want that possibility on my rig.

2013zoeyzinger wrote:
What'll they think of next? Cars that park themselves???.....:-)

Ford's working on trailer backing software now. Just indicate on rear camera screen where you want it, truck does the rest. Probably will reduce marital stress by 97%!

mbutts wrote:

2013zoeyzinger wrote:
What'll they think of next? Cars that park themselves???.....:-)

Ford's working on trailer backing software now. Just indicate on rear camera screen where you want it, truck does the rest. Probably will reduce marital stress by 97%!

Yup, right thru the tree, the fence, whatever is in the way. :B

mbutts wrote:

2013zoeyzinger wrote:
What'll they think of next? Cars that park themselves???.....:-)

Ford's working on trailer backing software now. Just indicate on rear camera screen where you want it, truck does the rest. Probably will reduce marital stress by 97%!

Marital Stress!!!

Backing up the trailer with the wife directing me is marital therapy. I can use her 'directing' to slightly run over her foot and blame her LOL

To say "I have two and know they work because I have no sway " is false logic.
It makes just as much sense to say "I have gas in my tank and that's why I have no sway"
It's impossible to prove WHY something DOSENT happen one can only theorize .
As to saying one knows better than the accumulated knowledge of a large co like Etrailer ...
A healthy skepticism of salesmen is good but the OP made no mention of any attempt to "upsell" him and I can testify they have never tried that on me either .
For a manufacturer to say " you MAY need" sway controll means nothing either.
You MAY need it because you don't know enough to load to get correct tounge weight or you MAY not know how to adjust a WDH or what speed to drive or any number of possibilities ...
To advise one "MAY " is just the lawyers covering their rears. If it WAS needed the manufacturer would just say so .

Hmmm? I just bought a 2nd sway control from etrailer.com as they recommend a 2nd control for TT's over 26 ft. long; says so right on their website and when I inquired with them, got the same answer. This seems to be a controversial issue as some folks say use no sway control, others swear by one and others by two. I figure 2 can't hurt and TT seems a bit long for my Expy so I am mounting it and will see for myself. And yes, I do have my rig properly loaded, 10-15% of total weight on the hitch, etc. but approaching trucks, wind, etc. does induce a small amount of sway that I would just as soon not have.

Please don't take it personal I was in no way implying you were doing anything wrong just throwing out some of the reasons TT manufacturers say you "MAY need sway control"
The discussion has diverged into two streams - some are referring to ALL trailers and some talking about 26 feet and up.

popeyemth wrote:
To say "I have two and know they work because I have no sway " is false logic.
It makes just as much sense to say "I have gas in my tank and that's why I have no sway"
It's impossible to prove WHY something DOSENT happen one can only theorize .
As to saying one knows better than the accumulated knowledge of a large co like Etrailer ...
A healthy skepticism of salesmen is good but the OP made no mention of any attempt to "upsell" him and I can testify they have never tried that on me either .
For a manufacturer to say " you MAY need" sway controll means nothing either.
You MAY need it because you don't know enough to load to get correct tounge weight or you MAY not know how to adjust a WDH or what speed to drive or any number of possibilities ...
To advise one "MAY " is just the lawyers covering their rears. If it WAS needed the manufacturer would just say so .

Actually I never said I don't have sway because I have two sway bars. I don't have sway because I load my trailer properly, have proper TV, and a correctly set up WD hitch. The sway bars are there as a precaution. That they give the truck and trailer decreased movement while towing is a side effect.

Jeremiah