Friction anti-sway device use in rain or wet roads

[Daelb]

So; when trailering in the rain while using the friction anti-sway device, should I loosen or tighten this thing?

[Tvov]

Just keep in mind how your trailer is loaded - make sure it has enough tongue weight (I'm assuming this advice was already posted somewhere in this thread). My TT (21 foot) is a bit easier to tow due to it's length, but I still seem to find it tows better when I load the front of the trailer a bit (pile up sleeping bags and pillow in the front). Don't over do it. You'll figure out your own sweet spot for loading and tongue weight.

[SlowBro]

Well I will know soon. I bought the Reese friction bar to mate with a WDH (if memory serves, it is by Quality S?) and I have three "trips" planned: The initial "outing" in the driveway, then a ~180 mile (round trip) shakedown cruise between two cities, then a ~1800 mile round trip to see family. I hope to get the kinks worked out on the shakedown cruise, and if one bar isn't enough that should tell me. Both trips will be on relatively flat land and no snow/ice is expected for either. The shakedown cruise has the advantage of not being far from civilization.

[Airstreamer67]

It's pretty common to weld the second tab on. As noted earlier, the flat steel bar with a hole for the small sway control ball is often supplied with the second sway control device. It usually is a pretty easy job to weld the tab onto the other side of the hitch. I would recommend doing it. I have two sway bars myself for my 28-foot trailer.

The issue of untightening the sway control bars in wet conditions is an interesting one. The theory is that if the trailer is restricted from freely moving behind the tow vehicle, it could prevent the tow vehicle / trailer from properly turning on a slippery surface and / or hinder the trailer from straightening out after a turn.

While this is logical, my curiosity revolves around the fact that most hitches are friction-based (all, that is, except the super-hitches costing $2500 and up). So, all these friction-based designs essentially must have the same characteristics on a slippery surface as the classic anti-sway bars. Should not they also be untightened as well except, as noted, they cannot be, as doing so would also negate their weight-transfer function, which is integrated in their designs.

For me, the classic friction-bar devices have served me over the past 35 years, just as they have done for countless others from the beginning of modern trailering in the 20th Century. I don't usually stop and untighten them in rainy conditions and have never felt any unusual things happen. However, I don't tow on ice and snow, and wouldn't in any case with any hitch.

[SlowBro]

They'd already welded one tab but the other side has no tab.

[jerem0621]

cdevidal wrote:
25' long, or 27' 5" with the tongue. I updated the specs in my signature.

The hitch doesn't have the tab on the other side, and it's not flat so I can't buy a flat tab and have it welded. The spot where a tab would go is a compound curve.

I suppose a trailer shop could cut and weld a custom piece. Would you recommend I go to the trouble and expense?

It sounds like you have a reese hitch head. When you buy a new sway bar it will come with a small tab to weld on to the hitch head which you will mount the new sway bar to. Yes someone will have to custom fit it and weld it to the hitch head... But it is worth the trouble.

For me, with my 31 ft travel trailer the first sway bar took out about 85% of the wiggle between the TV and TT the second sway bar took out the remainder of the wiggle and made the push and pull from passing vehicles impact the truck and trailer as one unit.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Highway_4x4]

I have a single friction device and round WD bars on my 31 ft TT and it seems to work OK. I have thought of going to the Blu Ox system but just can't believe it would be better than what I have now.

[BarneyS]

I suspect that a single friction sway control will work fine with your trailer. Just make sure your trailer is loaded properly with enough tongue weight and that your hitch is set up properly.

See the sticky at the top of this page for information on how to do that job yourself. The dealer will most likely not do it right and the trailer will not be loaded for camping when he does it, so you will need to re-do the hitch set up yourself. Good way to learn how your hitch works! 🙂
Barney

[SlowBro]

25' long, or 27' 5" with the tongue. I updated the specs in my signature.

The hitch doesn't have the tab on the other side, and it's not flat so I can't buy a flat tab and have it welded. The spot where a tab would go is a compound curve.

I suppose a trailer shop could cut and weld a custom piece. Would you recommend I go to the trouble and expense?

[BarneyS]

Agree, except the friction sway control bar is not going to "cause" any type of failure. They are only there to help prevent/control sway that can occur from other "causes". 🙂

How long is the trailer you are considering? Most manufacturers recommend using two friction sway bars on trailers over 26 feet long.
Barney

[SlowBro]

So our trailer will be up to 6200lb loaded and most all the friction bars I've seen are rated at 6000lb max. I would gather, from this conversation, that this just means using only one bar would offer less capability, but not cause a catastrophic failure.

Anyone disagree?

[BarneyS]

cdevidal wrote:
From earlier in the thread. BurbMan seems to be implying that cam action has some sort of inherent property that works even in slippery conditions.

BurbMan wrote:
Say you're driving on a slippery road and want to turn right. As you turn the truck, the tires need sufficient grip to overcome the resistance of the sway bar to begin to angle the trailer around the corner. It's possible for the tires to lose grip if too much resistance is presented by the sway bar. When that happens, the truck will be pushed into an understeer condition and begin to slide straight ahead. Kind of like being on ice, except you now have the weight of the trailer pushing the truck, so regaining control is difficult if not impossible. Obviously if this happens at highway speeds you'll be in the ditch before you can say "Holy Shift!".

(..)

One of the reasons I migrated to the Hensley in 2002...I was never sure if the sway bar was tightened the right amount. I recall a few times making it extra snug because it was a windy day, only to have it start raining with no where to pull over and loosen it. Your only choice is to slow down and hope you don't get surprised by understeer at the wrong time. I worry a lot less about the weather with the Hensley.

You are confusing Burbmans statement about his Hensley hitch vs a "cam action" hitch. I don't see anywhere in his post that he even mentions one. He was talking about a standard friction sway control. The Hensley is not one of those style hitches. It does not depend on any friction at all to do its job.
Barney

[SlowBro]

jerem0621 wrote:
My concern is for people to start with the right TV, balanced Trailer, properly adjusted hitch, then add friction sway control after that other stuff is dialed in.

Friction sway control augment a good set up. They do not cover up a bad set up. I hope that makes sense.

Sage advice.

[jerem0621]

I never really fiddled much with my sway bars. I just bottomed out the on off bar and rolled with it. I did give the tension bolts a 1/4 turn like the instructions say. I did take the slider bars out to clean them like the instructions say too. I will not take them off in the rain again but would in snow and or on a gravel or off road situation.

I don't think I communicated well last night. Sway control does give you an additional level of safety and control. They resist or dampen sudden movements, wind, passing vehicles and what not.

My concern is for people to start with the right TV, balanced Trailer, properly adjusted hitch, then add friction sway control after that other stuff is dialed in.

Friction sway control augment a good set up. They do not cover up a bad set up. I hope that makes sense.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

[SlowBro]

And then I found this, which confirms what Bedlam stated, "Cam style devices have the same issue as friction." And it answers my question.

However, if during a panic stop, the trailer 'pushes' the tow vehicle too hard, it actually IS possible, for a jackknife to occur with a Hensley. During a panic stop, if the brake controller is not set aggressive enough, and the trailer 'pushes' the tow vehicle hard enough, the Hensley will let the trailer shift off to one side, resulting in a push slightly off to one side. This 'push' affect of the Hensley has been discussed, and is well known among Hensley owners. It just means that with a Hensley (like any other combination/hitch), you must have your brake controller adjusted right, to prevent too much trailer 'push' from occuring during a panic stop.

I will tell you, I once did not have our brake controller set right, and felt this 'push'. I was braking REALLY hard when it happened, and the push was not anything to worry about. Only way I can see it would cause a problem, is if it was a case of a VERY light/small tow vehicle towing a huge trailer, that it should not be towing in the first place, Hensley or not (like some of the combinations CanAm RV puts together..LOL).

Kind of goes back to what you said, Claude - even though the Hensley is such a perfect design, it should not be used as a 'cure-all' for a bad setup. You still need to set everything else up correctly, especially your brake controller. And, you still need to match the tow vehicle to the trailer appropriately.

Source: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/15531727/gotomsg/15537732.cfm#15537732


So I'll go with friction pads and see how it runs, then if I don't like it I can sell those and upgrade. For rain/slippery conditions will follow manufacturer recommendations for disabling/loosening it, go 55mph, take it real easy, make sure my tires are right, distribute the load, etc. etc. In other words, I'll not depend upon sway control to be a 'cure-all' for a bad setup 🙂

Thanks everyone! Good forum.