Sway Question

[GusCalifornia]

Hi everyone,
I have another question. We are getting ready to make a trailer purchase this weekend. I have of course read about sway. The problem is I keep getting different information about sway depending where I look or who I ask. My salesman, for example, told us that the difference between a 28 ft and a 33 ft would not make any difference with sway. Can that be right? I know his goal is to make the most commission so hard to tell if he is being truthful.

Also - how common is sway? We will be traveling from CA to Michigan and likely further so we will be on long stretches of open freeway for weeks. Is sway something we are going to struggle with daily or is it pretty uncommon?

Just an FYI - I have an expedition with a towing package giving me up to 9,200 lbs capacity
Thanks everyone!

[Terryallan]

GusCalifornia wrote:
Hi everyone,
I have another question. We are getting ready to make a trailer purchase this weekend. I have of course read about sway. The problem is I keep getting different information about sway depending where I look or who I ask. My salesman, for example, told us that the difference between a 28 ft and a 33 ft would not make any difference with sway. Can that be right? I know his goal is to make the most commission so hard to tell if he is being truthful.

Also - how common is sway? We will be traveling from CA to Michigan and likely further so we will be on long stretches of open freeway for weeks. Is sway something we are going to struggle with daily or is it pretty uncommon?

Just an FYI - I have an expedition with a towing package giving me up to 9,200 lbs capacity
Thanks everyone!

Truthfully A properly setup, and balanced trailer should not sway. No matter how long.

Having said that. Remember every pound, every person, you load into the Expe reduces the towing capacity by that much. And you will run out of payload long before you run out of trailer weight

[PhilipB]

Spend money for a good set up. Plenty of options. If you want the best look at Hensley or Pro-Pride. They work. Are the worth the money? To me yes. Other issues besides sway are the push and pull you get from passing vehicles.

[valhalla360]

Tyler0215 wrote:
With a proper sized tow vehicle and a good weight distribution hitch with sway control it won't be a problem. 28 to 33 ft, is 3/4T territory.

True but probably even more important is to check the hitch weight shoot for around 12-15%. Below 10% is where sway becomes a common issue.

[Lwiddis]

You can’t pull everything on the lot with a half ton. Does the salesman own a travel trailer?

[Lwiddis]

Adequate tongue weight is very important. I prefer 14% of the trailer's loaded and wet weight. Since I’m a boondocker, I’d go for the 28.

[Tyler0215]

With a proper sized tow vehicle and a good weight distribution hitch with sway control it won't be a problem. 28 to 33 ft, is 3/4T territory.