Do I need stabilizer or WD?

[petnzoo]

Firstly...I am new to all of this. My first camper. I'm a little older, and retired, and hoping I can do this. My camper is in the middle of being worked on. I've never towed before. So..I see from previous posts, weight capacities and such are required. I'll have to get those later. My question is..do I need a stabilizer bar, or weight distribution? And in laymen terms, how do they work? What I can tell you.. My TT is a 1987 Shasta 155MB. (15 ft). Specs say 2280 pounds.
My tow vehicle is a 2008 Honda Ridgeline with after-market reese hitch.. I've heard several different things. I want not to get sway, if avoidable. Can anyone help me understand what I may or may not need? Thanks in advance..

[petnzoo]

OK, thanks all for your input. Here are the specs: GVWR= 6050, GAWR-= 3105 ON FRONT, 3245 ON REAR, GCWR=10088. MAX TRAILER WEIGHT AT 5000=600 LB TONGUE LOAD. They to not reccomend as WD hitch/
I'm thinking may get one sway bar for extra safety, and take it from there.

[Francesca_Knowl]

Let's keep in mind that the O.P. is talking about towing a 15' trailer that weighs about 2300 pounds dry. Even presuming he could fit in/on another thousand pounds, road weight likely can't won't exceed 3500, max.

Without knowing the exact specs of the tug or what else he might be carrying in it, 2008 Ridgelines are generally spec'd at around 5,000 tow pounds. I think adding on a weight distribution system for 350 pounds or less of tongue weight may well be more trouble than it's worth.

You MIGHT need a simple friction sway controller, but the only way to determine that for sure is to properly load the trailer for the road and test it with the tug. The trailer's P.O. said he didn't use/need any such add-ons; but driving habits differ and this may prove different with this combination.

[owenssailor]

I would rather choose the route of installing a good WD/anti sway system rather than stumble down the path of it should be OK - see how much sway you get etc.

We get no sway or push at all when transports pass at full highway speed. The system in my sig gets the credit.

Much better to install the correct gear and have 0 problems than find there is too much sway at highway speeds.

I think this is especially important for someone who has no experience towing anything.

[NanciL]

If it was me, what I would do on a trailer that short and that weight:
Hitch the trailer up and then stand off to the side and look at it in relation to your tow vehicle.
If it is perfectly balanced so that it is not down at the tongue or up at the tongue and your tow vehicle is not down where it is connected, I would pass on the weight distribution bars.
Then I would test tow it at various speeds. If it wants to sway, I would get a sway bar. If it tows straight behind you at all speeds I would pass on one.
Keep in mind that when you are towing at higher speeds and a eighteen wheeler passes you, you are liable to get some sway. If it is a lot, then get a sway bar.

Good luck

Jack L

[Francesca_Knowl]

Hello, fellow small-tower! My favorite and current setup is a small one, too, and I'm well familiar with the intricacies of towing with such setups.

Since you say you're new at towing, I'll highly recommend that you take a gander at U-hauls's "Safe Towing" publication at this link. It's a great resource for understanding/explaining many towing principles.

It's good that you're planning ahead, but you're a step or two away from determining whether you need sway control or a W/D hitch. I think you got that weight number from Nada- it likely is for "dry weight" as reported by the mfr. and if so does not reflect loaded trailer weight. The first thing you need to determine is what the real weight is. Any truck/highway/landfill scale will provide that information.

You next must insure that your fully loaded trailer carries at least 60% of total weight ahead of the axles, and that tongue weight is between 10-15% of total trailer weight. You can determine both once you've weighed the trailer- simplest way to do so with a trailer as small as yours is to weigh the trailer tongue on a bathroom scale. Number must be at least 10% but not more than 15% of total. If so, you're good.

Next step will be looking at your Ridgeline manual to determine hitch weight limits and other recommendations. As noted, there may be restrictions per equipment type etc...

Per sway control/W/D hitches etc.: U-haul explains this better than I can, but in a nutshell:

Except for those rare occasions when hit by side winds, sway is primarily a function of improper loading, usually exacerbated by higher speeds. No add-on device will overcome this flaw, though some will mask it. Your first step should be to insure that your fully loaded trailer has at least 60% of total weight ahead of the axles, and that tongue weight is between 10-15% of total trailer weight.

[Dick_B]

As soon as it warms up a little head over to the nearest campground and try to find someone that is towing with a Ridgeline and talk to them. RVers will talk for hours about their `stuff'.

[petnzoo]

Thank you for your responses. When the rain stops, I'll check the weight capacities. Would you use only one sway bar? Are they hard to install? I guess I'll need to check on the Honda thing. Not quite understanding that part, but I'll need to find out more. I mainly want to eliminate whatever sway I can, since I still need to get used to towing it. The previous owner never used one, and said I wouldn't need one, but I don't have his experience, and would rather play it safely. I had figured on putting supplies in the bed of the truck. Is that not advisable?

[jfkmk]

I'm not sure if you can even use a WD hitch on a Ridgeline, you would have to check with Honda. The problem is the WD hitch kind of "lifts" the front of the trailer transferring some weight to the front wheels of the vehicle. The Ridgeline does not have a full frame so I'm not sure how that would work. The friction sway bars act as kind of a brake to slow sway from side to side. We towed with just a sway bar for years and had no real problems. Bought a WD because we still got some bounce with certain road conditions. Your trailer probably has under 300 tongue weight so you would probably be ok with the sway bar. Just don't load too much into the bed.

[wmoses]

petnzoo wrote:
Firstly...I am new to all of this. My first camper. I'm a little older, and retired, and hoping I can do this. My camper is in the middle of being worked on. I've never towed before. So..I see from previous posts, weight capacities and such are required. I'll have to get those later. My question is..do I need a stabilizer bar, or weight distribution? And in laymen terms, how do they work? What I can tell you.. My TT is a 1987 Shasta 155MB. (15 ft). Specs say 2280 pounds.
My tow vehicle is a 2008 Honda Ridgeline with after-market reese hitch.. I've heard several different things. I want not to get sway, if avoidable. Can anyone help me understand what I may or may not need? Thanks in advance..

Welcome to the forum.

With a Ridgeline I would say that you would need a WDH and also a way to control sway. There are many WDH systems that have anti sway built in and the one in my signature is one of them.

In layman's terms they work like this:

WDH - There are sping bars that are an integral part of this system so that when sized and installed properly, they take the rear end sag out of the rear of the truck after the trailer is connected. The weight is re-distributed forward to the front axle of the truck and aft to the axle of the trailer, flattening out the hinge point (the hitch).

Anti-sway - Any anti sway device would involve some measure of resistance (friction or dashpots) to counter trailer sway, which is a "fish-tailing" of the trailer as it is being towed. With resistance countering this motion, the motion is "damped" and the trailer tows true (straight)

Before you can get the proper sized hitch system and before installing any anti-sway device (built-in or separate) you need to get the trailer and truck weighed on truck scales. That is a topic for a separate thread.

What you need to know is the percentage of weight that is at the hitch and the total fully loaded weight of the trailer. The hithc weight should be between 10 - 15% (or more) for a good balance to minimize sway. This should be ensured BEFORE you install any anti-sway device.

You also need to ensure that the total loaded weight is not exceeding any capacities (tow capacity, rear axle capacity) of the truck.

If all of that is taken care of then you are good to go!

Good luck.