Getting started with sway control

[mkenyon2]

Here's the quick and dirty question:
What questions do I need to ask about weight distribution and sway control systems?

I'm already thinking, trailer weight, tongue weight, and can I back up with it.

Don't have a trailer yet. Used to tow a popup, now getting into the market for a fixed top trailer. Going to be hauling with an F150. (Need to update my details.)

[StirCrazy]

goducks10 wrote:

StirCrazy wrote:
most of the sway control in hitches is snake oil, sway is cause by inproper loading (not enough tounge weight. you want over 10% of the trailers weight on the ball, and if you can sneek it closer to 13 - 14% even better. with the trailer level and that much weight on the ball you shouldn't ever need any sway control, but if you do just buy a weight distribution hitch that you cn add it on later. in 38 years of towing, I only ever had sway once and it was when I was 16 and brand new to towing and I quicky learned how to load my little trailer I had art the time.

Steve

What happens when that 13-14% lifts the front end of the tow vehicle and causes the front to become light and less in control?

if your truck is rated for the trailer it wont, and using an equalizer hitch puts some of that weight back on the frontif set up properly. the design is 10 to 15% for the hitch weight of a trailer for a proper set up. so take my 29' trailer I had before I got a 5th wheel, it was 8000ish fully loaded and I had 1000 lbs hitch weight. the payload for my truck was 2500 lbs so if 1000 lbs was lifting my front end to that point something was wrong. when that happens 9 out of 10 times you are trying to tow with a truck not rated for that load.

Steve

[goducks10]

StirCrazy wrote:
most of the sway control in hitches is snake oil, sway is cause by inproper loading (not enough tounge weight. you want over 10% of the trailers weight on the ball, and if you can sneek it closer to 13 - 14% even better. with the trailer level and that much weight on the ball you shouldn't ever need any sway control, but if you do just buy a weight distribution hitch that you cn add it on later. in 38 years of towing, I only ever had sway once and it was when I was 16 and brand new to towing and I quicky learned how to load my little trailer I had art the time.

Steve

What happens when that 13-14% lifts the front end of the tow vehicle and causes the front to become light and less in control?

[StirCrazy]

most of the sway control in hitches is snake oil, sway is cause by inproper loading (not enough tounge weight. you want over 10% of the trailers weight on the ball, and if you can sneek it closer to 13 - 14% even better. with the trailer level and that much weight on the ball you shouldn't ever need any sway control, but if you do just buy a weight distribution hitch that you cn add it on later. in 38 years of towing, I only ever had sway once and it was when I was 16 and brand new to towing and I quicky learned how to load my little trailer I had art the time.

Steve

[JIMNLIN]

Good points on needing a WD/sway control type hitch.

Which F150 you have and trailers size/weight will determine needs. What I'm sayin' is not all F150 have the same load carrying ability or tow ratings or towing ability as these specs are all over the place from the;....examples...

F150HD....8200 gvwr...4800 rawr around 2500 lb in the bed payload.
F150......7500 gvwr...4500 rawr ...... 2100-2200 lb............ .
F150......7050 gvwr...4050 rawr ...... 1800 lb in the bed.
F150......6800 gvwr...3800 rawr....... 1500 ............ .
F150......6200 gvwr...3200 rawr....... maybe 800 lb in the bed.
Payloads are approx and depends on actual scaled axle weights.
Also engine size/towing performances ranges from the 3.5 ecoboost down to the small v6. Ford has 3 different frame sizes/rail thickness/etc.

Some F150s may need sway control/WD hitch and another may not depending on the trailer. Good luck on the hunt.

[Sjm9911]

I will agree it depends what you get, and how you pack it. I use my equalizer wdh because well i had it allready. I set it with barly any pressure on it and its basically justb there for sway controll if needed. I probably dont need it, but i got it with the camper and it was free. If you get something used from someone they may include a hitch.

[Ivylog]

Got a guy on I-95 pulling a Airstream to follow me into a rest area as the trailer was wanting to wiggle (sway) his big enough diesel PU. He’d been having this issue for 2 years without any solutions. Because a Airstream uses torsion flex axles (no equalizer bar between the axles) they need to be towed level or slightly nose high which he wasn’t. Told him to raise the ball 3” (had an adjustable hitch) and ditch the equalizer and friction sway bar... truck need all the weight on the rear axle. We have since become good friends having solved his sway problem ...need to call him.

[bgum]

We have towed for years with out WD. Mostly 5000 lbs or less. In fact gave away a Hensley. To hard to hook up and maintain. We never tow with out sway control friction bar. We hold our speed down to 60mph. Of course the Airstream shape totally eliminates push pull from trucks. Get the TV and the TT then you can figure out what you need in way of hitch and sway control.

[Grit_dog]

Get trailer first then figure out what you want or need.
Common misconception among mostly the RV crowd is that as soon as any sizeable trailer touches a truck’s hitch it needs weight distribution and sway control.

Given your perceived lack of experience with towing (from your post), I would suggest first find trailer that is suitable to tow behind your truck, presuming you’re keeping current truck. Objectively, gvw of trailer at or under rated towing weight. Subjectively, you may want to decrease the total trailer weight if you’re pulling a lot, long distances, steep grades, high altitude, winter time, etc.
General recommendation since I’m intimately familiar with heavy towing with your model of truck, if it has the 5.0 or Eco boost, I’d be shooting for trailers that max out at about 7klbs or less for a very capable and comfortable tow.

Once you have all that sorted out and have the trailer, you can decide what is wanted or needed for a long term hitch setup.

[Lwiddis]

Flapper has got it....level trailer, adequate tongue weight, adjusted WDH.

[QCMan]

dodge guy wrote:
When we had our 28ft TT I towed it with a Reese Dual Cam. then I got an Excursion and a 35ft TT and swapped over the Dual Cam with new heavier bars. I wouldn't tow with anything but the Reese DC. in my opinion the only thing above it are the Hensley Arrow, Pro Pride.

X2^
Been using a DC since 2004 and the only white knuckles towing were from idiots on the road and not from sway. A little trickier to set up for optimum performance but once it is it is an easy hitch to use.

[Flapper]

True sway is only due to not having enough weight on the tongue. That's the one that sometimes can occur very quickly, and throw you off the road. Shoot for 12-13% of total trailer weight to be on the tongue. No lighter than 12%. Search YouTube videos for examples from various Universities.
Various hitches can essentially provide friction to dampen it and reduce odds of it happening at any usual speeds - but may or may not prevent it at all your normal driving speeds. Only Hensley and ProPride hitches can prevent it. But they may be overkill (very expensive), unless you just can't get your tongue weight where it should be. (Which is my case).

Others call things like "truck suck" and wind pushes "sway". It's not. These are single events, that are problematic, but usually not catastrophic. But, they can be the initiator of a true sway event, if you are on the edge otherwise. Various brands have different track records for helping control them.

The first order after tongue weight, is make sure your trailer is at least level when hitched, but better to be a bit nose down. Then find the optimal amount of weight to transfer to the front using the weight distribution system. Each truck will vary in this. It may be more than standard recommendation from the manufacturer. Tires, shocks, new hitch, new truck, etc. can come later, if suck, pushes and wiggle are still an issue.

[dodge_guy]

When we had our 28ft TT I towed it with a Reese Dual Cam. then I got an Excursion and a 35ft TT and swapped over the Dual Cam with new heavier bars. I wouldn't tow with anything but the Reese DC. in my opinion the only thing above it are the Hensley Arrow, Pro Pride.

[wowens79]

I've been happy with my Blue Ox SwayPro. It pulls great, and you can back up with it. Also it is quiet.
I think the Equalizer 4 Pt, Reese Dual Cam, and Blue Ox are pretty similar performance wise. The thing that swayed (pun intended) me was the Blue Ox is quiet, and can be backed up.

[mkenyon2]

Also found this and some other posts: https://www.rv.net/forums/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/14369340.cfm

Will be doing some reading. 😄