Husky Sway Control adjustment

Ron Gratz wrote:
Ken,

Glad you found a solution to your adjustment dilemma.

As I read through that old thread, I noticed that one of the links I posted no longer works.
The installation instructions to which I referred can be seen here.

If you zoom in on Figure 2 Page 3, you can see how the drawing shows the nut extending out over the side of the bar so the on/off lever can cause the top of the plate to "bottom out" on the end of the nut.
That's the way my 1994 sway control was built (I must have had an EAZ LIFT rather than a Draw-Tite).
Based on the photos from you and others, it appears that the sway controls no longer are built that way.

Good luck with your modification,

Ron

I did zoom in and I do see what you mean. They are certainly not built that way now. This is the reason that so many people have complained about the fact that you can't get the plate to bottom out without the plate being so far cocked over. It is amazing that they changed the design without adding the required spacer. I'm sure mine is going to work fine.

The bottom bolt is really easy to adjust by hand once you relieve the tension on the top bolt. I'll take it for a spin Saturday and fine tune it.

Here is the drawing you referenced:

Ken,

Glad you found a solution to your adjustment dilemma.

As I read through that old thread, I noticed that one of the links I posted no longer works.
The installation instructions to which I referred can be seen here.

If you zoom in on Figure 2 Page 3, you can see how the drawing shows the nut extending out over the side of the bar so the on/off lever can cause the top of the plate to "bottom out" on the end of the nut.
That's the way my 1994 sway control was built (I must have had an EAZ LIFT rather than a Draw-Tite).
Based on the photos from you and others, it appears that the sway controls no longer are built that way.

Good luck with your modification,

Ron

Ron, I read all 5 pages of the other thread. One thing you said at least a couple of times was there could be washers or a spacer behind the plate where the top bolt goes through. To me that was the perfect solution. I was amazed that almost no one commented on that idea. They kept saying the same things over and over which made little sense to me.

This morning I went over to a very good hardware store, you know the kind with all of the little specialty boxes, to find the "right" spacer. I bought a metric jam nut that is 14mm x 1.5 pitch. The top bolt just slides through this nut. It is just the right thickness. I have adjusted the bottom bolt to give me what I think is the correct tension on the brake pad. By putting the spacer in I am able to consistantly put the correct tension on the bar once I finalize the adjustment on the lower bolt. Notice in the second photo that the rocker pivot is about centered.

Thanks for the great idea.

Ken

"Ken, my friction sway control had the Draw-Tite brand, but I think most bars are made the same.

I always made sure my lower adjusting screw was set so the upper handle could be "bottomed out".
Depending on how much sway resistance I wanted and on the condition of the friction pad and slide surface, it might require more torque or less torque to make the handle bottom out.
If I wanted to adjust the bottom screw for more resistance, I first would loosen the upper handle completely and then tighten the bottom screw a quarter turn.
After tightening the bottom screw, more torque was required to bottom out the upper control.

It is possible not all friction sway controls can be adjusted this way.
You said you are interested in comments and suggestions -- this thread has five pages of them.

Ron"


The reason that I thought your sway control was a Husky brand was the instruction sheet link was for a Husky with the same part number as mine.

None the less I loosened the adjusting bolt to the point where I could bottom out the lever arm bolt. This would not work because as the lever arm came around it would hit the adjusting bolt.

The compromise that I reached was to set the rocker fulcrum pressure plate so that with both bolts a little tight the plate was equally spaced to the two threaded nuts. This now gives complete control of the pressure on the friction pads by operating the lever arm. By loosening off on the lever arm to the point where you can just move the bar by hand you can then turn the lever arm in the same number of turns each time to get the adjustment you want. In my case I think it will be 3 or 4 full turns.

Ken

Thanks a lot Ron.

Bigbird65 wrote:
Ron, I have the exact sway control that you are talking about. I have never adjusted the bottom nut. The instructions are a bit vague and somewhat conflicting with the black tag on the side of the adjusting block. The tag says to screw the handle all the way down, bottom out the threads. The bar was pretty tight when the photo was made and I could not slide it by hand. As adjusted it is not possible to tighten the handle enough to bottom out the threads without totally locking the bar and breaking something. Notice in the second photo the position of the fulcrum and the angle of the adjusting plate. To be able to bottom out the threads on the adjusting arm the bottom adjusting bolt would need to be backed off a lot.
The way I have been pulling the trailer is to adjust the arm a little tight to the point where I can hear a little groan as I turn a corner. No noise means that it is too loose.
I'm VERY interested in comments and suggestions.

Ken, my friction sway control had the Draw-Tite brand, but I think most bars are made the same.

I always made sure my lower adjusting screw was set so the upper handle could be "bottomed out".
Depending on how much sway resistance I wanted and on the condition of the friction pad and slide surface, it might require more torque or less torque to make the handle bottom out.
If I wanted to adjust the bottom screw for more resistance, I first would loosen the upper handle completely and then tighten the bottom screw a quarter turn.
After tightening the bottom screw, more torque was required to bottom out the upper control.

It is possible not all friction sway controls can be adjusted this way.
You said you are interested in comments and suggestions -- this thread has five pages of them.

Ron

I'm not complaining about the sway control but rather the instructions and the printed tag. The Husky does a great job. Once when I was traveling west across Texas there was a very strong northerly gusty wind which caused some swaying. As soon as it was safe I pulled off and gave the handle one more turn. No more sway.

This afternoon I did wire brush the bar and I took the rest of it out in the yard and blew it out with the air hose being careful not to breath the dust. I agree that a little noise is necessary when turning corners or it is not doing it's job.

It is not a groan of protest. It's a groan that is saying take a wire brush to my slide bar I have too much brake material accumulation.

After that's done there WILL be some groaning from the bar. It's the way it works. If it's not making some noise, it's not working properly. Friction causes noise in the case of friction sway controls it's part of the design.

Mine got significantly louder when the slide bar accumulated brake material and when they got a little wet.

Business as usual and a small price to pay for a solid towing set up.

Depending on the length of your trailer you may benefit from two.

Do not adjust the tension nut to adjust the noise...only touch the nut if you see a decrease in sway bar effectiveness.

Thanks,

Jeremiah

Ron, I have the exact sway control that you are talking about. I have never adjusted the bottom nut. The instructions are a bit vague and somewhat conflicting with the black tag on the side of the adjusting block. The tag says to screw the handle all the way down, bottom out the threads. The bar was pretty tight when the photo was made and I could not slide it by hand. As adjusted it is not possible to tighten the handle enough to bottom out the threads without totally locking the bar and breaking something. Notice in the second photo the position of the fulcrum and the angle of the adjusting plate. To be able to bottom out the threads on the adjusting arm the bottom adjusting bolt would need to be backed off a lot.
The way I have been pulling the trailer is to adjust the arm a little tight to the point where I can hear a little groan as I turn a corner. No noise means that it is too loose.
I'm VERY interested in comments and suggestions.

Ken

If your sway control is like the one described in these installation instruction --

please note there is both a Brake Tensioning Screw and an On/Off Handle.

Adjust the Brake Tensioning Screw to get the desired amount of sway resistance.

The On/Off Handle is not intended to be used for varying the amount of sway resistance. It simply is used to turn the resistance "On" or "Off".

Ron