Which is the right move in a split second decision?

[temccarthy1]

After reading many instances on this site and seeing terrifying videos of TT crashes caused by sway getting out of control, I have seen many comments saying to accelerate if it starts to sway out of control to regain control as well as many saying to apply the trailer brakes from the brake controller... Which is it? Those are 2 opposite moves . Which do most experienced trailer drivers recommend? What have been your experiences with either?
Obviously if this situation happens, I need to know what will best correct it so I can regain control and will not have time to think about it.
your experiences and opinions are very important to me. Thanks in advance!

[mgirardo]

In my case, speed wasn't an issue as I had driven up to 75 mph with the trailer and no WDH before, just on better roads. I had just hit a pot hole which caused the tow vehicle to shimmy a little, then a tractor trailer passed me seconds later and the camper started to sway.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, speeding up worked for me. It may not work in all instances. While I was speeding up, one of my biggest fears was that there was going to be a down hill stretch of road, which would have most likely made things a lot worse. I was really hoping for a hill to climb up. This incident was the only experience I had with sway, so I posted my experience. We bought an Equal-i-zer hitch system right after we got home. I drove the rest of the trip there and back at 50 mph 🙂

-Michael

[rbpru]

Interesting comments but in the time it take you to read it, you are on your side on the side of the road.

Every hard stop, sway, wind/truck buffs I have experienced were mitigated by my slower speed and proper setup.

It is an excellent idea to know what to do; but it had best be instinctive when you need it.

Be safe.

[BurbMan]

myredracer wrote:
.....I haven't adjusted ours and have rarely looked at it in years and wouldn't know where the SOL button is even if I had seconds to find it.....

Not exactly what I would call being prepared...you should test the manual level on your controller EVERY time you connect the trailer, just in case you have to use it in an emergency as described.

Most folks don't realize that the majority of TTs are built with old style manual drum brakes. Manual meaning that they are not self-adjusting and need to be manually adjusted periodically. The adjustment entails crawling under the trailer with a screwdriver or brake tool and ratcheting the starwheel through the slot in the backing plate on each wheel. I recently upgraded my TT brakes to self-adjusting so one less thing to worry about.

Also the mess of ground wires that come together on the tongue...one of those is for the brakes. If you get rust, corrosion, etc at that ground wire, it severely limits the amount of power that the controller can deliver to the brakes.

Many folks like myredracer that have a well-balanced setup and an HD truck don't notice the gradual diminishing effectiveness of the TT brakes from the reasons noted above because the rigs drives and stops fine. Until one day you pull the manual lever and feel....nothing.

You may not get sway starting on its own due to poor loading and balance, but a tire blowout, bearing seizure, etc, could cause the TT to start swaying in an instant.

So it's important to not only know where your manual lever is and how to use it in a split-second, but also to test it EVERY time you hook up the TT. On the few blocks from my house to the highway, I will pull the manual lever on the controller a few times to a) make sure I can feel the TT brakes engaging and b) clean the rust off the drum surfaces so brakes stop better. Just remember that your brake lights do NOT come on when you pull the manual lever, so be careful about doing this if vehicles are following behind.

Final comment on the OP's question, sometimes accelerating can help, but you can't depend on it. If you're in traffic with vehicles ahead of you sometimes you don't have room to accelerate.

The best and first thing you should do in that split second is to reach for the manual lever on the controller. Note, don't give a yank because if you lock up the TT brakes the TT will slide and all control will be gone. Use the lever gently to engage the brakes and then gradually increase brake power to slow the TT until the sway stops.

[Community Alumni]

JIMNLIN wrote:
Bumper pull trailers not set up properly/loaded properly may sway above a certain mph and gets worse the higher the speed. Only application of the trailer brakes will stop the sway until the vehicles speed gets below that point. Speeding up just made the sway worse.
The only place I've read speeding up to stop sway is on some rv websites.

It's kind of hard to apply trailer brakes on a trailer that's not equipped with any. This is actually common on smaller cargo and utility trailers. Obviously using the trailer brakes isn't the only way to pull out of a sway event since there are those who have pulled themselves out despite not having trailer brakes. The gas pedal method was taught to me a long time ago and it appears that others have been taught as well since I've seen others use it on the road on multiple occasions.

Just the other day on the way home from work I saw a poorly loaded utility trailer that was nose high being pulled by a Chevy Avalanche. The trailer was swaying pretty good and looked like it was getting worse. The truck was stuck riding behind a slower car and suddenly jumped over a lane and zoomed past the car. I'm not sure if he did this out of frustration or he was trying to stop the trailer from swaying. In any event, the trailer quickly straighten out and off he went. I was already going 65 MPH and he was pulling away from me at a good pace. The trailer never started swaying again as he pulled away. If done correctly then conditions will not get worse.

[rhagfo]

JIMNLIN wrote:
Bumper pull trailers not set up properly/loaded properly may sway above a certain mph and gets worse the higher the speed. Only application of the trailer brakes will stop the sway until the vehicles speed gets below that point. Speeding up just made the sway worse.
The only place I've read speeding up to stop sway is on some rv websites.

This is the reason it is better to brake the trailer, rather than accelerate the TV. The trailer will settle quicker with braking rather the speeding up.
Your brake controller should be within easy reach just for for this reason.

[JIMNLIN]

Bumper pull trailers not set up properly/loaded properly may sway above a certain mph and gets worse the higher the speed. Only application of the trailer brakes will stop the sway until the vehicles speed gets below that point. Speeding up just made the sway worse.
The only place I've read speeding up to stop sway is on some rv websites.

[sgip2000]

Sway is basically when the trailer wants to travel faster than the tow vehicle. The goal in correcting sway is to get both vehicles to move at the same speed. Either method can be effective under the specific circumstance. Just be sure not to accelerate too much.

[westend]

temccarthy1 wrote:

Jayco-noslide wrote:
Question is, why is it swaying? Shouldn't be if it's the right hitch, it's set up properly and you don't drive too fast or try to change direction too fast.

There are 2 obvious reasons it can be swaying... one is if passed by a big rig on the Interstate going maybe 80-85 when I am going 60! That wind pressure can set up an uncontrollable sway. The other is if on the road with heavy cross winds! Sounds like you have never experienced this. Both those reasons could set up a bad sway sequence that would take action to get out of!

You forgot one---road surface conditions.

[temccarthy1]

Terryallan wrote:

myredracer wrote:
I've sometimes read some say that using the brake controller when you start to get bad sway is the thing to do. But in the OP's "split second" it takes to be involved in serious sway and possibly a catastrophic accident, how would you be able to find and activate the BC? I haven't adjusted ours and have rarely looked at it in years and wouldn't know where the SOL button is even if I had seconds to find it. I've gone to a lot of effort and expense to set our TT & truck up to prevent sway and it's never a problem. I wouldn't be towing at a speed that could result in bad sway to start with and would say it's partly about knowing the limits and capability of your particular TT and TV setup.

I encountered strong gusting side winds once which was kinda scary and was like driving on marbles and had to slow waay down to maintain safe control before pulling into a nearby rest stop for a while. Not the same thing as getting into a sway situation and should be towing at a much lower speed, if at all and def. not hitting the gas. TT blown over vid - RV crash to remember.

Have a question. Do you not use the lever to check the brakes every time you hook up? While I don't need to adjust it. Shortly after starting out, I always pull the lever to be sure everything is working right. To me it is a natural as checking the tires, mirrors, or buckling up. I really want to know the brakes work before I need them. Easy thing to do, only takes a second.

But you do have to warn DW. she don't like bouncing her head off the dash. Is funny though

BTW. Sway can be induced at any speed.

X2 YES-- I always test my trailer brakes with the BC when heading down my street at about 20 to insure they are working! This should be on everyones checklist!

[temccarthy1]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
Question is, why is it swaying? Shouldn't be if it's the right hitch, it's set up properly and you don't drive too fast or try to change direction too fast.

There are 2 obvious reasons it can be swaying... one is if passed by a big rig on the Interstate going maybe 80-85 when I am going 60! That wind pressure can set up an uncontrollable sway. The other is if on the road with heavy cross winds! Sounds like you have never experienced this. Both those reasons could set up a bad sway sequence that would take action to get out of!

[Fubeca]

mgirardo wrote:
We had an almost out of control sway issue once. Our salesman suggested we did not need a weight distribution hitch after seeing our Hybrid TT hitched to our tow vehicle. Unfortunately he was wrong, but he did provide one bit of advice that saved our brand new trailer. He said, if you feel the trailer start to sway, give it some gas until it straightens out. He said your first instinct is to hit the brakes, but that's the wrong thing to do.

When our trailer started swaying enough that it was moving the tow vehicle and trailer across lanes, I stomped on the gas. Before hitting the gas, I was going about 60 mph. I accelerated to about 80 mph before the sway got under control and the trailer straightened out.

Using the manual slide on the trailer brake controller would have helped, but I just wasn't experienced enough to try to control the tow vehicle and use the brake controller at the same time.

-Michael

I'm very scared of the advise to stomp on the gas. If the sway is induced by speed because of a poorly loaded trailer more speed isn't going to solve the problem - instead it will result in a catastrophic accident. IMHO You were very lucky that speeding up to 80 cured your problem instead of the opposite.

[mgirardo]

We had an almost out of control sway issue once. Our salesman suggested we did not need a weight distribution hitch after seeing our Hybrid TT hitched to our tow vehicle. Unfortunately he was wrong, but he did provide one bit of advice that saved our brand new trailer. He said, if you feel the trailer start to sway, give it some gas until it straightens out. He said your first instinct is to hit the brakes, but that's the wrong thing to do.

When our trailer started swaying enough that it was moving the tow vehicle and trailer across lanes, I stomped on the gas. Before hitting the gas, I was going about 60 mph. I accelerated to about 80 mph before the sway got under control and the trailer straightened out.

Using the manual slide on the trailer brake controller would have helped, but I just wasn't experienced enough to try to control the tow vehicle and use the brake controller at the same time.

-Michael

[arkie_guide]

I have pulled many miles in the last 55 years - trailer brake use is the best idea. The most sway problems I have had result from the trailer pushing the tow vehicle. Such as going down hill to fast. Seldom ever from pulling. For what its worth, take care.

[Community Alumni]

Both methods can work as I have been able to pull trailers out of a sway condition using both methods. The fool proof method way is to ease off the accelerator and apply the trailer brakes. If it's an emergency situation then you can't go wrong with this method.

The mash on the pedal method works, but only if you have the right conditions. Typically it only works well with the lighter trailers and it needs to be pulled by a vehicle that can apply a lot of power to it very quickly. What you are trying to do is apply a sudden jolt to the trailer to get it to snap back in line. Attempting this with heavier trailers, a TV that's under powered, or one that's already near it's max may result in a disaster. In these situation you usually cannot apply the necessary instantaneous jolt. What you end up doing is just building speed gradually which will inevitably make the sway worse. After the trailer is back in line then ease of the gas.