WDH - yes, no, maybe?
#11
larry2c - We towed our trailer with the same hitch as you for about 4 years with the friction sway bar on it.
Two issues we just dealt with were:
1. When we had extra heavy (30-40 mph) crosswinds, we had to slow our speed considerable - 50-55 mph.
2. 18-wheelers would make you pucker up when their truck started sucking you toward them as they passed you.
About a year ago, I added a second friction sway bar to the other side.
18 wheelers are no longer a problem. The crosswinds are still a bit of an issue,. but just slow down.
The truck anti-sway seems to be more of an assist than a primary thing.
Use what you have. If the 18-wheelers make you uncomfortable, add another friction bar and you will notice a big difference.
Two issues we just dealt with were:
1. When we had extra heavy (30-40 mph) crosswinds, we had to slow our speed considerable - 50-55 mph.
2. 18-wheelers would make you pucker up when their truck started sucking you toward them as they passed you.
About a year ago, I added a second friction sway bar to the other side.
18 wheelers are no longer a problem. The crosswinds are still a bit of an issue,. but just slow down.
The truck anti-sway seems to be more of an assist than a primary thing.
Use what you have. If the 18-wheelers make you uncomfortable, add another friction bar and you will notice a big difference.
The following users liked this post:
larry2c (09-17-2016)
#12
I have a 28' camper and use the old style friction sway bars and have no problems.trailers 24' and longer and they recommend 1 on each side. I have read the new style doesn't shift as much weight off of the hitch as older style that uses the friction bars,mines not broke or given problems so I will keep using it, Huskey hitch with the 1200lbs bars here
#13
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the tip humblerb! I never thought of using two sway bars though with our smaller trailer I haven't had any issues. Once we move up to something more suited for longer trips/stays I'll keep that in mind.
#14
Senior Member
I've never had my anti-sway engage but friends who have all say its a "holy crap" moment since the truck basically takes over till things straighten out. Adding anti-sway to your WDH will help you avoid getting into those situations.
#15
With our trailer we don't need a WDH by Ford spec's or by the front end rise. I still use the Equal-i-zer we had for the trailer and our previous tow vehicle as it has great built-in anti-sway control. It is designed to prevent sway as opposed to the truck's built in sway control which is designed to try and save you after sway starts. I much prefer preventative over reactive when it comes to things like sway.
#16
Senior Member
Thread Starter
By the way, what sort of programmer? I have been doing NC Programming for about 40 years (damn, now I feel old...)
#17
I mostly did mainframe operating system and communications subsystems architecture, design and coding. Bowels of the system type stuff. I also did some relational database design related to the my main area of responsibility. We were called programmers when I started in the field (this is before they even dreamed of something called a comp sci degree) and software engineers by the time I retired.