TomG2 wrote: You are getting lots of goofy advice, based on few facts. If you have noticeble sway, adding dual cams or extra friction bars are only attempting to cover up a real problem. Why are you experiencing sway is a more important than how to control it once it has started. Tires, balance, rear spring capacity, and on and on can lead to sway. Prevention is better than a bandaid. I have never had noticeable sway with a well engineered and installed WD hitch on an adequate tow vehicle.
....................plus load distribution and speed...
" Not every mind that wanders is lost. " With apologies toJ.R.R. Tolkien
TomG2 wrote: You are getting lots of goofy advice, based on few facts. If you have noticeble sway, adding dual cams or extra friction bars are only attempting to cover up a real problem. Why are you experiencing sway is a more important than how to control it once it has started. Tires, balance, rear spring capacity, and on and on can lead to sway. Prevention is better than a bandaid. I have never had noticeable sway with a well engineered and installed WD hitch on an adequate tow vehicle.
....................plus load distribution and speed...
And I will add a level if not slightly nose low trailer. A trip to the scales is the only way to be sure of load distribution the most important in my book.
You have receive some good advice in the above posts. I noticed that no one has suggested that your sway might be related to your truck tires. We had some sway with our set up and I wandered if the front suspension might need allignment. Off to the allignment center I went. Told the tech what my setup was and that we still had some sway. He looked at my truck and asked if the tires were on the truck when we bought it new two months earlier. I told him yes and he showed me that the tires were "P" rated passenger tires. P rated tires, he expalined, are built with light (thinner) sidewalls which help provide a desired softer vehicle ride. The sidewalls of P tires flex to soften bumps in the roadway. The sidewalls of P tires will also flex from side to side when the vehicle is turning a corner or traveling thru a curve on the highway. Therefore they will also flex from side to side when towing and the trailer is pushed and pulled by trucks or wind. He recommended switching to "D" or "E" rated tires with stiffer sidewalls to limit the side to side flex when towing.
We had "E" rated tires installed and eliminated 97% of the sway we had been experiencing.
P.S. When tires are inflated to mfg suggested max pressure, the sidewall will be stiffer and have less side to side flex.
Been there done that. Just about rolled our rig a few years ago. I had a good hitch, had it set up properly and still had the******scared out of us. Did some research and found that a Hensley Hitch doesn't control sway, it eliminates it. Haven't looked back since. Towing is a wonderful experience. We were heading across Iowa last year thru a terrible storm 50-60 mph cross winds, no sway NONE!!! If it's in your budget you should consider it. Safe travels.
TomG2 wrote: You are getting lots of goofy advice, based on few facts. If you have noticeble sway, adding dual cams or extra friction bars are only attempting to cover up a real problem. Why are you experiencing sway is a more important than how to control it once it has started. Tires, balance, rear spring capacity, and on and on can lead to sway. Prevention is better than a bandaid. I have never had noticeable sway with a well engineered and installed WD hitch on an adequate tow vehicle.
Goofy advice?
There are plenty of facts present to properly diagnose the problem. OP is saying that the front of the truck feels like it is "floating."
That is a HUGE RED FLAG, and all the "facts" you need to know.
The reason the truck feels like it is floating is because it is. Tongue weight pressing down behind the rear axle has lifted a bunch of weight off the front axle.
When the WD hitch is properly adjusted, you will NEVER get a "floaty" feel in the front end of your tow vehicle.
2002 Chevy 3500 DRW 8.1L/Allison
2000 Palomino B1500
...and the reason why I need a DRW to haul a Palomino:
2004 United 7x14 tandem axle enclosed toy trailer
2011 PJ 8x20 7-ton deckover equipment trailer
"The reason the truck feels like it is floating is because it is. Tongue weight pressing down behind the rear axle has lifted a bunch of weight off the front axle."
That "may" be part of the problem, but you have no idea what kind of tires he is running, tongue weight, or condition of his front end. You are "Assuming" that his WD hitch is out of whack. How much is "A bunch" of weight, anyway? Two hundred pounds? a thousand? Fact or guess? I have seen "Road wander" on vehicles that were not even towing anything.
* This post was
edited 02/20/12 12:28pm by TomG2 *
tomnytyz wrote: Been there done that. Just about rolled our rig a few years ago. I had a good hitch, had it set up properly and still had the******scared out of us. Did some research and found that a Hensley Hitch doesn't control sway, it eliminates it. Haven't looked back since. Towing is a wonderful experience. We were heading across Iowa last year thru a terrible storm 50-60 mph cross winds, no sway NONE!!! If it's in your budget you should consider it. Safe travels.
Curious here, what was the brand of hitch and the TV and TT combination that just about rolled ? LOL.....I'm worried, if you say it was the same stuff that I have !
I think what Tommy's referring to is that friction based sway control systems are designed to help control sway once it starts whereas the mechanical based HA is designed to eliminate sway before it even starts.
There are arguments galore on the merits of the above statement. Personally, I went from no hd/sway equipment to a standard wd with one friction sway bar. Then to two bars and then on to converting my std wd to the dual cam unit. Still not satisfied with handling and especially the noise, I went on to getting an HA, and from day one after installing it, the HA eliminated all my truck/trailer's undesirable towing characteristics. Other than the weight back there, the trailer was from then on, totally passive and pulled perfectly.
Each of us have to go through a learning curve on just about everything....
Ron
Ron & Sandie
'08 Safari Simba SBD35 CAT C7
Toad: 2011 GMC Terrain SLT2
Tow Bar: Sterling AT
Toad Brakes: Unified U.S. Gear
TPMS: Pressure Pro
Member of: GS, FMCA, Safari Intl, CAT
There is no system that "eliminates sway before it starts".
The only way to do that is by matching tug-to-tow, using correct tires, keeping speed down, and responding appropriately to environmental factors such as passing trucks etc.
Some sway control systems are better than others at distributing or "dampening" the forces of sway once induced by one of the above the above factors. But that's the only difference between them.
In all cases, once sway begins due to inattention to the above factors, the forces involved are absorbed by the tow vehicle's frame.
You may not be aware of it, and the device you've installed may prevent you from having an accident, but the sway is still there.
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.........plus load distribution and speed...
