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Trailer sway

T

ttfoley

New Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2003
Messages
6
Location
Powell, WY
This is the second summer of RV'ing with my 2500. I pull a 29' travel trailer, loaded weight of about 8200 lb using a Reese weight distributing hitch. We travel mostly in the Rocky Mountains between elevations of 5000 ft to passes over 10,000 ft. The 8.1 liter engine really delivers! I have absolutely no complaints about buying my new Avalanche (after having owned 3 prior Suburbans).

I had one incident last summer with trailer sway. I visited with my local RV dealer and he suggested installing an Air Lift kit to 'stiffen' the rear end. I installed an Air Lift Ride Control kit this spring. I just got home from our first RV trip this summer. If anything, the sway seems to be worse. The sway starts at about 60 - 65 mph.

I am now looking at anti-sway bars. I never had a sway problem with any of the Suburbans.

Has anyone had a similar experience or suggestions about anti-sway bars?

Terry
 
I hope it works you. Now when I tow I keep catching myself just laying my wrist on top of the wheel and cruisin. In other words, definitely not white knuckle driving, even in high winds.

My hitch already had an ear (mounting location) for the front ball (mount point) for the sway bar. My trailer had the ball already mounted on the tongue when I bought it (used). So I just needed to bolt on the front ball and I was done.

If your hitch doesn't have a mounting location on it you might need to get one welded on or get a different hitch. Welding onto a hitch is not something you should have just anyone do. If not done correctly it could weaken your hitch.

HTH, Happy and safe towing.
 
You *really* should get some kind of sway system on it. At the very least a friction bar setup. Even if you're normally solid as a rock, there are still conditions that can cause sway.

I use a friction bar, and normally have no sway issues. However, on the last trip while coming down out of the mountains in some decent crosswinds, It was definitely tending to sway.

This weekend I'm installing a Reese dual-cam setup.
 
I also use the Reese Dual Cam system, and love it. Definately worth looking into.

Mike
 
I have read the sales info for both the Reese friction sway control and the dual cam sway control. Other than price, what are the differences between the two?

My hitch has the hole for the ball for the friction sway bar.

I have the 10,000 lb. tension spring bars so it appears that I would still use them with the dual cam device and just add the extra cam arms.

Is this a case of six of one and a half dozen of the other? (excluding price)
 
ttfoley said:
I have read the sales info for both the Reese friction sway control and the dual cam sway control. Other than price, what are the differences between the two?

...

Is this a case of six of one and a half dozen of the other? (excluding price)
Click to expand...

They are completely different systems, and frankly, the friction bars provide the *least* amount of sway control of any other system out there. Most folks who have the dual-cam system say that it completely eliminates sway. I haven't heard many folks say that about a friction bar, only that it reduces it.

The other good system out there is the Hensley Equal-i-zer, but that will run a good bit more money. On the other hand *every* person I've seen who had one wouldn't give it up for love or money.
 
msheldon said:
The other good system out there is the Hensley Equal-i-zer, but that will run a good bit more money. On the other hand *every* person I've seen who had one wouldn't give it up for love or money.
Click to expand...

The Hensley is what I use. It is very expensive, but it does work as advertised. I don't think I would consider pulling without one.

If you need more info check here. They offer a free video if your interested.
 
Hi guys, I'm glad you dropped by to add some good input into this. It?s always better to get different opinions and have more options.

What I had posted was just my $.02. I didn't even think about the dual cam parts. I have these on my trailer also and use them with the friction bar. Here's a pic that shows the type of equalizing bars I have. That's what's always been there, I just didn't think about it.

I was driving with winds that were 35-45MPH with gusts to 55MPH with the dual cam setup and still got some sway. It was fine driving below 60MPH but started to sway at 60. That's when I bought the friction bar and added it to my setup. I haven't had a sway problem since.
 

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Of course you already know if you tow much that sway is caused by the front being to light. Try loading more to the front of the trailer and see if it helps.

Butch
 
Z66 BUTCH said:
Of course you already know if you tow much that sway is caused by the front being to light. Try loading more to the front of the trailer and see if it helps.

Butch
Click to expand...

Well, it can also be caused by being tongue-heavy.

My last trip, on the way out, I put my load too far forward in the trailer. Anything over 63mph would cause significant sway. I re-adjusted the load further back, and the sway disappeared all the way up to 75mph except for a long downhill run with a cross-wind.

Load balance is critical to proper handling. Too light or too heavy on the tongue can cause all sorts of handling problems, of which sway is just one.
 
AVid said:
The Hensley is what I use. It is very expensive, but it does work as advertised. I don't think I would consider pulling without one.
Click to expand...

Ouch! When you said expensive, I didn't realize $2400! Of course, can you put a price on safety? I did send for the free video, and a company rep. emailed me this morning. This might be a tough sell to the mrs. :B:
 
msheldon said:
Well, it can also be caused by being tongue-heavy.

Load balance is critical to proper handling. Too light or too heavy on the tongue can cause all sorts of handling problems, of which sway is just one.
Click to expand...

I have experienced handling problems from both of these situations. However, this was with my travel trailer which is always loaded the same. (fresh water, gray water, food, etc)

I am wondering if the sway had anything to do the with Air Lift kit that I installed. I did experiment with the pressures. It seemed that about 20 psi worked best to eliminate sway.
 
ttfoley said:
Ouch! When you said expensive, I didn't realize $2400! Of course, can you put a price on safety? I did send for the free video, and a company rep. emailed me this morning. This might be a tough sell to the mrs. :B:
Click to expand...

When you watch the tape, ignore the testimonials. Some of them are pretty funny, an obvious put up job. The tape will explain how it works.

I no longer get pushed around by semis or Greyhound buses that pass me. I guess if you just factor in the cost of the hitch with the overall cost of the trailer, it ain't so bad. It also take some getting used to. Hitching and unhitching are alot different than your used to.
 
Terry,
Thanks for the post. Your size TT is exactly what I'm looking at in about a year. Currently have a 26' about 5500 lbs. Already decided to get new trailer with a Hensley after seeing one at a campground. No problem with sway now w/std wgt dist hitch and one anti-sway damper, but know over 28' and our 130" w.b. can be entering the "while knuckle" area with any strong cross-winds. I had no room in my garage for a longer w.b. P/U, and love my Av.
 
Texas86 said:
I had no room in my garage for a longer w.b. P/U, and love my Av.
Click to expand...

When we were buying a new home a few months ago, we looked at a house that had a *huge* garage. Four cars wide, and 50% longer than standard. You could have easily parked a long-bed crew cab in there with length to spare. Too bad I hated the rest of the house.

In the house we bought, there's one bit of the garage that has a little extra length. I can just *barely* get the Av parked in it. However, in the long run, I'm building an RV garage in the back, with an attached "truck" garage. Having a 1/2 acre has its advantages.
 
I was intending to put a Reese dual-cam sway system on my trailer today... However, it would not bolt up to my existing weight-distribution bars. After figuring the cost of replacing the WD bars, which would also require replacement of the hitch head, it came almost to the same cost as a Hensley Equal-i-zer ($668, installed). So, I chose to put that on instead.

After a very short tow back home, I can say I'm already impressed with the Hensley. The whole rig is rock-solid, less bouncing on uneven pavement, and no perceptible weight shift under braking. My first real tow with this will be in two weeks, approx 360 miles to San Diego.

A note of caution to all new trailer owners. Trailer dealers seem to be completely clueless or careless when it comes to hitches. I see the reports all the time. In my case, we found that my dealer had put on a 6,000lb rated hitch ball. The problem? My trailer weighs in at 7,200lbs with tanks full, but otherwise unloaded. Its max weight is 9,000 lbs, and a typical load for me is 8,000 - 8,500. It could have been a bad situation.
 
Congratulations!
You're MUCH better off with the Hensley and it's the way I'll go when getting larger trailer next year. I just wish the Quadrasteer were available on the 2500.
Two other mods have been mentioned to me that would increase our 2500's stablilty. One is using steel spacers to widen the rear track 2-4" more in line with the front wheels. The other would be a Roadmaster? HD spring on top of the leaf springs that would prevent "bottoming out" and act somewhat like a stabilizer bar. At this point I'm not close to rear axle specs - my TT tongue wgt is 750 lbs - but if a new trailer were much more I'd consider it.

Marv
 
As far as the spacers, I'd be concerned that the added leverage on the axles could cause problems down the road with the axles themselves or the differential. Darned sure that if Chevy found out about it, they'd void the warrantee for those items.

I don't think the added rear leaf spring would gain you anything with a trailer using a weight-distribution hitch. I've never had the rear come even close to bottoming out when the trailer is hitched up, even on very unven terrain. I broke one of the WD brackets on the frame rail that holds the chain once when hitting a deep hole, but even then didn't really compress the springs much. My tongue weight is running between 800-900 pounds, depending on load.

Now, if you're hauling heavy loads in the bed, the added leaf could help. :)
 
The Roadmaster is not an extra leaf, more of a stablizer. See: http://www.activesuspension.com/

FYI.
Marv
 
Texas86 said:
The Roadmaster is not an extra leaf, more of a stablizer.
Click to expand...

Hmm, interesting.

I still feel that it would probably make very little difference when towing with a weight-distribution hitch. Towing without the WD, or carrying heavy loads, it looks like it could be helpful.
 
I agree that the heavier the load the more effect the Active Suspension would have.
BTW: Re: narrower rear track. The full-floating axle on the 2500 is the same one used for the dualies trucks - so it looks like a compromise to save GM some $$. Don't see how spacers would affect warranty.
 
Texas86 said:
BTW: Re: narrower rear track. The full-floating axle on the 2500 is the same one used for the dualies trucks - so it looks like a compromise to save GM some $$.
Click to expand...

what does that mean?
 
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