Blue Ox SwayPro

[Overloaded]

I wish I could find the Email that was sent to me about the Blue Ox and disabling sway control. I would never remember what it said exactly. I will just say that the decision to turn off sway control is based on the YAW sensor will activate sway control at the same time Sway Pro tries to correct the sway. This happening at the same time will produce a jerking action which could induce knifejacking or rollover. I will continue to look for this email it explains it very well. For me I will turn it off.

[glsimms]

Originally Posted by Overloaded

I wish I could find the Email that was sent to me about the Blue Ox and disabling sway control. I would never remember what it said exactly. I will just say that the decision to turn off sway control is based on the YAW sensor will activate sway control at the same time Sway Pro tries to correct the sway. This happening at the same time will produce a jerking action which could induce knifejacking or rollover. I will continue to look for this email it explains it very well. For me I will turn it off.

I would be interested in seeing that if you find it.

The e-mail response I got was to turn off both traction and sway control. Reason given was both the TV and Sway Pro would be fighting against each other actually causing the trailer to sway while towing. This e-mail was directly from Blue Ox.....

[Overloaded]

This is common among several manufactures, they say turn it off. I will be looking for email. But yeah they supposedly fight each other.

[Camper_bob]

Okay, I'm no engineer, and I haven't had a lot of experience with sway events (thankfully, and knocking on wood), but it still doesn't make sense to me. In order to induce a jack knife situation, the trailer would have to be significantly out of line with the truck? If SC or TC on the truck engages, thereby engaging the brakes, the trailer's brakes will also engage, right? So I'm just having difficulty seeing how this could happen?

Perhaps, maybe if the truck is actuating brakes on individual wheels (like some ABS systems will do) it's not sending braking to the trailer? I wonder what instigates an integrated TBC to send voltage to the trailer brakes? If it's the pedal, that could cause a problem. And what about an aftermarket brake controller? If the SC and TC systems on the truck are not "talking" to the brake controller and sending voltage to the trailer brakes during an event, that could conceivably cause a problem?

But I still don't see how the hitch would interfere with all this?

It would be VERY interesting to me to see the technician's explanation on this.

[Mikey]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Okay, I'm no engineer, and I haven't had a lot of experience with sway events (thankfully, and knocking on wood), but it still doesn't make sense to me. In order to induce a jack knife situation, the trailer would have to be significantly out of line with the truck? If SC or TC on the truck engages, thereby engaging the brakes, the trailer's brakes will also engage, right? So I'm just having difficulty seeing how this could happen?

Perhaps, maybe if the truck is actuating brakes on individual wheels (like some ABS systems will do) it's not sending braking to the trailer? I wonder what instigates an integrated TBC to send voltage to the trailer brakes? If it's the pedal, that could cause a problem. And what about an aftermarket brake controller? If the SC and TC systems on the truck are not "talking" to the brake controller and sending voltage to the trailer brakes during an event, that could conceivably cause a problem?

But I still don't see how the hitch would interfere with all this?

It would be VERY interesting to me to see the technician's explanation on this.

I just ordered the BXW1503 (receive it tomorrow) but after reading this thread I decided to call and speak to a SwayPro tech. He was emphatic - "you MUST disable your Ford's electronic trailer sway control every time you tow with the SwayPro, or the two will fight one another." He wasn't able to tell me much more than that. I asked him if he had data to support that and he said "yeah" in a slightly annoyed tone. Maybe he gets the question a lot, I don't know, but it all reduces my confidence in the hitch. I want redundant sway control systems, not competing ones. Now I may just return it unopened. Advice, anyone?

[schrederman]

I got my BXW1503 about a month ago, and I've towed with it twice. The difference in ride quality is very good. It was money well spent...

[Mikey]

Originally Posted by schrederman

I got my BXW1503 about a month ago, and I've towed with it twice. The difference in ride quality is very good. It was money well spent...

Thanks...do you disable your TV electronic sway control?

[sennister]

I have no complaints about mine but I have only towed my camper home. I felt the camper back there a lot less than our old much smaller camper.

As far as stability control on the truck, I didn't disable it. Not sure if our model year truck does trailer sway control automatically. It does have the factory brake controller and GM's Stabilitrack system. I do recall TV ads about trailer sway control but that might have been in newer versions of the truck and not sure it is there in the 2011.

I will say that I have disabled Stabilitrack on the truck but only when in snow or mud. The Denali is really an Escalade with GMC badging rather than a Yukon with with nicer trim. This means it has the bigger engine found in the Escalade along with the AWD and lux suspension. Really the only reason we didn't go Escalade was I didn't like the dash as it relies more on dummy lights than gauges. Why this matters is I don't have control for 4WD High and 4WD Low like a regular Yukon. Like with the Escalade the only way I can get it to do "4WD High" is to shut off Stabilitrack which I have had to do with the camper.

That said I also shut of stability control in my Subaru WRX all the time and before that I had a Jetta TDI which was part of the Dieselgate that I would also shut off stability control as well. I just wish I could leave it off rather than have to turn it off again each time I start the vehicle. In the end I am not much of a fan when it comes to stability control.

[schrederman]

Originally Posted by Mikey

Thanks...do you disable your TV electronic sway control?

If mine has it, I don't know about it. I've never seen it in the owner's manual.