Stabilzer bar? Wheel bearings?

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi all,

Super new to camping, just got my first camping trip under my belt with my Jayco Jay Flight 174BH 18' camper this weekend.

I have a 2015 Silverado 5.3 liter, (z71 engine) and it pulls this little camper well.

I have two questions:

1) Do I want/need a stabilizer bar? Not sure if that is really what it is called, but it is supposed to make towing more stable. Crazy as it sounds, I feel like towing this camper is already pretty stable, nothing is happening to make me feel alarmed, but I just wasn't sure what most people do?

2) Do you ever have your camper wheel bearings repacked or replaced? I know there is a lot running on those little suckers, so just wondered what people do.

Thanks!



JR

[Colorado]

Are you referring to a sway bar? It can’t hurt.

Bearing need to be serviced like any other moving part. I carry an infrared thermometer and check bearing temps when I stop. If you have bearing buddies make sure you spin the tire and pump grease into the bearing SLOWLY! Keep in mind different greases can react to each other. I prefer to clean the bearings and start with fresh grease of my choice. (Lucas Green).

[Bob K]

You could be referencing one of two things: A weight distribution hitch or an anti-sway device.

That's a full size truck to pull a small trailer. Your tongue weight is probably no more than 500 pounds fully loaded. I'd guess that's well within the cargo weight limits of your truck and doesn't cause the back end of the truck to squat very much, and doesn't cause the front of the truck to lift too much.

So a WDH would be your choice if you want to fix the ride height of your truck. My opinion? I need a WDH for my Tacoma and my 185RB Baja. I probably wouldn't use a WDH with my small trailer if I had a full size truck. It'd probably be extra money, fuss, and weight that's not necessary.

An anti-sway device or "stabilizer" is more insurance than anything. If your tongue weight is properly measured and at least 10% of the weight of the trailer, there's a slim chance you'd experience a death sway. Remember, people run properly loaded trailers all the time without anti-sway devices. They certainly can help in stiff crosswinds to keep the trailer from wandering. They can be a pain in the butt, though. Some models require you to disconnect them before you back up.

If you know your tongue weight is proper and are considering not fussing with an anti-sway device, I'd recommend safely testing the trailer at different speeds and different conditions to see if it remains stable.

[JFlightRisk]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

Hi all,

Super new to camping, just got my first camping trip under my belt with my Jayco Jay Flight 174BH 18' camper this weekend.

I have a 2015 Silverado 5.3 liter, (z71 engine) and it pulls this little camper well.

I have two questions:

1) Do I want/need a stabilizer bar? Not sure if that is really what it is called, but it is supposed to make towing more stable. Crazy as it sounds, I feel like towing this camper is already pretty stable, nothing is happening to make me feel alarmed, but I just wasn't sure what most people do?

2) Do you ever have your camper wheel bearings repacked or replaced? I know there is a lot running on those little suckers, so just wondered what people do.

Thanks!



JR

A WDH like an Equalizer, or equivalent style, will give you both weight distribution, and anti-sway in one hitch, and you can back up without unhooking it. If you ever get the dreaded disease called "2 foot-itis", then you'll want one anyway.

A stand alone anti sway friction bar will need to be taken off before you back the trailer up. If you don't, you can bend the ball bracket on the tongue. I've seen it happen.

[mokurt]

I have seen some WDH's with the option for a sway bar.

Do you have to have a WDH so a sway bar can be used?

[Marcm157]

I recommend the Equalizer WDH which has built in sway control. As far as wheel bearings go, I repack mine every Spring before we head out on our first trip. I don't care about how many miles we have put on the trailer, its part of my annual maintenance tasks. I always replace the grease seals at the same time. I am meticulous when it comes to vehicle maintenance and consider it cheap insurance.

[freetime58]

Originally Posted by JFlightRisk

A stand alone anti sway friction bar will need to be taken off before you back the trailer up. If you don't, you can bend the ball bracket on the tongue. I've seen it happen.

A properly installed and adjusted unit will not need to be removed when backing up in typical and normal situations. Now if you need to jack knife your trailer while backing into a spot, yes it will need to be removed.

Simply stating that units will need to be taken off before you back up is not correct.

I back up with mine all the time.....it's been about 30 years and have never damaged anything, common sense is your friend......need to back up sharply then take it off..........think I've actually removed mine a few times over the years, takes about 15 seconds to pull both pins and remove.

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by mokurt

I have seen some WDH's with the option for a sway bar. Do you have to have a WDH so a sway bar can be used?

No. You can purchase a standalone anti-sway device and use it by itself.

Here's an example from Curt: https://www.amazon.com/CURT-17200-Sw.../dp/B000HLO7QA

[Bob K]

Originally Posted by JohnnyRockets

2) Do you ever have your camper wheel bearings repacked or replaced? I know there is a lot running on those little suckers, so just wondered what people do.JR

Check your axle for an identification sticker. It's probably a Dexter axle. Here's mine:


Dexter has a user's manual and maintenance schedule for light duty axles:
https://www.dexteraxle.com/resources...ags/Light-Duty

It calls for inspection and repacking every 12 months or 12,000 miles. In my experience, this is usually overkill, but one can't determine that until a person has the chance to inspect the bearings over specific mileage and years to see how the grease and bearings are holding up.

[JohnnyRockets]

Thanks everyone!
You have given me a lot to think about.


I am leaning towards taking a "wait and see approach", because I have not been on an actual highway yet with it. I feel good with it on all two lane roads that I have encountered.
So we shall see, I may change that tune after a bit of a journey on an actual highway, but as one person noted, the truck is as big as the camper, so that is probably a good thing!


Thank you very much for your input, I will definitely put wheel bearings on my "Spring List" of things to do before that first camping trip happens.


JR