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Old 07-31-2016, 08:29 PM   #1
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Towing question

Anyone skip the anti-sway and weight distribution bars for short trips? Most of our camping trips are only 2 to 3 hours away. Drove it to the RV shop without them and truck pulls it fine. Just curious......
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Old 07-31-2016, 08:38 PM   #2
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No, I never skip them. I would never not use them, even for short trips. It only takes a mile for things to go wrong...
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Old 07-31-2016, 08:44 PM   #3
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My TV/TT combination's loaded weights require the use of WDH, I never leave home without the WDH in place.

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Old 07-31-2016, 09:06 PM   #4
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I always use mine as well. Definitely would not feel comfortable towing anywhere without them
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Old 07-31-2016, 09:07 PM   #5
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All depends on what you are towing and what your tow vehicle is. If you have a rear dually 3/4 or 1 ton truck, you probably do not need WDH or sway, if the trailer is light enough. Anything else, I'd hitch up everything.

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Old 07-31-2016, 09:23 PM   #6
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While not major, I wouldn't consider a 2-3 hour drive a short distance. Maybe several miles to the sewer dump.
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Old 07-31-2016, 10:58 PM   #7
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I would not skip those. You will likely be overloading your hitch, and if it fails, I can guarantee one thing... You will hate the results.
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Old 08-01-2016, 03:04 AM   #8
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Never safety is very important. If you cause an accident your liable, it's possible your insurance may not cover you if you didn't take due diligence, read the fine print of your insurance contract. Many times they don't have to cover if you speeding.
I know my 2013 Nissan Frontier I wouldn't the rear drops 3 1/2 inches, my old Jeep liberty crd didn't drop more than a inch (still level) with the camper hitched. So the Nissan requires a WD hitch, the Jeep no, I did still use a friction sway bar on the Jeep. I now use a Reese SC WD hitch.
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Old 08-01-2016, 05:56 AM   #9
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The only time I have ever not hooked up the bars and sway control is when I move the rv from its storage spot to the driveway, or vice versa, which is about 50 feet away.
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Old 08-01-2016, 06:54 AM   #10
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I towed mine a couple hours home from the RV lot when I bought it. I was buying and setting up my hitch myself. It was windy and the trucks passing me caused horrible sway. I tow a heavy livestock trailer with no sway control regularly at work so I know how to handle it, but I'll never tow my RV that way again.
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Old 08-01-2016, 06:58 AM   #11
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I keep my TT in a storage facility about a mile from the campground we always go to. Any time I hook up I always will have the WD bars in use, As far as the sway control I do not connect it due to the short distance and the amount of traffic on the road I travel Plus I can never get it up to any speed 6/10 of a mile is a 45 mph road, single lane in both directions. The last 4/10 of a mile are the entrance to the campground about a lane and a half and normally about 15 mph or less. Any other time that the TV/TT moves it will always have the WD bars and sway bar connected.
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Old 08-01-2016, 07:15 AM   #12
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The only time the WDH bars are not hooked up is when the TT is shuffled about the property. Anything over 100 feet or 10MPH the full kit is used; WDH fully set up and the breakaway lanyard connected!
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Old 08-01-2016, 07:44 AM   #13
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The WDH bars take 10 seconds a side to hook up and another 10 for the friction anti sway so I have never not used them.
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Old 08-01-2016, 08:05 AM   #14
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I don't have a sway control on our new trailer, but our Nissan Murano squats when towing it. I've thought about getting air shocks for the Nissan, but do I need to get sway control bars (If I am saying that correctly) for our 16' Jayco Swift? This is our first RV. I'm a newbie.
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Old 08-01-2016, 08:17 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cody&Lisa View Post
I don't have a sway control on our new trailer, but our Nissan Murano squats when towing it. I've thought about getting air shocks for the Nissan, but do I need to get sway control bars (If I am saying that correctly) for our 16' Jayco Swift? This is our first RV. I'm a newbie.
Downward movement of the back end of the tow vehicle is normal.

However, as the rear goes down, the rear axle acts as a fulcrum and lifts the front end. At some point, the front end lifts 'too much' and you loose the ability to steer the tow vehicle.

A WDH transfers some of the tongue load onto the front end so that the tow vehicle is closer to level and the front tires can fully do their job of guiding the whole rig safely on your journey.

If the steering on truck feels "less effective" or "light" when towing, get yourself a WDH now!
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Old 08-01-2016, 09:08 AM   #16
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The only time I don't hookup the WDH (with integrated sway control) is when I'm at the camp and I need to move the trailer a few inches or feet because we didn't level properly during setup.

Distance is irrelevant IMO when considering the need for proper equipment. So I hook up all the way every time.
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Old 08-01-2016, 09:43 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tee-bone View Post
Anyone skip the anti-sway and weight distribution bars for short trips? Most of our camping trips are only 2 to 3 hours away. Drove it to the RV shop without them and truck pulls it fine. Just curious......
There is a vast difference between physically moving the trailer from one place to another and doing so safely. In other words, if nothing ever went wrong, then doing so might be just fine. However, as we all know, things can go wrong and can do so quickly, and that's what your WDH and anti-sway equipment is there for. If you had to make a panic stop, experienced a sudden lateral gust of wind, or had to swerve to avoid something, you likely wouldn't be questioning the need at all.

The ONLY time I would ever go without the WD and sway features of my hitch would be if I had to move spots in a campground. There's never an excuse for doing it right when travelling since the only difference with my Blue Ox is to attach the bars (takes 3 minutes).
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Old 08-01-2016, 09:44 AM   #18
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My tongue weight exceeds the hitch capacity unless I use weight distribution, so the only time I go without bars if if I'm just repositioning the trailer. It takes less than a minute to put the bars onto the brackets, what's the upside to skipping it?
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Old 08-01-2016, 09:53 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cody&Lisa View Post
I don't have a sway control on our new trailer, but our Nissan Murano squats when towing it. I've thought about getting air shocks for the Nissan, but do I need to get sway control bars (If I am saying that correctly) for our 16' Jayco Swift? This is our first RV. I'm a newbie.
Squatting is a red flag. It likely means that your front is raised up - which means that you might lose steering control under certain conditions. This is a weight distribution issue - meaning that you either don't have a weight distributing hitch or that it is set up incorrectly.

Measure the height of the front and rear wheel wells before hookup. After hookup, they should be (ideally) the same. If the front is raised and the rear is lowered, you have an issue that you should correct. That is a rule of thumb, the purists amongst us will argue that the definitive proof is in weighing the front and rear of the truck before and after hitching. Again, you want them to be as close to the same as possible.

Sway control refers to the ability to keep the trailer running straight behind the tow vehicle when some force (wind, sudden hard steering to avoid an obstacle, etc) gets the trailer out of line in such a manner that it overcorrects, resulting in a left-to-right swinging/swaying motion that gets worse and worse until it results in an accident.

This video demonstrates sway and catastrophic results:
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Old 08-01-2016, 10:22 AM   #20
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I always use my WDH, even if I am only going a short distance. Safety first, both mine and other around me. 2-3 hour drive is not a short distance to me. If I was only going to the dump station in camp,, I might consider it, but, again, it only adds a minute to the hook up time, so I would do it.

If I was pulling my htt with a 3/4 ton or larger, I would not worry about a WDH, but I would still have friction sway control.

I just do not understand how people with large enclosed car trailers do not use WHD or friction sway bars. If the load is off, these things can sway badly.

I saw a small U-Haul trailer the other day, my guess poorly loaded, behind a reasonable decent size SUV something like a Honda Pilot, and the little trailer was all over the place. They guy was driving one handed talking on his phone. No way would you see me like that. I questioned if I should have passed him.
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