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Old 10-11-2014, 02:06 PM   #1
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Sway control

I guess I'm confused I thought equalizer bar and sway control were the same thing. I have the bars on my 17 hitch but would a sway control addition help in towing? My friend said they work well when towing a small light trailer. Sometimes it seems to move around a lot back there I'm used to towing a goose neck horse trailer with a super duty 250 doesn't move around at all. I tow my 17 with a highlander seems to have plenty of go but the trailer bounces around sometimes. Tightened my bars up a link or two looks more level.
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Old 10-11-2014, 02:14 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox hunt View Post
I guess I'm confused I thought equalizer bar and sway control were the same thing. I have the bars on my 17 hitch but would a sway control addition help in towing? My friend said they work well when towing a small light trailer. Sometimes it seems to move around a lot back there I'm used to towing a goose neck horse trailer with a super duty 250 doesn't move around at all. I tow my 17 with a highlander seems to have plenty of go but the trailer bounces around sometimes. Tightened my bars up a link or two looks more level.
There are quite a few threads here that discuss sway control vs weight distribution. The purpose of your round bar weight distribution hitch is to do just that -- distribute weight. It redistributes weight from the tongue to the front axle of the tow vehicle. A properly adjusted weight distribution hitch MAY help with sway control but that is not its primary purpose.
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Old 10-11-2014, 02:45 PM   #3
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My 17B is hitched to my ( lighter than Highlander ) RAV4, via a weight distribution hitch. I don't experience sway unless my trailer is improperly loaded ( too much weight aft ).
ETI installed the WDH so I have never adjusted it.
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With WDH1.jpg   With WDH2.jpg  
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Old 10-11-2014, 03:52 PM   #4
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"sway control"
  • a device which reduces sway, usually by resisting rotation of the trailer around the ball with friction
  • the most common separate sway control device is a simple sliding-bar thing that mounts to one side of the trailer tongue on one end, and to an extra small ball off to one side of the hitch on the other end
  • Europeans commonly use as type of coupler with pads of friction material (like brake pads) which clamp onto the ball; this cannot be used with our usual stud-mounted balls, because it would unscrew the ball
"equalizer bar" = weight distribution hitch system (WDH)
  • As noted above, exists to change load distribution between axles
  • shifting load from the tug's rear axle to the front axle and trailer axle - without moving the mass of the trailer - inherently reduces the stability of the rig (risking more sway, or in the extreme even loss of control)
  • system often includes features for sway control, such as extra friction, or cams to keep the trailer straight, but even without add-ons there is usually enough friction and other constraint on trailer motion that sway is no worse than without the system - they don't have good pivot joints, and the bad joints actually work out well for them
  • ETI sells the most common type of WD system, with two bending bars connected to the trailer by vertical chains
  • a new style of WD system which has received a lot of attention in this forum is the Andersen No-Sway WD, which has a lot of frictional resistance to sway deliberately

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox hunt View Post
Sometimes it seems to move around a lot back there I'm used to towing a goose neck horse trailer with a super duty 250 doesn't move around at all.
The truck and trailer both have very stiff suspension, so all sorts of motion is minimized. The goose neck horse trailer has a very long distance from hitch to trailer axle, which is inherently very stable.

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Originally Posted by Fox hunt View Post
I tow my 17 with a highlander seems to have plenty of go but the trailer bounces around sometimes.
If any other type of vehicle were described as "bouncing around", the solution would be better suspension damping, which is done by shock absorbers. One may draw their own conclusions...

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Originally Posted by Fox hunt View Post
Tightened my bars up a link or two looks more level.
The trailer can be leveled just by changing the ball height with a different ball mount; the WD hitch is not for leveling the trailer. The tow vehicle can be made more level by boosting the rear suspension (such as with air bags), or by shifting load with the WD system (by applying more force with the bars) as done in this case.
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Old 10-11-2014, 06:31 PM   #5
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Fox Hunt,

We didn't have a sway / bounce problem pulling the lark on the way out to you.

You might want to take the trailer and the Highlander to a place that specializes in hitches and trailers. They can make sure the ball is at the right height for the trailer (I think it is 21", but Escape can probably tell you for sure), and figure out how many links on the bars need to be free. When we pulled the trailer with a Sienna, we had three links free. When we pulled it with the Highlander, two links free seemed a bit smoother.

Hope that helps,

Leon
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Old 10-11-2014, 07:22 PM   #6
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If you have all of the instructions that came with the Escape, there should be some for the hitch to figure out the links. Takes some measuring as I recall.
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Old 10-12-2014, 02:26 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
"sway control"
  • a device which reduces sway, usually by resisting rotation of the trailer around the ball with friction
  • the most common separate sway control device is a simple sliding-bar thing that mounts to one side of the trailer tongue on one end, and to an extra small ball off to one side of the hitch on the other end
  • Europeans commonly use as type of coupler with pads of friction material (like brake pads) which clamp onto the ball; this cannot be used with our usual stud-mounted balls, because it would unscrew the ball
"equalizer bar" = weight distribution hitch system (WDH)
  • As noted above, exists to change load distribution between axles
  • shifting load from the tug's rear axle to the front axle and trailer axle - without moving the mass of the trailer - inherently reduces the stability of the rig (risking more sway, or in the extreme even loss of control)
  • system often includes features for sway control, such as extra friction, or cams to keep the trailer straight, but even without add-ons there is usually enough friction and other constraint on trailer motion that sway is no worse than without the system - they don't have good pivot joints, and the bad joints actually work out well for them
  • ETI sells the most common type of WD system, with two bending bars connected to the trailer by vertical chains
  • a new style of WD system which has received a lot of attention in this forum is the Andersen No-Sway WD, which has a lot of frictional resistance to sway deliberately


The truck and trailer both have very stiff suspension, so all sorts of motion is minimized. The goose neck horse trailer has a very long distance from hitch to trailer axle, which is inherently very stable.


If any other type of vehicle were described as "bouncing around", the solution would be better suspension damping, which is done by shock absorbers. One may draw their own conclusions...


The trailer can be leveled just by changing the ball height with a different ball mount; the WD hitch is not for leveling the trailer. The tow vehicle can be made more level by boosting the rear suspension (such as with air bags), or by shifting load with the WD system (by applying more force with the bars) as done in this case.
Yes I said it wrong when I increased the number of links on the chains the TV became more level not the trailer. My hitch is a different heighth then Leon's so I had to change it. I will take it in to my hitch shop and have them take a look at the set up to see if it's ok. Also I might not have the weight distributed correctly when hauling. I don't think anything is wrong with the trailer or the cars shocks absorbers.
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Old 10-12-2014, 09:25 AM   #8
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Our 17B with the standard ETI installed WDH is amazingly stable. (Even with the tire blowout we recently experience there was no sway and it was easy to make a controlled pull over)

When Reace installed the WDH, the first question he asked was is the Tacoma loaded like it is likely to be in the future. I said yes, so he first measured the rear height of the Tacoma sitting unhitched. Then he installed the WDH and made adjustments until that measurement was identical hitched and unhitched with the WDH installed.

The first step in the WHD install was to adjust the ball height to the exact height of the level Escape. You can see on Baglo's pictures that the hitch part of the WDH is adjustable.
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Old 10-12-2014, 01:09 PM   #9
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When Reace installed the WDH, the first question he asked was is the Tacoma loaded like it is likely to be in the future. I said yes, so he first measured the rear height of the Tacoma sitting unhitched. Then he installed the WDH and made adjustments until that measurement was identical hitched and unhitched with the WDH installed.
Are you sure that it wasn't the front ride height that Reace matched? Matching the rear would mean that the Tacoma's rear axle isn't carrying any extra load due to the trailer - forcing the Tacoma's front axle to carry most of it (and the trailer axle to carry the rest) - which doesn't make sense. That would drive the front of the Tacoma down compared to the unhitched condition.
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Old 10-12-2014, 01:24 PM   #10
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I watched Reace install my WDH.
My recollection is that he measured from the underside of the hitch receiver to a piece of board he put on the ground for a flat surface. Then the trailer hitch was dropped onto the ball and he measured again ( the measure was 2" less than the first ). Then he adjusted the WDH so that distance from the underside of the hitch receiver to the board was restored.
So, I am hooked on the third chain link, leaving two hanging.
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Old 10-12-2014, 02:18 PM   #11
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My recollection is that he measured from the underside of the hitch receiver to a piece of board he put on the ground for a flat surface. Then the trailer hitch was dropped onto the ball and he measured again ( the measure was 2" less than the first ). Then he adjusted the WDH so that distance from the underside of the hitch receiver to the board was restored.
So, as a result, how does the rear axle load compare, without trailer and with trailer plus WD? If it hasn't changed - as suggested by the rear height being unchanged - then the rear axle isn't carrying any of the added load.
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Old 10-12-2014, 02:53 PM   #12
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Maybe if the distance from the underside of the hitch receiver to the the ground increased with the use of WDH, you theory would be correct?
It's a weight DISTRIBUTION hitch, so I don't think the fact that ride height is maintained is an indication that nothing is occurring.
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Old 10-12-2014, 04:14 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gbaglo View Post
I watched Reace install my WDH.
My recollection is that he measured from the underside of the hitch receiver to a piece of board he put on the ground for a flat surface. Then the trailer hitch was dropped onto the ball and he measured again ( the measure was 2" less than the first ). Then he adjusted the WDH so that distance from the underside of the hitch receiver to the board was restored.
So, I am hooked on the third chain link, leaving two hanging.
Yep - exactly like that. And I agree that that does not necessarily mean that the rear axle isn't carrying more weight.
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Old 10-12-2014, 05:42 PM   #14
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Maybe if the distance from the underside of the hitch receiver to the the ground increased with the use of WDH, you theory would be correct?.
No, the rear rising (versus unhitched) would mean you are actually lifting the back of the vehicle with the trailer - obviously a bad thing, and hopefully nobody does that.

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It's a weight DISTRIBUTION hitch, so I don't think the fact that ride height is maintained is an indication that nothing is occurring.
It's a spring-loaded prybar. If the rear suspension (one without air springs) is no more compressed than without the trailer, it has no more load on it (whatever the source) than without the trailer. Springs - they're pretty straightforward.

Okay, it's Sunday, so my brain is moving slowly...
The receiver, of course, is further back than the rear axle. If the hitch is at the same height as without the trailer, the only way for the rear axle to be taking any of the added load is for the tug to be tilted more nose-down... which unfortunately means that the front suspension/axle is taking over twice as much additional load as the rear. There is no vehicle for which that is even close to appropriate.
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Old 10-12-2014, 05:44 PM   #15
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And I agree that that does not necessarily mean that the rear axle isn't carrying more weight.
If the rear suspension is no more compressed than without the trailer, and it doesn't have air springs that have been pumped up, how is it carrying more load ("weight")? All springs have the same characteristic: they apply more force with more stroke; if they are at the same position, they are applying the same force.

As I noted above, the rear axle and hitch locations are not the same, so no change in the hitch height doesn't necessarily mean no change in axle load... which is why the instructions for WD adjustment generally refer to checking ride height at the axle locations.
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Old 10-12-2014, 08:02 PM   #16
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Well, since both Baglo and mine were installed by Reace himself and since both of us experience very good safe towing experiences with our setups, I trust that Reace knows what he is doing and that his setup process has worked as it should.
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