Trailer towing advice

I have finally upgraded to a HD truck and need some advice regarding proper hitch and hitch accessory setup.

I have a 29ft, twin axle, 6900lb GVWR camper trailer that I have been towing with a round bar, weight distribution/sway control hitch setup behind a Tundra. Tongue weight is about 750 lbs. With this setup I have experienced zero trailer sway in the 3+ years I've been towing it, even in extreme wind. It worked great.

But now I'm going to ditch the WD hitch since I have the HD truck. But should I add a sway control kit? I understand proper weight distribution is key to limiting trailer sway, but does a sway control kit actually help or is mostly just extra peace of mind? Sway control kits are inexpensive, and installation is not complicated, but if they're not necessary, I'd rather not go through the extra effort.

Let me know what y'all think.

Yes...sway control is necessary (well at least highly desirable) regardless of the capacity of the towing vehicle.

Are the friction style sway control kits sufficient? Or should I just stick with the WD/SC (fastway e2) setup?

I see that it's recommend to use one friction style setup on each side for a trailer this size and weight.

Sway control is usually unnecessary for towing a properly distributed trailer. The issue with campers is wind born sway. Which is unpredictable, and the anti sway is insurance against this. It can save your rig. Having said that, I personally would not choose to use it

I would go with a sway control system. I have a single axle trailer. Came up here from Florida. Transmission was slipping. Dropped off the trailer midway and went back to Florida without it. Got the transmission rebuilt. Hitched up the trailer, got 20 miles on the interstate. Suddenly trailer does a wild swaying over 45 MPH. Went to RV place and got a single friction sway controller. Was fine after that.
It was SCARY as hell watching the trailer sway over into the other lane.
It is like having a gun, better to have it and not need it. Blah, blah, blah...

I use the trailer sway, and have been glad I had it with some of the wind we get. We camp up in Wyoming sometimes and it can get crazy windy on that drive.

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Originally Posted by hollohas

Are the friction style sway control kits sufficient? Or should I just stick with the WD/SC (fastway e2) setup?

I see that it's recommend to use one friction style setup on each side for a trailer this size and weight.

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DON'T DITCH THE HITCH!!!!
Keep your Fastway, it is a great hitch. If your WD is properly set up sway is non existent.
My truck is about as HD as you can get, F350 Crew cab Powerstroke and I won't tow without my WD hitch.
I have towed our 26' camp trailer with my F350 both with and without the WD hitch (Fastway E2 8K square bar). It makes a marked difference and tows much more securely and stable with the WD hitch.
"Sway Control" is merely a cover up for improper weight distribution, it's masking the symptoms of the disease.

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Originally Posted by BPTactical

DON'T DITCH THE HITCH!!!!
Keep your Fastway, it is a great hitch. If your WD is properly set up sway is non existent.
My truck is about as HD as you can get, F350 Crew cab Powerstroke and I won't tow without my WD hitch.
I have towed our 26' camp trailer with my F350 both with and without the WD hitch (Fastway E2 8K square bar). It makes a marked difference and tows much more securely and stable with the WD hitch.
"Sway Control" is merely a cover up for improper weight distribution, it's masking the symptoms of the disease.

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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I concur with this

Ain't broke/don't need fixin'. If your current WDH has worked, why not keep using it?

I tow a much smaller trailer (3500lbs) with a half ton (Suburban 1500) and I really like the way the WDH keeps the rear end from sagging - and it feels more "secure" on the road. I have the Fastway E2 as well. Unlike the chain-type of WDH I can back up with the Fastway. And now that I've gotten into the routine it's pretty easy to hook up.

Thanks guys. The Fastway e2 really is an excellent hitch. I was hoping to avoid going through the rigamoral of setting-up the WD hitch for a new truck (I don't have a nice level spot to do it at home) but sounds like that's the way to go. Gonna load up the big wrenches and find a nice flat parking lot.

I forgot to say I had the single axle trailer on a weight distributing hitch. The sway control system was necessary after I got to the Ozark mountains. Not sure why, but the trailer was whipping around like an angry cats tail. There wasn't that much wind either. I am assuming it was the road surface that wasn't liking the tires/suspension of the trailer.

WD truck doesn't mean you shouldn't try to shift weight to the front of the vehicle and to the trailer axles, what a proper WD setup does. Unloading the steer axle contributes to handling issues. The added benefit of sway control when towing a giant sail is also relevant.

There are better sway control hitches, but they're mostly more money and a hitch like the E2 that you already own is a good use of resources.

Overall, IMHO, it will make for a more stable tow on a heavy large sided RV regardless of the tow vehicle unless you're running a dually or bigger.

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Originally Posted by BushMasterBoy

I forgot to say I had the single axle trailer on a weight distributing hitch. The sway control system was necessary after I got to the Ozark mountains. Not sure why, but the trailer was whipping around like an angry cats tail. There wasn't that much wind either. I am assuming it was the road surface that wasn't liking the tires/suspension of the trailer.

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I've been in situations where ruts in the road caused the trailer to do weird things since the ruts were pickup width and the trailer actually tracks wider. So road surface is a definite possibility

A bit of a hijack here:

Picking up a 16ft tandem utility trailer next month to drag the RZR around (4 seater). Should I look into WD or sway control applications, or is it just overkill? The RZR seems like it would be a bit light and high profile for wind, but I dont have much experience towing lighter than a sedan on a uhaul trailer.

Tow vehicle is a 06 F150 crew 4x4 that is damn near perfectly level empty. I usually enjoy a bit of overkill, but dont want to set cash on fire. RZR will be strapped with tire nets and will have its assigned spot on the trailer for correct tongue weight.

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Originally Posted by 00tec

A bit of a hijack here:

Picking up a 16ft tandem utility trailer next month to drag the RZR around (4 seater). Should I look into WD or sway control applications, or is it just overkill? The RZR seems like it would be a bit light and high profile for wind, but I dont have much experience towing lighter than a sedan on a uhaul trailer.

Tow vehicle is a 06 F150 crew 4x4 that is damn near perfectly level empty. I usually enjoy a bit of overkill, but dont want to set cash on fire. RZR will be strapped with tire nets and will have its assigned spot on the trailer for correct tongue weight.

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Setup probably weighs much less than a 20' boat setup.

Trailer and RZR are probably about the same weight 1700-1800?

WD/sway should not be necessary IMHO. Overkill.

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Originally Posted by brutal

Setup probably weighs much less than a 20' boat setup.

Trailer and RZR are probably about the same weight 1700-1800?

WD/sway should not be necessary IMHO. Overkill.

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RZR is right around 1500. Dont know spec on trailer. Pipe top, so a little heavier than angle.

Thanks for the input.

Only time I have dealt with sway is back when I was 19 or so. A friend and I thought were geniuses and intentionally loaded a little ATV trailer tail heavy when moving. Trailer and load were light enough that throttle input would shut the sway down when a bump was encountered. Scary stuff though.

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Originally Posted by 00tec

RZR is right around 1500. Dont know spec on trailer. Pipe top, so a little heavier than angle.

Thanks for the input.

Only time I have dealt with sway is back when I was 19 or so. A friend and I thought were geniuses and intentionally loaded a little ATV trailer tail heavy when moving. Trailer and load were light enough that throttle input would shut the sway down when a bump was encountered. Scary stuff though.

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Yea, light tongue (% of load) is the worst possible thing to do.

Fastway trunion style. Square arms, not round. AMAZING product. I tow my loaded toy hauler at 9000# with my f150 ecoboost. The fastway trunion makes the towing super smooth, level, and great sway control

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Originally Posted by colorider

Fastway trunion style. Square arms, not round. AMAZING product. I tow my loaded toy hauler at 9000# with my f150 ecoboost. The fastway trunion makes the towing super smooth, level, and great sway control

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Agree, I have an E2 square bar, much easier to just pop out the bars and it was more than sufficient for towing my boat behind my old 5th wheel. Don't need it with the new rig.

FWIW, for even more sway control, one can step up to an Equal-i-zer 4 point. A little more money but honestly they're the same company. The Fastway is just a cheaper, somewhat less effective system they sell under that brand.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 00tec

A bit of a hijack here:

Picking up a 16ft tandem utility trailer next month to drag the RZR around (4 seater). Should I look into WD or sway control applications, or is it just overkill? The RZR seems like it would be a bit light and high profile for wind, but I dont have much experience towing lighter than a sedan on a uhaul trailer.

Tow vehicle is a 06 F150 crew 4x4 that is damn near perfectly level empty. I usually enjoy a bit of overkill, but dont want to set cash on fire. RZR will be strapped with tire nets and will have its assigned spot on the trailer for correct tongue weight.

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Hauled similar setup without a WD or sway control. I didn't feel it was needed, just make sure you position the RZR in a good spot for the weight to be balanced right as you have already noted you will do.

Side-note regarding my new truck. It's a Ram 2500 and the passenger side mirror SUCKS.

It has the tow mirrors. The little convex mirror is fine, but the main mirror appears to be magnified. Seriously. Instead of being "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" (which it doesn't say), the damn thing makes it look like objects are a lot CLOSER than they actually are. The field of view in the main mirror is tiny. Cars appear much bigger in the passenger mirror than they do in the rearview. There have been a few times that I was changing lanes into the right lane, after checking in my rearview saw that it was clear but then when I view the RH side-view I said "oh shit" because it looked like I was going to cut someone off. Only to look back in the rearview and over my shoulder to find out that the car in the right lane was actually a reasonable distance back. I can still see cars coming up along side me in the right lane in the rearview that I have long lost sight of in the side-view. It's fucked up.

Otherwise, the truck is awesome. But damn, I may need to find after market mirrors.

Edit:

Three pictures to show how bad it is.

Driver's side I can see over 4 signs/parking spaces wide a few rows away in the parking lot. Also, (not in the picture) I can see cars passing me on the left all the way until they are even with my rear bumper. It's a nice wide field of view


Passenger side I can only see two signs wide at the same distance away. Also, the white car is almost completely out of view in the main mirror. It's about 2.5 car lengths away and just to the right. (As you can see in the convex mirror). It would be completely out of view long before it should be. It's a super narrow field of view.

Also, the rearview for comparison. You can see basically the entire white car in the rearview even though it's nearly out of view in the RH side view. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1662cf63e2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e84ef57d42.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d7f6f74fae.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colorider

Fastway trunion style. Square arms, not round. AMAZING product. I tow my loaded toy hauler at 9000# with my f150 ecoboost. The fastway trunion makes the towing super smooth, level, and great sway control

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Same as my hitch only 8k capacity.
It is awesome.

I switched to buying gooseneck trailers and now I wish I'd have done it years ago.