anti sway bar

[Gleam B]

A friend suggested that I install an anti sway bar on our Lil Snoozy before our upcoming trip.
Any thoughts on this. I am not familiar with them?
Thanks and
Happy Trails...

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Gleam B

A friend suggested that I install an anti sway bar on our Lil Snoozy before our upcoming trip.
Any thoughts on this. I am not familiar with them?
Thanks and
Happy Trails...

Do a search, you will find many comments and threads on the subject

[Donna D.]

My thoughts. It depends on your tug and if you're capable and willing to load the trailer properly.

They're not expensive, if that's your concern.

[honda03842]

We've had an anti sway bar for a number of years. Like you, I asked when I first started towing. I was told you'll probably never need one but in an emergency you'll be glad you have one. They cost little and take less than an hour to install. We've been on the road for approaching 3000 days, on two of the days we were glad we had one, and not to resolve sway but for two emergencies where I suspect it helped.

[Perry J]

A lot of people use anti sway bars as a band aid for a serious, dangerous sway problem.

Make sure you don't have any sway problems under normal driving conditions.
If you have no problems them install one to eliminate the mild sway of passing large vehicles, wind or bumpy roads you may encounter.

[Brian B-P]

You might try searching for "friction type sway control device", since in the automotive world an "anti-sway bar" is an entirely unrelated item, part of a suspension system.

I have no intention of ever using one of these devices.

[Jeanbella]

We rented a U Haul trailer before buying our Casita. Just wanted to see if my husband and I would be comfortable towing. Seeing it bounce around on the road, we opted for the anti-sway bar as a caution. It takes seconds to put on and take off and gives me the confidence that it has less chance of swaying. Only lesson we learned...you cannot back into a spot until you loosen or remove it!

[honda03842]

We never loosen our anti sway bar when backing up. You do not want to over tighten the anti-sway bar. It needs to be able to slide to work properly.

[deryk]

After a very windy trip in Pa in early April I added the anti sway bar and the ParkLiner tracked behind me fine the last time I was on the highway and the wind was really blowing. Yes haveing a proper 10%+ tongue weight watch the weight on the rear. I travel with a full water tank just cause its easier...but the 95 lb generator up front helps keep my tongue weight good lol.

[GMike A]

The first time I had a semi tractor trailer pass me at 70mph besides scaring the crap out of me, it pushed and pulled my pop-up all over the place. Fortunately I knew when it sways is to not hit the brakes but to go faster to snap it back in line. My next purchase as soon as I got home was a sway bar. No more problems with trucks!! JMO

[Murphy C.]

Coming home from getting the Scamp we hit winds in Montana and North Dakota. (This is with a pretty much empty trailer.) It was WHITE KNUCKLE CITY!!! Stayed the night in Billings, MT and called around. A place called "RATCO", although full of jobs, got me in. Told me to go get Breakfast (if you are in Billings go to The Hog Wild Cafe for breakfast, its great Hog Wild Cafe Home ) an hour later he called and we picked up the Scamp and it was a dream to tow! Best $175.00 I have spent in a long time!

[Brian B-P]

If I felt that I needed a friction-type sway control device, I would try to fix the problem instead. Wind and big trucks are no problem.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

If I felt that I needed a friction-type sway control device, I would try to fix the problem instead. Wind and big trucks are no problem.

It's not about need,it's about excellence.
It's about taking the best and making it better, which includes the friction sway control. The taillights work fine too, but I like the extra LEDs up by the windows. There are dozens of other examples where good can be made better.
BTW; the same goes for the TV, the house, the bikes etc!

[frank_a]

I got one at Harbor Freight, then bought an adaptor to install the small ball needed on the ball mount off the web (did not want to weld anything if I could help it). Didn't take long to install and does a good job of removing the very minor sway we had at speed in windy conditions. Any sway makes me very nervous!

Frank

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by floyd

It's not about need,it's about excellence.
It's about taking the best and making it better, which includes the friction sway control. The taillights work fine too, but I like the extra LEDs up by the windows. There are dozens of other examples where good can be made better.

Fair enough: so fix the problem with the unstable trailer and add the sticky sliding thing. If it is about excellence, tolerating a fundamentally unstable rig doesn't seem like a good thing to me.

Every part of a typical travel trailer could be substantially better, especially the chassis components (tires, suspension, brakes). Each person needs to decide where to stop.

[honda03842]

We use an anti-sway bar, not to correct any swaying situation. We've towed without the sway bar and have never seen sway with the Casita or Scamp. We have it for the occasionally rare emergency event.

When you drive to Newfoundland you must drive thru a section called Wreckhouse, named for an event where a locomotive was blown off the tracks by the occasional strong winds in that area.

We personally have come upon two semis blown over in this stretch of road. The winds can gust up to 200 km/hr... truly hurricane force. The locals tell you to never park parallel to the mountains in that area.

Though they have a warning sign, they have no active alarm like one sometimes sees on the Oregon coast.