LIGHTWEIGHT SWAY

[pegski]

I have to admit that I'm a bit of a trailer hog as I have a 1995 13'Scamp and a 2015 17' SD Casita. I thought after I bought the Casita for my extended winter break that I would come home and make a decision which to sell but I can't part with either...but back to my original question; I picked up the Scamp yesterday and having not towed it for awhile, it seemed a little squirrelly, swaying with the wind. Does anyone put a sway bar on the 13's? I never thought I had to because they were so lightweight but after the Casita it feels almost too lightweight w/o a sway bar.

[Jon in AZ]

Casita 17's are known for excellent stability, thanks to a naturally high tongue weight. Scamp 13's are more susceptible to sway. Being light with a naturally low tongue weight, a few pounds in the wrong place can make a big difference.

Adding some weight will help, especially if you load so as to increase tongue weight a bit to around 12%. Stow heavy items low and centered over or slightly forward of the axle.

In addition to loading, make sure the trailer is level when hitched.

Fully loaded at 1650# with 210# tongue weight, our Scamp 13 is very stable at all reasonable speeds- not a hint of sway.

A sway bar is a good back-up measure. It is not a substitute for a stable trailer and load.

[thrifty bill]

Two words on sway: tongue weight.

And like Jon pointed out, you have gone from a trailer noted for heavy tongue weight to one that can sometimes be light up front. It doesn't take a big trailer to get sway.

Watch this relatively large SUV get rolled by a light weight, empty flat bed trailer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uvPIjaK01A

[Glenn Baglo]

Nice of the dashcam guy to stop and offer assistance.

[pegski]

I'm looking around for bike racks that fit over the propane tanks so guess that would add the additional weight I might need. I did haul it home empty so that probably accounted for the extra sway. Before towing the Casita I never really noticed.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by pegski

I'm looking around for bike racks that fit over the propane tanks so guess that would add the additional weight I might need. I did haul it home empty so that probably accounted for the extra sway. Before towing the Casita I never really noticed.

Ditto to post#2.
We use a friction sway device on our 13Scamp. I also designed a tongue mount bike rack which works very well....

[pegski]

I saw this and loved the base mount...I'm thinking of ordering the "Bike Bunk" from Amazon and using my Swagman bike rack that uses the hitch. Did you totally design your own rack? I have a sway bar on my Casita but don't know what to put on the Scamp.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by pegski

I saw this and loved the base mount...I'm thinking of ordering the "Bike Bunk" from Amazon and using my Swagman bike rack that uses the hitch. Did you totally design your own rack? I have a sway bar on my Casita but don't know what to put on the Scamp.

The rack is my design, but I used Two bike trays which were made for roof racks, mounted in opposite directions.
The bikes must be tucked in close to the trailer to allow full turning radius.

[Mike Magee]

Trailer being light or heavy have little to do with sway. I once long ago had a scary sway event with a 700 lb (loaded) 4x8 utility trailer, all because I loaded it stupidly and had negative tongue weight.