Sway Bar Noise

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Carol H

See post #2 for the answer

And this is post #2:

Originally Posted by tractors1

The sway bar depends of friction to work; you might have it a bit too tight. Do NOT lubricate it!

I'd back off a bit and see how it goes. Still no wiggles when big trucks pass, you should be good.

I'm sorry but I do not consider this an answer to the question of whether the noise is normal (when the sway bar is operating as it should be). Of course the OP (and myself) can back off on the friction, even so far as to eliminate the noise and make the sway bar totally ineffective at the same time. But that is not what you should do. There should be some friction so that the sway bar can do it's job and it seems that if there is enough friction to dampen the sway, then the bar WILL make noise, esp. in slow speed turns.

BTW: I also lubricated the balls (not the bar of course) and for me at least it made no difference in the amount of noise.

BTW #2: When I made an inquiry here about sway issues and mentioned that I had a little sway above between 65-70 I was soundly and widely criticized for my excessive speed. But I only got up to 70 a few times for very short times as I was "feeling out" the trailer and trying to see how good or bad the sway was. I was on the road by myself so those of you who don't want to be anywhere near people who tow over 65 MPH had no worries.

Since the OP has only had his trailer for four days I suspect he was also just getting the feel for it, and probably knows better than to go over 65 routinely. The warnings are appropriate, but I for one would not make the warning with the assumed belief that the OP going 75 MPH was anything more than a short test drive.

[floyd]

ACER should read ACAR as the brand name of the sway bar pictured in my earlier post. I corrected it yesterday but the Edit did not take for some reason. (Thanks Brian for pointing out my error)

Apparently (ACAR Trail Pac) now only makes a sway control of the common design.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by gordon2

And this is post #2:

I'm sorry but I do not consider this an answer to the question of whether the noise is normal (when the sway bar is operating as it should be). Of course the OP (and myself) can back off on the friction, even so far as to eliminate the noise and make the sway bar totally ineffective at the same time. But that is not what you should do. There should be some friction so that the sway bar can do it's job and it seems that if there is enough friction to dampen the sway, then the bar WILL make noise, esp. in slow speed turns.

.

Important to note that the party in post #2 DID NOT suggest the OP loosen the bar off to the point that it is ineffective.

Each brand of bars comes with instructions as to how to set them up. I am currently on my 3rd brand and each is a little bit different as to how they suggest you tighten them & how far. For example current brand suggests you tighten it right up and then back it off a 1/4 turn on the handle - previous was a 1/2 turn. The OP will no doubt find the answer to how much is enough vs to much, in the manual for their brand of anti sway bar.

I personally have never had a anti sway bar that makes an lot of noise under normal towing conditions and normal turns - i.e. turning a corner on the street. I have had them make a lot of sound if I make a tight turn with it still in place - such as when backing into a campground. Again it depends of what brand of anti sway is being used but most recommend that the anti sway bar be disengaged when doing tight turns or backing up.

If I owned an anti sway bar that was making a lot of sound under normal towing conditions I would check to see if it was sitting level when connected &/or take a look to see if perhaps the slide is dirty - may need to be taken apart and cleaned.

As a side note in order for the anti sway bar to be level on my old Scamp the anti sway bar ball on the trailer side had to be mounted on a plate attached to the frame that hung down from the frame a few inches to compensate for the slop of the trailers tongue. This allowed the anti sway bar to sit level. Have no idea if the newer Scamps have the same slop on the tongue that the older ones had.

As far a speed of travel goes its a wild wild world. :-) Lots of folks do make it a habit of towing at over 65mph. I know having attended lots of fibreglass meets and had plenty of folks pass me coming and going. So while it may not be your personal practise it may be others

In the case of the OP, due to the trailer being new to them & they gave no reference to previous towing experience it is highly possible they in fact are not aware that speed is a big contributor to sway. And/or that their trailer tires are not rated for speeds over 65 mph.

[WaltP]

IMHO, your anti sway bar should be tighteNed to the point where it "groans" when you start out on turns at low speed but is silent once you are up to speed on the highway. Otherwise I agree with most comments above.

Walt

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by WaltP

IMHO, your anti sway bar should be tighteNed to the point where it "groans" when you start out on turns at low speed but is silent once you are up to speed on the highway. Otherwise I agree with most comments above.

Walt

Walt do not disagree but then again I do not consider a bit of a groan while doing a turning at low speeds to be a lot of noise. I also know that a couple of my set ups did groan a bit more than brand new than they did after they were used for awhile.

As I said though its always best to consult the manual and what the manufacture suggests is the correct setting up for their brand.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Important to note that the party in post #2 DID NOT suggest the OP loosen the bar off to the point that it is ineffective.

It should also be noted that no one suggested that the party in post # 2 suggested that the OP loosen the bar off to the point that it is ineffective. Only that it could be done and was not what you should do.

In fact, I did try lesser settings and the noise persisted even when the friction was reduced to the point that I felt that the sway bar was a little less effective. I set it back to a higher resistance and just live with the noise on turns.

Originally Posted by Carol H

Again it depends of what brand of anti sway is being used but most recommend that the anti sway bar be disengaged when doing tight turns or backing up.

I have noticed no more, nor any less noise when backing with the sway bar on, but do not do that very often. The only reason my brand recommends removing it when backing is so that you do not over extend it and bend it. If you're angle is not enough to over extend it then backing with it on is OK. The instructions even tell how to to decide if it needs to come off before backing, but the general advice is just take it off and not worry about damaging it.

Originally Posted by Carol H

If I owned an anti sway bar that was making a lot of sound under normal towing conditions I would check to see if it was sitting level when connected &/or take a look to see if perhaps the slide is dirty - may need to be taken apart and cleaned.

Good point.. my instructions do mention cleaning it after it is "broken in." I did clean it and the noise is the same.

Originally Posted by Carol H

As far a speed of travel goes its a wild wild world. :-) .....
In the case of the OP, due to the trailer being new to them & they gave no reference to previous towing experience it is highly possible they in fact are not aware that speed is a big contributor to sway. And/or that their trailer tires are not rated for speeds over 65 mph.

None of us knows what the OP knows about towing speed and sway until he returns and tells us. Like I said, giving people a caution in case they do not know something is one thing. But (without calling out the poster), I still see at least one reply as unnecessarily harsh and based on a possibly mistaken belief that OP travels routinely at 75 MPH. People assumed I thought it was OK to go over 65 when I said that I did have sway at the higher speed but that was a mistaken assumption. I knew full well the top safe sustained speed was (and is) 65.

[Timber Wolf]

I have never heard anything out of my friction sway bar. Maybe it is silent, maybe I am deaf or can't hear it way back there, maybe I play CCR tunes too loud, or maybe I am just really good at ignoring it. I do not have it very tight, although tightness on these things is pretty subjective.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

I have never heard anything out of my friction sway bar. Maybe it is silent, maybe I am deaf or can't hear it way back there, maybe I play CCR tunes too loud, or maybe I am just really good at ignoring it. I do not have it very tight, although tightness on these things is pretty subjective.

We can rule out # 3. One can never play CCR too loud.

This is interesting because I really do think if I adjust my sway bar to the point it is quiet in turns around town, then when I get on the highway and swerve a little to try and judge the effect on the trailer swaying, the sway bar does seem to be less effective in returning the trailer to straight tracking as fast as before. Perhaps it is still OK but I can't tell since I won't push it to the point of being unsafe. Perhaps if the sway was that bad, the bar would do something. I just don't know.

[Wayne Collins]

A noisy sway bar may just be too tight.
But, after many miles of use, the brake pad material bulds up on the flat bar.
That should be cleaned off, maybe once a year, by pulling the bar out and brushing off with a wire brush.
The friction adjustment should be loosened before reversing.

As others have said. A sway bar is NOT needed IF your ball mount fits tightly in the receiver, the ball is snug in the hitch socket, and you drive with a steady hand on the wheel -- avoid jerky steering.

A WDH (Weight Distributing Hitch) or Load leveling hitch should not be needed with most light weight trailers. They add dead weight which is contrary to the concept. But, if your TV sags too much with the trailer hooked up, they can help.
"You pays your money and takes your choice"

[WaltP]

Personally when I start out from home, campsite, or otherwise parked, if I don't hear the "groans" I stop and tighten the bar, but never enough that it's noisy once I'm underway.

Walt

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Wayne Collins

...
As others have said. A sway bar is NOT needed IF your ball mount fits tightly in the receiver, the ball is snug in the hitch socket, and you drive with a steady hand on the wheel -- avoid jerky steering.
...

At the least, your statement is an absolute one.. and there are few absolutes in this world.

Also, you might tell that to Toyota, who says

If the gross trailer weight is over 2000 lbs (907 kg), a sway control device with sufficient capacity is required.*

So even if the trailer drives fine and does not sway, one could be in a legal gray area if you have a collision and sway is a contributing factor.


---
* from 2015 Sienna manual.

[Lee Davis]

Every interstate highway I travel has commercial trucks/ tractors/ semis pulling 53' trailers in excess of the 70 mph speed limit. 78 is the usual speed. People start getting tickets at 80.

[JackieLynn]

Originally Posted by Lee Davis

Every interstate highway I travel has commercial trucks/ tractors/ semis pulling 53' trailers in excess of the 70 mph speed limit. 78 is the usual speed. People start getting tickets at 80.

Not on 13" tires.


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[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Lee Davis

Every interstate highway I travel has commercial trucks/ tractors/ semis pulling 53' trailers in excess of the 70 mph speed limit. 78 is the usual speed. People start getting tickets at 80.

True enough.. there is no respect for speed limit law anymore.

But what is your point? Is it that you need to keep up while towing your fiberglass camper? Or are you comparing the commercial trucks to trailers with the 65 MPH speed rated tires?

[Carl Pa]

Originally Posted by JackieLynn

Not on 13" tires.


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Also very large heavy tractors with humongous amounts of HP. and several wheels. Carl

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Lee Davis

Every interstate highway I travel has commercial trucks/ tractors/ semis pulling 53' trailers in excess of the 70 mph speed limit. 78 is the usual speed. People start getting tickets at 80.

I have not observed that on our rural Arizona interstates. The speed limit is 75 for all vehicles. Most semis are going about 70. I haven't noticed particularly aggressive enforcement, but flagrant speed violations appear to the exception, especially among commercial vehicles. My opinion is that the CDL process has made a difference in the way commercial drivers operate.

I have observed more variation among drivers of pull-behind RVs. Some do blast along at 75, but most seem to settle in around 65-70.

Now California, with its 55 mph speed limit for trucks and trailers, is another story. No one goes 55.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Timber Wolf

I have never heard anything out of my friction sway bar. Maybe it is silent, maybe I am deaf or can't hear it way back there, maybe I play CCR tunes too loud, or maybe I am just really good at ignoring it. I do not have it very tight, although tightness on these things is pretty subjective.

Don't underestimate the ability to ignore ambient noises. Consider people who live near interstates or railroad tracks and never notice the traffic.
Once a sound is normalized in your mind you tend to block it out.
I collect antique face wound clocks and have 18 of them running throughout my house, without deliberately listening I seldom hear any of them. In fact there are times when I have determined to listen on the hour to enjoy the sound and check for synchronization only to notice that it is 10 minutes past the hour and I forgot to listen!
It is weird though to come home after an extended absence to an errily silent house, that is until "quiet" is restored by starting all the clocks again.

[alan H]

Keep in mind that most truckers are semi professional and have in many case attended some type of training and most have many hrs under their belt.... While in many cases a very large number of campers only take their trailers out a few times a year
A just cant believe anyone feels safe towing a trailer at 75 mph
Just because you can and others do it , it makes no sense to me

You can find me in the slow lane


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[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by alan H

Keep in mind that most truckers are semi professional and have in many case attended some type of training and most have many hrs under their belt.... While in many cases a very large number of campers only take their trailers out a few times a year
A just cant believe anyone feels safe towing a trailer at 75 mph
Just because you can and others do it , it makes no sense to me

Maybe it is that I have hordes of experience, and am towing some kind of trailer almost every day, speed has absolutely no bearing on me feeling unsafe at all. I find a properly loaded trailer tows up to 75 mph, no problem.

I usually am travelling at the speed limit, unless all traffic is doing a bit more, and never over 75 mph. I only pass on two lane highways when someone is well under the speed limit.

Folks definitely have to be comfortable and confident whatever speed they tow.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by alan H

Keep in mind that most truckers are semi professional and have in many case attended some type of training and most have many hrs under their belt.... While in many cases a very large number of campers only take their trailers out a few times a year
A just cant believe anyone feels safe towing a trailer at 75 mph
Just because you can and others do it , it makes no sense to me

You can find me in the slow lane


Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

"Semi" professional, and "Road" scholars too!