Here's a silly question or maybe not

[neauone]

Is it needed to have a sway bar on your scamp?

[Donna D.]

Not a silly question at all. It's always about YOUR tug, YOUR tow and the areas of the country you travel.

I tug with a 2000 Ford F-150 Triton V8, towing a 16' Scamp Deluxe, tow and live in the Pacific NorthWET. I don't use a sway bar.... YMMV

[carlkeigley]

I tow with a 2010 Toyota Tacoma four door.
Pulling a Lil Snoozy. Don't need a sway bar
in our setup.

[Roger C H]

I tow a 2009 Trillium 1300 with a 2000 Subaru Outback and don't use any control aids. I had an issue at the start with "clunking" especially on cement highways which turned out to be not having the trailer ball torqued correctly.
Otherwise, Homelet tows like it is part of the Subaru. The only thing is the weight (1840#) does affect the umph of the Subaru, but I am a patient person and don't mind taking a little longer to get up to speed or slowing on hills.

BTW: Welcome to FGRV. This is the greatest spot for fiberglass egg owners. Also don't be shy no question is dumb. I had tons of them when I started and the FGRV people were so kind to answer them.

[Pam Garlow]

I tow a 13ft UHaul with a Ford Escape. No sway bar.

[Frederick L. Simson]

I only use my friction anti-sway bar when I expect to drive through high wind zones, like several mountain passes here in SoCal. I always install it when I hitch up, but leave the crank lever un-tightened. It it then easy to pull off the road when I experience cross winds and crank it tight. It is also easy to pull over and just loosen it when it starts to rain.

[carlkeigley]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

I only use my friction anti-sway bar when I expect to drive through high wind zones, like several mountain passes here in SoCal. I always install it when I hitch up, but leave the crank lever un-tightened. It it then easy to pull off the road when I experience cross winds and crank it tight. It is also easy to pull over and just loosen it when it starts to rain.

"Loosen it when it rains."

Does that mean there can be an issue like using cruise control
during bad weather? Still learning.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by carlkeigley

"Loosen it when it rains."

Does that mean there can be an issue like using cruise control
during bad weather? Still learning.

Yes. When towing during slippery conditions you need to remove all tension from the unit. Failure to do so could prevent tow vehicle and trailer from turning properly.

[Carol H]

No question is silly especially one that pertains to making sure your towing your trailer safely.

I pull a Scamp with a Subaru Outback without a sway bar. I have traveled in areas of high winds and it tows very solid with the right weight on the tongue. Key for me is to make sure the trailer is level or just slightly down on the tongue. I find I need to have at least 10% on the tongue & more is even better - anything less than that I can with the right moves get the trailer to sway. Before putting a sway bar on a vehicle I would suggest towing it a few times without one first to make sure you have the set up solid without needing as sway bar.

Nothing wrong with having a sway bar if its only being used as an added safety device for the extreme situations but IMHO something is wrong with the setup if its actually needed to keep the trailer from swaying under normal driving conditions.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Nothing wrong with having a sway bar if its only being used as an added safety device for the extreme situations but IMHO something is wrong with the setup if its actually needed to keep the trailer from swaying under normal driving conditions.

Great advice

[carlkeigley]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

Yes. When towing during slippery conditions you need to remove all tension from the unit. Failure to do so could prevent tow vehicle and trailer from turning properly.

That's what I thought.
Same with forgetting to grease the fifth wheel on a semi.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by neauone

Is it needed to have a sway bar on your scamp?

I tow a Scamp 13D. I don't need a friction anti-sway control.
I love my Acar Sway control and I use it... rain or shine.
I also don't need brakes on my trailer.
I love my trailer brakes and I use 'em...rain or shine.
I avoid towing on ice,it's dangerous, with or without brakes or sway control.

One point, with a conventional flat friction bar you can actually bend it when turning or backing up if you over tighten it. It should be inspected regularly and adjusted to meet conditions and match equipment. Some larger trailers use two.

[RogerDat]

Given a choice between spending $$ on brakes or sway bar I would go with brakes. Properly loaded to provide the tongue weight Carol mentions sway is something that would be the less common problem. Have to stop all the time.

I figure I'm more likely to run into a need to stop rapidly where the trailer brakes will help maintain control than I am to have sway I can't control by slowing down a bit. Then again I'm not in a part of the country where wind is as much of an issue as it may be for some and I'm towing a 13 ft..

I think both would be nice to have, I just would put trailer brakes ahead of sway control on my list.

[Steve L.]

I tow a Casita 16 with a Ford Flex. Prior to that was an F150. With the F150 I had some tendency to sway when a tractor trailer wooshed by on a two lane road. The Flex requires a weight distributing hitch which seems to reduce the tendency to sway. Like Fred, I have a friction antisway device so I at least hook it up and tighten it for conditions.

I take it off just before arrival at a camp site or home as there is some chance of binding during some of my wilder back up attempts.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

Given a choice between spending $$ on brakes or sway bar I would go with brakes.

Brakes on the trailer would most definitely be my first choice as well.

[Donna D.]

The choice of one over the other may be based on budget. A sway bar is < $50 Amazon.com: Trailer SWAY CONTROL BAR Balancer Tow Towing KIT: Automotive to add brakes may require a change of the axle, which is about 10x more expensive.