Sway bar adjustment

[kguess]

Not sure if I have this correct- when I put it on and slip in the locking pins, should it move around easy? I tighten it a lot and it made a horrible noise. Then I turned the adjustment ( loosened ) and the noise went away. How do u know when it's set correctly ? Thanks for your time......

[Ken / Claudia]

I will guess that you have the anti sway bar that has the tension screw below the lever. Put the tension screw tight, turn the lever until tighens(not more). Take test drives and if you get sway tighten the tension screw alittle bit at a time until no sway.. When you back up into a driveway or into a campsite, take it off first. If it makes noise when turning during driving, it sounds to me to be to tight. Mine did that because I was tighting the lever handle as tight as I could turn it, which is way to tight.

[wowchad]

I had this same question and it says right on mine to tighten all the way (top handle not bottom screw)
I too was worried about the noise but a fellow RV'er said if it's not making noise it's NOT tight enough.

[lspajm]

Agreed. I actually use a left and rich side sway bar -friction style. I crank them as tight as I can and they creek and make noise but they are tight and stop the sway. You want them to be very tight otherwise the weight of the camper will easily slide them in and out which renders them useles. The only time they mKe noise is when I make hard turns.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Ken / Claudia]

One problem without knowing the name of a product. The one I have is a cequent performance product labeled as pro series. I gave the information from their adjustment instructions, you guys must have different ones. I did have the handle tighted down as tight as I could and it popped on turns etc. Test drove it From PDX to Seattle and on way back I stopped. The sway bar was blue and hot on the part that slides. I took it off and drove another 100 miles to home without any difference in towing. My truck is heavier than the trailer and nearly as long. I asked the dealer, he said same as I printed about the lever, I than read the instuctions. I have had 2 other sway bars in years past, one like this, one way different. Although I likely can tow just fine without the sway bar, I do use it just not as tight.

[UsTwo]

I pretty much do the same as everone else.. tighten till i think it is tight enough.. If i get on the highway and can feel a big sway, do to either high traffic (tractor trailors) or stiff winds, ill hit a ramp and tighten more.. i have gotten used to the noise they make..i can sure tell the difference in backing when i have it tightend down also..

[Javi]

Most if not all friction sway control bars are adjusted as follows..

To get maximum benefits from the sway control assembly, a series of road tests should be taken with the loaded trailer. On subsequent trips increase or decrease tension by turning the adjusting bolt (on the bottom of the unit) in 1/4 turn increments in the direction shown on the label until the desired control is achieved. For large trailers, it may be necessary to install a second sway control unit.

After about the first 1000 miles of towing, remove the slide bar from the sway control and clean the friction surfaces with a wire brush. Repeat this cleaning procedure about every 10,000 miles.

The handle is an on/off device.

The bolt on the bottom is for adjustment only.

[Hansel]

I got fed up with the friction bar set up, worthless IMHO

I found a great deal on a Reese Dual cam set up

[B&T]

Tip of that spring bar seems really close to the ground, does it drag?

[Hansel]

Originally Posted by B&T

Tip of that spring bar seems really close to the ground, does it drag?

It's like 6" or 7" clearance, if I go up one link the spring bars are almost parallel too the frame. It drag's just a tad when I pull out of my driveway but it's not bad, I haven't gone on a trip yet, we head too Myrtle Beach the first week on June

[avidbowhunterww]

Originally Posted by Hansel

I got fed up with the friction bar set up, worthless IMHO

I found a great deal on a Reese Dual cam set up

Agreed! I have this setup and have used it on four campers of various weights and lengths..... Hands down one of the best investments. There are others out there, but I don't have any experience with them.

[LittleJoe]

Friction bars will do there job. They should not in my opinion be tightened till they won't go anymore.......this can very different depending who is twisting the lever.

This is how I did it when I used them on TT's. Tighten the big lever by hand slowly while sliding the bar with the other hand. When you can no longer slide the bar in the pads by hand, take note of the position of the bar. Then tighten 1 1/2-2 T from that point, fine tuning as required. Very long TT may require 2 bars for desired result.

When entering campround or at the very least before backing, release the bar tension to your starting point and carry on or better yet remove bar.
Simple and works well.Also much easier on the equipment.

NOTE : there is a severe amount of binding on these bars and if travelling on potentially snow or ice covered roads bars too tight can cause havoc as they can actually cause trailer to not track as it will not return to straight(as fast as it should) IF the tire surface has less friction than the bar.

[vicali]

My Husky Sway Control Bar says to bottom out the threads on the hand lever..
Ran it for the first time last weekend, no issues, no noise at all.

[lspajm]

Originally Posted by LittleJoe

Friction bars will do there job. They should not in my opinion be tightened till they won't go anymore.......this can very different depending who is twisting the lever.

This is how I did it when I used them on TT's. Tighten the big lever by hand slowly while sliding the bar with the other hand. When you can no longer slide the bar in the pads by hand, take note of the position of the bar. Then tighten 1 1/2-2 T from that point, fine tuning as required. Very long TT may require 2 bars for desired result.

When entering campround or at the very least before backing, release the bar tension to your starting point and carry on or better yet remove bar.
Simple and works well.Also much easier on the equipment.

NOTE : there is a severe amount of binding on these bars and if travelling on potentially snow or ice covered roads bars too tight can cause havoc as they can actually cause trailer to not track as it will not return to straight(as fast as it should) IF the tire surface has less friction than the bar.

why does everyone say to remove your friction sway bars before backing up? The sway bars do not know if you are going forward or in reverse? and they are not going to keep you from turning/backing into a campsite or driveway? I know they are made to apply force, but slowly backing up should not matter at all....in my opinion.
thanks

[chuckster57]

I believe the reason is if you turn tight enough, the sway control bar will only go in so far. Continue past that point and something is going to give.

[{tpc}]

Yes I remove mine when backing up.

Also to note that some take theirs off when travelling in the rain. Personally I do not. I do know that they will make a horrible noise when wet. The first time I encountered it, I thought something on my truck had broke or was breaking.

Some tighten them down like the handle might snap off. Some tighten them till its just tight. I have yet to come across a specific way of doing it. All the manuals say the same thing, in the same "vague" way. Some say loosen the bottom screw all the way, tighten the top screw until its all the way in than go back and tighten the bottom screw screw. Some say they are factory preset. If you talk to the cequent people they are just as vague in their response.

Best thing to do is test it out and adjust from there. You should be able to tell the difference when it is working or not.

For me, I've tried a bunch of different ways. The only thing I can truly tell is that if you are constantly over-tightening it, you may eventually strip the nut or the handle out. I've recently replaced one as a result.

So I would say you crank the handle tight. If it feels too "tight", then I back it off till the handle points towards the trailer. If that feels "loose", then it goes back around to what I thought was "tight" before.

I've never seen one where the metal plate was touching the nut and it was completely threaded through that nut. I don't think its physically possible, but the instructions kinda make you think that it is.