Stand alone sway control

eagleguy

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Joined
Oct 27, 2024
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Eustis
I was thinking of using just the sway friction pad set up in combo with a standard ball hitch. I was considering maybe one on each side. Anyone ever try this with good results.


2025 Keystone "Springdale 1750RD
2021 Tundra Tundra Crew cab with standard bed, air bags and a V8
 
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Just my thinking but I wouldn't tow a travel trailer without a weight distribution hitch with a 1/2 ton truck just because (btdt). And I know it sounds off but in my experience with Toyotas they just don't have "towing" dynamics down (along with a lot of other things IMO). I've owned them off and on since 1972 and have had 3 successive 4 Runners. Not 1/2 ton trucks but I've looked at them, drove them and passed. Little brother, even after I talked to him bought one (looked "massive", "mean" (fender flares, etc. etc.) then pulled a trailer with it and we met. Said it was great. After a very short while it wasn't great and he bought a Ford F250. We met again. Asked how it worked and he dropped his head and said "brother, you were right - no comparison. I loved my Toyota but it just isn't a tow vehicle" - truth. So just to lay that towing backdrop;

Friction pads; I've owned them, used and abused them. In the end they are a poor substitute for sway control which the Toyota will desperately need (the side to side sway and suspension geometry to assist is not something Toyota pays a lot of attention to in their trucks). I tried and tried to make them work on a 24' trailer and a 1/2 ton Ford truck years ago. In any wind or with a passing vehicle in the right circumstance we always started the tail wag. A change to a 4 point stopped it completely.

For towing I always believe more capacity in whatever it is worth the money and skimping always leads to issues down the road.
 
Scrub your idea. You'll need to get a hitch for your tow vehicle with 2 of the small balls for the friction sway bars to attach to. I've NEVER seen a hitch have these little balls on the little wings they are attached to, unless it was a weight distribution hitch.

So, scrub the idea, don't waste your money on something you never find, and just purchase a 4-point Equal-i-zer weight distribution system and do it right from the very beginning. The Equal-i-zer WD system has built in sway that works marvelous. By the time you invest in finding a hitch (if one even exists) and purchasing 2 friction bars, you'll have invested enough you could have just purchased the right thing from the beginning. If you go the route you are contemplating, you'll be purchasing something in the near feature, wasting the money from your first purchase that does not do what you were hoping it would do anyway. So, spare yourself time, money, and aggravation and just get a proper WD hitch with built in sway. Equal-i-zer (in my opinion) is the best for the cost. You will not be disappointed if you go this route.
 
If you're considering using a "non weight distribution hitch" then check the decal on the receiver on your Toyota truck. I'd suppose that it is a class 4, 500 pound maximum hitch weight (without weight distribution)... If so, the EMPTY hitch weight o the 1750RD is 430 pounds. Add propane, battery and some cargo and you will be at or above 500 pounds hitch weight. Don't forget to also add the weight of your "hitch ball assembly" to the trailer hitch weight. Even though it is probably only around 15 or 20 pounds, by the time it all gets added to the "trailer weight placed on the truck receiver" it's very likely to be over the maximum receiver rating for a "non weight distributed load".... Then, as mentioned above, I've never seen a "standard ball stinger" that has any capability to install the friction pad sway control devices, so that will present "reason/limiting factor #2....

You're going to need a WD hitch with that trailer and a half ton tow vehicle, might as well "skip the mostly ineffective brake pad type sway bars" and just get a WD hitch with sway control. With your tow vehicle, you won't be "happy with the towing performance" with that big square box "wagging along behind you" without adequate sway control.
 
I have to back up an uphill incline with a dip. Using a standard WDH won't work because.


It will bind up on the 1750RD.
Keystone has an additional support frame base that makes the RV mounting point 7" not 4" meaning custom order.
When I contacted Keystone they stated if my truck did NOT dip when connected I should then be careful using ANY WDH used as there have been issues with bent frames.



That's how i got to this point
 
I have to back up an uphill incline with a dip. Using a standard WDH won't work because.

It will bind up on the 1750RD.

Keystone has an additional support frame base that makes the RV mounting point 7" not 4" meaning custom order.
When I contacted Keystone they stated if my truck did NOT dip when connected I should then be careful using ANY WDH used as there have been issues with bent frames.

That's how i got to this point

A lot of owners have the same problem. What most do is just disconnect the WD bars when backing up that incline. Skipping weight distribution and the improved sway control a 4 point hitch provides is going to give you sub-par towing in any crosswinds, when trucks pass you and their "bow wave" hits your trailer and when in heavy traffic where you're trying to stay in your lane with multiple "big trucks around you"...

Just my opinion, but needing a "custom order hitch assembly" to manage sway is a small price to pay for the improved towing performance... Your trailer is a single axle model, it WILL sway with the slightest input from trucks or crosswinds and your Tundra is not going to control that much "sidewall to catch the wind" without a good sway control system.
 
I have to back up an uphill incline with a dip. Using a standard WDH won't work because.


It will bind up on the 1750RD.
Keystone has an additional support frame base that makes the RV mounting point 7" not 4" meaning custom order.
When I contacted Keystone they stated if my truck did NOT dip when connected I should then be careful using ANY WDH used as there have been issues with bent frames.



That's how i got to this point


If a hitch will work to get the trailer up the drive so will a wdh. You may have to disconnect the bars but it will work.

The truck/trailer may "sit" level but that does not negate the absolute need for sway control. To get the sway control you need to get a good wdh. Whoever told you not to use a wdh because it might bend the frame because it sat level didn't know what they are talking about....maybe one of the customer service reps? I've never seen a wdh that wasn't adjustable. I had a chain type that could be adjusted from loose chains that did nothing to pulling it up enough my truck rear tires would skip over an intersection with a dip - they're adjustable and don't have to be sucked up as hard as they can go. Same with an Equalizer.

That truck will not control a single axle trailer in a buffeting crosswind/semis etc. in the right condition without the sway control. I've seen way too many of them go down the road constantly wagging....even just last week - and they had a wdh on it. And if you lose a tire on a single axle trailer it will definitely want to "dance" with the truck.

You're letting the driveway issue drive you down the wrong path IMO. Can you attach a pic? When I had an equalizer I backed up some pretty good inclines and never worried about it
 
Nobody else does the custom fit except Andersen.

Somewhere I am missing something...

What do you mean by: "Keystone has an additional support frame base that makes the RV mounting point 7" not 4" meaning custom order."

Maybe you could explain why "no hitch but an Andersen will work"... That frame/A-frame hasn't changed for several years (that I know about anyway) so if that trailer frame has been on the market for a number of years and just now we're learning of an issue with a support on the frame ????

There's got to be more to the situation than I'm currently seeing/understanding... I've never heard of a travel trailer A-frame that won't adapt to any type of weight distribution hitch, so you can't use a weight distribution hitch with the trailer....

Something's missing somewhere !!!!!
 
It's a single axle trailer with a 4,440 pound GVWR that is 21 feet long. The frame has a brace in the way of mounting the WD brackets, and Keystone warns about a WD hitch bending the light frame.

It can be done without weight distribution.

The truck will most likely need some upgrades. If it has P rated tires go to load range D LT tires. Install better shocks.

I towed a 23 foot 5,000 pound tandem axle trailer with a Trailblazer for 5 years with no WD. The Trailblazer had new shocks, tires, and an additional transmission cooler.

Gary
 

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Thanks. It was hard explaining my reluctance to the WDH as I am sure that extra steel was put their as there had to be issues in the past. Did you just use sway control or nothing at all?


I have the air bags, would just need to purchase a single or dual sway kit neither of which may be necessary. Towed on highway at regular speed and other than some minor dipping here and there caused by the road all was fine, but unloaded at the time.
 
It's a single axle trailer with a 4,440 pound GVWR that is 21 feet long. The frame has a brace in the way of mounting the WD brackets, and Keystone warns about a WD hitch bending the light frame.

It can be done without weight distribution.

The truck will most likely need some upgrades. If it has P rated tires go to load range D LT tires. Install better shocks.

I towed a 23 foot 5,000 pound tandem axle trailer with a Trailblazer for 5 years with no WD. The Trailblazer had new shocks, tires, and an additional transmission cooler.

Gary


The words highlighted above should be taken as cautionary to anyone about anything. "It can be done" does not mean it should be done or it can be done safely. I've towed RVs without wdh/sway. I can without reservation say that any/all of them would have been better and safer with a wdh/sway control. Even my prior 3/4 ton was susceptible to push/pull/sway in the right condition pulling my previous bumper pull if/when I was too lazy to hook up the sway/distribution bars.

In this case it's now clear what the OP was referring to. The position of that brace complicates the installation of a wdh. In this particular combo, as was mentioned previously, the sway will be the most important component and to get the best sway control mandated the use of a wdh. That won't be possible without some fabrication or additional expense. Bearing in mind that the minimum expectation is sway control the add on outboard friction bars may be the best/only solution. Attached is a link to a Harbor Freight unit that could work - I'm sure there are other manufacturers as well. Stiffer tires, shocks, air bags etc. will NOT control a single axle trailer when it decides to "go south" on you. 4400lbs. pulling sideways on a 1/2 ton truck will be no joke and "it can be done" will have a whole new meaning. Good luck on getting the sway installed and note the comment in the video about turning, backing etc. when using the bars.

https://www.harborfreight.com/trailer-sway-control-kit-96462.html?gQT=1
 
That's exactly what I was looking at when at HF. It;s made as well or better than Reese or Curt. I was also thinking if 2 (sway kits) would be better (one on each side) than 1. Gonna see if my buddy can weld the ball mount wings to my existing ball hitch and maybe even the brackets to the trailer frame as to eliminate the holes that would have to be drilled into the existing a frame up front.
 
Nobody else does the custom fit except Andersen.


I highly recommend you look at the Andersen WD hitch. In your situation it will give you way more clearance than those with bars. I have a buddy who always towed 5th wheels and when he had to go to a TT he researched the best hitch to minimize sway and dolphining. He picked Andersen. When he went back to a 5er he sold me his Andersen. With my Ram 1500 there was no sway or dolphining but there was a little bit of tail wagging when big rigs went by. I upgraded to a Ram 2500 and now it is rock solid in all conditions.



I am getting older and the hardware of the Andersen is probably 1/2 the weight of other WD's. Plus it is adjusted with the turn of a wrench, not prying on bars. As you get older this will be more important then price. And there is no drilling or welding to attach to the camper.
 
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I am going to try the anti sway system first (both sides) with my airbags. If it does not work, no great loss. Wish me luck! Happy New Year
 
I had a 177RD and used one friction sway bar. It worked fine for me. I have an f150 with tow package not that that makes a difference. I think 2 would be even better for you. Due you have a brake controller? Once I upgraded to larger camper I most definitely went with a 4pt equalizer.
 

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