Friction Sway Control or Not

[cattzap]

Oh the joys of popups. We had one and sometimes wish I had it back. First understand what sway is. Popups and smaller trailer are marketed towards beginner campers that normally wouldn't have a huge tow vehicle. Without a huge tow vehicle, a lighter hitch weight is required. Lighter hitch weight naturally mean heavier tail weights. When there is not enough weight forward the back end wants to wander all around, seemingly trying to pass the front end. Thus sway. You can also experience it when passing bigger vehicles. Getting beside an 18 wheeler, his wind curtain can push the lighter trailers to the side. When its' on the edge of a sway run away, sometimes that's all that needed to start it. The solution. Load your trailer as you would be going on a normal trip and weigh it. Weight the entire thing, weigh just the axle and weigh just the hitch. If the camper is small enough you can make a little jig and use a bathroom scale to weigh the hitch. You need more than 10 and closer to 15 % of the weight on the hitch. A friction sway controller can help control it but the real solution is weight balance.

If your on a trip and your finding yourself having trouble with this, stop and move some heavier stuff forward. Our popup had the fresh water tank behind the axle. I wanted to see what it was like to pull it with it full in case i wanted to go somewhere that I would need it. Mistake. I had to drain that. The added weight on the tail took it right off the hitch plus the slosh made it impossible to pull with it full.

You can actually calculate how much sway is possible by taking some measurements and weighing different places on the rv and tow vehicle but it can get complicated to explain. The ultimate answer to it is to load more weight forward

[shawnrpg]

My PUP does not have brakes on it. Not sure if all circa 1999 Starflyers didn't have brakes or not.
I would love to have brakes on mine but I'm not sure how to retro-fit it. Along with not having brakes, it doesn't have traditional leaf springs with the brakes/hubs mounted on the axle; mine uses a torsion spring with 12" wheels. Maybe that doesn't matter though. I think I need to do some more searching on the forums to see if anyone has added brakes on torsion springs.

I've talked with my father-in-law at length about trailer brakes, brake controllers and the different tactics to stop sway once it's started. It is definitely something that I want since this is my first time first time towing something other than a utility trailer (without brakes).
I read several posts about the use of sway control and it's split about 50-50 for people who use it and those who don't. thought I would post it here since this forum pertains to the brand that I have.

Shawn

[jcarlilesiu]

Sway is one of those things that can creep up on you, and as it starts, will continue to get worse if not corrected. I.e. High winds, passing trucks, etc.

Do you have a brake controller? The correct maneuver to resolve a sway event would be to manually apply the trailer brake slightly while accelerating the tow vehicle. This will get the trailer back in line and stop the sway. Sway is especially a problem in tow vehicles with a shorter wheel base.

If you don't have a brake controller, a friction sway may keep the trailer more straight and stable.

[shawnrpg]

I'm new to trailer camping and recently took ownership of my late step-father's 1999 Starflyer. Although my family and I have been using it for the past 6-7 years, it has been parked on my in-laws lot and a campground. Until a couple weeks ago, when I towed it to my in-laws house to get it ready for the upcoming season, I have not towed this before.
The PUP has a UVW of 1797# and a GVW of 2200#. My TV is a 2003 GMC Envoy with a 6 cylinder.

I was at a RV towing seminar this past weekend and the host of the dealership who put the seminar on, and the Blue Ox Representative that was co-host said sway control should be used on PUPs. When I towed mine the 10-12 miles from camp to my in-laws, there was no sway at all; there was a little shimmying but I had to look hard to see it (I couldn't feel it). If it weren't for me looking in my mirrors, I wouldn't have known there was a camper behind me.
Now, I didn't have any cars, or rigs, pass me, so I don't know how it handles when the air around it is disturbed.

Does anyone out there who is pulling a PUP use sway control?