Community Forums

nrg2brn · 01-08-2018, 08:30 PM

Ive got a decent tow vehicle, and a small trailer, so thats ok:

2013 nissan frontier, 4 liter, towing a (loaded weight, accounting for 4 passengers) 4000 llbs. (2017 winnebago winnie drop 170k). I thought i could NOT use a sway bar. I was wrong. so I got a sway bar. just the crappy husky one, but a sway bar nonetheless. I cant say I love it, even with my little rig, I do feel bullied when a truck blows past me.

I come from many, many years of towing popups. so my question is, since tt;s are much higher, is this just a thing? I look behind me, and the tt isnt wagging or anything, but its bobbing a bit, and I feel feedback in the steering wheel. I dont like it much, so what is the next step for sway control? 2 sway bars, one on each side? I sometimes wonder what will happen in wyoming, on a windy day, etc....

secondary, bonus question........how tight do i tighten the friction thing? so far Ive just tightened it about 2 fingers tight, NOT CRANKED down by any means.

anywho, any tips are appreciated. I dont need a hensely arrow, lol, nor do I really need to deal with WD, but maybe there is a technology that is a step better than the old bar?

thanks!

nrg

keymastr · 01-08-2018, 09:53 PM

First of all, a single axle trailer does not tow as well as a tandem axle. It will pivot on it's wheels much easier and you will feel that.

Second, with your trailer's loaded tongue weight of about 500 pounds and 4 passengers plus the weight of the WD hitch itself you are only a couple hundred pounds shy of your cargo capacity on the Nissan. If you are carrying anything else in the truck like firewood or tools then you may even be over.

Third, the Husky hitch with a separate friction sway bar is not a great hitch. For a little more money you can get a premium hitch with built-in sway control like the Equa-lizer 4 point, Reese straight-line or Blue Ox sway-pro.

Any two of those conditions would make towing uncomfortable but with all three conditions you may be unsafe. I would start with a new hitch and see how it feels. Pretty easy to set it up yourself but if the dealer sets it up at least read up on how to do a three pass weigh in at a C.A.T. scale so you are sure it is set up correctly.

If the hitch does not make the tow comfortable enough you will have to either have the passengers ride in a separate vehicle or get a more capable truck. I am assuming that would be preferable to trading the trailer for a double axle model since that would weigh even more.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

P.S. Be sure you have enough tongue weight. It should be between 450 and 500 pounds. You can find out how much by using the bathroom scale method. pretty easily. Search this forum for that and the three pass cat scale weigh.

lynnmor · 01-09-2018, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrg2brn

secondary, bonus question........how tight do i tighten the friction thing? so far Ive just tightened it about 2 fingers tight, NOT CRANKED down by any means.

Many folks have no clue how to adjust the friction, and I see you too didn't read the instructions. The HANDLE is used as an ON-OFF device, and you simply hand tighten it. The BOLT is where you adjust the amount of friction. So tighten the handle, then adjust the bolt till the sway is reduced. I drive in a safe area and give the steering wheel a quick correction and watch in the mirror to see if the trailer does too much over-travel.

Side pressure from passing vehicles and wind is NOT sway. The bigger the dog and the smaller the tail will lessen that feeling.

SmokeyWren · 01-09-2018, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrg2brn

I come from many, many years of towing popups. so my question is, since tt;s are much higher, is this just a thing? I look behind me, and the tt isnt wagging or anything, but its bobbing a bit, and I feel feedback in the steering wheel. I dont like it much, so what is the next step for sway control? 2 sway bars, one on each side? I sometimes wonder what will happen in wyoming, on a windy day, etc....

It sounds like you are trying to tow that trailer with a weight carrying (WC) hitch with one friction-based sway bar. That's way too cheap of a setup for that trailer.

Quote:

I dont need a hensely arrow, lol, nor do I really need to deal with WD, but maybe there is a technology that is a step better than the old bar?

Sway bars are obsolete technology. They help a little, but not enough. The upgrade to an adequate hitch system is a weight distributing (WD) hitch with built-in sway control. You may not need a Hensley Arrow (or ProPride) but you definitely need a WD hitch with good built-in sway control. Not a cheap WD hitch with sway bars, but a good hitch with built-in sway control. The wind resistance and aerodynamic drag of a travel trailer (TT) are much greater than on a pop-up camping trailer. Yes, I've had both, a Wheel Camper pop-up tent trailer for about 20 years, then upgraded to a fifth wheel RV trailer for another 10 years, and now settled on a small tandem-axle TT just a bit larger than yours.

Your trailer has GVWR of 3,500 pounds. When loaded for bear, with the average tongue weight of 13%, you'll have 455 pounds of tongue weight. That's too much weight to be hanging off the rear end of your compact pickup without a weight-distributing hitch.

There are roughly three classes of WD hitches. Cheap but inadequate WD hitches with sway bars for sway control. Good hitches with good built-in sway control that list for around $1000. And the wonderful but expensive Hensley ProPride (and the old design Hensley Arrow) that list for around $2,500

The good hitches with good built-in sway control that list for around $1000 and are available online for about $500 to $700 include

Equal-I-Zer

Blue Ox SwayPro

Reese Strait-Line trunnion bar complete with shank

Husky CenterLine HD #31390 complete with spring bars

Any one of those four WD hitches will handle abut 99% of all sway-causing conditions. I've towed thousands of miles with a Reese Strait-Line. Move up to the ProPride and it will handle about 99.9% of all sway-causing conditions. If you've ever experienced uncontrollable trailer sway, you'll pay a lot or that little bit of difference in sway control.

So get it out of your head that you don't need a WD hitch. If you want to be safe when towing with your family in the TV, then get one of the good WD hitches noted above, and set it up and adjust it to provide optimum weight distribution and sway control.

Equal-I-Zer and Blue Ox don't sell cheap hitches, so anything with their name on it will be a good hitch. Reese and Husky both sell cheap hitches as well as the Strait-Line and CenterLine HD, so if you get a Reese or Husky, be certain it is a Strait-Line or CenterLine HD and not a cheap hitch. If a WD hitch has no sway control, or uses sway bars for sway control, you know it's a cheap hitch.

tuffr2 · 01-09-2018, 11:01 AM

My knee jerk reaction is that trailer is a good match for a Nissan Fountier. The trailer looks like it has an areodynamic front cap and the Frontier has enough power.

Option 1. You can try to improve the sway with adjustments and you might get lucky and get it 'dialed I'm.

Option 2 - buy a much better sway control hitch. One that is recommended above.

Option 3 - take secondary roads that will keep your speed lower and keep you away from tractor trailers. Sometimes if camping local this a good idea.

Option 4 - buy a bigger dog.

I used to tow a 4,400 lb trailer with a Honda Ridgeline, so I know that getting pushed around feeling. A F-150 solved my issue.

I think you can solve your issue with Options 1, 2, and 3.

allenb12 · 01-09-2018, 04:05 PM

I towed with friction sway control for several years. Switched to a Blue Ox and was amazed at the difference. Much easier to hook up that two weight distribution bars and two sway controls. Additionally you do not have to remove any thing to backup.

Dropthejacks · 01-09-2018, 07:22 PM

Those semis are gonna shove you around. You seem to have towed enough at this point to know its coming and expect it. That's the main thing. You are gonna get shoved by all that air, no matter what hitch you have connecting your truck to the trailer. A better hitch will reduce it somewhat, a bigger tow vehicle will help also, but in the end, if a semi blows by, you are gonna get sucked in and pushed away. Just physics. Prepare for it, know its coming and what it feels like, and enjoy the RV experience.

nrg2brn · 01-16-2019, 10:11 PM

Ive got The same Big 2014 Nissan frontier.. With a cheap husky sway bar.. Pulling a 3500 pound tear drop.. Yes you will get pushed a bit when trucks come upon you... But you should be able to feel it and be OK with it you will just notice it. If it bothers you you certainly can spend a bunch more money. I did I do believe you are safe

nrg2brn · 01-16-2019, 10:15 PM

Sorry guys using a Found with tapa talk for the 1st time things arent happening as I expect. Disregard. Trying to change above word big to rig lol

keymastr · 01-16-2019, 10:39 PM

Nice to see you back, did you figure out your issue? Updates help us all learn what works.

SmokeyWren · 01-17-2019, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nrg2brn

Trying to change above word big to rig lol

Members are not allowed to edit their post after it's been posted or about an hour or so. So if you waited too late to edit it yourself, you can still get it fixed. Notice on the bottom left of the post with the typo the exclamation point in the red triangle to report a post to the moderators/administrators. Click on that, then ask a moderator to edit your post by changing the word "big" to "rig". In my experience, the moderators on this forum are more than willing to fix typos made my dummies like me.