Trailer towing wag/sway - weight distribution - demo videos - WOW

[Dave Pelletier]

From Blue Ox;

No matter how many years of experience you have had towing a trailer down the road, any driver can experience loss of control over their trailer without warning. And if you have ever experienced that scary moment when trailer sway begins, you know it’s important to react appropriately. Trailer sway is a common cause of accidents involving trailers. Here are the steps you can take to decrease the amount of trailer sway and avoid causing an accident.

Avoid stepping on the brake pedal! This will likely be against your natural instinct, but braking suddenly can make the sway worse and cause you to lose control. You should remove your foot from the accelerator, so your speed reduces gradually.
Keep the steering wheel straight. Attempting to fight the sway by turning the wheel will only make it worse and accentuate the problem.
Let your vehicle slow down on its own.
If you have trailer brakes, you can manually apply them very gently.
In some cases, a slight increase in speed can put forward pressure on the trailer tongue and straighten it a bit. Do NOT increase your speed if you are going downhill.
Once you have regained control, pull over to a safe area and check your cargo to see if it shifted or needs to be moved around, so more weight is at the front of the trailer.
Get your hitch inspected to ensure it is not defective. Replace it if necessary.
Consider upgrading your brake control system and adding a weight distribution hitch.
What Causes Trailer Sway?

[move on]

Yes, if you don't have electronic sway control the best thing you can do is slow down using the trailer brakes only. But i you have ESC then you should follow your owners manual.

"ESP® trailer stabilization
G WARNING
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilization will not be able to prevent
the vehicle/trailer combination from
swerving. Trailers with a high center of gravity
can tip over before ESP® can detect this.
There is a risk of an accident.
Always adapt your driving style to the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
If your vehicle with trailer (vehicle/trailer
combination) begins to lurch, you can only
stabilize the vehicle/trailer combination by
depressing the brake firmly.
In this situation, ESP® assists you and can
detect if the vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP® slows the vehicle down
by braking and limiting the engine output until
the vehicle/trailer combination has
stabilized.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by move on

Yes, if you don't have electronic sway control the best thing you can do is slow down using the trailer brakes only. But i you have ESC then you should follow your owners manual.

"ESP® trailer stabilization
G WARNING
If road and weather conditions are poor,
trailer stabilization will not be able to prevent
the vehicle/trailer combination from
swerving. Trailers with a high center of gravity
can tip over before ESP® can detect this.
There is a risk of an accident.
Always adapt your driving style to the
prevailing road and weather conditions.
If your vehicle with trailer (vehicle/trailer
combination) begins to lurch, you can only
stabilize the vehicle/trailer combination by
depressing the brake firmly.
In this situation, ESP® assists you and can
detect if the vehicle/trailer combination
begins to lurch. ESP® slows the vehicle down
by braking and limiting the engine output until
the vehicle/trailer combination has
stabilized.

Of course; once there are safety nannies doing what they are programmed to do, it changes based on the vehicle, software, etc. In the case of the system you are referencing, it appears that the only way to engage the ESP is to hit the brakes......not how my Mercedes works so you definitely need to read the manual.


Dave

[move on]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

Of course; once there are safety nannies doing what they are programmed to do, it changes based on the vehicle, software, etc. In the case of the system you are referencing, it appears that the only way to engage the ESP is to hit the brakes......not how my Mercedes works so you definitely need to read the manual.


Dave

The quoted text was actually from a Mercedes manual. The ESP does engage automatically without hitting the brakes. They advise hitting the brakes to bring the vehicle below the critical speed as quickly as possible.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by move on

The quoted text was actually from a Mercedes manual. The ESP does engage automatically without hitting the brakes. They advise hitting the brakes to bring the vehicle below the critical speed as quickly as possible.

that's not really what it says but in any case maybe that's OK depending on the nannies; again, my comments are based on how a vehicle/trailer works without electronic interference. Do NOT hit the brakes on a vehicle without electronic stability control or you will be in trouble.....a quick google search will confirm that message is fairly universal.

Dave

[TonyMac]

Originally Posted by Dave Pelletier

that's not really what it says but in any case maybe that's OK depending on the nannies; again, my comments are based on how a vehicle/trailer works without electronic interference. Do NOT hit the brakes on a vehicle without electronic stability control or you will be in trouble.....a quick google search will confirm that message is fairly universal.

Dave

I bet that is how it works in some vehicles. Bottom line is know how it works in YOUR vehicle. All are evidently not the same.

[move on]

I do agree that you should not hit the tow vehicle brakes hard unless you have ESC. What I disagree with is that you should hit the gas pedal. This is a common but dangerous myth that will cause an accident. Speeding up, when you have already reached the trailer's critical speed, will only cause even more sway.

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by TonyMac

I bet that is how it works in some vehicles. Bottom line is know how it works in YOUR vehicle. All are evidently not the same.

it works the same in ALL vehicles that aren't equipped with electronic aids, but yes, certainly know how your vehicle is equipped.

Dave

[Dave Pelletier]

Originally Posted by move on

I do agree that you should not hit the tow vehicle brakes hard unless you have ESC. What I disagree with is that you should hit the gas pedal. This is a common but dangerous myth that will cause an accident. Speeding up, when you have already reached the trailer's critical speed, will only cause even more sway.

without ESP, you shouldn't touch the brakes, period; hard or light. I agree that you should avoid speeding up, but nonetheless, momentary throttle application will sometimes help by lessening the force exerted by the trailer on the rear of the TV (as noted in the quote from Blue OX excerpt I posted above)......the physics are the same as why it works to apply the trailer brakes. The results of sway are worse the higher the speed, but speed isn't what causes it.

For vehicles without electronic trailer aids, I would recommend people do what the NHTSA recommends:
If your trailer starts to sway on the road, the NHTSA recommends activating the manual brake control override by hand. Applying the tow vehicle brakes will generally make the sway worse. Lift your foot from the accelerator but don't step on the brake pedal unless you're in danger of hitting something.May 4, 2020

Dave

[Odessa]

Sway when semis go by..I drive a 39' Winnebago and a semi passing me pulls me as well. When I see them coming I get a white knuckle on the steering wheel!

[NevadaNick]

Push and pull when passing a truck is not sway.

[Seon]

I agree that excessive speed is a major factor in trailer sways.


Would a weight distribution hitch with sway control help reduce sways?


Hitch mfr ads is kind of misleading.

• Weight Distribution Hitch
• WD With Sway Control
• Prevents Sway

[move on]

I sometimes like to think that there are two types of sway, the normal one and the dangerous one. The one caused by a passing truck or a gust of wind is normal and the sway dissipate after a few oscillations.it is not dangerous. The dangerous type is the result of bad trailer loading and too much speed. It comes on at a certain speed it doesn't dissipate. As you go above that critical speed it will get worse and eventually cause a wreck.

Originally Posted by NevadaNick

Push and pull when passing a truck is not sway.

[move on]

Originally Posted by Seon

I agree that excessive speed is a major factor in trailer sways.


Would a weight distribution hitch with sway control help reduce sways?


Hitch mfr ads is kind of misleading.

• Weight Distribution Hitch
• WD With Sway Control
• Prevents Sway

A weight distribution hitch by itself will actually contribute to trailer sway by taking weight off the rear wheels of the tow vehicle. If the hitch also has a sway control feature it can lessen the non-dangerous type of sway, but you shouldn't rely on it to eliminate dangerous sway caused by bad loading.