The use of WDH/Sway Bars

[afp]

Has any hybird owners purchase WDH/Sway Bars? If so, did you go with a trunnion or round bar?

After doing some towing during the 2005 camping season I was not too please with my setup so one of my winter projects was to research towing capabilities of my towing vehicle and trailer and see how this could be improved. I knew my truck was capable of this trailer, but I was also ignorant of the proper way to do this.

I have a 1998 F-150 Extended Cab, Shortbed with the 4.6 L V-8, 3.55 rears and the factory towing package. The hitch supplied is a Class III/IV with a WEIGHT CARRYING capacity of 500 Tongue Weight (TW)/5,000 lbs towing weight and a 850 TW/8,500 lbs towing weight when WDH is used.

My hybird is a K-Z Inc Coyote Model 21C. The manufactuer indicates the trailer has an Unloaded Vehicle Weight (UVW) of 3,370 lbs DRY. The TW is 480 lbs. As you can see at 480 lbs DRY tongue weight it's not going to take much to exceed 500 lbs tongue weight rating on the hitch (without WDH) as the trailer is loaded. The product information I have from Coyote has a section listing options with approximate weights. Options pushed the dry weight to 3,680 lbs. I next figured weights for (2) propane tanks, battery, 32 gals fresh water, 32 gals gray and 32 gals of black. My water calculations were based on 8.3 lbs/gal. Wet calculations increased the weight to 4,529 lbs and I made a guess of 600 lbs for cargo so my estimated trailer weight is 5,129 lbs. Just to note, I figured my water/waste tanks at full capacity, but not too many folks would tow trailers in this condition. I'm using worst case conditions. On occasion I will tow with the fresh water tank full as a local campground is just under 10 miles away. From what I've read tongue weight can be figured at 12-15% of trailer weight and just to check I took the TW of 480 lbs and divided it by the trailer's UVW of 3,370 lbs getting a value of 14.2%. Again, using worst case I figured 15% TW at 5,129 lbs resulting in a TW of 769 lbs.

I'm probably 99% sure I will purchase the Reese/Draw-Tite Trunnion WDH with a 800 lbs capacity. The WDH can be fitted with the optional Dual Cam HP sway control, but I may add this at a later date as most of my travels are under 50 miles.

[CAPEd CODger]

I have a Roo 21ss that has approximately the same weight.
I also tow with an F-150 4.6 shortbed ext cab. I don't know if you are having a problem with sway, or are just concerned that you are exceeding the limits of your truck.
My set up has the WDH with, if I recall, 800 lb spring bars. I don't have any anti sway bars becuse I haven't had any sway issues.
Even when the big rigs go zooming by, my trailer tracks quite nicely.
IMO, if you aren't having any sway problems, don't use anti-sway bars. If you are, then get them.

Happy Camping.
Bob

[CAPEd CODger]

On a totally unrelated subject, if your truck is like mine, it acts a little anemic when pulling the trailer. I purchased a "tuner" from Edge Products and it makes a big difference.
Of course, when towing I usually keep my top speed around 55-60 MPH, any faster and I can watch the fuel guage drop. The tuner also makes adjustments in the transmission, to reduce slippage, and give a firmer shift.
I highly recommend this product for anyone with the 4.6 or even the 5.4 that pulls a trailer.
And no, I am NOT a paid endorser.

Bob

[disneycamper]

On a totally unrelated subject, if your truck is like mine, it acts a little anemic when pulling the trailer. I purchased a "tuner" from Edge Products and it makes a big difference.
Of course, when towing I usually keep my top speed around 55-60 MPH, any faster and I can watch the fuel guage drop. The tuner also makes adjustments in the transmission, to reduce slippage, and give a firmer shift.
I highly recommend this product for anyone with the 4.6 or even the 5.4 that pulls a trailer.
And no, I am NOT a paid endorser.

Bob

What is a "tuner"?  Sorry for the ignorant question, but I have never heard of one before.  I pull a '04 Keystone Cabana with an '03 Dodge Durango.

[griffsmom]

I can't speak from experience since we haven't yet bought a hybrid, but when we do later this year, we will be going with Equal-i-zer WDH--probably in the 1,000 tongue weight/10,000 towing weight flavor. Virtually everyone over on hybridexplorer.com swears by the Equal-i-zer WDH.  You might want to also ask their opinons over there, as well as rv.net in their hybrid trailers section.

 
HTH

[Gone-Camping]

If you want the best, then you'd probably be better off going with the Equal-i-zer brand, it's both WDH and sway control wrapped into one piece, and supposedly easiest to hook up.
 
I did the trunion thing (round at the base, flat bars on the chains) made by EZ Lift...and use a single friction sway control. It does what it's designed to do, but suspect the Equal-i-zer would do just as well if not better.

[zamboni]

We have the Equal-i-zer.  Wouldn't switch to a regular WDH even with a gun to my head.

Not only is it easier to hook up than just a regular WDH, but has sway AND YAW protection  (yaw is the trailer rocking side-to-side) "free".

We bought the 10,000-lb version, since the cost was very little additional, and only about 10 more pounds of weight.

[afp]

It's been awhile since I posted about this and a few changes have been made to my towing setup from my initial posting. I sold my 2000 KZ Coyote 21C and replaced it with a 2006 KZ Spree 290 BHS (lightweight towable). I've gone away from having to setup any canvas. Click on the link for pictures.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4083032&a=32204596&f=

The trailer went out over the June 3rd weekend and was perfect. My wife and I are very pleased with the floorplan, setup and storage. The Spree is a new offering from KZ for 2006. Some specs:

- appox. 30' length
- dry wt 4,800 lbs, GVW 7,000 lbs, tongue weight 680 lbs
- 6 gallon water heater
- Ducted AC
- Ducted heater
- a very functional and roomy bathroom
- oven, stove
- outside shower
- kitchen & sofa are on a slide
- 40 gals fresh, 32 gals black and gray tanks
- frig & freezer

After doing some additional hitch looking I settled on the Equal-i-zer that is rated for 1,200 lbs tongue and 12,000 trailer. I'm very impressed with the product and it makes a huge difference in towing. I would have to agree with zamboni on this. His comments are spot on. Price wise, it's comparable to other manufacturers that use chains. As always shop around as I found the dealership where I bought my trailer from was about $70.00 more than another RV dealer.

[nascrfn]

The Equla-i-zer is one product that lives up to the hype.

[CAPEd CODger]

What is a "tuner"?  Sorry for the ignorant question, but I have never heard of one before.  I pull a '04 Keystone Cabana with an '03 Dodge Durango.

It's a device that hooks up to the engine control computer and puts in a modified "instruction set". It will alter the air fuel mixtures and ignition timing, and alter the shift points and firmness of the transmission.

There are many out there available from many different sources.

I found out about them from an article in, I think, Trailer Life magazine.

Mine interfaces to the OBDII port and re-programs the computer. Then you put it back in the box until you need or want to change the program back to stock or to the "high performance" mode.

Sorry I took so long to answer.
Bob