Watch that speed, folks...

[edwardr132]

One thing I was wondering in regards to your experience AustinBoston, was that the Reese 350 is specifically designed not to allow any sway.  I still understand that what you did caused swaying.  I don't believe it should have.  I have the Reese 350 and find it incredibly difficult to apply the side bars.  I believe once the side bars are in place, there should be no way to to sway.  

I still don't understand what exactly "failed" causing you to sway.

[AustinBoston]

One thing I was wondering in regards to your experience AustinBoston, was that the Reese 350 is specifically designed not to allow any sway.  I still understand that what you did caused swaying.  I don't believe it should have.  I have the Reese 350 and find it incredibly difficult to apply the side bars.  I believe once the side bars are in place, there should be no way to to sway.  

I still don't understand what exactly "failed" causing you to sway.

There were a number of things that failed, including my common sense.

First, no sway device can stop all sway.  The Mini-350 is only a mediocre sway control device.  It works by absorbing side-to-side energy in a manner very similar to the way brakes work.  But despite the effort needed to put the bars on, the force on those bars is not very high from a braking perspective.  We're talking about 2 pads of 6 square inches with a few hundred pounds of force on them trying to stop a 3,250 lb. trailer from moving in a particular direction.

If you have a bad setup, no anti-sway device will stop the sway.  I had a bad setup.  No, I had a terrible setup.

I had taken most of the stuff (including all the heavy stuff) out of the nose storage.  Without at least 10% of the trailer weight on the tongue, a trailer will sway.  Completely empty, the Bayside of that era had about 6-1/2% of it's weight on the tongue.  I might have had 9-10% on the tongue, except...

I had left about 1/2 tank of water in the tank that day.  The tank on this trailer is behind the axle, so it's weight reduces tongue weight.  Water weighs close to 8-1/2 lbs. per gallon, so having 1/2 tank behind the axle could take as much as 80-85 lbs. off the tongue.  I doubt I had more than 5% of the trailer weight on the tongue.

In addition, the tank is transverse  (runs side-to-side across the trailer) so that water in it can exaggerate side-to-side movements.  Imagine the impact of 85 lbs of water travelling even 10 MPH.

Now for the WDH.  I had tried to get the bars attached, and found out just how hard it was.  After several minutes of jacking and struggling, I loosened the setting on the Mini-350 (by turning the two rectangular "washers").  Doing so reduces it's sway control.  Then I loosened it again.  And again.  I finally got the bars on with the thing turned all the way down, meaning I had the absolute minimum sway control the Mini-350 could give.

In short, I made things as bad as I possibly could, then added my stupidity to that.  There was no way that trailer was not going to sway.

One other factor that I learned later was that only one trailer brake was working.  Applying the trailer brakes meant causing the trailer to pull to one side.  The moment I let go of the brake controller, the trailer started to pull back straight, and in the process re-started the sway.

It was a situation that, added together, I don't think even the very best sway bar could have handled, never mind a handicapped Mini-350.

Austin

[edwardr132]

Thanks, AustinBoston, I understand better now.

I wonder if both brakes worked instead of one side, I personally think your situation wouldn't have been as dangerous.  I wonder if that is what caused the popup to hit your bumper in the first place.

[AustinBoston]

Thanks, AustinBoston, I understand better now.

I wonder if both brakes worked instead of one side, I personally think your situation wouldn't have been as dangerous.  I wonder if that is what caused the popup to hit your bumper in the first place.

As much as I hate to admit it, my stupidity was the biggest factor that day.  Everyone has five minutes of fame and five minutes (or more) of being an idiot.  It was my turn to be the idiot.

Austin

[ScoobyDoo]

I'm just a dump (b) truck driver but I think that the poeple that think a sway control bar is the first thing to do when the trailer wiggles are dead wrong.
  First make sure your tires are aired up and not overloaded. Check that none of your axles are overloaded. Make sure the load is distributed front/rear and side/side. Make sure the trailer is proper level front/rear so the caster is right. After you get it set up to where it is naturaly stable then put on the anti-sway to increase the comfort level.

[AustinBoston]

I'm just a dump (b) truck driver but I think that the poeple that think a sway control bar is the first thing to do when the trailer wiggles are dead wrong.
  First make sure your tires are aired up and not overloaded. Check that none of your axles are overloaded. Make sure the load is distributed front/rear and side/side. Make sure the trailer is proper level front/rear so the caster is right. After you get it set up to where it is naturaly stable then put on the anti-sway to increase the comfort level.

That's what I say, Scooby.  A sway bar is for insurance, not as a band-aid.

Austin