Sway control

Stand alone sway control
I was thinking of using just the sway friction pad set up in combo with a standard ball hitch. I was considering maybe one on each side. Anyone ever try this with good results.


2025 Keystone "Springdale 1750RD
2021 Tundra Tundra Crew cab with standard bed an V8

 

I use a friction sway control on my trailer. It does help. I only have it on one side, never actually considered using two. Like everything, though, it gets complicated. If everything is set up correctly, you shouldn't have sway except in extreme conditions. I got the Reese sway control when I first bought my camper (17' trailer) because, being new to towing, I was worried about everything. But my trailer pulled so well, so stable, I stopped using it. That was with a 98 Tacoma.

Now with the Tundra and the same trailer, I was getting sway. Probably there was some combination of geometry differences, and the fact that I always ran LR C tires on the Tacoma, but I had a lot of issues finding anything but P-rated on one end, or LT LR E on the other. Nothing in-between, at least not in any of the tires I wanted. So I'm currently running non-LT, XL (extra load) tires. Just one tiny step up from SL (standard load). I noticed that filling my rear tires to max inflation helped quite a bit, but I also started running the sway control bar again. Feels way better between the two. Still not as solid as with the Tacoma, somehow, but it feels safe now.

So...I'm not an experienced enough tower to give you real advice, I can just share my experience. I towed that trailer thousands and thousands of miles, including from Montana down to southern Utah, without the sway control bar, and it was always rock solid. If you don't have sway, do you need sway control? That's where someone more experienced can chime in. I guess 'better safe than sorry', just have sway control in the case of a rare crazy gust of wind or something...I don't know. With the Tacoma, the trailer towed rock solid, so I stopped using it very early on.

 

Photo of my frame

 

This reminded me of a scary incident I had some years ago... found a post on it so this is a cut/paste.

I use an Andersen WDH which has excellent friction sway control built into it, and may have straightened me out just fine, I dunno... prefer not to test it.

When I'm towing I frequently practice locating and applying trailer brakes only so it gets ingrained as instinctual muscle memory.

It paid off on a return trip from Mammoth in my old '00 Tundra.

Calm clear day on the 395... open flat terrain coming into Ridgecrest, cruisin' along with one hand on the wheel and one on the center armrest...

It wasn't windy at all, and we got hit by a pretty violent microburst from my right that wiggled the fuck outta' me! I was very pleasantly surprised that my right hand immediately grabbed the wheel, and my left then went right to the trailer brake controller which was under the dash left of the wheel.

I grabbed trailer brakes only and (I think) I even stabbed the gas a little. (When in doubt, throttle out) We straightened out nicely and it was over in 2-3 seconds, and calm as can be again.

My wife had been reading and looked up and said "WTF was that?!"

Pretty scary, but also very comforting to know that all that practice let me instinctively do the right thing rather than just slamming on the brakes.

Now that I have the '19 with factory brake controller on the right side of the wheel I've had to un-learn and re-learn for the new location.

I strongly recommend practicing this for anyone who tows, so you can find trailer brakes without looking or thinking. Make it instinctual muscle memory.

 

That's really great advice. I know the trailer brake is the thing to use when noticing sway. And I know I have absolutely zero habit of using it ingrained in me...

Tacoma- rock solid.
Tundra- I noticed right away the trailer feeling a bit squirrely even when I hit bumps. But the scariest was passing a semi. I sped up to almost 80mph, and just at the point near the front of the cab of the semi where you start hitting wind resistance, the trailer started swaying a little. Was still swaying a bit as I pulled back in the lane in front of the semi. It definitely wanted to make the rear end of my truck sway. Scary. I noticed it getting squirrely any time I was in turbulence behind semis, too.

Only need to watch a couple youtube videos of worst-case-scenario sway to take it pretty seriously.

 

Yeah the semis can put off a pretty good bow-wake.

I read about that a lot, had never experienced it much I think because the Andersen has such good sway control... there's been days towing where I didn't even realize it was windy until we stopped and got out of the truck and found out it was really blowing.

Because of how little I ever feel any sway combined with what a perfectly calm day it was I was a bit too relaxed when that wind-shear hit us, made it a little extra scary.

So whenever I'm towing I'll practice often grabbing the trailer brakes... coasting up to a stoplight, need a touch of brakes downhill, whatever, just train myself to find it automatically. I even do it some when not towing, just reach down and touch it.

That pucker day was in my old 1st gen. It was very stable with my little trailer, but the '19 being a little heavier and a little longer wheelbase is even a little better.