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Old 03-29-2010, 04:03 PM   #11
Wavery
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actually the elkmont weighs bout half what the fj weighs.. monday i took the entire rig to the brake controller installer.. they switched out units and it went to working.. now about sway.. is that what happens when a semi passes you on the freeway?
That's part of it. More serious sway will result on almost any travel trailer, if you put on enough speed. The trick is to know how much is too much. For some 50MPH is too much and they must have a sway control device. For others, 75MPH may be too much and sway can be controlled by keeping the speed down.

As vehicle speed increases, the air pressure under the trailer increases and causes lift. That is why it is very important to be sure that the trailer tows level. A front high trailer will experience more lift than a front low trailer. Lift will cause the most serious type of sway condition.

Another contributer to sway is wind. A side wind can cause sway in most trailers. More on some than on others but a light TT like the Elkmont might be more vulnerable than a heavier trailer.

Shorter WB tow vehicles tend to experience sway sooner than long WB vehicles. The big problem there is, it can get out of control real quick and can actually flip a shorter WB TV.
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Old 03-29-2010, 04:19 PM   #12
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Sway is the uncontrolled side to side movement of the trailer trying to take the tow vehicle with it. Worst case, it would start and escalate back and forth until the setup jack knifes....not a good situation. Sway can happen to any setup, but is more likely with a long trailer and a short wheelbase tow vehicle. This could be bad in a panic stop for any trailer towing setup, but especially bad with a long trailer and a short wheelbase vehicle...... the trailer is trying to push the tow vehicle.......the tail wagging the dog. A sway system stiffens up the connection between the 2 so that the side to side escalation would be more difficult to happen. You can feel the trailer push the tow vehicle in cross winds, and also when a semi speeds by. The bow wave of a semi will push the back of the trailer away from it, but the tongue of the trailer moves toward that lane.....that is what you hear of being sucked into that lane. Even under perfect conditions, a little steering adjustment is usually needed to correct that.

Here is a good primer for Equalizer:

I use the Reese Straight Line with my 29 foot trailer.

Oops, Wayne posted while I was composing, but we are saying the same things.
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Old 03-30-2010, 09:41 AM   #13
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thanks for the info! very interesting .. if a little scarey.. we didn't experience any sway cept when trucks passed us.. our rig is set up very level tho.. so maybe that is helping. the trailer sales place put the wd hitch on for us but told us that single axle trailers don't require sway contol.. hahaha.. now i'm not so sure..hahaha.. but anyway we didn't experience any problems and we were pulling fully empty in a fairly heavy wind.. quartering at us from behind some.. quartering into us some.. and full out in our face the rest of the way..
btw.. i think the fj has 105.9 inch wheelbase.. lol.. every inch helps?? we're gonna pull it to the lake next week.. i'll pay more attention and keep my speed down too.

i really like my new lakehouse/mountaincabin/hunting shack trailer!!!
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Old 03-30-2010, 10:16 AM   #14
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thanks for the info! very interesting .. if a little scarey.. we didn't experience any sway cept when trucks passed us.. our rig is set up very level tho.. so maybe that is helping. the trailer sales place put the wd hitch on for us but told us that single axle trailers don't require sway contol.. hahaha.. now i'm not so sure..hahaha.. but anyway we didn't experience any problems and we were pulling fully empty in a fairly heavy wind.. quartering at us from behind some.. quartering into us some.. and full out in our face the rest of the way..
btw.. i think the fj has 105.9 inch wheelbase.. lol.. every inch helps?? we're gonna pull it to the lake next week.. i'll pay more attention and keep my speed down too.

i really like my new lakehouse/mountaincabin/ trailer!!!
If you didn't have sway under those conditions, you should be OK. Just know that if you should happen to get sway at some time, just apply the brake lever on your brake controller to regain control, then slow down to keep control. Hitting the brakes on the TV may not be the best solution but it's better than nothing. Just don't slam on the TV brakes when swaying.

I was following a friend one time driving near Palm Springs in 40MPH wind gusts. His trailer started swaying so bad that it got the trailer and TV up on 2 wheels. Had he slammed on the brakes, it would have been all over. He tapped the brakes and brought the rig to a stop (to change underwear, I think ). He tightened up his sway controller and all was well. He was pulling a 30' TT, with a Nissan Armada. It had a WDH and sway controller.
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Old 03-30-2010, 12:34 PM   #15
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i think i'll just slow down..i don't want any "stories" like that.
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Old 03-30-2010, 03:05 PM   #16
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I was surprised how well the Elkmont handles in high winds. Travelling around 60mph, we had 30mph gusts off Lake Erie that were noticeable but not usually disturbing or dangerous. No loss of control, no swerving back and forth. The Elkmont tracks very well; if it gets nudged off track, it comes right back.

And we have no sway control, just a weight distribution hitch. But our wheelbase is 140.5" so maybe that helps.

But twice a semi passed during heavy gusting, and for some reason, I think when it blocked the wind, we would sort of get sucked closer to the semi ... both the Elkmont and the Tacoma. That was a bit unnerving, so after the first incident I was always on the look out for semi's passing during high gusts and made sure both hands were on the wheel.

So it was tiring, and we're considering adding a couple of friction sway controllers to our WDH. But, I'm not really sure if sway control would have helped much.
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Old 03-30-2010, 04:15 PM   #17
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And we have no sway control, just a weight distribution hitch. But our wheelbase is 140.5" so maybe that helps.

.
Your 140.5" WB would be much more resistant to swaying than a 105.9" or even a 106" WB

I wouldn't even think about risking towing a full size TT of any sort, with a short WB and no sway control device. It just takes one time for it to get away from you....... If you already have a WDH, a sway control costs very little and isn't that much more of a hassle to deal with......but that's just me...
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Old 04-01-2010, 10:03 AM   #18
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i'm wondering if the lack of sway has anything to do with the weight of the fj.. its 4700 pounds without gas.. how heavy is your tacoma brulaz?
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Old 04-01-2010, 03:53 PM   #19
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Dry or curb weight is ~4150# Add a 180# cap for 4330#

GVWR is 5450#, so it really is just bit more than a half-ton pickup.

With the two of us (300#), 2 kayaks (120#), 2 bicycles (60#), tools (20#), lawn chairs (20#), misc. junk (?#) and the Elkmont (400#?), we're definitely close to the GVWR.
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Old 04-02-2010, 12:39 PM   #20
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Smile bikes

where did you get the 60# bicycles? are they mountain bikes?
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