To Sway or Not To Sway?

[murc]

Welcome to Spring!

I think.

Right now it is 35 and raining, it hardly feels like Spring at all.

We will be picking up our new 264SR in ten days YIPPEE.

The dealer we purchased the unit from will be installing a Reese hitch with 1000lb wd bars.
However he has expressed to us that sway bars are not needed. This puzzles me because most if not all the forums I read say sway bars are
needed for a trailer of this length. The tow home will be 3 1/2 hours.

If We do not get them installed at the dealer will it be safe to tow that distance?

Can the sway bars be added once we get the unit home?

What should I be looking for in the line of proper equiptment for this units size?

Sorry for all the questions but going from tenting to a trailer this large raises a lot of questions and uncertainty

Thanks for all your help

Mike & Anne

[rich2500]

I would not pull that camper off of their lot without sway control,yes sway control can be added later,but 3.5 hour drive without it could be troublesome.

[264SRinPA]

murc,

You will need some kind of sway control. As for the 1000# bars, I think you should go with 1200# bars. The hitch weight of your 264 is a little over 800# without batteries and propane. Once loaded with all your stuff you will be over 1000#. If the reese hitch was already part of the deal, upgrade to a dual cam for sway control. Or you might consider an Equalizer hitch for $400 from RV Wholesalers. It's very easy to install by yourself if the dealer won't do it for you. You could do it in the parking lot in an hour with only a few tools.

[kanyonkitty]

Congrats on your new Sunline purchase. I would definately want to upgrade to 1200# bars, and add dual cam sway control to the hitch setup BEFORE I ever left the dealers lot. He'll tell ya you don't need it, but "IS" he the one headed down the road on a 3.5 hour drive, and is "HE" gonna be out any $ in the event of an accident. No he won't as he's got your money and once you drive off his lot, it's your problem. Sunlines do tow great but, when you can have the addictional safety margin of sway control, please insist that they add it. Your getting a wonderful COACH, and probably impossible to replace "IF" the unexpected should happen.

Kitty

[Mark]

At minimum, you should be safe and get the simple $80 friction for the journey. Make him LOAN it to you....

But you also fail to mention what you are towing with? Wheelbase plays a big factor in sway.

I just upgraded to dual cam sway since I moved form a lightweight Trail-lite Bantam B22 to my current 2553.

[Sunline Fan]

Hi Murc,

Take the others' advise and upgrade to the 1200 lb. bars and sway control. Sure, you don't NEED any of it, but if you want a stress free, safe, uneventful trip home, you SHOULD get it. Also, if you were traveling around a half hour or so, I'd say you could install the sway at home, but since you have such a long drive, I'd have the dealer do it. They know (or should know) the proper way to install and adjust the hitch for level towing. I'm actually surprised the dealer tried to discourage you from all that- they may not make much, but they would make something over nothing!

Jon

[JohnB]

If you have the Reese and it is rated at 1,000# bars, you have the round bar hitch head.

Sunline does a real good job in balancing there TT with good tongue weight. This is by design.

However with a 8,600# GVWR rated TT, and a Sunline, once loaded with camping gear you will be over 1,000# tongue. Especially when loaded with fresh water. I do not have the 264SR but if the fresh water tank if forward of the axles, it will add tongue weight when filled.

The 264SR also has that real nice big pass thru cargo hole under the bed. Just like my T2499. And When I filled that cargo hole it added 200# to the tongue all by it self.

Your dealer has told you 2 things that are not good. A WD hitch that is too light for your TT and do not use sway control. If they are telling you do not need sway control on a high profile frontal area TT, 28 ½ feet long, well that says a lot on their recommendations.

Right now the cost to upgrade from a round bar Reese 1,000# hitch to a Reese HP Trunnion bar hitch with 1,200# trunnion bars is not much. I am personally not a fan of the friction sway bar on large TT’s. For light weight campers with tongues under 400# yes, but the difference in a DC to a Friction sway bar new, is like only $90. See here. The HP DC is on the bottom for $175, the friction sway $85. Performance is night and day. http://www.reese-hitches.com/sway_controls.htm

I know this may be difficult for you to talk to a dealer telling them to change, as they are suppose to know what they are doing. And he may want to charge you more to mount the DC. But if you or they do the math and weigh the camper loaded with gear, 1,000# will not work once you are loaded ready to go camping unless you carry very little to no gear in the camper.

And do not let them tell you the spring bars have safety ratings and can go over 1,000#. If you call Reese tech service they will tell you, anything over the rating, they will not warrant the product.

Good luck and let us know if you need more help.

PS Sorry if I came off a little ruff. My own dealer did a very similar thing to me on my Sunline and they sounded very sincere, just they never weighed the rig. They gave me 800# bars when loaded my hitch weighed 1,200# with no fresh water. After much investigation, I learned they where wrong and now know where to go looking. We are trying to help you not make the same mistake.

John

[irishguy101]

JOHNB QUOTE: Sunline does a real good job in balancing there TT with good tongue weight. This is by design.

I could not agree more my Sunline tow like a dream no sway at all but I do have a Reese Dual Cam Control.

[murc]

THANKS!!!

I am realy impressed with all the great advice you hve provided here.
I will insist that the dealer install the proper equiptment!!

My tow vehicle is a 1997 Chevy 3/4 ton 350 v8 with a 4:10 and towing pkg.

Will I have issues with this truck pulling a 264sr?

[PTHutch]

Hi Murc,

You'll have no problem towing with your TV, particularly if you upgrade your bars to 1200# and add sway control, like everyone suggested.

Enjoy your new Sunline.
Hutch

[Mark]

I agree , I think you have a beast of a tow vehicle! Just be safe with your sway choice and enjoy

[JohnB]

Murc

You did not say if your 2500 was a Suburban or a Pick up.

However the main key is: You have the ¾ ton suspension to hold up that TT tongue if and when you get to 1,200#.

As far as the pulling department, the web site I normally go to for manuals is down right now so I cannot check the 1997 Silverado manual. But you can as you own one….

However I did have a 1997 Suburban Manual. On page 4-46 I lists the tow ratings.

A C2500 5.7 V8 with 4.10 is listed as 7,500# trailer (2 wheel drive)
A K2500 5.7 V8 with 4.10 is listed as 7,000# trailer (4 wheel drive)

If I remember right the 350cc is the 5.7 liter.

If you have a pick up, the tow ratings will be a little more as the truck is lighter than the Suburban.

From what I can find the 5.7 with the 4.10 in a PU is 8,000# on the C2500 and 7,500# on the K2500. 99 Trailerlife towing guide

Check this with your manual.

So looking at the numbers, you could be OK on the axles weight and most likely are unless you have a large load in the truck itself. Only way to know is weigh the truck and camper loaded axle by axle and compare to your drivers side door sticker.

Your 264SR lists out at 6,085# dry weight. Add 1,000# of normal camper gear and you have like 7,100# GVW.

On the pulling department, well unless your manual says something different, you be near or at the pull ratings. The pre 2000 models had lower ratings until the newer engines came out.

Watch your weights, how much “stuff” you put in the truck, weigh your rig some time when you get it loaded, adjust your WD hitch setup optimized and go have fun in that really nice new camper.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

John