Crosswinds

[dtstanton]

What's the best way to deal with crosswinds while travelling? Our 1350 is only 6' wide and has a pretty new axle (PO) that was mounted under the springs (flipped) when installed. I realize that limits the crosswinds I can tow in anyway. I have pulled it in about 35 mph crosswinds without a problem, but it was obvious it was being pushed around a bit.

It's obvious to me that tire pressure is pretty important, but should I keep my speed up or slow down (considering resultant wind direction/vectoring)? Should I consider a sway bar?
Other advice?

Thanks,
-Dale

[Gene]

I would think a sway bar when it is windy would help keep everything pointed in the same direction.

As for speed, my feeling is that if it really wants to go somewhere I am not pointing it, I would rather it go slowly and let me recover than have it pull me rapidly where I don't want to go. ... if that makes any sense.

I have only had something like that happen twice that I remember. Once was a gusty day when it started to rain. Roads are the slickest during the first 10 minutes of a rain storm and when the trailer just "didn't feel right" I slowed down to about 45-50mph. 15 minutes later everything felt good (stable) and I was back up to 60mph. At the slower speed I felt I had more control and a shorter stopping distance if needed.

The other time was just a blinding sudden downpour where you could only see about 100 feet or so. I was down to 35mph on the Interstate but didn't feel bad about going so slow since the line of 18 wheelers ahead (and thankfully, behind!) were all going that speed and we all had our flashers going. One 18 wheeler got stuck in the 2nd lane and I slowed a bit to let him pull into the line. He thanked me.

So ... back to the question. I am in the "go slower" camp and use the sway bar or whatever is needed for the circumstances for a safe, lower stress, trip.

[dtstanton]

Makes sense. Thanks, Gene.

[pwb01]

Without hesitation I second that. Slow down when windy and use a sway bar for every trip. Trucks on the highway on a calm day can push you around. You don't want the tail waging the dog.

[dtstanton]

I've been looking at [non-WD] sway control. They say that friction units like this one
Pro Series Friction Sway Control Kit - Economy - by Draw-Tite, Reese and Hidden Hitch Pro Series Weight Distribution 83660
aren't to be used with trailers with surge brakes. (Curt Manufacturing says you can.) While our Sunny doesn't have brakes, it originally had surge brakes and it still has the surge brake coupler.

Why do they say you can't use it with surge brakes? Is it because of how the surge brakes normally function, or because the tongue geometry is different? What am I dealing with here?

Thanks,
-Dale

[jim44646]

I used one far awhile but didn't like it I switched to a reese duel cam that has sway control. Another thing one might want to look at is tongue weight. Front of TT to light while back is to heavy also can cause sway

[nasa42a]

Dale.....


The reason that one is advised to avoid the friction-type sway controls when the rig has surge brakes (and, by inference, a surge coupler) is because:


==> When one applies the tow vehicle brakes, the surge coupler allows forward movement within the coupler to trigger the trailer brakes.
==> And when that happens, the friction sway control resists the movement at the coupler, as the sway control works by resisting movement between the towed vehicle and trailer.


I would think the overall effect on any individual unit depends upon the balance of the trailer, the amount of friction being used on the sway control, the amount of surge distance permitted by the coupler, and the severity of braking done by the tow vehicle.


Frank

[jim44646]

Originally Posted by nasa42a

Dale.....


The reason that one is advised to avoid the friction-type sway controls when the rig has surge brakes (and, by inference, a surge coupler) is because:


==> When one applies the tow vehicle brakes, the surge coupler allows forward movement within the coupler to trigger the trailer brakes.
==> And when that happens, the friction sway control resists the movement at the coupler, as the sway control works by resisting movement between the towed vehicle and trailer.



I would think the overall effect on any individual unit depends upon the balance of the trailer, the amount of friction being used on the sway control, the amount of surge distance permitted by the coupler, and the severity of braking done by the tow vehicle.


Frank

See, even though you can't participate in the joy of camping you can still add allot of knowledge and experience to SOC.

[dtstanton]

Definitely an education here. Thanks, guys.
It won't stop us from camping, Jim. <G>

To be clear, I'm not having any problems with sway. I am looking ahead to more distant trips and trying to stay ahead of potential issues before they become issues. So far, we've been staying close to home until we get more experience with everything - the Sunny itself (our very first travel trailer and towing experience) and camping with it. We are planning to venture out on longer trips in the not-too-distant future. I've pulled it 3 times with an S-10 and only twice with our "new" Yukon (25-30 miles each time, looking ahead to 2-4 hours or more), so I'm still learning how differently things can work and gaining experience with different situations. Wind is one of those. Actually, I've been more concerned with the possibility of a crosswind blowing her over going down the road rather than sway issues. <G>

Yes, I am pretty mindful of how I distribute the load in our 1350 just for those [handling] reasons.

Thanks for the explanation, Frank. Makes perfect sense. I can see how it could actually work against me with the surge coupler if everything isn't set just right.

I'm closing in on 60 y.o., and want to spend my time enjoying camping with our Sunny and not spend my time dealing with avoidable problems on the road. Since I joined this group (last year when we bought our Sunny), all of you here have been an invaluable asset in keeping me out of trouble and allowing me to give Shelley pleasant camping experiences - and that's worth a fortune in itself!

Taking baby steps and learning as I go......

Thanks again, everybody!
-Dale

[jim44646]

I was talking to Frank and Sharon about knowledge and experience and not being able to camp any more. Sorry for the mixup.

I'm pushing the 70 door and still towing. I remember the days of axle hitches. (Look that one up)

[dtstanton]

No problem, Jim. Thanks.

Axle hitches? You've been at it a while, haven't you? Glad there's so much experience here!

[jim44646]

Originally Posted by dtstanton

No problem, Jim. Thanks.

Axle hitches? You've been at it a while, haven't you? Glad there's so much experience here!

Axle hitch. You crawled under the car and clamp this wishbone type apparatus onto your axle. The head stuck out from under rear bumper. There you would hitch your trailer and hook up your torsion bars. No sway control. No snap up brackets, there were stationary hook on the tongue of trailer you hook your chains to by using tongue jack.
There was a time torsion heads were non adjustable. when you changed TV , you had to take TV to RV dealer where they would cut the head apart and then reweld back together for the correct (you hoped) hight and tilt.
To hitch a TT you had to lower your hitch onto ball, tighten coupler, crank tongue jack (non electric) till your head was high enough to hook your bar chains to your bracket hook then crank jack till jack back up till weight was off jack. Then you were ready to go after you recovered from cranking tongue up and down so much.

[dtstanton]

Originally Posted by jim44646

Axle hitch. You crawled under the car and clamp this wishbone type apparatus onto your axle. The head stuck out from under rear bumper. There you would hitch your trailer and hook up your torsion bars. No sway control. No snap up brackets, there were stationary hook on the tongue of trailer you hook your chains to by using tongue jack.
There was a time torsion heads were non adjustable. when you changed TV , you had to take TV to RV dealer where they would cut the head apart and then reweld back together for the correct (you hoped) hight and tilt.
To hitch a TT you had to lower your hitch onto ball, tighten coupler, crank tongue jack (non electric) till your head was high enough to hook your bar chains to your bracket hook then crank jack till jack back up till weight was off jack. Then you were ready to go after you recovered from cranking tongue up and down so much.

Oh, wow! I'll take the simplicity of today, thanks.