Sway bar vs weight distributed?

LauraRey

I'm towing with a 2010 Forrester (2400 towing capacity).  My dealer says a sway bar should suffice, but said if I want to go a bit higher in price, I can get a hitch that is weight distributed.

Having never towed anything (other than a trailer behind a UHaul van), I'm not sure which to go with.  Thoughts?

Nomad

I think I'd try it without first - Haven't heard of any T@B sway problems but have heard of dealers trying to talk customers into sway bars several times.
Hopefully another Forrester owner will pipe up on their experince. When loaded, you'll be pretty close to your max.

rfuss928

When loaded you are very likely to exceed the 2400# capacity.  That rating includes everything in the vehicle including driver and passenger(s) in addition to the weight of the trailer and it's contents. Hitch accessories will not change the towing capacity.  Be careful !!

Homebodyatheart

Another piece of this puzzle is your tongue weight. Our Subaru dealer refused to put a 2" hitch/7pin system on our 2015 Outback 4cyl. We upgraded our TV to a 6cyl used Highlander to be safe. We also live on the West coast and will travel through high passes more often than not. That influenced part of our decision. Good luck!

LauraRey

" Our Subaru dealer refused to put a 2" hitch/7pin system on our 2015 Outback 4cyl."

Subaru (as well as I think Mazda) have actually gone to actively discouraging folks from towing.  They took this position around 2012.  It is a liability for them to have to deal with.  Subaru has always been a bit difficult to deal with in terms of electrical.  Two of the dealerships in the area won't install it because they won't open up the sealed electronics box.  They say it is too much of a hassle and they don't have someone on staff who can do it.   I finally contacted a dealership that is more rurally located.  The service and sales guys laughed when I told them I wanted to trade my Forrester in for an Outback so I could tow.  The sales guy said he would do it, but it was 4 quarters for a dollar.  He said my Forrester would have no problems with the T@B.

LauraRey

I'm required by law to have the sway bar, just not the weight distributor.

Nomad

Really - What state?

LauraRey

@PXLated
Perhaps my dealer was wrong?  (Ontario)

rfuss928

Usually sway bars and weight distribution are only needed for much larger trailers with much higher tongue weight.
Marginal towing capacity is manageable occasionally with experience and for relatively short distances.  If you are new to towing and have plans for travel to distant destinations you should consider a TV with at least 3000 - 3500# capacity.  It will be much safer and confidence inspiring.

Nomad

Don't know since you're in Canada but sure haven't heard of such on the T@B weight, length class here in the states but do know that some dealers try to push them on some. Extra moola for them.

JiroTX

I think you really need to look at your TV's GVWR. For example, my 2015 Nissan Xterra's hitch weight capacity is 500 lb. I went to one of the local Cat Scales to weigh my Xterra with one passenger (270lb) and full tank of gas. It was 4,920 lb. total (GVW). GVWR of Xterra is 5,400lb. So I can actually have 480 lb. on the hitch with a passenger and full tank of gas (empty cargo). Or if I have a 170 lb. person instead, I can have extra 100 lb on the hitch (makes it 580 lb. of hitch weight capacity). You can calculate towing capacity using GCVWR, but I did not have to worry about that for my TV.

Remember, everything that you add to your TV will be added to your GVW, and this includes sway control bars or distribution hitch. Weight distribution hitch (WDH) only distributes weight to the front of your TV (and back of the trailer), and it actually adds more weight to the GVWR. You will need to figure out how much total you can have on your vehicle. GVWR should be on the vehicle's manual.

The sad part is, most RV sales guys or even parts guys tell you that you don't have to worry about hitch weight if you use WDH.... Do not listen to them. I know a lot of people towing T@B's with lower towing capacity with no problems. I know a lot of vehicles can tow T@B's pretty safely, but when something happens, your insurance can refuse to pay if you're over capacity...

As for sway when towing T@B, I have experienced sway when it was super windy. I think I was on down hill and went up close to 70mph (I was not trying to go that fast). The sway stopped immediately after I slowed down to 60mph-ish. I usually drive at 60-65mph, and you should not have any sway problem with that speed.

I would say T@B (not Outback) would weigh around 2,400 lb fully loaded depending on how light you travel. Most hitch weight capacity is set to 10% of towing capacity, so yours is probably 240 lb. T@B's hitch weight is probably around 240 lb loaded. I would not add any sway control or WDH to it.

db_cooper

Like JiroTx , we have an Xterra.  I was getting a bit of sway downhill, especially if there were ruts in the highway.   I put on one of those friction anti-sway bars, and our first trip this week with them was a success.  I've read they are not that good,  but it made a noticeable difference. 

Nomad

Have never had sway - Even in pretty heavy side winds. Gotten a little side bump with a side wind gust but no big deal. But, I generally keep it in the 58-62 range and avoid freeways as often as I can.

rfuss928

Trailer sway is almost always the result of too little tongue weight.  10-15% of the trailer weight is the typical guideline.  As you add cargo to your trailer it is important to keep this in mind and add items in front of the axle as well to the rear.  Our light trailers balance is easily altered by 20 or more pounds at the tongue and if in the wrong direction could result in too little weight on the hitch. 
I run with about 270# at the hitch and have never had any issues with sway regardless of wind or speed.   I think these little trailers do better at the higher end of the guideline.

AldebaranJill

I tow with 4 cylinder Subaru Legacy, never noticed any sway at all.

Vermonster

Rfuss928 is right on on this.  Weight distribution is critical for trailer handling and with a trailer as light as the t@b, just a few pounds added behind the axle could change handling considerably.  Measuring pounds at the tongue doesn't tell you what you need to know, it's the percentage of total trailer weight that is the real factor.  

wizard1880

My opinion is any sort of sway control devices or weight distribution hitches are unnecessary with the t@b.

When I towed with my diesel Jetta (smaller than any Subaru), I never had even the slightest amount of sway in any condition.  They're very well designed trailers from a load balancing perspective and are just too small.  Our Audi has a 6600 lbs towing limit and the manual specifically forbids using any sort of sway device.  And people's experiences with large 5000+ lbs campers is just like ours-- no sway.

It's 100% dealer profit markup item.  Shame on them.

Now, when you're getting into the 4-5+ ton range with 25+ length trailers, well then yes swsy devices help immensely.

LauraRey

Thanks for the responses!  I was wrong about the sway bar being required and the dealership that is installing the hitch said that they didn't feel it was necessary, but we can always add it in the future, if needed.  Hitch is ordered and will probably go on next week. Irony?  My snow tires go on today.

TABaker

And with a Dutchmen T@B (2004-2010), we were told sway or distribution hitches were a no-no and would damage the Al-Ko frame so that wasn't even a consideration in the early T@Bs.

TerryV6

We've never really had a major sway problem.  I did see a video that has been out for a while I'm sure, that I just discovered..  TaDa!!  I now get the weight distribution problem and how it affects your travel.  "Dusty lightbulb in head lights up for first time"...

https://youtu.be/i2fkOVHAC8Q

Obviously, if your camper is overweighted in the back, I can see a major problem happening.  I wasn't aware of this.  I wonder how the Outback, with its rear rack can add to back weight problems...  I'd have a tendency to really load up that rack.  In the video, you can see that once a major sway starts happening, it doesn't look like you could recover..  

Ratkity

If sway happens, slow down and one can regain control. Sway is a function of tongue weight. It's very hard to overload a T@B in the rear. It is easy to overload in the front (keep in mind the load in rear of your tow vehicle adds to the equation). A weight distribution hitch would help if your TV suspension is being bogged down and the front rack of your T@B has been highly loaded (how many generators ARE you bringing? ). 

I put the Yakima rack on the back of my T@Bitha. Never had a problem and never used the friction sway bar that came with it. I originally pulled it with a V6 Rav4 with tow pkg and later with a GMC Canyon (with tow pkg). No sway problems with the back rack. That rack can only support 70 lbs. The tire is already 40#. I've seen folks put light bikes on with the tire and have no bounce or sway at all. 

I think there are other threads that may explain this better than me if you use the search. 

Photomom

Our dealer said that T@bs aren't prone to swaying, but if it ever did to momentarily activate the trailer brakes using the manual lever on the brake controller, and any swaying will stop. Never had the opportunity to test this.

LauraRey

Photomom said:

Our dealer said that T@bs aren't prone to swaying, but if it ever did to momentarily activate the trailer brakes using the manual lever on the brake controller, and any swaying will stop. Never had the opportunity to test this.

That's what my dealer said as well.  And I've not tested it either.

wizard1880

Believe it or not, and I DON'T condone this, but accelerating also eliminates sway, but only for a moment, and potentially more sway could result when you decelerate again.  Don't try this!

I've towed rear heavy loads of firewood on an unbraked trailer, and my experience is that decelerating does increase sway immediately, and if you're going quick enough it can get ugly real quick!

Grabbing the trailers brakes is the best thing you can do, as previously mentioned by many.

I've made it a habit of trying to induce sway at low city speeds or on a freeway onramp, when I'm first towing an unfamiliar load.  If you see the trailer wag slightly and cease, you're usually good to go.  If not, you'll know quickly and you can safely stop to correct the situation (I.e. reload or shift load more frontwards).

Ratkity

I wish I could cut and paste the instructions I received about sway and how to deal with it. It combined slowing down (no hard braking - just take foot off the brake), using the brake controller manual control gently and keeping the steering wheel straight. I'm sure there are specific instructions for different sized trailers and TV setups that can be googled. What I've consistently found is .... while a scientist will tell you that sway is a product of tongue weight, there are too many variables your trailer and tow vehicle combination contribute to the equation - along with how level your trailer and TV are hitched up when loaded.

Wind buffeting is not sway. I can feel an 18-wheeler coming up behind me because of the wind push, but that is not sway. Tail wag is sway. I saw a van almost lose his small harbor freight-type trailer that was pitched up at the tongue to the hitch (trailer was not even loaded) on I-95. I was towing in the slow lane and just backed off from the van. He didn't lose it, but I think it was a few seconds before I was breathing normally.

Trying to induce sway in an empty parking lot might be safer than a highway ramp. It's also a good place to get to 20 mph and test your brake controller settings.