Sway bar

[10petenat]

Hi Expanda world,

Needing some advice regarding sway bars. We have recently bought the 17.56-2 and are off around Australia in 74 days....not that I am counting. A few people have told us to get sway bars. We have spent so much money already we are just wondering whether anyone could give us any advice as to whether they are essential or not.

Cheers
Nat

 

[allthedeans]

Hi Nat

I too have just bought a 17.56-2 (one year old) and it comes with the weight distribution sway bars. I have yet to tow it but the seller has had many caravans over the years and he said that with the sway bars fitted there is no sway at all. He even said when passing trucks coming the opposite direction the car and van did not move at all. What they do is also distribute some of the weight from your van onto the front wheels of your car reducing load on your tow ball.

The fact my van came with them is a bonus, I was going to get them anyway. I believe they make the van much safer to tow. With my family in the car I want to make sure they are safe as can be. So if the budget allows Id get them, especially if you are doing a lot of driving along highways etc.

 

[Bank of Dad]

Are we talking about a WDH (Weight Distributing Hitch) or a sway bar.

WDH shifts some of the weight from the rear to front axle which helps steering and front wheel braking efficiency.

A sway bar works as a dampener to reduce sway. Usually Jaycos are pretty good in this respect. If your Tow Ball weight is approx 10% of your van weight, then usually all is OK.

Comments from the Old and Bolds?

 

[Bushman]

As Bank of Dad said, WDH and Sway bars are 2 different things, I've towed mine with and without the WDH, I wont tow without again.
while the WDH does help control sway to an extent it main function is to put some of the weight back on the front wheels giving better braking/steering/control.

A Sway Contoller is an attachment that attaches to the WDH that does as the name suggests, Controls Sway., Generally a WDH is enough for the average van that is well loaded and balanced, bigger heavier vans sometime require the added assistance of the Sway Controller

check out the Hayman Reece Website for the difference

 

[bully66672]

Good evening all, I tow a 17.56-2 with a 105 series land cruiser and a hayman reece weight distribution hitch.
I have done a fair amount of towing all types of trailers around Australia and find the hay man Reece type weight distribution hitch to be excellent. Even with heavy duty suspension, the weight distribution unit makes towing this size van a whole lot better.
There are several different brands you can purchase so it pays to look around if you want to save some money.
These type of devices are a real investment and will give years of service if looked after. The unit I use is nearly 10 years old and still in very good condition.
Have a look on eBay and you can sometimes pick up a good unit at a reduced price.

 

[Gaz70]

Giday guys, i tow my 16.49-3 ATM 2128kgs with a Landrover Discovery 2, it has no WDH and it tows fine, no sway no bouncing...I have about 9% ball wt...the landrover is fiited with heavy duty coil spring with poly air bags that i pump up to 25psi and tyres pressures of 40psi...

im cant use WDH as the use of this hitch distributes weight to the front of the towing vehicle and back to van axle/wheels...im already on my axle load limit, ATM - ball weight..

refer to your towing vehicle specs.....also how many horse floats or car trailers do you see using WDH and most times there combination is heavier than a caravan!!!!

 

[10petenat]

Would the airbags that we have put on the car have helped with the weight distribution. Thinking this will take the weight off the rear axle and do us for now.

 

[crystal674]

Hi Nat,

The air bags just lift the back of the car up, it doesn't spread the weight over the car meaning that steering and braking will be adversly affected.

Also, you would need to pump the air bags up to a higher than normal psi which will also affect handling and ride comfort.

You might get away without a WDH on a small van but the one you have is quite a bit heavier than the 16 footers.

We have self-leveling hydraulic suspension and still can notice a big difference with the WDH.

If you can make it to Boynedale we can show you.

Hope this helps.

Crystalyn

 

[kegs]

Hi,
So for my getting closer to be delivered 17-56 O/B, the WDH would be a good idea ??, I have a tow ball weight of 250kg, so I am thinking that I would need something like the hayman reece 600pd hitch. I'm am wondering what hitch people recommend and how much would I be looking at for supply and install.:whip:

 

[bigman0510]

All we use are airbags, tows great, we do have simplicity suspension on the van which i feel helps as well. When we put the van on without airbags, distance between top of front wheel and guard gets measurably bigger. When are bags are at correct pressure and van is put on it the distance barely increases at all. And we got offroad a fair bit which would mean we would have to remove the WDH. Different horses different courses.

 

[crystal674]

Hi Kegs,

We were recommended one which we were going to put one anyway as all our trailers have weight distribution systems.

Ours was fitted free as we bought it with the van and much easier for them as they do it all day every day.

As they have all the different shanks and bars they can try different combinations to find the best fit for your rig.

There is a thread called "fitting a weight distrubution hitch" which goes into more detail.

Crystalyn

 

[Gaz70]

it all comes down to your vehicle specs on towing etc, how big or heavy your towing vehicle is to the van being towed, the speed and conditions and the last and biggest one your driving/towing experience....as bigman said, offroad you need to remove the WDH...