Re: [VAC] Reese friction sway control bar/driving issues

["jim clark" <jec1938@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Finally... Someone points out the need to pay attention to the trailer and
the driving.... I have been concerned about the dangerous implications that
could lead someone to feel that if they pick the right hitch and break
controller they can forget that they have a trailer behind them.... This
might be true if the trailer is a small Uhaul and the truck is a 5 ton
truck....certainly not true with any of the combinations we might see
here...

Don't forget you are 2-5 tons heavier than you were depending on the size of
the trailer.....
You are 2-4 times as long as you were and the whole package handles
differently even if locked together by the best hitch ever made (whatever
that is)...
It takes longer for the whole package to get out of the way of things that
are happening so you need to leave a lot more safety margin in your driving
decisions....
A lot of us have reached an age where we can get hypnotized by the road (2-3
in afternoon after nice lunch etc..etc...) reguiring more attention to the
safety margin....and just plain staying awake....

A good hitch is an important step, however nothing will make it as if you
don't have a trailer, except making the truck so large or the trailer so
small, that it has no effect on the truck no matter what happens.... (not
practical for most of us )
Good Luck

Jim Clark