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Jeff,
Others have replied, but I will add my 2 cents...OK
OK, its probably more like $3 worth, but I have been towing my Airstream for
over 20 years now!
A 17 foot trailer is not nearly as prone to sway
problems as the longer trailers. You do however have a lightweight tow vehicle,
which is more easily pushed around. This should not pose a problem since you
also have a lightweight trailer, especially if you do a little homework, which
you seem to be doing. Adding a
friction-type sway bar to the hitch assembly is a good start. It might not
be normally needed, but the first time you are blown around by a passing semi
and your significant other happens to be driving, you will wish that you had
one.
More importantly make sure that the hitch is
properly set up for your tow vehicle/trailer combination. This includes proper
ball height and proper weight distribution adjustment. I do not know the ball
height for your trailer. Find out what it is and adjust your hitch so that the
top of the ball is that high off the ground (you do this while NOT hitched up).
Since you are using a pickup as a tow vehicle you want your weight distrib
bars adjusted so that at a minimum the front end of the truck is
brought back down to unhitched height. At a maximum you want enough weight going
to the front so that the truck "squats" evenly front and rear. Since you
have a light duty truck it is very important that you weigh
the truck's axles separately while hitched up, carrying a full load. You
need to do this to be sure that you are not overloading your truck's axles.
You should be able to find a loacl public scales in your yellow pages, or at
a truck stop. If you are overloaded, adjust the weight distribution
bars and reweigh. While you are at the scales, unhitch and weigh the tongue of
the trailer, and the trailer axle (separately) to be sure that the tongue weight
is 10 to 15 percent of the total trailer weight. If need be, adjust how you pack
your trailer to give you the proper tongue weight. Since this will take a while,
I suggest that you call ahead to see if there is a day and or time that the
scales are not busy.
One list member suggested a sway bar added to your
truck's suspension. This might also help increase stability while on the
road. I would try towing without this first. If your driving
experience causes you any alarm, then try adding them. With a properly
set up hitch and tow vehicle, your towing experience should be a very
pleasant one, usually an experience very similar to driving
solo.
One other thing...I am assuming that you have
a brake control unit in your truck and that the brakes work
properly.
Scott Scheuermann
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