* I always tow with a Reese Dual Cam Sway Control on my 1964 Overlander.
* Granted, it may be overkill
This conversation has gone on for a while, but you are kidding yourselfif
you think a Reese Dual-cam is overkill! It would only be overkill ifone,
it worked, and two, if the lesser friction system worked also. Overkill
would only be the case if it provided the safety you seek. It (thereese
dual-cam) is MUCH better than a friction sway bar, but both still canfail
in an emergency situation. And after all, aren't we talking about high
speed emergencies? That's where every sway accident I have ever heardof
happened. I have never had someone say "we where just driving downthe
road, and BAM, it happened." They always say that something createdan
emergency maneuver.
The whole basis of sway control is to make the vehicle act like a straight
truck. When is the last time you saw a straight truck have any sway
trouble? The sway occurs when a vehicle can have osculation or canpivot
between the trailer and the tow vehicle. So, put a device on your vehicle
to make it act like a straight truck. First option, add a sway bar.Then
crank it down. Think about that, a steel plate that is sandwiched in
between two other plates that rely on a single bolt to keep them tight.
That is enough pressure to keep the 5000# trailer acting as a straight
truck? I just does not work, nor make sense. The next step is to usethe
Dual-Cam. The dual cam is still just a fancy friction device. It relieson
force to act (more later).
Now, the BIG problem with both these systems. Both systems are friction
devices. They take force to activate. Here are the problems:
1: They (the friction device)have NO way of knowing which way the forceis
coming from, and how to react. They do a simple job. They hold there
ground, period.
2: They hold their ground until they can't hold there ground, then thegive
up the fight, period. Then, when the fight gets easy again, they joinback
in.
3: They have a TOTALLY arbitrary setting, each person is setting itat a
different level of friction. That makes no sense, since every truckair
wave, every lane change, every panic maneuver is different. "Setting"the
device makes no logical sense. What is was told when I bought my first
trailer was "well, if you have any sway trouble, just tighten thatthing up
a little more." I knew I needed a change when the handle started tobend.
4: When the device gets wet, it work less, period.
5: The system works the same in either direction. As you take a paniclane
change, the friction device holds the trailer behind the tow vehicleas best
it can, eventually the trailer is at the turn angle. At some point,the
system comes to complete rest as it changes direction back. Now, the
friction device tries equally as hard to keep the trailer at the turnangle.
Plane and simple. Anyone who tries to explain it more than that is
complicating a simple physics lay. The device does not have a brain,it
does not know when you want it to work, and when not to work.
So, as you make the panic lane change, or you are caught off guard bytruck
air wave, the friction device is going to work against every move youmake.
We hear it time and time again, "once I had the sway, the trailer controlled
me, not the other way around" Those of you who make the statement "itworks
good for me" need to talk to someone that has true sway. They willtell a
VERY different story. If you think you system work fine, then you have
likely never encountered true sway. Not the slight movement of thetrailer
in wind, I mean a true sway emergency!
I know, many of you are saying that this is not how the dual cam works.OK,
a little different, the dual cam allows the trailer to pivot once the
friction is broken, however, when the trailer tries to come back inline
(reached that pause point in direction change) the same force SLAMSthe
trailer back toward straight. The trailer is still dictating to youthe
drive, not the other way around.
Us common sense in your purchase and analysis of the protection youbuy. It
is actually quite simple. Look at, think of it in the worst case scenario.
Ask yourself, will it work, does it make sense with a suburban anda 7000#
trailer, or a SUV and a 5000# trailer.
--
Phil Sinewe - mailto:Hensleyarrow@erinet.com
http://www.hensleymfg.com