Selecting Correctly-Rated Weight Distribution/Sway Control System for Travel Trailer

Question:

I have a 34’ travel trailer. It has a tongue weight of about 1,000 pounds. Dry weight is 6800 pounds, but of course heavier when loaded. I currently have a Blueox Swaypro and am not at all impressed with performance. I have a 2018 Toyota Tundra that has a trailer weight of 9800 pounds, so I know it is designed for pulling. At highway speeds the sway control portion of sway pro is very inadequate. When tractor trailers pass, it feels very uncomfortable with the movement. Also I can see back of trailer swaying some when very little wind present. So my question is, what is the best weight distribution and sway control? Am I better off getting a separate weight distributor and sway control setup? Just feel lost and need help. Thank you.

asked by: Steve W

Expert Reply:

The first thing to do in evaluating the performance of your Blue Ox weight distribution (WD) set-up is to make certain that it is rated appropriately for the actual fully-loaded tongue weight (TW) of the trailer. The easiest way to know this is to measure the fully-loaded road-ready trailer with a scale like the # e99044. This device makes knowing you actual TW easy and easily repeatable. Plus over time you will learn the best loading scheme for all of your usual gear to keep the trailer TW in the ideal range of 12- to 14-percent of its GVWR.

To the measured trailer TW you need to add the weight of any cargo in the Tundra that sits behind the rear axle, such as a generator or loaded cooler, since this appears just like trailer TW to the WD system. Once you have your total TW determined you can make sure your current system is appropriately rated. You want your total TW to fall in the middle of the system's operating range. As an example, the Blue Ox Sway Pro # BXW1000 works for TW of 750- to 1000-lbs, making it ideal if your TW is in the 850- to 900-lb range. Spring bars can be changed out to accommodate different tongue weights.

If your system is rated correctly and set-up correctly and you still do not care for its performance in terms of sway prevention then the system I suggest to replace it is an Equal-I-zer like # EQ37100ET or one of the others shown on the linked page. These are rated highly by our customers that have purchased an installed them. These integrated systems will perform far better than any separate anti-sway mechanism like # 83660.

You may care to refer to the linked videos for more general WD info and specific details on the Equal-I-zer.