Help on sway control and hitch

Ditto for me, the pod is so comfortable to tow I put off getting sway control until a day when I wished I had it.  

www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Reese/RP66082.html

Strait-Line Weight Distribution System w Sway Control - Trunnion Bar - 10,000 lbs GTW, 600 lbs TW is what I bought. My tow vehicle is a 1/2 ton GMC Sierra. Might be a little late for you but just wanted to share. I took the pod up through the Skagit valley north of Seattle. It is windy up there. No trouble what so ever. The reason I went for a dual cam sway control is because it is suppose to prevent the swaying from even starting, where as the traditional bar attached to the little ball on the side will stop swaying once it begins. I am no expert by any means so take this for what it is. Maybe I am just a sucker for Reese marketing guys. Either way I have had no problems pulling my pod with this setup.

hopefully not a goofy question here.  my last trip down to florida and back, i did drive in quite a bit of wind; especially in the flats of northern arkansas and southern missouri.  by the way, if you have never been in this area, i think it may be the flattest place on earth!!!  i have never really encountered much sway pulling the pod, i do not use either a sway bar wdh, etc; just the old standard hook-up.  obviously felt the trailer and my truck being affected by the wind at times during this trip.  ok, here is my  goofy question.  exactly what do you guys mean by sway.  i mean i know what sway is, but how much are we talking about?  I frequently/always look in my mirrors when being passed by trucks, or in major winds.  obviously i get some sway, but it seems like so minimal and normal; or is any sway abnormal?  when you use sway bars, is this totally eliminated? it seems like in major wind situations, your still going to be pushed around. am i being unsafe or stupid by not using at least a sway bar?  i am definately not opposed to getting one.  hopefully this all makes sense.  hogone

Originally posted by hogone hopefully not a goofy question here.  my last trip down to florida and back, i did drive in quite a bit of wind; especially in the flats of northern arkansas and southern missouri.  by the way, if you have never been in this area, i think it may be the flattest place on earth!!!  i have never really encountered much sway pulling the pod, i do not use either a sway bar wdh, etc; just the old standard hook-up.  obviously felt the trailer and my truck being affected by the wind at times during this trip.  ok, here is my  goofy question.  exactly what do you guys mean by sway.  i mean i know what sway is, but how much are we talking about?  I frequently/always look in my mirrors when being passed by trucks, or in major winds.  obviously i get some sway, but it seems like so minimal and normal; or is any sway abnormal?  when you use sway bars, is this totally eliminated? it seems like in major wind situations, your still going to be pushed around. am i being unsafe or stupid by not using at least a sway bar?  i am definately not opposed to getting one.  hopefully this all makes sense.  hogone

I'm like you.  I don't really get the sway control thing.  We've had our pod almost a year now and have had it out several times.  Several thousand miles on the road now.  The first time I felt any sway at all was a couple of weeks ago coming back from the Smokies.  I think it was due to half a tank of water (too much weight behind the axle).  The sway was only technical; yes there was detectable sway, but it was in no way dangerous or even threatening.  It was as to sway the way the threat of snow is to snow when they close schools in Middle Tennessee.  In Middle Tennessee they close schools if it gets cloudy and the temperature drops below 40 degrees.  We are scared to death that a school bus be caught out in a blizzard and will slide off the road and down a 2000 foot cliff killing scores of children.  And of course they will be buried under an avalanche of snow and we won't find them until next summer.

If sway gets out of control you could die in a fiery wreck.  (That is probably not as paranoid as the my Middle Tennessee snow analogy.)

Just my opinion coming up here: I think a lot of people with pods get sway control and WDHs because they've heard they might be a good idea and they can afford them. 

I know that's silly and that pod owners are probably above average savvy about things like this, and maybe too I've been good about keeping 60% of my load in front of the axle or maybe I've just been lucky.  Maybe there is something about the 176 (no T) that makes it less prone than other pods to want to sway.  Bottom line, I remain unconvinced about the need for sway control or WDHs for my personal use.  They are almost certainly good things but maybe some people need them more than others.  I hope these aren't famous last words.  If I do need sway control I hope I get a warning like Doug apparently did.

All that said, if I come across a good deal on a WDH with sway control I might grab it up.  Safe than sorry and all that...

TT

friction bar...........sway bar..............same thing?