Anti-Sway bars - Event Date: 27 Aug 2014 - 31 Aug 2014

Thanks, Stephen, will do. First time in many years of trailering that I've lost one. Winds didn't seem as strong as others we've been in, but that top sure took a powder on this trip.

Originally posted by Rpod-Couple I recommend you stick with a 6000 lb weight distribution hitch. I initially used a 10,000 lb WDH on my Mazda CX9 and R-Pod 171. The CX9 is a similar size vehicle to the Pilot. The 10,000 lb WDH was too stiff and transferred every bump to my CX9. I replaced with 6000 lb spring bars and that smoothed out the ride and kept my front end level.  I haven’t found the need for a sway bar but certainly can’t hurt.

By 6000lb I think you mean a WDH designed for a 600 lb tongue weight. That is on the light side for a mid sized rpod. My 179 had a tongue weight of about 500 lbs. Adding in cargo in the TV it had to lift closer to 700 lbs. The WDH doesn't know whether it's lifing weight on the tongue or in the rear of the TV.

The spring bars are designed to handle about 2x the WDH rating, or 1200 lbs in the case of a 600 lb hitch. It's very common to get 2g bump loads which for me would be in excess of 1400 lbs, too much for a 600 lb hitch.

I had a 1000 lb rated WDH and it did not create too stiff a ride in my Highlander. I do think an 800 lb rated hitch (1600 max rating) would be the best compromise though.

Also you don't want to set up a WDH to level the tow vehicle, just to put the front axle load and height back where it was without the trailer. That results in the tongue weight being added to the rear axle, but no more, so there will still be some squat in the TV rear axle. If that is excessive then you probably have too much stuff in the back of the TV or too high tongue weight.

I recommend you stick with a 6000 lb weight distribution hitch. I initially used a 10,000 lb WDH on my Mazda CX9 and R-Pod 171. The CX9 is a similar size vehicle to the Pilot. The 10,000 lb WDH was too stiff and transferred every bump to my CX9. I replaced with 6000 lb spring bars and that smoothed out the ride and kept my front end level. 

Are you asking about sway control or weight distribution hitches or both? These serve totally different functions but ppl are often confused because the functions can come combined in a single device.

All weight distribution hitches pretty much do the same thing in slightly different ways. Their purpose is to counter the leverage of the trailer tongue pushing down on the hitch which lifts the front axle of the tow vehicle up. This makes the front axle light and adds more than the tongue weight to the rear axle. I would get an 800-1000 lb rated wdh as it has to lift both the tongue weight and the weight of stuff in the rear of the TV.

The purpose of sway control is to limit how much the trailer can twist side to side around the tow ball. This can be accomplished by adding friction to that rotational movement or by electronically activating the trailer brakes when sway in detected and before it gets bad. Your choice which way you want to go. If you choose friction   you can get that built in to the weight distribution hitch or separate. The built in approach is faster to install and remove, the separate friction sway control allows the weight distribution and sway control functions to be adjusted independently. Again it's a personal choice which way you go.

An example of an integrated wdh/sway control is the Fastway E2. Separate examples are the Reese Pro wdh and sway control. An example of electronic sway control is the Hayes system.   

I bought the E2 for our pod and it worked well.  Our Salem came with a Reese Dual-Cam which is a step up but likely overkill for the pods.