Sway control bar

[lund17]

I have never had a sway control bar on my RV trailer(bumper pull), as I really never had any issue pulling it. I have only ever been in one situation with a bad cross wind that I had to slow down to stop the trailer sway.

I got one this year to see if it would help but it sure does make a lot of noise while turning corners. I have dialed it back one full turn on the adjustment screw from the factory setting and it has helped but still makes noise. I don't really want to back it off any more than that right now till I get into another cross wind.

How much can you back off on the adjustment screw before the sway bar does not do it's job? Or is the noise just standard and live with it?

[Gary K]

mine doesnt make any noise, but im unsure what your talking about.

is it like a big friction bar? and the nut increases the force applied to the bar by the housing when its tightened?


mine squeaked, i took it apart and lubed it with dry graphite. havent heard it since and that was 2 years ago.

[lund17]

Originally Posted by Gary K

mine doesnt make any noise, but im unsure what your talking about.

is it like a big friction bar? and the nut increases the force applied to the bar by the housing when its tightened?


mine squeaked, i took it apart and lubed it with dry graphite. havent heard it since and that was 2 years ago.

Yes, it is a friction bar. and yes there is a nut on the bottom that increases or decrease the force applied to the bar.

[The moose]

mine screams like hell too. I keep it looser and it reduces the noise. when on highway I just tighten it up a little more as im not turning and want a more rigid sway prevention. when in city ease it back. Mine says in giant letters. DO NOT LUBE.

[reddeerguy2015]

Just unhook it before backing into sharp spots, ie your campsite or driveway, etc.

I think most make noise. At least if they're holding any type of tension they will (in other words doing their job).

[Dewey Cox]

Get an Anderson hitch.
They're pretty quiet.

[270WIN]

I recently added Reese Dual Cams to my setup and I'm really impressed. Swaying in wind and/or on down grades is virtually eliminated, no noise and no problems backing up like I've heard about with other systems.

[geezer55]

Gary k

mine squeaked, i took it apart and lubed it with dry graphite. havent heard it since and that was 2 years ago.

Read the instructions , they say NOT to lube them. Put one on my trailer because of sway in wind and on uneven roads. There is a creak, groan, whatever you want to call it when turn tight corners, such as a campsite, but don't hear anything when going down the highway.

[Gary K]

Originally Posted by geezer55

Gary k
Read the instructions , they say NOT to lube them. Put one on my trailer because of sway in wind and on uneven roads. There is a creak, groan, whatever you want to call it when turn tight corners, such as a campsite, but don't hear anything when going down the highway.

interesting, mine still works just fine. but maybe ill ease off a bit.

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by Gary K

interesting, mine still works just fine. but maybe ill ease off a bit.

lol.. no it doesn't. if you lubricate a "friction" sway control bar (which is what those are), you have eliminated the friction,IE, eliminated the sway control.

[Gary K]

I'm sure it's not as effective. But I can notice a difference with it on vs off.

Lubrication doesn't eliminate 100% of friction .

Regardless, I'm gonna clean er off this weekend and run it Dry, makes perfect sense. I had no idea one shoukdnt lube em, Where I come from if it squeaks grease it. Haha.

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[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by Gary K

I'm sure it's not as effective. But I can notice a difference with it on vs off.

Lubrication doesn't eliminate 100% of friction .

Regardless, I'm gonna clean er off this weekend and run it Dry, makes perfect sense. I had no idea one shoukdnt lube em, Where I come from if it squeaks grease it. Haha.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

haha, fair enough.. It's definitely counter-intuitive..

Here's the thing, you won't know if it is working properly, until it's not. That's the point of sway control. It should tow completely normal all the time, whether there's a massive wind or not (albeit more load on the engine).

Like i mentioned before, I had a Reese dual cam, and due to the size of the trailer and tow vehicle, I found manuevering in some campgrounds to be a noisy/painful experience. I would just check-in, then unhook the cams, and drive to site at slow speeds, but quietly. So just release the tension on the bolt when you checkin, or pull the friction bar off.