I was talking with a couple of other pop up owners the other day when i realized that a lot of owners do not realize what they should do if there camper starts the dreaded sway while traveling down the road. As an ex semi truck driver, i guess sometimes i just take for granted people know things. So, i wanted to throw this out there, and it is purely my opinion and not a cure all for every situation.
1. Camper with electric breaks. Once the sway begins (and yes even with anti way it can still happen, just not as likely) calmly let off the accelerator and reach over to the break controller and start applying break pressure slowly while holding the steering wheel firmly with the other hand. Do not jam it over to full break action as this will cause tire lock-down and for those unfamiliar, a sliding tire is a leading tire. Sliding tires will try to come around you. As you lightly apply pressure the sway should stop.
2. Camper without breaks. Sway is a little more tricky if your camper does not have electric breaks. Let off of the accelerator, hold the steering wheel firmly as the vehicle will also want to start rocking also. Try not to make any sudden braking actions as this may cause the camper to want to come around you. If you need to apply the breaks, do so with a steady and slow action.
In either situation try not to make any sudden or hard braking actions with the T.V. as this may cause sudden total loss of control.
Again, this is my opinion from my experience on the road and is not meant to be 100% cure to getting you out of sway. This is what i do to get it back under control and i just thought i would throw it out there for those who would like to read it.
The most important thing to me is to know your vehicles. Please do not just buy a camper, hook it up to your TV and drive away to the campground thinking "oh it would never happen to me". Practice Practice Practice. Practice backing, using brake controller to slow your vehicle, and using gearing down to slow your vehicle also. If you dont feel comfortable with something when it comes to towing then ask!!! Ask here in the forum or go to your local RV dealer. Most will be glad to help you. We would rather see you at the campground than at the Hospital.
Ok so there is my soapbox for the day. I hope someone might find it useful.
:ranger: 😉
Thanks, John (MtnKube). You wouldn't want to do a "class" along with some others who might offer their camping knowledge/safety at one of our rallies? It occurred to me after I read your topic that many folks may not have a clue on things others take for granted. It could even be a short discussion and then a Q&A. We've got rally folks who have a lot of experience they could share.
This has happened to me in the past with large boats and thankfully they had surge brakes not electric brakes. If your trailer is top heavy like my boats are , what I have done is let off on the gas , keep the truck as straight as possible , when I feel the sway I slow down and I GENTLY pump the brakes. With surge brake setups they are NOT setup like todays cars and trucks with antilock brakes! So pumping the brakes to make the surge brakes pump insteaded of a slow steady drag they are designed to do. And the same goes for most electric brake setups too as far as I know. I'm sure others out there have insight too, all I'm saying this has saved me in the past from a wreck.
I have heard of speeding up to remove the sway from the trailer as well....from my bro who is a truck driver. Once the sway is gone just let off on the gas and slow down.
I have only encountered sway once in my life. None of my trailers have brakes and none have anti-sway hitches. Sway happens from an improper weight distribution and/or speeding. I noticed it happen and made adjustments to get the trailer under control.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
Over the years, I don't think I've ever seen popup or travel trailer brakes that you could lock up at highway speeds on dry pavement.
Their brakes are just not as good as the ones on tractor trailers.
That being said, I would not be afraid to overapply trailer brakes when the road is dry.
On a dry road, when one encounters sway, immediately apply the electric trailer brake controller and back off the gas.
If you happen to be on an uphill grade, you can apply the gas slightly while applying the trailer brakes.
If it happens on wet pavement, pray. No kidding, you're driving way too fast for conditions.
That was very helpful. This is the first that I have driven with electric brakes and I would have just let off and coasted. Applying the trailer brake makes a lot of sense. If you want to do a class at the rally, I am definitely interested. I opted not to get the sway bars because I didn't think our PUP was really heavy or high enough to need it. Maybe I was wrong.
In my limited experience, with the TV and Pup we have. Speed-too much of it_has always been the culprit of sway. That said, I now know the max safe speed for what I've got and I stick to it.
The second factor for us is tongue weight,too little of it in our case. For that we have found the correct loading of camper and TV combo as well. That sure makes a difference.
Here is my suggestion and what I do:
1) If trailer has electric brakes, let up on the TV gas pedal and manually apply the trailer brakes.
2) If trailer has brakes or not, speed up little by little. It does work. Once sway has stopped, apply brakes of the TV slowly to resume more comfortable speed.
The reason for sway is usually because the trailer is going faster than the TV. Speeding up makes the TV go faster than the trailer and will straighten it out.
** My best advice for towing when a "large" vehicle is going to pass you (be it a Semi, Motorhome, etc) is to apply the TV brakes well in advance of the larger vehicle passing. Once the large vehicle is close, slowly speed up (making sure the vehicle is still going to pass you in a reasonable amount of time). This will make your TV go faster than your trailer and will reduce sway tremendously. Try it, it really works.
It isn't really the trailer going faster, it is the trailer wanting to go faster. Combined with a light tongue weight/ incorrect weight distribution the trailer starts to get squirllly when it butts up to the the tow hitch and sway begins.
Matt O 2006 Skyline Nomad 27' travel trailer. Previously owned 1986 Coleman Columbia / 1992 Coleman Senecca / 1989 Born Free Class C RV.
Yep...what Lone Lock said. I learned that at an early age. I was towing my grandfather's precious John Deer tractor along the back roads of WV when it started to sway bad. I didn't know any better and started slowly hitting the breaks. WRONG! Think about it...if the trailer is swaying, that means it is at an angle behind the TV (and not perfectly straight behind it like you want it to be). If you hit your TV brakes while the trailer is at an angle to the TV, then it will want to stop that way (the trailer will want to jack-knife if you will). NOT GOOD!!
Anyway, luckily I sped up and didn't wreck. My grandfather told me to speed up to straighten out the trailer and then slow down to a more comfortable speed. Great advice.
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