# Trailer Sway



## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Ok, so the website is advertising the 2009 F150, but go there and click on the "Semi Corridor towing" tab at the bottom. The video of trailer sway is just incredible to watch (The other sections have fun videos too). Don't try this at home!








2009F150


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Amazing..I wonder how the other automakers feel and if they have their own compatible test. Would be interesting to see it from thier perspective.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

rdvholtwood said:


> Amazing..I wonder how the other automakers feel and if they have their own compatible test. Would be interesting to see it from thier perspective.


I really don't want to start a brand war (been in too many of those...







), I just thought the video was great.


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## bradnjess (Mar 25, 2007)

This is pretty wild. I'm glad to see a manufacture actually designing a 1/2 ton truck to handle like a truck, with or without a load. Hopefully the other manufactures are taking notes. I'm not a Ford guy but I can't help but like this. One thing that has always amazed me with the big three and Toyota is there lack of realistic towing situations in their comercials. They'll show a 1/2 ton truck pulling a 12' trailer with 10K pounds loaded slamming on the breaks just before going off a cliff or running through a gauntlet of steel beams. Or they'll drop a load of something from 3 stories high. This is all pretty cool, but I want to see a truck pulling a 27-32 foot travel trailer in real world conditions. Just a thought. Anyway I like the direction Ford seems to be going in. When you're just buying a truck to drive around town you can pick the body style you like the most or your favorite brand. But when you're actually using it to tow often and with your family's safety in mind, technology like this wins over brand loyalty and body styles.

Brad


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## campfirenut (Aug 9, 2006)

Does this mean that a sway control device ( E quil izer or SOB ) is not needed if you purchace the new Ford?

Bob


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Nathan said:


> Amazing..I wonder how the other automakers feel and if they have their own compatible test. Would be interesting to see it from thier perspective.


I really don't want to start a brand war (been in too many of those...







), I just thought the video was great.
[/quote]

Undestood...I didn't mean it to come across that way....


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

campfirenut said:


> Does this mean that a sway control device ( E quil izer or SOB ) is not needed if you purchace the new Ford?
> 
> Bob


I'm sure they are still recomending sway control and a WDH would still be required anyway.


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Mike Rowe's "self-depracating" (sp?) sense of humor cracks me up.

-CC


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

NICE !! I love (and miss) my F150! Great truck, and now even better !


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## garyb1st (Dec 6, 2007)

I thought the most interesting part was how the independent braking minimized sway. Don't understand it but like what I saw. I wonder when this was introduced? Also, do the larger 3/4 and 1 ton trucks have the same anti braking mechanism?

I've always liked the looks of the Tundra and thought I might consider one if/when we ever replacing the F250. Now I guess I'll have to think again. I've never driven one but my guess is they are designed to give a more luxurious ride. If so, that would be difficult to do with stiffer suspension, etc..


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

So, I guess the guy sawing on the steering wheel in the other trucks had no influence at all on the trailer sway........









If they really wanted to test sway they should have had the tractor trailer passing the truck at about 90 MPH, going the same direction.

I have never, ever had any indication of sway from a semi passing the other direction.........

Steve


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

garyb1st said:


> .... I wonder when this was introduced? Also, do the larger 3/4 and 1 ton trucks have the same anti braking mechanism?
> ...


I believe the 09 F150 is the first to claim this system. I'm sure it will spread quickly.


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## campfirenut (Aug 9, 2006)

Nathan said:


> Does this mean that a sway control device ( E quil izer or SOB ) is not needed if you purchace the new Ford?
> 
> Bob


I'm sure they are still recomending sway control and a WDH would still be required anyway.
[/quote]

So I guess they did this test without the sway control or WDH. I wonder how the outcome of this test would have been if these devices were in place. I have had no problem with my set up.

Bob


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

campfirenut said:


> So I guess they did this test without the sway control or WDH. I wonder how the outcome of this test would have been if these devices were in place. I have had no problem with my set up.
> 
> Bob


Re-watch the beginning. They clearly stated that they set up the trailers so that they would sway. I'm betting there was very little tounge weight on these. Again, I just thought it was fun to watch the driver's fighting the sway.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Here are some more videos.

One from Dodge, showing the the Durango and its sway control, from around 2004 or 2005: CLICK

And one from GM showing the Sarturn Vue sway control from 2006: CLICK

Its basic electronic technology. Ford is the last in line to intro this.. I say its about time!

Ford and Dodge have this in the 2009 1/2 lines now.

They are using alternate breaking to help control the sway.

Still need wdh for weight distribution..

And nope, 3/4 tons dont have this feature.. The lighter vehicles need it worse anyway.

When a trailer goes into a hard sway condition, the rear axle on the tow vehicle is moved along with the trailer. If sway gets bad enough, the stability of the rear axle is lost and since the front axle is the steer axle, you wind up with no control over your vehicle. Said differently, In a hard sway condition, the trailer will steer the TV rear axle in the opposite direction as trailer, taking away the control of the rear axle.. Since the TV becomes two steerable axles, loss of control is aptly to happen.

Carey


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## jozway (Jan 28, 2008)

I'll keep my dodge!!!!!!


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

I don't know....Fords are sounding better.....


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## Compulynx (Oct 15, 2008)

I guess the Chevy did not have the Stabilitrac option, which has sway control. Dodge also has an ESP (Electronic Stability Program), but cannot remember the name. I bet you there is a Ford truck model without their ESP too.

Don't you realize who funded these videos? Do you think the outcome could have been any different?

Don't believe everything you see on Video.

C


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

Compulynx said:


> I guess the Chevy did not have the Stabilitrac option, which has sway control. Dodge also has an ESP (Electronic Stability Program), but cannot remember the name. I bet you there is a Ford truck model without their ESP too.
> 
> Don't you realize who funded these videos? Do you think the outcome could have been any different?
> 
> ...


They mention the Dodge's ESP and comment on its' functionality differences.

-CC


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

I had stabilitrack in my 2004 1500 sub and have it in my 2500 suburban...............quite frankly...... I turn it off..............and i just returned from a 2400 mile round trip to disney and back..............

I will take my ProPride for sway.....my 2 cents


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

I just got my truck and needed to take the old camper 250BHS Fun Finder 5500lbs loaded, 26'7" long to the dealer for some warranty work. Well, I didn't think about it before I went up and went up without hooking up my prodigy in the new truck. Fortunately it was wired the same as my Tacoma and just plugged right in. Considering it was 28F outside I really didn't want to mess with the Equalizer either so it was setup for the lower Tacoma. I didn't use the sway bars or w/d bars, I just hitched it up and took off. I drove 55 miles to the dealer on the interstate and through about 35 miles of back roads passing several semis. Never felt a bit of sway period and that was with the equalizer setup at the wrong height with no bars!

Now if I had the sway bars hooked up and the hitch was setup at the right height I might have considered that to be possible, maybe. But since I was hauling 5500lbs without sway with the hitch too high (aka wag-the-dog setup) and never got any sway I would think that the video was doctored. I bet they had the other 3 drivers turn the wheel back and forth. All of those trucks are built to tow, how many have you seen swaying like that when you were out driving? Personally I've only seen a few out of hundreds of RVs. Propaganda.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

clarkely said:


> I had stabilitrack in my 2004 1500 sub and have it in my 2500 suburban...............quite frankly...... I turn it off..............and i just returned from a 2400 mile round trip to disney and back..............
> 
> I will take my* ProPride* for sway.....my 2 cents


Is the propride a matter of preference or is it because of the larger trailer? Did you use this on your other TT?


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

I looked at some of the new things on the truck and it looks really nice I just wish they would put a better engine in the F150. I had two different Expeditions with basically the same motor and while it ran well it just never had quite enough power for towing. The specs on this motor shows it has slightly more HP and Torque than what I had but probably not enough to help much. I like some of the features of the new model that should be real nice for towing (brake controller, sway control, tow mirrors, etc.) but still not quite enough power in my opinion. I guess they figure if you're going to be towing a lot you'll probably buy the F250 or F350.


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

Funny that they didn't put a 2008 F150 on there without the sway control for comparison.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Dub said:


> Funny that they didn't put a 2008 F150 on there without the sway control for comparison.


I'm sure then you would have seen that the video's were honest as it would have behaved similarly to the Chevy or Toy. Again, with a correct setup, you should never have sway like this. I just enjoyed watching the drivers try to keep it together. BTW, those driver's aren't amatures. They are professional test drivers and know what they are doing.


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## OutbackPM (Sep 14, 2005)

clarkely said:


> I had stabilitrack in my 2004 1500 sub and have it in my 2500 suburban...............quite frankly...... I turn it off..............and i just returned from a 2400 mile round trip to disney and back..............
> 
> I will take my ProPride for sway.....my 2 cents


Just curious. Why do you turn it off? Does it do strange things otherwise?

I have stability conntrol on my Honda minivan and leave it on. I don't think I have ever seen the light come on but if I need it its ready to do its thing.


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## Dub (Dec 8, 2008)

Nathan said:


> Funny that they didn't put a 2008 F150 on there without the sway control for comparison.


I'm sure then you would have seen that the video's were honest as it would have behaved similarly to the Chevy or Toy. Again, with a correct setup, you should never have sway like this. I just enjoyed watching the drivers try to keep it together. BTW, those driver's aren't amatures. They are professional test drivers and know what they are doing.








[/quote]

I would hope so. It's a bad experiment, one that lacks a control. A 2009 without the sway option or a 2008 model would have been a proper control for the experiment, then I might have believed it. Still, it's a nice feature but no substitute for loading a trailer properly. Probably wouldn't have helped this poor sap. ;-)

GM claims that their VSC will help maintain stability.

Of course, my favorite is the Tundra Crosswinds commercial where they take a Tundra an a 10,000lbs extra high extra long trailer and drive it across steel I beams 40 feet in the air with industrial size fans blowing trying to sway the trailer. ;-)


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

rdvholtwood said:


> I had stabilitrack in my 2004 1500 sub and have it in my 2500 suburban...............quite frankly...... I turn it off..............and i just returned from a 2400 mile round trip to disney and back..............
> 
> I will take my* ProPride* for sway.....my 2 cents


Is the propride a matter of preference or is it because of the larger trailer? Did you use this on your other TT?
[/quote]

The best (IMO) technology out there..........I had it on my last trailer..........that was large to.......32 foot bunk house with 1 slide.

A must for large trailers....... IMO


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