This video has been around for a while, shown a few times. Always good to be reminded of advice so thanks for posting.
If wanting to get advice on handling sway once it occurs, irrespective of loading, tyre pressures, fitting anti-sway aids, I think that if viewers simply fast forward to the 1.55 (one minute 55 sec) mark and let it run to the 2.22 (two minute 22 sec) mark it will clearly state how to 'control sway'.
Not that all the info prior to 1.55 isn't worth listening to ... it would be good for those starting out and praps a refresher to some of us who have forgotten the basics.
Cheers - John
iana said
10:31 AM Jan 7, 2018
I haven't looked at the Utube video, I figure that if things are going wrong one would be too busy hanging onto the steering wheel, and the wife will be doing a panic. But what I have done is on the Red-arc Tow-Pro which I use I find the numbers are too hard to see, and trying to remember which way to turn the dial to increase or decrease trailer braking was confusing.
I copied pictures from the instructions, increased their size, laminated and have stuck them to the reverse side of the visor. I now drive with this down, and will be able to see at a glance which way to adjust the brake settings, so now I can easily make the van heavier for highway and down hill traveling, and then back it off when required i.e. through towns etc.
Peter_n_Margaret said
10:31 AM Jan 7, 2018
Sway is caused in part by excessive energy in the "system".
Any acceleration will add additional energy and that is purely counter productive. Getting rid of the energy is vital, so applying the van brakes while slowing is the best response.
Not all "experts" get it right.
Cheers,
Peter
rockylizard said
10:36 AM Jan 7, 2018
iana wrote:
I haven't looked at the Utube video, ~SNIP~ But what I have done is on the Red-arc Tow-Pro which I use I find the numbers are too hard to see, and trying to remember which way to turn the dial to increase or decrease trailer braking was confusing. I copied pictures from the instructions, increased their size, laminated and have stuck them to the reverse side of the visor. I now drive with this down, and will be able to see at a glance which way to adjust the brake settings, so now I can easily make the van heavier for highway and down hill traveling, and then back it off when required i.e. through towns etc.
Gday...
Praps have a gander at the video Ian - fast forward to the 1.55 (one minute 55 sec) mark and let it run to the 2.22 (two minute 22 sec) mark it will clearly state how to 'control sway'.
No need to twirl any knobs. If travelling downhill (or anywhere) and sway begins ... the video advice between those marks says it all.
Cheers - John
Aus-Kiwi said
10:41 AM Jan 7, 2018
Big thing is NOT to panic . Sign of wrong balanced load . Most cases too much weight in the rear !
rockylizard said
10:47 AM Jan 7, 2018
Aus-Kiwi wrote:
Big thing is NOT to panic . Sign of wrong balanced load . Most cases too much weight in the rear !
Gday...
Definitely contributing cause/s ... but a bit simplistic to isolate just those things ... and yes, the biggest problem once sway begins often is panic - unfortunately it can override every other sensible action eliminating any chance of taking corrective actions.
Cheers - John
Aus-Kiwi said
10:58 AM Jan 7, 2018
Totally off subject . Same at the beach in a rip
. Was at beach yesterday . Between the flags down Wollongong. Two swimmers beside me as well as myself couldnât hold against rip . I just waited till a wave came in and swam in . The other twos panicked !! Ended up further out . Lucky the life savers where there to bring them in . It all comes down to. EXPERIANCE !! What youâre done in past !! Trouble is if you drive safe most your life ?? You NEVER get any experience !!
Cupie said
11:04 AM Jan 7, 2018
Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
Sway is caused in part by excessive energy in the "system". Any acceleration will add additional energy and that is purely counter productive. Getting rid of the energy is vital, so applying the van brakes while slowing is the best response. Not all "experts" get it right.
Cheers, Peter
Spot on.
I 'practice' applying the trailer brake slide on a regular basis, just so I can do it automatically without having to look down to find the controller.
Many, many years ago while landscaping my new home, I was using a rusty old box trailer to recover sleepers from an old disused railway line. Of course I had it piled up with as many as possible without bending the axle (well not too bent, I'd stop loading when the axle started to bow) and pulling it with my beaut Valiant.
Well wouldn't you know it, when coming down a slight incline it got up a death sway. I think that I just took my feet off everything & glided into the sandy & grassy roadside which luckily pulled us up the right side up without hitting any stumps.
So, being a young bullet proof teenager, I just sat down & cracked a stubby to settle the nerves and have a laugh with my white faced mate & later on drove home very slowly. Our future loads of sleepers or mossy iron stone rocks were always much smaller after that scary episode.
My good old 21'6" Jayco Westport with its heavy ball weight sits beautifully behind the GQ Patrol with never a sign of sway as I potter about at around 85-90Km/Hr. Been doing that for 20yrs & >200,000Km. But I'm still very sensitive to any tendency to get out of line that it might develop.
-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 7th of January 2018 11:08:31 AM
mezza56 said
11:35 AM Jan 7, 2018
Peter the video actually does say to decelerate not slowly accelerate
Peter Rose said
11:42 AM Jan 7, 2018
Hi yes I agree but an instant reaction should be a slight acceleration coupled with a simultaneous application of finger slide brake Once brake is applied decelerate slowly.
The KEY is of course applying the brakes on the trailer by using the hand control.
For the panic merchants I am still alive because of a slogan I learned when I became a Diver in the Royal Navy
STOP ! THINK ! ACT !
Someone said they practice this and I think everyone towing should do that
Cupie said
12:09 PM Jan 7, 2018
Peter Rose wrote:
Hi yes I agree but an instant reaction should be a slight acceleration coupled with a simultaneous application of finger slide brake Once brake is applied decelerate slowly.
The KEY is of course applying the brakes on the trailer by using the hand control.
For the panic merchants I am still alive because of a slogan I learned when I became a Diver in the Royal Navy
STOP ! THINK ! ACT !
Someone said they practice this and I think everyone towing should do that
STOP THINK ACT is great advice.
Some time back I was watching a Jack Absalom video on getting out of difficult situations in the bush.
His constant advice was just that......
eg. If stuck in a bog ...
Stop & boil a billy under a shady tree or whatever.
Sit down & think about the situation while having the cuppa.
Then Act on the considered solution
Great advice .... In this case, instinctive (muscle) reaction through previous practice is the key... no time for a cuppa, hey.
Think about it before the event
Practice the action &
Act instinctively when it occurs
Ron-D said
03:28 PM Jan 7, 2018
Never been in a sway situation and hopefully never will but I cant see if you have an out of control trailer going bananas on the back of your rig slowing down is going to help,gently increasing your momentum and very steadily applying your trailer brake trying to straighten out the mess makes more sense just my opinion...
Izabarack said
04:45 PM Jan 7, 2018
My trailer brakes activate using the brake light as the trigger. A slight touch of the brake pedal is sufficient to straighten things up as a first action. Any action to accelerate just makes things go wrong, faster.
Iza
Hey Jim said
04:47 PM Jan 7, 2018
Hi all,
Are we talking Old school, New school, or a bit of both.
In both cases below. Both Different outcomes.
Both the tug a 2012 200TTD GX and the Van 2015 Jayco journey Outback 17.55 with tandum undercarrage trialing arm susppenion. Both are fitted with ESC. I have A Red-Arc Tow Pro, fitted to the tug.
On our maden Voyage, I took the time to set the Tow Pro up Proper, after both units were loaded with tyre pressures checked, and then loaded proper with full everything.
From delivery the van and tow pro were set at No1.
When we left home I started doing a few Emergency stops to test the whole setup. Setting the tow pro first to No 2. then after a few down hill stops. I ended up using No 3 on the TP.
Our whole rig can be tossed around, hit the brakes hard, and each time we pull up straight.Very happy.
Not every situation is going to be the same.
Last March we were run off the road between Mildura and Renmark SA, heading to WA. We blew both left side tyres on the tandum load share boat trailer fully loaded, at 100kmph.
My first imput was to drive the car, power on up onto the Bitumin,with following traffic backing off, then backed off on the power total, till I could pull up safely under ligtht brakes.
If I had stayed on the gravel shoulder.
We would have been history.
At All the times I had control.
I put this incident in our Travel Blogs story (Towing the boat to WA 2017).The truck driver concerned, was reported to SA police on "OOO" With rego supplied.
You must known what to do in each case.
On the first trip with the van, Again read my Travel blogs 2016 ( How I jack knifed the van in WA at 5kmph. on the Blacktop. It can and does happen to the best of us.
BOTH WITH ESC. The vans brakes should have avoided this little misshap IMO.
Jim
Aus-Kiwi said
01:27 AM Jan 8, 2018
Trouble with all these safety devices ?? It doesnât improve your driving skills !!â Some still power on or try to drive it out ! Zigging instead of zagging !!
Lancelot Link said
02:11 AM Jan 8, 2018
My one time loose it was on wet asphalt, why they let us drive on it was beyond me! I applied a very small amount of acceleration due to a concern for traffic behind me, all my own fault, next second the car started a sideways slide. Why, I don't know. The oncoming semi driver was eyeball to eyeball with me and I could see the swear words. Next second, the ESC on the caravan, I felt it, kicked in and my tow vehicle behaved itself. It was a 5 minute event that lasted probably 5 seconds! My understanding is that ESC only controls the caravan, but in this case, even at 40KM per hour, it pulled the tug into line!
Jaahn said
08:04 AM Jan 8, 2018
Hi
Been my experience if there is a tendency to sway it occures when you have powered up a hill and as you get over the crest the speed picks up a bit and you back off. Then you can feel the instability start. NIP IT IN THE BUD THEN. Do not accelerate in that situation but trailer brakes do the trick.
Jaahn
Gingerbiscuit said
05:02 PM Jan 9, 2018
Would you get sway with a camper trailer.
Cupie said
05:08 PM Jan 9, 2018
I did with a box trailer behind a sedan.
Some camper trailers come in rather heavy & if pulled by a smaller vehicle might be good candidates if not correctly set up.
Mike Harding said
05:35 PM Jan 9, 2018
This is worth watching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM
SouthernComfort said
08:07 AM Jan 10, 2018
Mike Harding wrote:
This is worth watching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM
Thanks Mike, this says it all re. load balancing and no words needed!
My local caravan workshop (part of the van storage complex where I park my van) have an annual workshop open-day for customers. They demo all kinds of stuff from DIY repairs and maintenance, to correctly setting up your WDH and loading the van. They also have this "toy" gadget on a rolling road identical to that in the video. It always draws a crowd and most observers are awestruck by how much the matter of load balancing impacts on sway.
Aus-Kiwi said
11:10 AM Jan 10, 2018
Just drive on left side of the road though !! In Aust Atleast !! Lol
Mike Harding said
05:33 PM Jan 10, 2018
>Thanks Mike, this says it all re. load balancing and no words needed!
It's certainly an impressive video and although I understood the theory of weight distribution it is a scary sight to watch it in practice.
Obviously BEST is not to get in to the sway in first place but If you do your reaction and method of dealing with it will determine the outcome.
IMO
Hitting the brakes = likely crash
Accelerate slowly and use the finger slide on your electric brake controller to apply trailer brakes and straighten trailer up !
Dont take my word for it here is an expert telling you how to deal with it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfeyBxuIZOU
-- Edited by Peter Rose on Sunday 7th of January 2018 08:46:08 AM
Gday...
This video has been around for a while, shown a few times. Always good to be reminded of advice so thanks for posting.
If wanting to get advice on handling sway once it occurs, irrespective of loading, tyre pressures, fitting anti-sway aids, I think that if viewers simply fast forward to the 1.55 (one minute 55 sec) mark and let it run to the 2.22 (two minute 22 sec) mark it will clearly state how to 'control sway'.
Not that all the info prior to 1.55 isn't worth listening to ... it would be good for those starting out and praps a refresher to some of us who have forgotten the basics.
Cheers - John
I copied pictures from the instructions, increased their size, laminated and have stuck them to the reverse side of the visor. I now drive with this down, and will be able to see at a glance which way to adjust the brake settings, so now I can easily make the van heavier for highway and down hill traveling, and then back it off when required i.e. through towns etc.
Any acceleration will add additional energy and that is purely counter productive. Getting rid of the energy is vital, so applying the van brakes while slowing is the best response.
Not all "experts" get it right.
Cheers,
Peter
Gday...
Praps have a gander at the video Ian - fast forward to the 1.55 (one minute 55 sec) mark and let it run to the 2.22 (two minute 22 sec) mark it will clearly state how to 'control sway'.
No need to twirl any knobs. If travelling downhill (or anywhere) and sway begins ... the video advice between those marks says it all.
Cheers - John
Gday...
Definitely contributing cause/s ... but a bit simplistic to isolate just those things ... and yes, the biggest problem once sway begins often is panic - unfortunately it can override every other sensible action eliminating any chance of taking corrective actions.
Cheers - John
Spot on.
I 'practice' applying the trailer brake slide on a regular basis, just so I can do it automatically without having to look down to find the controller.
Many, many years ago while landscaping my new home, I was using a rusty old box trailer to recover sleepers from an old disused railway line. Of course I had it piled up with as many as possible without bending the axle (well not too bent, I'd stop loading when the axle started to bow) and pulling it with my beaut Valiant.
Well wouldn't you know it, when coming down a slight incline it got up a death sway. I think that I just took my feet off everything & glided into the sandy & grassy roadside which luckily pulled us up the right side up without hitting any stumps.
So, being a young bullet proof teenager, I just sat down & cracked a stubby to settle the nerves and have a laugh with my white faced mate & later on drove home very slowly. Our future loads of sleepers or mossy iron stone rocks were always much smaller after that scary episode.
My good old 21'6" Jayco Westport with its heavy ball weight sits beautifully behind the GQ Patrol with never a sign of sway as I potter about at around 85-90Km/Hr. Been doing that for 20yrs & >200,000Km. But I'm still very sensitive to any tendency to get out of line that it might develop.
-- Edited by Cupie on Sunday 7th of January 2018 11:08:31 AM
Peter the video actually does say to decelerate not slowly accelerate
Hi yes I agree but an instant reaction should be a slight acceleration coupled with a simultaneous application of finger slide brake
Once brake is applied decelerate slowly.
The KEY is of course applying the brakes on the trailer by using the hand control.
For the panic merchants I am still alive because of a slogan I learned when I became a Diver in the Royal Navy
STOP ! THINK ! ACT !
Someone said they practice this and I think everyone towing should do that
STOP THINK ACT is great advice.
Some time back I was watching a Jack Absalom video on getting out of difficult situations in the bush.
His constant advice was just that......
eg. If stuck in a bog ...
Stop & boil a billy under a shady tree or whatever.
Sit down & think about the situation while having the cuppa.
Then Act on the considered solution
Great advice .... In this case, instinctive (muscle) reaction through previous practice is the key... no time for a cuppa, hey.
Think about it before the event
Practice the action &
Act instinctively when it occurs
Never been in a sway situation and hopefully never will but I cant see if you have an out of control trailer going bananas on the back of your rig slowing down is going to help,gently increasing your momentum and very steadily applying your trailer brake trying to straighten out the mess makes more sense just my opinion...
Iza
Hi all,
Are we talking Old school, New school, or a bit of both.
In both cases below. Both Different outcomes.
Both the tug a 2012 200TTD GX and the Van 2015 Jayco journey Outback 17.55 with tandum undercarrage trialing arm susppenion. Both are fitted with ESC. I have A Red-Arc Tow Pro, fitted to the tug.
On our maden Voyage, I took the time to set the Tow Pro up Proper, after both units were loaded with tyre pressures checked, and then loaded proper with full everything.
From delivery the van and tow pro were set at No1.
When we left home I started doing a few Emergency stops to test the whole setup. Setting the tow pro first to No 2. then after a few down hill stops. I ended up using No 3 on the TP.
Our whole rig can be tossed around, hit the brakes hard, and each time we pull up straight.Very happy.
Not every situation is going to be the same.
Last March we were run off the road between Mildura and Renmark SA, heading to WA. We blew both left side tyres on the tandum load share boat trailer fully loaded, at 100kmph.
My first imput was to drive the car, power on up onto the Bitumin,with following traffic backing off, then backed off on the power total, till I could pull up safely under ligtht brakes.
If I had stayed on the gravel shoulder.
We would have been history.
At All the times I had control.
I put this incident in our Travel Blogs story (Towing the boat to WA 2017).The truck driver concerned, was reported to SA police on "OOO" With rego supplied.
You must known what to do in each case.
On the first trip with the van, Again read my Travel blogs 2016 ( How I jack knifed the van in WA at 5kmph.
on the Blacktop. It can and does happen to the best of us.
BOTH WITH ESC.
The vans brakes should have avoided this little misshap IMO.
Jim
Hi
Been my experience if there is a tendency to sway it occures when you have powered up a hill and as you get over the crest the speed picks up a bit and you back off. Then you can feel the instability start. NIP IT IN THE BUD THEN. Do not accelerate in that situation but trailer brakes do the trick.
Jaahn
I did with a box trailer behind a sedan.
Some camper trailers come in rather heavy & if pulled by a smaller vehicle might be good candidates if not correctly set up.
This is worth watching:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM
>Thanks Mike, this says it all re. load balancing and no words needed!
It's certainly an impressive video and although I understood the
theory of weight distribution it is a scary sight to watch it in
practice.