Controlling Travel Trailer Sway

Every time you travel in your travel trailer, you risk experiencing trailer sway. This can be a frightening experience, leaving you feeling powerless as your towing setup slips out of your control. The feeling of your travel trailer swaying around behind you is daunting, distracting and potentially dangerous if left unchecked. That’s why minimizing sway is so important to safe towing.

Here at your local travel trailer dealer, Golden Gait Trailers & RVs of Concord, North Carolina, we have some tips for you to help you keep sway to a minimum on the highway. This will let you stay in better control of your towing setup and reduce your risk of getting into a traffic accident. Stop by our dealership for more tips or to look at travel trailers for sale. We proudly serve those in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Perform Preventative Maintenance

Doing your part to prevent sway from occurring in the first place means performing some minor maintenance tasks to make sure your towing setup is in good shape. Perform a pre-ride inspection of both your towing vehicle and your travel trailer to check for any potential issues that might unbalance you as you drive. This includes checking the pressure in every tire and airing them up to the appropriate psi levels.

Don’t overload your travel trailer, either, and make sure that you’ve balanced weight within it as well as you can. A trailer that’s got weight heavily tipped to one side or towards the front or back is one that’s likely to sway.

Adjust Weight Over The Hitch

Placing too much or too little weight over the hitch of your travel trailer is a common cause of sway. Try to aim for 10 to 12% of the total cargo weight resting on the hitch. To do this, you can go to a commercial scale at a truck stop or a material supply store. Move and add or remove weight as needed. Try to keep heavy cargo towards the front of your trailer, centering it left to right. Tie everything loose down that you can so it doesn’t shift as you drive.

Invest In A Friction Sway Control Device

Adding a few upgrades can significantly help you reduce trailer sway. A friction sway control device adds resistance to the trailer and towing vehicle, reducing the impact of wind and sharp maneuvers. These are best for lower hitch weight percentages, as higher percentages may require two devices on either side of the hitch.

Cope With Wind

Another major cause of sway won’t surprise you. It’s the wind. Driving through high plains, mountainous areas or along coasts can put you in the path of high winds. If you can avoid wind by checking the forecast and changing your route, do so! Don’t try to drive your towing setup through serious storms and dangerously high wind speeds.

If you absolutely have to travel in windy weather or you come across wind as you’re en route to your next destination, then you’ll simply need to cope as best you can. Avoid slamming on your brakes. Instead, try to apply the trailer brakes first and decelerate gently. Drive in a straight line as much as you can, avoiding sudden turns or shifts. If all else fails, pull over to the side of the road and wait for the winds to die down before you get going again.

Following the tips outlined above should help you reduce the risk of sway when towing your travel trailer. This allows you to be a more confident and safer driver! If you still don’t have the perfect RV for your summer camping needs, visit our Concord dealership today. We carry a huge selection of recreational vehicles, including many travel trailers for sale. Golden Gait Trailers & RVs proudly serves the cities of Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina.