Truck sway control

[SamFranco]

After reading hundreds of pages about towing with a Maverick on this site, a lot of the information is confusing. Many have said you don’t need a WDH because the Maverick comes with sway control. Let’s be clear. The sway control that comes on the Maverick applies brakes to different wheels and reduces engine speed when sway is DETECTED! The Maverick sway control does nothing to prevent sway from happening. It helps to limit sway once sway happens.

A WDH with Sway Control helps to PREVENT sway control. Sway Control on the Maverick should be turned OFF when using these hitches. If excess sway happens you should use your trailer break control first and then the trucks break to reduce the sway. Just taking your foot off the gas and briefly using the trailer break control usually solves the problem.

While high winds are a problem, light (<4K) boxy trailers have sway problems with 18 wheelers at Interstate speed. Sway control hitches are a great help. With a 4K trailer, WDH help distribute weight to the Mavericks front wheels which make the Maverick easier to control.

As stated by many the Ford site list a WDH as not needed on the Maverick. On the Transit it list the WDH as not recommended. There is a difference.

If you use a sway control hitch do not use bars that exceed the trailers weight by more than 1000lbs. You do not need 8k sway bars on a 4K trailer. Just one persons opinion. Follow Ford’s guidelines and do not tow more than you are comfortable with.

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[AutobahnSHO]

First, it's "brakes" and "braking".
Second, how is such a hitch going to be mounted to a unibody vehicle? Do you have links of any?

 

[SamFranco]

A WDH with sway control attaches to the truck’s receiver hitch, not directly to the tow vehicle. Maverick’s with a 4K tow package have a Class 3 hitch. Class 3 hitches can be used with a WDS and exceed what a Maverick is capable of, 8000 lbs and a tongue weight of up to 800 lbs. The Mavericks Class 3 hitch is rated at 600 lbs tongue weight, but the Maverick itself is only rated at 400 lbs tongue weight. The recieving hitch is higher rated than the vehicle which is by design. The sway control bars do not touch the truck. They are connected from next to the hitch ball to the A frame of trailer.

A WDH with Sway Control has no idea what it is being connected to except that it is a Class 3 or higher receiving hitch.

 

[mstrbill]

Don’t have to use a WDH, You can use a stand-alone sway control bar.

 

[Maverick123]

Don’t have to use a WDH, You can use a stand-alone sway control bar.

Yup. Weight distribution and sway control are two independent functions you can have on hitches. You can have both, or only one

Some prefer airbags or Timbren load helpers instead of a WDH, but a WDH transfers some of the load to the front wheels, helping stability. Airbags and Timbrens only reduce squat

 

[SamFranco]

I tried to make a distinction of what weight distribution and sway control was. You are correct there are weight distribution hitches, weight distribution with sway control hitches and several forms of only trailer sway control. My comment on a heavy trailer was a weight distribution added weight to the front tires which gives a more controllable ride. One poster on here had trouble keeping his front tires in good contact with the road while towing a heavy boat. He could have exceeded his tongue weight or had additional weight in the bed of his truck.

 

[Maverick123]

I tried to make a distinction of what weight distribution and sway control was. You are correct there are weight distribution hitches, weight distribution with sway control hitches and several forms of only trailer sway control. My comment on a heavy trailer was a weight distribution added weight to the front tires which gives a more controllable ride. One poster on here had trouble keeping his front tires in good contact with the road while towing a heavy boat. He could have exceeded his tongue weight or had additional weight in the bed of his truck.

Your original explanation was good, I added the distinction because in the last paragraph you wrote 'sway control hitch' but then you seem to describe weight distribution blades/bars, which could be confusing to neophytes. Sway control devices (at least the ubiquitous Curt setup) aren't weight rated. Their spec is to use one or two depending on trailer weight, but they're easily tightened or loosened to give the amount of sway control you want

If you use a sway control hitch do not use bars that exceed the trailers weight by more than 1000lbs. You do not need 8k sway bars on a 4K trailer.

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