Hopefully somewhere here with experience can offer me some advice. I have read, and read, and read about sway control devices and then have rec'd opinions from a few different rv dealers. Bottom line is I dont know who is right or wrong and who is trying to sell me something i dont need.

I am purchasing a Kodiak 30 BH SL, dry weight is 4806 as it sits on the lot. I have a 09 laramie cc 4x4. I wont even get into tow ratings or the changes as with this weight i am fine either way. I would hope that someone on here with real time experience using the different devices (friction, cam, pullrite, nothing) can offer an opinion or two.

Thanks and in return I can offer detailed knowledge on mt bikes, watches, and snowboards......i am also married and if you want to ask me what to do in a marital situation and then do the opposite I may be of some help

 

Look to get Air Bags to go with the swaybars of either type. I did some heavier trailer towing with a load-dist hitch rig, and was still looking fairly high into the sky. (And that does nothing to help combat sway and other ride difficulties...)

 

I have never used a sway device.
I have towed loads from 15 lbs to about 150K lbs
I have towed with 1500 series vehicles extensively.

A properly loaded 5k trailer should not wag your truck.

 

I have towed a 4,500lb travel trailer for about 10,000 miles with an '05 Dakota that weighs 4700lb using the Dual Cam anti-sway/load distribution hitch. Have had no rear end sagging problems with a tongue weight of 500lbs.

I also use the Tekonsha Prodigy brake controller.

In gusty crosswinds I "barely" know that the RV is back there. I will say that 65 series tires were better than the 70's for sway control but that could have been due to different sidewall stiffness.

The actual model I have is a Reese Dual Cam set up like the bottom image.

They come in 3 or 4 different weight ratings.

Haven't towed the RV with my new Ram yet. Be interesting to see how the coil springs handle the load.

Hope this helps.

p.s. I don't need no marital advice. I just say "Yes, dear" in all situations and then go off and do what ah wuzza gonna do in the first place. Threw away my watch after ah retired and ah don't have no baggy britches to go a snowbaordin' with. Whutza mt bike? Mickey Thompson wheels er sumpin?

 

Man I had a Dakota R/T i pulled a trailer with a 4600 pound truck on it, trailer dry was just over 2000, windy weather 65mph, no sway now you tell me this truck sways when pulling trailers. Does it not have to do with load distribution?

 

I find it hard to believe in gusty winds you guys are not getting any sway on the trailer.... 18 wheeles sway in winds... I towed a KZ Spree 324BHS 6098 DRY weight cross country with the REESE dual cam setup and with high winds and gust's mine did sway "NORMAL" with winds IMHO. My 09 CC SLT with 20's pulled it just fine. The reese hitch does help imensly in windy conditions but it is normal to get some sway pulling a CAMPER vs a trailer. If you truck and trailer are set up correctly you will still have compression of the rear springs which is normal and should be expected. IMHO air bags are not necessary unless your just **** and dont want the truck to level out when you are towing.

 

Weight distributing hitch with a sway control is a good idea. Biggest problem I see with guys towing with 1/2 tons is running too much tounge weight. I don't run more than 300 lbs or so towing a loaded car trailer.

 

I had sway with my old (01) Dakota pulling my 25' tri-toon when it was windy.
I got one of these http://www.etrailer.com/p-49579/Pro-...W-14K-GTW.html and it fixed the wagging in the Oklahoma breeze, plus I set it to level the Dakota up a little.
I've only pulled the boat a handful of times with the Ram (with and without the bars hooked-up). The Ram has more weight so it doesn't get moved around like the Dakota did, but the hitch makes a noticeable difference in the "resistance" to sway and the boat seems to follow better, my wife likes having the bars on - the boat doesn't turn as quickly when backing up...

 

72COMBO

First off, NO I did not tell you that my truck swayed. RTFM

Second, The guy asked for an honest appraisal of our RV towing experiences with various style hitches.

Have you ever towed a 12' tall RV in gusty winds? I suggest you try it before throwing out bad advice within this community.

If all you you can do is jump on the thread with hair-brained criticism...then STFU!!!

 

I thought the RAM comes with TSC as part of the ABS system. I have no idea how it performs though, our boat is not heavy enough nor high enough to tax either my RAM or the wife's Aspen, both of which (I thought) had TSC as part of the factory receiver fit.

I've used friction devices in the past on RVs, they worked very well indeed.