Caravan anti-sway bars.
Submitted: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 21:57
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Member - Lionel A (WA)
Hi, just a quicky for the caravan guys.
Elderly neighbour just purchased a Coromal Seka poptop and a 94 V6 Pathfinder to drag it with.
The caravan salesman has convinced him he needs to install anti-sway bars. The only device i've seen on vans is 2 rods connected to the towball plate then run about 600mm along each side of the van draw bar. These are then chained to the draw bar by way of a tensioning device.
This system appears to level out the ride between car and van, but I cant see how it would reduce sway.
Are anti-sway bars a different device ?
Cheers....Lionel.
Reply By: Nomadic Navara - Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 22:49
Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 22:49
One of the things that confuses people with regards to these bars is calling them anti-sway bars. They are weight distribution bars and the complete set up is correctly termed Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH.) Their main task as stated by others is to get the weight back on to the front wheels of the tug.
We have all experienced (or seen) a vehicle that has been loaded too tail heavy. It is unstable to drive. Shifting the load forward regains most of the stability the vehicle had before it was loaded. It is the same with a caravan on behind. you want the tug to be a stable platform with the attached so you use WDH to load equal weight on botf the front and rear axle.
The bars you described will only handle ball weights of up to 90 kg. For heavier vans you need the bars with a square cross section.
PeterD
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