Anti Sway Bars

That wont fix it

Either adjust the load in the van or buy a Hayman Reece Weight Distribution Hitch or preferably both

Sway is usually caused by a van being loaded "off" that is tail heavy.

So you firstly need to get the ballweight correct and fit a WDH

An HR fitter will advise you the correct weight bars to fit but a 550lb setup would probably be good.

Off to a weighbridge with it loaded as if going on holiday and see what you get.
Ball weight should be more than 10% of van weight.

Eg mine is 300kg and van weighs 2850kg.

Hi Kevmac,
In my experience any towed vehicle which weighs over 750 KG will definitely benefit from a WDH.

My personal opinion is that I will never tow any load over 750 KG with out a set.

I use the old shepherds crook type which I have had for nearly 40 years and they work just fine once they have been adjusted properly. They are also the cheapest available I think. Hayman Reece are the best but are around $700 or more I think. Second hand units go on Ebay for around $400.

When you think of the potential outcome if the van gets out of control it is not hard to see that they are good value at any price.
Cheers, Bruce.

Gday kevmac,

Heavy duty springs will not fix the problem. Yes it will raise the back end of your tug but it will not transfer weight back onto the front wheels. The only solution is to make sure your van is loaded correctly with a ball weight of about 10% of the total wight of your van. Slightly more is better than less. You then need to fit a weight distribution system (Haymen Reece) and ensure that the are fitted and adjusted correctly.

The length of the draw bar is in itself not going to be the issue but rather the distance from the tow ball to the axle.

As stated previously, no trailer over 150kg should be towed without WDH fitted.

Hope this is of some help

Travelinglew

Kevmac,

have a look .HERE this will probably help you out, as for the short drawbar you may not be able to fit a WDH, don't sweat it as many small vans have been successfully towed around this country for years with no problems at all.

Try to reduce the weight in your boot also.HERE

Thank you for all your suggestions.......will go think it out and maybe take van out for "quiet run" and see.

Funny thing is I am a weighbridge operator for local city council, so will maybe have to take van out to work one day and check all weights

Hey there "KevMac" ...... how is cold, wet, windy Albany .....
I would also look at getting the drawbar extended, short drawbars are awful to tow, impossible to back and well just a pain the tow ....... it would not be expensive at all and would make it heaps better to tow and reverse .....
Even as little as 300mm can make a massive differance to it .
Cheers
Joe

Interesting thread. I have no idea of the maths and formulae for calculating all this, but having towed many rigs of different weights and lenghts, with and without weight distribution bars, I have certainly found that trailers with long draw bars are more stable than those with shorter bars. I note the comment that the critical factor is not the length of the draw bar but the distance from the tow ball to the axle. Sounds plausible but I'm not entirel convinced. I've been trying to compare diagrams of long trailers with short draw bars with rigs of the same length but with longer draw bar and shorter body (giving the same ball to axle distance. I can't figure out whether or not they would behave in the same way. Anyone want to comment?
I have often felt that the draw bars on many trailers and vans is much too short

Have found that the drawbars are much shorter here than what we build in NZ Was amazed when I came over and bought a trailer.

A trailer that has a longer distance from the back axle of the caror towball to the trailer axle is much easier to reverse as a short one can turn inside the cars turning radius and therefore its impossible to turn inside it and straighten it up.

A large van is much easier to reverse as its longer and you can turn the car inside its turning circle and so maneuver it easily.

Thats my take on it anyway.

Hi kevmac,
I tow a 16ft poptop weighs in at 1380kg fully loaded. I have taken it to a weighbridge and set it up with 130kg on the ball. Due to a tool box etc on the draw bar I can't fit WDH. When seaking advice from Camec I was told that it would not be needed due to size of van. I tow with a 2003 hilux with a load limit of 1800kg for the trailer. I have towed it from Perth to Augusta and up to Ledge and in between. Never had any issue with handeling including driving through the high winds the other week. As sugested in the above I would get your weight right and give it a go.

Cheers Craig