Sway bar problems

[raychris1]

I have a problem putting the sway bars on the TT. My RV is parked alongside my house. It is level ground. The driveway (gravel) leading to the TT is sloped upwards. I have to use an 8-10 inch block just to get the tongue under the ball to hook up. The angle is to high to put on/take off the sway bars. This is a new Open Roads 26BH trailer. It is 6 feet longer than my old trailer. The old TT was shorter and I could put on/remove the sway bars after using some muscle and a bar. I cannot move my TT back any further. I am planning on using some stacking blocks to make a sort of ramp to raise the front of the truck. If that doesn't work I will try to hookup and then move the trailer to level ground to put on/off the bars. Anybody have this problem or have any suggestions on how to hookup easier?

[raychris1]

opnspaces wrote:
You already have the suggestions on moving to level ground so I won't belabor that point.

The one additional suggestion I would add is once you are on level ground use the tongue jack to lift up the tongue and rear of the truck. If you can crank it up high enough you should be able to hook the bars with minimal force.

I learned that a couple of years ago. A helpful camper saw me struggling getting the bars off and gave me that info. You can learn a lot from helpful fellow campers. We have a journal where we add good/bad campgrounds and other useful info we learn along the way.

[canoe_on_top]

Hey Barney,I've followed you long enough on ths forum to figure you know that. Just clarifying for people who might not. Also, I stand corrected on the bars being called spring bars. That's what they are even though they do provide a WD and sway control function.Didn't mean to sound picky.

[Boomerweps]

A minor PITA, but at unlevel camp sites, I sometimes place several wood blocks or levelers under the tongue jack to raise it as far as it’s able. Then place several blocks under the levelers and extend them. Then retract the jack and add more blocks under the jack to lift the trailer higher. As long as the block base is stable, no probs getting the coupler really high.

[Gdetrailer]

raychris1 wrote:
I guess I could have explained what I was thinking of doing a little better. The block is a Trailer Jack Block. It is used to lift the tongue up high enough to go above the ball. I was thinking of using those orange, Lynx Leveler, blocks that you hook together to level one side when one side is lower. I still plan on attaching/removing the bars when I get the TT to level ground.
Ray

Your signature says you have a F150 and a 20-30ft+ ft trailer (I didn't bother to look up the model).

To put this into perspective, your truck is at least 7k lbs your trailer may be what 6K lbs?

Combined you are 13K lbs, on a hill playing with a lot of weight that wishes to kill everything in it's path..

When things goes sideways it isn't going to be pretty.

Those plastic lego style blocks are like putting ball bearings under your wheels.. Even though it is your front wheels of your vehicle I really feel it would not be the safest to do.. Having all four tires firmly on the ground is the safest way..

As long as you are attaching the bars on safer level ground, there is no need to lift the front of the truck.

Now, if the problem is the trailer tongue is not high enough to get onto the hitch then you might need to place blocking under the TRAILER tires, not the tow vehicles front tires.. In this case, you can place the lego blocks under the trailer when you park it but you will need possibly add some more height to the trailer tongue and make sure to chock your trailer tires (always a good idea to chock the trailer wheels).. In this case I would build up the parking area height where you park your trailer if possible so you do not need as much trailer tongue blocking..

[opnspaces]

You already have the suggestions on moving to level ground so I won't belabor that point.

The one additional suggestion I would add is once you are on level ground use the tongue jack to lift up the tongue and rear of the truck. If you can crank it up high enough you should be able to hook the bars with minimal force.

[BarneyS]

canoe on top wrote:
Barney, if he has an Equal-i-zer or a Reece Dual Cam,as well as some others, the WD bars are also the sway bars.

I understand and know that. Note which forum I moderate. Thanks.:)
Barney

[raychris1]

I guess I could have explained what I was thinking of doing a little better. The block is a Trailer Jack Block. It is used to lift the tongue up high enough to go above the ball. I was thinking of using those orange, Lynx Leveler, blocks that you hook together to level one side when one side is lower. I still plan on attaching/removing the bars when I get the TT to level ground.
Ray

[Gdetrailer]

raychris1 wrote:
Thanks for all the feedback. The block ramp was my second option. We have ample room to add/remove the bars. My concern is getting the TT down the driveway without dragging the tongue or rear of the TT before I get onto the street.

You have much bigger problems if you end up dragging tongue and/or rear without WD in your own driveway.

Yes, the rear of your vehicle is going to sag more than normal, but unless you have a steep elevation change generally should be fine..

As for as the rear of the trailer dragging goes, without WD the rear of the trailer should actually be a bit higher so it should have less chance of dragging.

If you do drag either way, you should still be OK, often the tongue jack will often drag sometimes with big elevation changes. As long as it isn't severe drag to high center it generally will not harm it.

As far as back dragging, is pretty normal for longer trailers to do this and often just can't be helped.. Often trailer manufacturers will add a drag bar at the rear of the trailer frame to protect things like black tank.

Try it without WD first to get hooked up, then move it to a safe spot that is flatter and then add WD..

I would not recommend attempting to put vehicle tires up on blocks or ramps. That is just asking for trouble, you need all four wheels of your vehicle firmly planted on Terra Firma for safety reasons.. Would get ugly real fast if the blocks or ramps moved or your vehicle loses traction while up on blocking or ramps..

[MitchF150]

I too have to park my trailer where I can't put on or take the bars where it's parked. I just hitch it up then pull it in front of the house and put them on there. That way it's straight inline and level. A whole lot easier!

Good luck! Mitch

[Boomerweps]

For standardization, those bars on the WDH are called Spring Bars in the manuals and when ordering replacements.
My drive had a heckava dip at the road, so I did as another poster suggested to you and drove to a flat parking spot and installed the spring bars after leaving my driveway. Going in wasn’t a problem so I removed them in my driveway when returning.
I solved my problem when I moved my single trailer axle from on top the springs to under (commonly miscalled “flipping the axle”). However, unlike your’s, my trailer spot was level.

[canoe_on_top]

Barney, if he has an Equal-i-zer or a Reece Dual Cam,as well as some others, the WD bars are also the sway bars.

[raychris1]

Thanks for all the feedback. The block ramp was my second option. We have ample room to add/remove the bars. My concern is getting the TT down the driveway without dragging the tongue or rear of the TT before I get onto the street.

[Gdetrailer]

Connect the WD bars AFTER you have pulled the TV and trailer on to the road assuming you have a spot near you that allows you to safely pull off and add the WD bars.

Contrary to popular belief on this forum, neither your vehicle or trailer is going to be damaged, break or fall apart if the WD bars do not get hooked up right away. Depending on your TV capability/capacity if you must, even driving a couple of miles at low speed should be fine.

[Lwiddis]

Be very careful. Several safety issues could bite you like ramping up the front of the truck. It shouldn’t take muscle to hitch up. Block those wheels!