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Old 07-24-2011, 03:12 PM   #1
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Default Finder X-160 Serious Sway Problems

I just bought a Fun FInder X-160 last week. We decided to take it 30 min. down the road to a campground to test it out. On the way to the camp ground i experienced the worst sway problem I have ever seen. I thought I was done with! No Joke. I was pulling at 60 mpg coming off an overpass it got up to 65 and it started to sway. It almost turned my 2004 chevy trailblazer sideways.
Thank God we made it through it. My wife wants me to find why this is and fix it or she and I will never be camping in the camper again.

Does any one have any ideas how to fix this problem? I have heard for tounge weight and WD hitches and sway bars.

If anyone has experienced this and has a fix for it I am all ears.

I have a FUn finder x-160
I pull with a 2004 Chevy Trail Blazer
I have a reese 2 in hitch

Thanks for the help,
Chris in Louisiana
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Old 07-24-2011, 03:57 PM   #2
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First think to check is the tongue weight. If you loaded the back end of the trailer with gear it can make the front of the trailer too light causing instability and sway. Tongue weight should be 10 - 15% of the total trailer weight. Make sure the gear in the trailer is secure also. If it's sliding around either front to back or side to side it can contribute to instablily.
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Old 07-24-2011, 06:11 PM   #3
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Hi Chris and welcome to the Forum,
I would guess also that you are too light on your tounge weight. You also gave us too little information. You should have a weight distrubution hitch and a sway bar installed on the combo. Do you have a 2 5/16 ball on your tow vehicle? Activate you trailer brakes with your controler to stop the sway if you ever have the problem again. I would carefully take the unit to a good local RV Service location that you trust and have them check out your setup.
Good luck,
ArizAl
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Old 07-27-2011, 06:36 AM   #4
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I to have a 160x. check your tire pressure on the trailer, make sure its the same in both wheels, you can add a wd hitch with sway controll but i dont use one with mine yet (i will prob add one once i find one that drops low enough for my lifted jeep) if you think the tounge weight is to low try adding some water to the fresh water tank (should be at the front of the trailer if its like mine). Like stated before if it gets swaying manually activate the trailer brakes, that should stop it. for the size of your trailblazer you shouldnt have any problems with out sway controll bars.
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Old 07-27-2011, 05:40 PM   #5
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All of the above (check tires and loading), but, I am a firm believer in sway control devices. You are towing with a light vehicle and an even lighter big box attached to the back of it. While your Trailblazer can handle a popup or utility trailer just fine with nothing added for sway control, think of the "sail" that you just added to the back of your tow vehicle. The air buffeting off the front of your Trailblazer, colliding with a 7' tall, 7 1/2' wide box is enough to start instability. Add any kind of cross wind and you'll surely have the tail wagging the dog.

If you don't want to spend or need the utility of a weight distribution hitch (most all of them have "built in" sway control), then, at the very least, invest in some add-on anti-sway bars. These can be relatively cheaply bought, and while the won't do anything to transfer weight off the rear end of your Trailblazer and transfer it to the front, they will reduce the likelihood of wind induced sway on your setup.

IMHO, anyone towing a full sized travel trailer, even the short ones, should invest in a good weight distribution hitch. You can tow without one, but, it will save wear and tear on your vehicle by balancing the load front and rear, it will aid in stability by putting some of the weight back on the steering gear, transfer some of the weight off the hitch and back on the trailer's tires lightening the total perceived loading on your vehicle and, equally important, most of the better ones (Equal-i-zer, Reese WDH, Blue Ox, etc.) have built anti-sway bars. Most folks towing small travel trailers are also towing with small vehicles. The balancing and over-all weight distribution are equally important when everything is scaled down. I need far less "sway control and weight distribution" when I'm towing with my Ram 2500 HD CTD than I do when towing with my smaller and relatively lighter (when compared to my pickup truck) Jeep Commander and the Jeep Commander with Hemi and 3 tons of weight is a superb tow vehicle. The Jeep and 210WBS are a good "mate"...size and weight. The truck is actually bigger and far heavier than the 210WBS and its sheer mass tends to keep the trailer "in line", but, I still use the weight distribution hitch and built in sway control (Equal-i-zer).



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