RE: No sway bar in rain?
[Les Adams] Nancy,
Butch is correct... The same forces imposed by the friction antisway bar can cause lack of steering on a wet or otherwise slippery road... A friction type sway bar will work against you when you need it the most... Still, it's better than no sway bar at all, but you have to ask yourself a few questions regarding it's usage...
I used them for many years before I realized that if I really need to do an emergency avoidance maneuver, that same friction antisway bar that keeps the TT straight in the wind and/or passing semi's, may prevent me from steering out of a potential accident... For when you try to steer out of the way and the trailer turns behind you, those friction anti sway bars will try to keep the trailer in the turn, thereby limiting your ability to steer around the obstacle... And on a slippery road, if the bars are too tight, loss of steering altogether is a possability...
And therein lies the problem... Seems like a contradiction of terms doesn't it??? The same device you purchase to make the ride safer works against you when you need it the most and/or you have to defeat it in slippery conditions!!
With all that in mind and doing some serious thinking, I decided to upgrade my hitch to the Pullrite hitch... In case your not familiar with it, it is essentially a fifth wheel hitch that is installed UNDER the truck... It's a rather unique concept and you can visit their website to view it...
The Pullrite is on a par with the Hensley Arrow although it costs considerably less than the Hensley does...
The Pullrite's attributes are supurb towing stability and ease of hookup... In some cases you do lose your spare tire if it's stowed under the truck and in some cases the exhaust pipe has to be repositioned... In my case, both these had to be done, but the towing stability of the hitch is awesome!!!
You may want to check either of these two hitches out... They do not come cheap, but their performance is outstanding...
Best Regards,
Les