Swaying Toward Disaster
by AustinBoston

I need to tell you about the wildest fifteen seconds of my life. I would much prefer to keep it a secret, but I think this is a valuable lesson for anyone who tows a trailer.

I tow with a 2000 Chevy Astro (tow rating about 5600 lbs). Our pop up is a 2000 Coleman Bayside (actual weight about 3300 lbs). Being well aware of the Bayside’s reputation for sway and the Astro’s relatively short wheelbase, we had a sway bar installed after experiencing trailer instability on our first trip home from the dealer.

Soon after, we added a Reese “Mini-350” weight-distributing hitch. (Although the Astro has a tongue weight rating of over 700 lbs, it requires a weight-distributing hitch for over 200. Our Bayside has an actual tongue weight of 385 lbs.) I had a little difficulty attaching the spring bars, so I set the hitch to a lower distribution, which meant there was less pressure on the friction pads, and less weight distribution.

I decided to take it out onto the highway to test for sway. Although the trailer felt more stable, with distinctly less up-and-down motion in the back end, I could feel some side-to-side movement that was the result of a half tank of water left over from our last trip. While on the on-ramp, I heard a “ping” come from the trailer, which I decided to ignore, figuring it was just another one of those minor creaks and groans we had become accustomed to when the trailer was hooked up.

We got onto the highway and up to just below traffic speed (~65 mph). I waited until traffic was clear and gave the steering wheel a small but sudden jab to the left, then to the right.

For the next 15 seconds, the keys of life and death were firmly in the hands of God. As the trailer began to sway severely, the first thing I tried to do was stabilize it by steering. (I know you can’t do that, but that’s what I tried.) I didn’t panic and I didn’t touch the van’s brake pedal. After a few seconds, I realized what I was doing wrong, and just kept the wheels pointing down the highway. Then I pressed the (manual) trailer brake button and held it. After about five seconds, things were coming back under control, but we were headed off the road. I took my hand off the brake, jerked the wheel over, and the whole thing started again. This time, I pressed the manual brake again quickly, and had the sway back under some control. Now we were headed for the guardrail. The whole thing was a lot less intense the third time because I never let go of the trailer brake, and by then we had slowed to between 45-50 mph.

Pulled the van to the side of the road and looked at the cloud of smoke behind us. There were skid marks all over the pavement-- not due to my trailer brake lockup--since I know the gain on my controller was adjusted properly--but to other cars slamming on their brakes to avoid being hit by me.

Looking over the van, I found that the trailer had made contact with the passenger side bumper, doing significant damage to the bumper. The driver side spring bar was missing. It may have come off on the on-ramp (the noise I heard) or when the van and trailer made contact (point of maximum extension). There was some cosmetic damage to the remaining spring bar, the bracket for the spring bar and the tongue jack.

One possible contributing factor was that when I repacked the bearings, I noticed one of the trailer brake magnets had worn unevenly. I had purchased new magnets (I knew to replace both, not just the worn one) but had not put them in. There had been times when I felt the brakes pull to one side slightly, but it was never a big problem so I was in no hurry to do the work.

What have I learned?

1. Never, ever, would I TRY to get my trailer to sway again.
2. The absolute worst thing I could have done was to slam on the (van) brakes. The trailer/van angle approached 90 degrees at the point of contact, and could have resulted in a much worse situation such as a rollover, if I had slammed on the brakes. That was one thing I did right from the start.
3. A half tank of water is a truly ballistic load. I will NEVER again tow with it half full.
4. “Good enough for now” isn’t good enough when it comes to brakes. I recommend keeping your brakes in top condition. If you don’t have them, then get them.
5. Surge brakes would have been useless in this situation. The manual control of the electric brakes was a lifesaver.
6. Checking out anything suspicious that happens with your rig is important. If I had checked on that noise, I might have found a dangling spring bar, and the whole thing wouldn’t have happened.
7. I don’t know it all.

Austin (who has an upset stomach from all the humble pie)