Hi all, we are new to this forum and will be picking up our standard 16 Scamp in June from the Backus hatchery.
When we took our Toyota Highlander to get the brake wiring, we asked about sway bars. Because the tongue is short, it seems that there are certain options. We were shown something called a Draw Tite Sway control. Has anyone used this or something similar? Did you like it?
Thanks very much for information, advice, etc.
Catherine
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Curt/17200.html
We towed a 16 Scamp side dinette w/front bunk with a Jeep Liberty and used one of these sway controls.
It towed like a dream and never had an issue.
Bill
We tow our 2006 Scamp 16', front bunk, porta-potti only, two propane tanks, loaded weight 2365, with our '08 Highlander Hybrid - very stable without any sway control installed.
Lynn
I used Draw-Tite swaybars on a couple different horse trailers, loved them! Even if you can get away without one, a bit of extra stability is a good thing. Just loosen it a bit when pulling into your campsite if you have to make a really tight turn.
Rhonda Riebow
Thanks everyone for your comments. We will likely drive it home and then add sway bars. Living in CO with wind and mountains seems to add a little safety measure. The Draw-Tite site mentions that you have to 'remove' them for backing up. Does this mean just disengaging them? I can't imagine how removal would be accomplished for every backup event!
Catherine
Campingwithdogs
I imagine the Draw-Tite people put that on the website due to drivers who might jackknife the trailer while backing up. Don't be that driver! If you haven't backed up a trailer before, practice in a parking lot with markers, etc. It can be a bit intimidating backing your trailer into a campsite with other campers watching or even waiting for you to get out of the way. After a long day driving, you might feel like hurrying to get into that spot--it can be hard to remember to slow down while backing up. It might take a bit of back and forth to get into your spot without jackknifing. Your fellow campers were all newbies once too!
Rhonda Riebow