Towing without a sway bar?

I just bought my first Tacoma (2010 4x4 with tow package) and a 24 ft camping trailer. I pulled the trailer home and did notice some sway when I was passed by a semi. My ? is-- is it worth $900 to buy a high end hitch system with attached sway? Is it needed for a trailer that will weigh 4,800 lbs loaded? Help, I hate to waste money if the benefit is not that much.

 

savagerat,
If you go the towing bible thread above and search with "sway bar" you will find some good information.
One of the posts showed a copy of a owner's manual that stated that a trailer weight over 2000 lbs should have a sway bar.

 

Check this out: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/towing/4031-tacoma-towing-bible.html

 

Save your money. My buddy's full size Dodge has the same problem with a sway bar. I thought mine swayed because my truck was too light, but from everyone I've talked to it's common. I just keep an eye in the mirror and prepare when they come up on you. You'll get sucked towards them, then pushed away. Try to stay out of the center lane, when you get passed repeatedly on both sides, you really want to pull over and get a drink from the camper. Assuming you have a brake controller and WD hitch.

 

Do you have enough tonque weight? Too little tonque weight can cause sway. You might wanna think about putting more gear up towards the front of the camper to give you more tonque weight.
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I tow a 30' tt alot with my F-250. The sway bar helps tremendously. Trust me, it will pay for itself by making your trailer tires last longer from not swaying all the time. 900.00 is way too much for a WD hitch and sway bar.

 

I also recommend you get it. I also tow (18ft TT) and although my trailer is a lot lighter than your it makes a huge difference with and with out the sway bars. It will make your ride a lot smoother and safer especially on windy days. I agree the price does seem high. I paid around $600 for the installation/parts of the wiring which needed power, WD hitch, sway, break controller on my 01 highlander last year before I got my taco.

 

Thanks for your time and advice....

 

I was gonna say the same thing. We rented a coleman pop up that weighted like maybe 2k once and pulled it with a suburban and it whipped around like crazy. We moved everything to the front of it and emptied the 50 gallon water tank behind the axle and problem solved. That was the stupidest designed trailer I've ever seen.

 

I've towed my 3,000 lbs, 17' Casita now for 8 summers without a sway bar. Never a problem for me. Oh, a few times when I was passed by a semi doin' 75 mph it swayed a bit, but a simple manual tap on my brake controller settled the trailer right down. Tongue weight is absolutely important. 10-12% of your trailer's weight should be at the hitch. Sway bars are like so many other optional things...some folks swear by them, others have no opinion, and still others can do without. It's only a matter of what makes you the most comfortable.

 

If yaw from trailer isn't steering your truck around, you can live without sway control on a WD hitch. It just makes foul weather driving more tricky.
If yaw is a problem, look into a trackbar. It keeps the springs and axle from moving side to side.

 

If it has a double axle, it will trailer a lot nicer than a single. I just got a bigger drop and a friction sway control for my 3500lb single axle pop up camper. Without it, she was all over the road. Now I don't even notice it back there. Friction sway was 130 and the hitch/ball was 35. Best 165 bucks I ever spent. If that don't do the trick you could always switch to a wd setup. Seen those for like 500.