We had a successful trip this winter. Used the Aliner for a three-month trip with about 4000 miles of travel. We had some leaks on both hinges of the dormers. But everything else worked out well EXCEPT...
We had the tongue weight set at about 350lbs with the Aliner at about 3000lbs of total weight. Which should be in the target of 10-15% of the gross vehicle weight.
But in New Mexico, going down hill on a freeway, we crept up in speed close to 70mph and hit a bump on an otherwise smooth highway. The trailer began swaying dangerously. We got it under control, but it was a scary experience. Never try to counter steer, just SLOW down.
That experience convinced me that I would have to add anti-sway. Big trailers and tow vehicles almost all have anti-sway and load-leveling hitches. The anti-sway bars attach to the side of the hitch and to the trailer tongue to act as a drag if the trailer starts swaying.
The big hitches with anti-sway and load-leveling are too big and heavy for our little Sorento. What I did find was a plate that can attach under the hitch ball which adds another small hitch ball off to the side. Then you add a plate to the side of the tongue frame and it has another small hitch ball for the the end of the anti-sway bar. The anti-sway bar has a drag on it that allows it to expand in length as you turn and re-compress when you turn back. You can tighten the drag on it as it expands which dampens any tendency to sway. We only put anti-sway on one side but you can put it on both sides.
In addition, we replaced our 500lb hitch with a unit rated for 750lbs so we were not so close to the upper limit of the hitch.
So far it has done the trick and eliminated any sway.
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