What does an anti-sway bar … The Dodge was a Cummins diesel, dual rear wheel brute outfitted with 19.5 Rickson wheels and tires. Their fire breathing furnaces and steaming 225 degree mineral oil baths commanded our full attention. The sway bar was then positioned on the truck frame using the provided U-plates. Above: Our demo unit, a 2014 Northstar 8.5 Arrow U, in the Outer Banks. The night before the inspection, we unloaded the camper we had that year, a 2012 Travel Lite 1000 SLRX, and dropped off the truck at the dealership. The rear bar you'd need for your 2014 Motorhome on a E450 chassis with a factory sway bar is the part # RM-1139-147 and then for the front # RM-1139-176. Over the following six weeks, we drove the 2013 Chevy Silverado 3500 and 2014 Northstar 8.5 Arrow U from Pennsylvania to the Texas Truck Camper Rally in Kerrville, down to Austin, and back home via the Outter Banks in North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic Truck Camper Rally in Virginia. Didn't think E350 even came with a rear sway bar. One guy had an electric chainsaw for crying out loud. With any shock, you need access to the underside of the shock bracket. Next, Will and Ryan attached the sway bar assembly to the axle with 1/2” locknuts and washers and centered the sway bar on the axle. With all the adjustments completed, Ryan tightened the rear sway bar end link mounting bolts to 35-40 ft-lb. Above: The rear sway bar is attached to the end links, which are attached to the axle, which reduces body roll. The other moral is to check your rear sway bar after you truck has been on a lift. Now, the rig barely leans at all giving the truck camper a more confident feel when driving. ... Dave Eiermann shares a complete bathroom renovation including installing a compositing toilet. A sway control is a dampening device that is attached at one end to a tow vehicle and at the other to a trailer tongue. Just don’t expect the moon, and be aware that the upgrade may stiffen your rig a little more than you would want. With the Hellwig sway bars, the Chevy/Northstar rig was rock solid. Properly matched rigs have virtually no sway or body roll, and offer a much more confident driving experience. A quick peek under the backside of our pickup revealed an inverted Hellwig sway bar. Once I got down underneath the RV I found a problem that I hadn’t noticed before. If not consider installing one. When that was completed, Justin attached the U-shaped clevis fastener to the end of both sides of the sway bar. Founded in 2007, TCM is the RV community's number one source for news, reviews, guides, newbie advice, destination ideas, maintenance recommendations, modifications, and more. Hellwig Rear sway bar 7180 will fit and perform better than the factory stock sway bar. For the next step, Dave hung the sway bar in the end links. How Anti-Sway Bars Work: Anti-sway bars link the suspension and the frame, using the weight of the axle as a brace against the chassis to distribute weight more evenly. See if a rear track bar is already on the coach. Correctly placed, the ends of the sway bar were attached to the end links with 7/16 x 2 3/4” bolts. It was literally hanging down. It seems that on Class C MH's, the suspension (be it on a 350 or 450) is helped greatly by upgrading the stock anti-sway bars. Watch the video below for installation. Both stock and custom anti-sway bars are designed as a link between the suspension and the frame, and both use the weight of the axle as a brace against the chassis, so that pressure to one side of the motorhome (by weight shift, wind, or passing trucks) is countered by the bar. Above: The driver’s side end link hanging from the U-shaped clevis. 4.7 out of 5 stars 28. The camper felt much less controlled. $37.00 $ 37. In late 2007, Western Recreational Vehicles debuted the Alpenlite SUTC 1180, a revolutionary toy-hauler... Nelson Cobbett shares enhanced entry stairs that are wider using stair treads on his... Dave Kamp of Iowa 80 Group (CAT Scale) responds to our Payload Match Challenge.... We are developing a feature article on truck camping in and around major cities. The 9/16” adjustment nut on the end links was tightened to 70 ft-lb. Our coach is actually 32-ft (called 31A) and there's at least 10-feet from rear axle to trailer hitch. At times, I … Dave recommended making sure that the sway bar is centered by lining it up with the truck axle. Above: John Wells and Mike Tassinari under our Dodge fixing our inverted sway bar. The threads of the U-bolts were also oriented to point to the ground. Founded in 2007, TCM is the RV community's number one source for news, reviews, guides, newbie advice, destination ideas, maintenance recommendations, modifications, and more. FREE Shipping. As soon as possible, we needed to go legit. The wire pigtail was used to orient the threaded plate, inside the slotted hole, to the bottom of the side frame rail. They were careful to place the U-bolts under any brake lines, wires, or hoses on the axle to avoid possible damage. The next step was to assemble the end links by inserting the hourglass bushing, followed by the sleeve, into the loops by the end links. Compared to driving the often overloaded Dodge, the Chevy/Lance and Chevy/Northstar rig was night and day; much better. Yes, we were still overloaded, but the truck handled much better. With our then borrowed 2010 Adventurer 90FWS non-slide, we were over payload, and the rig had a considerable amount of sway. Eliminate improper steering and vehicle sway with the addition of a front and/or rear stabilizer bar. We don’t want to lose readers in this manner, so we’re passing Hellwig’s important safety tip to you. Hellwig team members Dave Wheeler and Justin Strasser install a Hellwig sway bar on our 1998 Dodge 3500 truck. Once properly positioned, the center hump was even with the bottom of the differential housing. Then Dave and Justin installed the heavy duty end links. For more information on sway bars and other Hellwig Products, visit their website at www.hellwigproducts.com. A funny thing happened on the way to the 2011 Mid-Atlantic Truck Camper Rally. Sway is uncontrolled swiveling on the tow package ball caused by momentum as opposed to … Even though the Big Wig wasn’t yet ready, Hellwig still wanted us to get an idea of what their sway bars could do for a truck camper rig and asked if they could install one of their sway bars on our truck. When your Ford Motorhome begins to lean to one side, the Hellwig Sway Bar will apply pressure to the opposite side to resist the transfer of weight. Above: Before installing the Hellwig sway bar, we took a few pictures for comparison of factory front sway bar next to the Hellwig front sway bar. Above: The U-shaped clevis being attached to the frame rail. There’s nothing like doing an installation with a photographer and journalist standing right there, taking pictures, and asking what you’re doing, over and over. Above: The Chevy wheels and tires were removed prior to the installation. expert reply by: Jameson C 0 Note the difference in … Special appearance from David Wheeler at Hellwig Products. This truck was 100% stock, and handled beautifully. An anti-sway bar functions by pushing down on the wheel inside the turn that’s trying to lift, keeping the vehicle flat in a curve. The "Small Axle" is indicated by a BOLTED on differential cover. 10. Which brings us back to Hellwig Product’s sway bars. 3. They practically arm wrestled to see who would get to help fix our inverted sway bar. I guess any of us would probably need some work if looked at so close. Naturally, we extended their free Truck Camper Magazine subscription another year in gratitude. Above: Angela White, Editor of Truck Camper Magazine, holding the Hellwig Products rear sway bar before the installation. Installing an RV anti-sway bar system is the best way to control swaying or fishtailing from an RV trailer, but it's important to … Posted By: suprz on 05/01/17 07:32am My 2006 E450 has the original sway bars and sway bar links. Once attached, the U-shape clevis was aligned to be square with the frame rail and torqued to 50 ft-lb. Some of these behemoths must of weighed upwards of fifty pounds, or more. The quality and fit of the Hellwig sway bars was unmistakable. With the upgraded Hellwig sway bars, the rig handled with more confidence. The day after our arrival, Hellwig team members Dave Wheeler and Justin Strasser put our truck and camper on a lift and installed Hellwig front and rear sway bars. Obviously we have the sway bar here. Back in 2010, Angela and I embarked on a cross-country tour of every truck camper manufacturer and gear company. We called Melanie and asked her to send us another Hellwig Products Sway Bar. The existing rear anti-sway bar on our Ford chassis was missing one of the brackets that holds the bushing in place. MOTORZ shows you how to install Hellwig anti-sway bars on a lifted pickup truck to improve cornering traction and cornering capabilities. Home » Truck Camper Reviews » Hellwig Products Sway Bar Install and Review. While we were at Hellwig Products, Melanie suggested we get a set of front and rear sway bars installed on our 1998 Dodge Ram 3500. As folks who have driven many dozens of truck camper rigs, we can tell you the difference isn’t subtle. 00. The instructions specified attaching the sway bar to the end links first to allow the sway bar to easily rotate into position. 2. Roadmaster (according to instructions) uses custom castings. Amazon's Choice for ford f53 rear sway bar. Photo 20/32 | 2015 Ford F150 Hellwig Rear Sway Bar Install Sway Bar End Hole Attach the end hole of the sway bar to the endlinks using 7/16 x 23/4-inch bolts, washers, and locknuts. Today on our 2014 Windsport Motorhome with a Ford F53 chassiss, we'll be installing the Roadmaster Rear Anti-Sway Bar, part number RM-1139-145. Above: Measuring to make sure that the adjustable end links are equal distance on both the driver’s and passenger’s sides. It was 14″ inches for our truck. It took John Wells, Mike Tassinari, and Carl Goode the better part of an hour to get the bar back into place. The hole was located about twelve inches forward of the factory bump stops. Above: Side view the front Hellwig sway bar connected to the factory end link. I got a BlueOx Track Bar and installing it helped a lot with the toad. Get it as soon as Thu, Jan ... Hellwig 7217 Front Sway Bar. For example, if your rig has too much sway, get a sway bar, but not until you experience too much sway. It was also incredible to walk under the rig and see the truck from that angle. This threaded plate then attached the U-shape clevis to the frame rail with a 1/2 x 1-1/4” bolt. Hellwig Sway Bar Installation: 1. You would never admit that you don’t know you have something hanging under your truck, or your nose. They don’t always invert, but sometimes do. A few weeks into that trip we received a phone call from Melanie White, Marketing Director of Hellwig Products. She was following our tour in the magazine and invited us to visit Hellwig Products. Ford F-150 Hellwig Sway Bar Installation (S01E10) By Chris Duke, Oct 3, 2008 Chris Duke shows you how to install Hellwig anti-sway bars on a lifted pickup truck to improve cornering traction and cornering capabilities. I placed my order directly through Hellwig and in less than a week I had the sway bar in my hands. The axle U-bolts would be tightened to 60 ft-lb once alignment and orientation was checked. 4. They sandwich the axle with Bolts and Plates. We always know these things, and do them on purpose. Our 2013 Chevy Silverado 3500 carried both the Lance and the Northstar like it was built for the purpose. That’s a bit like when someone says, “You’ve got a boogie” and nonchalantly gestures to your nose. No matter what your application is, Hellwig Products has a way to make it handle better or tow easier. At this point, Dave recommended leaving the end links loose for later adjustment. As the Publishers of Truck Camper Magazine, and the self-appointed Chiefs of the Weight Police, we were setting a bad example. Trailer sway can be dangerous because it affects handling. Will counted every nut, bolt, and bar and gave a thumbs up. For the front sway bar, the factory end link assemblies and U-plate mounting bolts were utilized to install the Hellwig sway bar. At the time, there was a sense that the recession may be coming to a close and I wanted to see how the companies had fared since our first tour in 2007. The sway bar will be more rigid compared to stock which will better handle sway and improve ride. Pressure against one side of the coach from wind, passing trucks or weight shift is countered by the bar. I am wondering if anyone has changed the original sway bar links, bushings, etc and how much of a difference it makes. $690.89 $ 690. The front sway bar was a much quicker, and seemingly easier, installation. I have found both Roadmaster and Hellwig get great reviews and seem to be the two best choices. The challenge is that most aftermarket suspension products are designed to correct a problem and may over-correct on a properly matched rig. Ryan began by removing the factory front sway bar and mounting hardware. Home » Truck Camper Mods » Camper Projects » Hellwig Sway Bar Installation. 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