Tow boat w/o rear sway bar?

I'm trying to eliminate some of the lateral/side-to-side movement in the rear of my XJ when towing my boat. I have coil-over SensaTracs in the rear and was wondering if removing the rear sway bar might help cut down on the movement in the tail of my Jeep. What other side effects might its removal have for street use (good or bad)?

Thanks.
Dave

removing the sway bar will have little to no effect on the lateral movement. Seems like you either have too little or too much tongue weight, and the trailer is pushing your XJ about. I would look at your trailer set up/loading first.

Stop towing with your XJ

If I stop towing with my XJ, how the hell am I gonna get my neighbors H2 unstuck?

theres nothing wrong with towing with an XJ, i tow with mine all the time and have no problems.

I even tow a car trailor without problems.

Check your tongue weight as heeperman suggests. Also check the tongue height. A tongue too far off level can really screw up handling, especially if it's high, because it alternately loads and unloads the rear end when you change speed. I don't see how the rear sway bar would affect lateral movement, but it might help prevent trailer-induced oscillation, so I wouldn't remove it. Make sure your rear tires are as stiff as they can stand to be, and check your rear shackles, too.

How heavy is your boat? Maybe upgrading to an anti-sway hitch. Or, adjusting the boat on the trailer.

I had a similar problem with my boat. To fix it, I had to adjust how far forward on the trailer I loaded the boat. This moved the balancing point of the trailer and therefor affected how it towed. I moved the winch stand toward the tongue in 1 inch increments for a total of 5 inches, before it towed good.

Didn't the factory towing package come without the rear sway bar? If true, why would they delete it with that package?

Dave

Midnight Krawler said:

How heavy is your boat?

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I tow a 21.5' Correct Craft that weighs just under 3000lbs dry. My tongue weight runs just under 300lbs. Being a direct-drive, inboard configuration, moving the boat forward/backward on the trailer is not an option. I generally adjust the tongue weight by shifting gear and/or by moving water into/out of/around the ballast tanks.

CantonXJ said:

I tow a 21.5' Correct Craft that weighs just under 3000lbs dry. My tongue weight runs just under 300lbs. Being a direct-drive, inboard configuration, moving the boat forward/backward on the trailer is not an option. I generally adjust the tongue weight by shifting gear and/or by moving water into/out of/around the ballast tanks.

Click to expand...

My boat trailer is about the same length as yours and I've reinstalled my rear sway bar and added custom disconnects for non towing use. For me, it helped a lot with the longer trailer.

I've experienced a lot goofy motion with mine until I put the sway bar back on and now if feels more normal. What is more normal? Like I've got a big as_ed boat on the back wanting to control me. Remember, the boat is about equal in length and weight as the XJ. The longer the trailer the more problems there will be with lateral stability.

I have aftermarket shackes along with a lift. The very goodies that give me excellant off road capabilites also cause my on road towing problems with a longer trailer. Just too much lateral spring flex for perfect towing (one inch doesn't seem like much, but at 55+ MPH????). Now add in that bigger diameter tires that have more sidewall flex than the rig was designed for (adds a bit more lateral flex). My horse and utility trailers cause me no problems since they are shorter than the XJ.

What it amounts to is the tail wagging the dog and no amount of tongue weight is going to fix that.

With a trailer as long as what you and I have, you'll need to develop a different manner of driving. It took me about 4 trips from OH to Canada before I finally got comfortable with the "feel".

Good luck.

I'm towing a 3200# bass boat in the curvy mountain roads of VA. with no problems. I'm not running the sway bar but I do have the OME constant heavy load rear springs which keep it straight and level( I have a total of 4.5" lift front and rear with 31" tires and 4.10 gears). Make sure that the ball mount that you are using is 18" from the ground to the top of the ball, thats the industry standard on trailer tongues for a level ride. Get a ball mount to get the right drop and make sure to compensate for suspension sag.