towing without sway bars?

[pillen140]

alright, this is going to get alot of people yelling at me, but does anyone tow without swaybars? how bad is it? i want to take mine off, but i gotta tow about once a week now. about 1200lbs average, but sometimes all the way up to 2500lbs..... now dont laugh when i tell you what im towing with!!!
'95 ranger s/c 4x4,3.0L, manual tranny, 33" tires, with 3.73 gears! and total of 5"s of lift. i have towed 3000lbs the way it is (with the swaybars) with NO problems! i know i should buy a bigger truck, but this thing grew on me. but my question is about the sway bars, i know the truck can tow what i use it for, just want to know if im gonna roll over!!!

p.s. i think its only rated to tow something along the lines of 1200lbs (legally).

 

[pillen140]

just need some opinions by the way... and i (mild) off-road about 1-2 times a week.

 

[Will]

You don't need a bigger truck. You don't need anti-sway bars either. Towing action happens in the center of the vehicle. If you are smart enough to drive it without them, you are smart enough to tow without them.

 

[4LO 4.O]

If you are smart enough to drive it without them, you are smart enough to tow without them.

X2. I removed mine over 2 years ago, both front and rear and haven't had any problems with it being loaded, unloaded, or towing.

It's a truck, not a corner carver. as long as you understand this you'll be fine.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have never owned a truck with rear swaybars and tow all the time just fine.

The only truck we have with them is my dad's old F-350, and with 3" thick leaf packs I question how much they can do...

 

[gotmudd]

X2. I removed mine over 2 years ago, both front and rear and haven't had any problems with it being loaded, unloaded, or towing.

It's a truck, not a corner carver. as long as you understand this you'll be fine.

X's.................umm........10,000 if you take a corner fast enough to roll your truck, sway bars the size of fence posts ain't gonna help no matter what anyway. i would say leave em on if you don't like the body roll, that's what the factory put them on for, BUT, like dude said, it's a truck, not a corner carver and you don't sound like the kinda guy that would tow something around a corner at a high rate of speed anyway. if you want to test the response you can always remove them, wouldn't take too long, hook up to what you plan to tow with the max amount of poundage you plan to haul and drive around the block, if you like it leave them off

 

[scotts90ranger]

pull off one end link from each bar, drive like that for a while, if you don't notice a difference or whatnot, rip the things out! I pulled an end link, drove for a while and didn't notice any difference, so I ripped the thing out, haven't towed since then, but imagine it's fine

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

you COULD make some quick disconnects for your sway bars for about $10 at any local hardware store. like others said, you could easily tow without, but its definitely safer having the added stability in case you need to perform an emergency maneuver. if your like me, you have plenty of faith in your own driving....its all the other dimwits on the road that your worried about

 

[pillen140]

thanks for all the help!!! how do i make quick connects though?

 

[Wicked_Sludge]

get some bolts and washers long enough to stick through your sway bars links and brackets, drill holes in the ends of the bolts for a couple clevis pins to pop into and call it a day.

pop out the 4 clevis pins (2 front, 2 rear) and yank the 4 bolts out and your sway-barless.

 

[metalmacguyver]

I do it. Alot. No problems.

 

[derek54401]

my 87 ranger 2.9 5sp doesn't have a rear sway bar, and I have towed a 3500# ski boat with it a few times. yeah, it wasn't fast, i would hesitate to go over ~55 on the expressway, but it got the job done. the tounge weight of the trailer is what really matters when talking about removing the rear sway bar.

 

[Will]

the tounge weight of the trailer is what really matters when talking about removing the rear sway bar.

Why?

When both sides go down, the rear bar doesn't see any torque.

The hitch is mounted dead center. Since the frame pivots about an imaginary axis going through the longitudinal center of the frame, there in no moment arm for the tongue to act on the sway bar.

That bar is there to control body roll in a curve or sharp manuevers. The center of the vehicle is stationary in such an event. The left side of the body dips, the right side lifts, the center is stationary. The hitch is in the center.

Granted, the truck will be less Porsche-like without the bars on it and you should always drive such a vehicle with added caution. Especially when trailer towing.