Sway Control

2nd post - different subject. Did my first (with the 4Runner) trailer tow today - 16' trailer hauling a Yamaha Rhino and wife's Yamaha Kodiak. Going out to the site, about 10 miles from home, the trailer seem to pull okay however there was a slight sag at the rear but nothing terrible. I commented to my buddy I may have to beef up the suspension but he suggested I try putting the heavier Rhino on the back and the lighter Kodiak on the front.

Well that certainly took care of the sag but liked to kill me on the way home by means of excessive trailer sway. I've had a lot of years pulling trailers and fending off the occasional trailer sway as a result of improper loading, which was the case today. So initial instinct was to try & slow the vehicle down from 75+ to a lot slower - the 4Runner started vibrating like crazy but wasn't doing much for the sway, so I did what I've done many times in the past and that is to "power" out of it but when I nailed the throttle it did nothing and I mean nothing - the system totally disconnected throttle inputs! So finally got it under control and just turtle'd it home at under 60, it would still tend to sway but not as bad.

I totally understand the reason for the swaying (bad trailer loading) but having the 4Runner trying to out-reason my corrective actions is beyond upsetting. So the question is can the dealer disable the anti-sway function? Or. better yet, can I?

 

Yes, however be aware that you are also disabling traction control and vehicle stability control at the same time. There is no way to disable sway control without disabling the others.

 

This is how you drift in the snow

 

This is sad to read; did you figure anything out yet? I plan to tow a boat with mine. I have had swaying in the past with other vehicles but quickly learn I was just going to fast; once I back off gas she comes around. My tongue weight on a boat is probably much less than yours also; only 10% of 3,000lbs I belive.

 

Thanks to Koukimonster I know now how to disable the anti-sway system which may, or may not, solve the issue. Hopefully tomorrow I will reload the trailer properly and run it down I-95 with all systems enabled - if it starts to sway I'll see how it reacts - if it still gives me a hard time getting it under control I'll try it again with systems disabled and see how it works out. I drove a lot of years without the benefit of a vehicle taking control away from me when such situations arose and I always was able to work my way through it...