A lot of us who tow heavy rigs use weight distribution and anti-sway systems. You can do either or both. I tow a 7,000 lb Airstream with both and often forget it's back there. The air bags from time to time will make the ride a bit soft as they try to keep everything level. I imagine inputting a custom ride setting to dampen the airbag response would help.

As far as loosing 12v signal to the brake controller - I haven't seen that issue when using the Defender's tow settings.

 

I imagine your airstream is similar to my Oliver in that its well balanced with excellent suspension of it’s own. Less smooth towing trailers, poor loading weight distribution (ie not enough forward weight), incorrect loaded hitch height, etc all contribute to increased sway and the Defender’s systems can only react to sway, they don’t really prevent it.

My trailer is ~5600 dry, and tows like a dream without a sway bar or weight distribution hitch. Redarc tow elite pro. The only time I feel the Defender react is when hit by a significant bow wave from a big rig driven by a crazy bastard going 80+

I’d recommend working on getting your hitch weight into a healthy range (10-15% of the total tow weight), making sure your load is balanced left-right, and that your trailer is level with your Defender or slightly toungue down (the air bags will keep your Defender level, at first I was compensating for spring droop when setting my hitch height). Also make sure you’ve got your tires inflated properly for heavy loads, particularly in rear.

If sway is still an issue, then adding an anti-sway bar to your hitch setup is the next reasonable step I think.

take this all with a grain of salt, i’m learning via trial and error too 😂

 

It's supposed to light up when connected to a trailer, it does not light up otherwise. which when you install it without a trailer around makes you wonder if you ddi it right

but where I put it (below the light adjustment) I can't see it unless I almost lay sideways.

 

In my opinion,the most important detail of your towing setup is the shank length of your tow ball. LR says 7.5" maximum from pin to ball. I followed that advice, and have never had a single instance of trailer sway in about 15,000 miles of towing our TAB400 (like the OP @jgpell14). I realize that this can make for problems with opening the back door, a problem I solved by changing out the standard jack.



We also use the Redarc controller, which gave us some problems earlier in the year. Redarc's support was fantastic and the problems have been resolved. I would also recommend this controller. Word of caution on installation, though: Don't just rely on double-sided tape to hold the controller in place, bumpy roads will cause it to shift about and mess up its calibration. Use some strategic cable ties too.

 

I am planning to install a Redarc tow-pro bake controller, which everyone seems to have had success with. Has anyone installed the EPDK? I have not found any mention of it on the forum or elsewhere but the manual implies it should be used with vehicles with adaptive cruise control. Any thoughts would be really helpful and thanks for all of the great info in this thread.

 

what is the EPDK? not familiar with that acronym

 

Redarc indicates that it is only needed for new full trailer wiring, not those with a factory hitch receiver.

 

That makes sense and seems consistent with the rest of the installation guide. Thanks.

Also, I believe EPDK stands for Encapsulated Protection Device.

 

Hoping to revive this thread a little. I installed a Redarc Elite this afternoon which went pretty smooth overall and it works as intended however I had one issue or question related to the wire harness. Specifically the TPH-006 which I used for my install would not lock into place in the factory plug. It fit in and made the correct connections but the locking pin would not engage the lock tab. This is the plug on the factor side to the TPH-006 plug. It acts like the factory plug is not deep enough for the Redarc plug. As a result the plug can come undone which I am concerned could happen due to rough road conditions. I was thinking about putting a zip tie around it but before I do thought I would ask if others have had a similar experience?

 

I too had a difficult time getting the connection to latch. I reasoned that it was jammed in the socket so tightly that it was unlikely to loosen and left it as is. It's now been 9 months with monthly off-roading. Still working.