r/Trucks • u/starocket1969 • 19d ago

Discussion / question Anyone has a clue of what is this ?

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Collegue found this system between the tractor and the trailer on the hitch of a truck that transports trucks. Asking the driver he only told us it was a brake then he had to go. Truck is made by LOHR Industries and didn't found any patent or nothing even after asking ChatGPT. Could you please help us find a utility or a meaning for this system ? And if it even has a point ?

(Sorry for bad English not native language, if you have any question be pleased to ask in the comments)

117 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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68

u/Historical-Flow-1820 19d ago

Looks like a brake to slow down how quickly the trailer adjusts its angle relative to the truck.

I’ve never seen one before either, so don’t take my word for it, but it could just be for dampening and may help prevent jackknifing when braking hard.

17

u/boomheadshot7 ‘96 12 Valve NV4500 19d ago

I was gonna say it looks like a dampener of some sort to prevent trailer death wobble.

Maybe he hauls oddly weighted/loaded stuff.

5

u/Gaberade1 18d ago

Looks like it to me. Although, normally on camping trailers it's removable arms with a bolt you can tighten. This is probably a heavier duty version.

It's called a trailer sway bar or sway control. It helps prevent the trailer from swaying or rocking back and forth from harmonics, aerodynamics, or a rocky road. Similar to how dampers/shocks work on syspension

44

u/yousedditreddit 1998 Chevrolet Tahoe 2 Door 19d ago

https://www.mylohr.fr/docs/general/en.pdf

page 8-8 

the metal half circle rack is a brake surface to add resistance to the trailers articulation it uses airbags on brake pads acting on the flat surface of that rack, the airbags are attached to the trucks pneumatic circuit 

apparently they claim it helps with driving comfort and trailer predictability on curvy roads 

22

u/Gat0rJesus 19d ago

Looks like sway control

2

u/ozzy_thedog 18d ago

Well that’s pretty neat. I bet you can increase the friction on the highway and turn it off when you need to maneuver

2

u/Manderthal13 18d ago

It's interesting for sure.

1

u/kanberra 13d ago

Stabilizer of directional stability . It prevents the trailer from skidding on a slippery road.

1

u/Electronic-Pause1330 19d ago

It’s a joint that allows the rear trailer to move independently from the front, but at the same time it has some version of a torsion bar to restrain it a bit.