Official RV 101® Guide to Understanding Trailer Sway
Downloadable RV 101® Guide for beginners & experienced RV owners
DISCOVER-LEARN-ENJOY
Official RV 101® Guide to Understanding Trailer Sway
In an effort to help educate beginning RV owners and experienced RV owners alike, RV Education 101 is offering low cost downloadable RV Guides covering a multitude of RV topics. There is a lot of RV information available on the Internet, but not all of it comes from a reliable source.
Trailer sway is a dangerous effect associated with towing a trailer. Trailer sway is a side-to-side fishtail movement, and once it is out of control it can result in serious accidents. This RV 101 guide will discuss what trailer sway is, and what we can do to lessen the possibility of sway happening to us.
Some topics we discuss in this guide:
What is Trailer Sway?
How does a Weight Distribution Hitch Work?
What Factors Contribute to Trailer Sway?
How can I Prevent Trailer Sway?
Closing
To learn more about how to use and maintain your RV check out all our RV 101 Online Training Courses
Your Instructor
Who is Mark Polk and why is he qualified to teach RV technical content?
Mark is an RVer and has a very extensive background in the RV industry. He began at age 15, washing RVs at a dealership in North Central Pennsylvania. It wasn't long before he was working as an apprentice RV technician under the guidance of the RV service manager.
His maintenance plans were interrupted when he enlisted in the military. Mark completed airborne training in 1979 and served with some of the most elite U.S. Army Airborne units, including Service Company 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 82nd Signal battalion, 82nd Airborne Division and the 16th Military Police Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps. He spent the next 18 years with the U.S. Army eventually retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 Automotive Maintenance Technician.
In the military, he managed large fleet maintenance operations, and had to teach young soldiers how to maintain and operate expensive vehicles and equipment. These soldiers came to him from very different backgrounds, and their prior experience with heavy equipment and mechanical skills were similarly varied. Mark had to learn how to communicate with all of them clearly, concisely, and effectively, and he found he had a talent for teaching. The Army agreed, and eventually he was asked to produce written instructional materials, including driver training manuals and operating procedures for motor pools.
When he retired from the Army in 1996, he went to work for an RV dealership in sales and service. He talked to customers about their needs and desires and helped them select the right RV for them. He inspected used RVs for trade-in, he serviced customer RVs, and he educated customers on how to operate and enjoy their vehicles. As an RV owner himself, throughout the years, he has owned and used all the classifications of RVs (travel trailer, motorhome, pop up, 5th wheel and truck camper). He even restored, from the ground up, a 1967 Yellowstone travel trailer. It was clear to him there were limited resources available to RV owners who wanted to learn more about how to operate and maintain their RVs. Owners’ manuals provide limited information, and most consumers find them confusing. Anecdotal information learned around campfires from other RV owners is incomplete and can be unreliable.
Mark realized he had the knowledge and teaching ability to fill that gap, and so in 1999 he began writing articles and books about how to choose, buy, maintain, repair, and operate a variety of RVs. To date, he has produced more than 500 educational videos, and authored 15 e-books, 3 paperback books, and more than 1,600 articles educating millions of RVers. His best-selling book, titled The RV Book, has sold over 53,000 copies to date.
Mark's first priority is the safety of his audience. To Mark, this means anticipating the risks and challenges RVers will encounter when following his instructions, ensuring that the information he provides is complete and accurate, and providing enough information so his audience can make informed decisions about when to tackle maintenance tasks themselves and when to take their vehicles to professionals.
His second priority is his audience’ empowerment. He sends his students out on the road with confidence that they are equipped, prepared, informed, and ready to enjoy themselves.Producing material that achieves those goals is a very difficult thing to do. RVs come in a bewildering variety of different types, makes, models, and vintages, and when Mark writes about tasks such as winterizing an RV plumbing system, (as we know there are many ways to winterize an RV), his instructions need to walk his readers through the process regardless of what RV the reader happens to own.
Like his soldiers, his RV students come to him with widely disparate levels of expertise, experience, talent, and motivation, and his instructions must speak to all of them. Mark’s writing and video presentations are accurate and comprehensive. It is also clear, concise, and easy to understand. He breaks complex, intimidating tasks down to easy steps.
Chief Warrant Officer Three Mark J. Polk was awarded a first place US Army maintenance award from General Shelton.
Mark started RV Education 101 in 1999
- Writer/ Columnist/ Contributor for numerous RV consumer & RV trade newsletters and magazines (RVBusiness, FMCA, RV News, RV Companion, Pop-Up Times, RV Free Wheelin’, Trail Blazer, RV Executive Today and RV Magazine,)
- RV Technical Writer for several newsletters and blogs, (Go RVing blog, KOA Kompass Newsletter and Blog, Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA), RV Net Expert Blog, RV University This Week, Camping World e-newsletter, RV Travel, RV Trader, Rollin On TV website, HGTV and Geiko Insurance blog)
- Script and host television segments for Rollin On TV
- Scripted & hosted television segment titled RV Savvy for four seasons (52 episodes) with RVTV on The Outdoor Channel and three Canadian TV Channels.
Course Curriculum
Official RV 101® Downloadable RV Guides
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Frequently Asked Questions
When does the course start and finish?
The course starts now and never ends! It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish.
What if I am unhappy with the course?
We would never want you to be unhappy! If you are unsatisfied with your purchase, contact us in the first 30 days and we will give you a full refund.