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Old 02-08-2009, 09:56 AM   #41
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This is what I was told by the dealer, thanks Bama I will check it out and I will question this further.
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Old 02-09-2009, 09:24 AM   #42
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Hey rockwood06, it is great that everything is working out OK. I think you and I were both overly concerned (previous posts in this thread) about our setups, and in both cases our receivers are up to the task. After finally getting my Reese Dual Cam setup dialed in like it should be, I did some towing last week with 10 to 15 mph sustained winds with gusts to 25 mph, and my setup towed sweet.


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Originally Posted by rockwood06 View Post
That's the first thing I questioned, on the old set up it had a 3 degree tilt towards the camper, but the new set up looks like it is straight up. The way it was explained to me is that in order to make the hitch ball level to match the level point of the camper the hitch can be adjusted with no more then a 3 degree tilt to achieve the proper height from the ground to the top of the hitch ball and this should be at the level point of the camper. I guess this is called tweaking the final adjustment. If you can't set the hitch at the perfect height then the tilt comes in, but they say no more then 3 Degrees. Bama, I didn't think about the tilt effecting the reverse mode, thanks for the heads up.
When I read that, I thought...."huh". I am far from an expert on WDHs, and I know that the dealer works with these things everyday, but that just doesn't make sense. I just can't believe that tilting the ball mount is going to make 1/8th of an inch difference in tongue heigth. By what I have read on the forums and the Reese instructions, the height of the tongue is adjusted by moving the ball mount up or down on the hitch shank. Like Bama Rambler stated, it is my understanding that the ball mount tilt is used for the spring bar tension only.

I have my ball mount head tilted back almost to the maximum to get the correct weight distributed. I have a 6" tongue frame with the ball coupler on top of the frame, compared to your setup with the coupler on the bottom of the frame, which your type of setup seems to work much better with the Reese trunnion bar setup up as far as clearances. I had to go with a 1" raised ball so that the spring bars wouldn't rub the bottom frame plate bolt during sharp turns, and the spring bars still rub the yoke during a sharp turn. I found out later after I had everything installed that a round bar setup would have been better for me, but I am going to put some miles on my rig to see how severe the rub is before I do any other major changes.

My setup:
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Old 02-09-2009, 11:25 AM   #43
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I agree with Bama Rambler about the setup. The ball height and tilt accomplish two different things. By the way rockwood06, nice setup, with either TV. Enjoy.
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Old 02-09-2009, 10:01 PM   #44
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A camping friend of mine has a Chevy 2500 HD and he pulls a 29' Jayco with the Reese WD&S syetem like yours and mine and I notice that his hitch ball is straight up as well, and his dealer set his up that way. Ok what to do now? if the only way I can adjust the height by setting the ball straight up and there is no more adjustments that can be made, then what do I have to do to get a tilt on the ball and keep the right height? If you look at both of my pic you can see where the dealer had to raise the ball up to the last hole on the new set up, from what I remember the Service Tech said that the camper sets at 23" level and my receiver is 17" from the ground, that's a 6" differents to raise the hitch and make everything level and you will notice that the two inch steel stock that the ball is mounted to is up-side-down.
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Old 02-10-2009, 12:32 AM   #45
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You were right to be a bit concerned about that reciever on that chevy. I bent mine on an 05 suburban with an 8317 rock. The round bars just twisted,I had to keep making adjustments on the reese before I figured it out.The 07 has a big square tube inside the bumper,It seems a little heavier duty Mike
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Old 02-10-2009, 05:25 AM   #46
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You were right to be a bit concerned about that reciever on that chevy. I bent mine on an 05 suburban with an 8317 rock. The round bars just twisted,I had to keep making adjustments on the reese before I figured it out.The 07 has a big square tube inside the bumper,It seems a little heavier duty Mike

Was your receiver bolted to the bottom of the bumper besides the frame on your 05? On my 97 Surburban It's not, it is just attached to the frame.
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Old 02-10-2009, 07:00 AM   #47
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yes bolted to the bumper as well
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Old 02-10-2009, 08:32 AM   #48
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Originally Posted by rockwood06 View Post
A camping friend of mine has a Chevy 2500 HD and he pulls a 29' Jayco with the Reese WD&S syetem like yours and mine and I notice that his hitch ball is straight up as well, and his dealer set his up that way. Ok what to do now? if the only way I can adjust the height by setting the ball straight up and there is no more adjustments that can be made, then what do I have to do to get a tilt on the ball and keep the right height? If you look at both of my pic you can see where the dealer had to raise the ball up to the last hole on the new set up, from what I remember the Service Tech said that the camper sets at 23" level and my receiver is 17" from the ground, that's a 6" differents to raise the hitch and make everything level and you will notice that the two inch steel stock that the ball is mounted to is up-side-down.

rockwood06, if your hitch ball is straight up, and you are getting the weight distributed OK, then you don't have a problem. I wish that my ball mount could be more level like yours, but I have to tilt mine back because of my coupler being on the top of the tongue frame instead of the bottom like yours. That is why Reese puts so many adjustments on that washer combo, so that it will fit a wide range of tongue setups. Reese says that you need a minimum of 5 chain lengths, which you have. It looks like you have plenty of clearances with the spring bars and yokes, not like my setup. Probably the only thing you might need to do is fender measurements to make sure that you are getting the weight back on your front axle. If your front fender comes back to stock level, or even settles 1/8th" or so with the setup you have, then you are probably good to go. If not, then you might have to tilt the ball mount 1 notch either way (forward for less front axle weight, or rearward for more) and see how that works. Beware that if you tilt the ball mount any, you will might have to reseat the adjustment on the dual cam yokes to make sure they ride squarely in the spring bar indents. You can see the flex in your sping bars in your photo, and so the dealer just might have the weight distributed correctly.

In your photos it looks like your trailer is fairly level. Seek out a flat parking lot, and measure the distance from the frame to the pavement at all 4 corners of your trailer. If these are within an inch or so, I don't know how you could tweak your combo any better. By what I have read, a slight tongue down attitude is better than a high tongue.
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Old 02-10-2009, 09:55 AM   #49
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Ok what to do now? if the only way I can adjust the height by setting the ball straight up and there is no more adjustments that can be made, then what do I have to do to get a tilt on the ball and keep the right height?
Take a look at the mechanics of the head. Tilting it one way or the other doesn't change the height enough to make a difference because it pivots from the bottom of the head. The spaced holes in the shank is what determines the height of the ball.


Having said that. I'll agree with Mtnguy. If you're getting proper weight distribution and your bars aren't rubbing the dual cam stabilizers, leave it alone. It's doing exactly what it's designed to do.
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Old 02-11-2009, 05:46 AM   #50
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I thought it would be a good Idea to post the before and after pic to get some feed back and I am glad I did. For now the new truck and set up feels better then the old one on the Suburban and I will leave it alone as suggested. I appreciate everyone's input and recommendations I have learned a lot and even something I didn't even think about and I hope this helps others as well, What a Great Group of people and a well run Forum Thanks, this very important to me on behalf of any safety concerns for you and me.
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