Bent Snap-Up Bracket on Reese Dual Cam? (Solved) - Page 3

MtnGuy · 07-20-2011, 02:25 PM

I back with my Reese without a problem. But both going forward and backing I make sure that I don't get the turning angle too sharp......I know the limit.

The spring bar/yoke rub problems with the dual cam setup only present itself when:

The trailer has a 6" or more tongue frame.

The coupler is on top of the frame, instead of the bottom.

Square spring bars are used instead of the round ones.

acadianbob · 07-20-2011, 02:29 PM

I've backed, sometimes at sharp angles, with my Reese Dual Cam for 5 years with nary a problem. I don't believe the "backing" issue. There is something else going on. My buddy's (Cavponysoldier) has had both of his bend in forward motion to the best of my knowledge.

P.S. My equipment is identical to Mtnguy

**Terier** · 07-20-2011, 02:41 PM

Is there another way to find out about the possible backing issue other than replacing and not backing up? In theory it would be interesting to find out the outcome.

jjarrard · 07-20-2011, 04:11 PM

I have had two friends that bent snap up brackets and they do not have Reese Straight Line Hitches. They bolted their brackets to their trailer frames. I have bent two brackets so far, both whike pulling forward out of my driveway. There is an incline and a 4" dip where the driveway meets the street. When the truck`s back tire touches the street, I have already started a left turn. This directs a huge ammount of tension on the passenger side bar. Since a left turn is in progress the tension pulls the bracket down and away from the frame. My planned cure is to use a standard 2" drop hitch with the ball mounted upside down. I will turn the ball upright and hitch the trailer creating more clearance for the driveway transition. I will install the WDH and bars on the flat street. I can enter or exit my driveway with the WDH installed sans the trunion bars when the truck is unloaded. When fully loaded the clearance is an issue without the WD bars installed. I may be able to turn the yoke over on the Reese hitch to mitigate the clearance issue. I also have 1200# t bars. The hitch works great in every situation except my driveway transition. My old trailer was lower to the ground and had rear bumper clearance issues. That took a creative approach also. I overcame those issues and inherited a new set. I guess I will continue maintaining a rigid flexibility! Noproblemman!

rockwood06 · 07-21-2011, 05:25 AM

As stated, backing up makes no difference i have been using the Reese WDS for over 12 years and had one bent bracket and that happen when i bought the 2006 RockWood i have now, there is no defect with Reese's equipment, the problem is the people at the dealerships that are not trained as well as they should be or they don't care. When a Tech says the reason they are bending because of backing up with the equipment fully attached, i would have to question is education on the matter.

Don't guess call Reese, they will give you the true Story and there test results.

I suggest this and something to think about, i never release my spring bar while backing or towing for any reason. The receiver on your tow vehicle has two weight rating one with WD&S System and one with out. By towing or just backing up with out the full equipment attached can cause damage to the receiver............Not saying it will, but it could.

CamperJamie · 07-25-2011, 04:09 PM

Well, I just got back from the dealer who has now welded my snap up brackets to my frame. He said they were having this issue a lot - said they were even seeing folks bend the heavy duty bracket. The service guy thought it was somehow related to the coupler (we have a Flagstaff 831BDHSS) and the crappy (his words) steel used in making them. Hope I can now put this one behind me.........

dlhoppe · 07-25-2011, 05:01 PM

It's just a poor design. Trying to make a universal bracket for varying width frames is the problem. Although I'm sure there's a much better way to make a universal one so it doesn't get pulled "down over" the top of the frame like that. That single long locking bolt to secure the bracket is also quite the joke.

I agree that spot welding is the way to go until they redesign the bracket.

Cinrock · 07-26-2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Now on to the steep driveway.....that could be a problem. Not particularly from the incline, but the conversion between the street and the driveway. Any dip puts more stress on the system. As the trailer tongue raises and back of the truck goes down due to a dip, the WDH is trying to keep the 2 on the same plane as being level.

This may be the root of the problem working in conjuction with increased size of the 1200lb bars. When transistioning from level to an incline during an extreme turn, the bar is going to try and force the cam end into the same atitude as the hitch end. The 1200lb bars leave only an 1/4" gap on both sides of the cam surface. It could be possible that while the bar is twisting its also moving laterally and exerts enough side load to start bending the bracket.

I have a similar model to CamperJamie and have not experienced this issue. The difference is that I use 800lb bars from my previous camper which are thinner on the cam end which provides more lateral clearance. Thier thinner cross section may also alow them them 'twist' as opposed to the heavier bars. Technically I should be using 1200lb bars but I'm fortunate that my truck doesn't need as much weight distribution as others.

I'd be curious to hear if this issue is occurs more with 1200lb bars than others.

**KyDan** · 07-26-2011, 01:43 PM

The problem seems to be with the 1200 LB bars.
I have an ultra lite and use the 800 LB bars.
I back out of my driveway onto a busy road.
This is a sharp 90 deg turn at the end.
The trailer is quite jackknifed at this point.
I've been doing this for 3 years with no problem whatsoever.
My snap up brackets have not shown any sign of being under
undue strain nor any bending.
I also routinely back into camping spots again with a pretty severe
jackknife on some of them.
I've never had a bit of problem with my hitch.

cavponysoldier · 07-29-2011, 11:35 AM

Thanks for all the inputs. My friend (AcadianBob) and I took my rig to an empty park and ride parking lot last week and completely reinstalled the hitch per Reese's instructions. Probably no surprise, but it had been installed erroneously. Ball was too low and the bracket that attaches to the chains was reversed in addition to the snap up bracket being tightened down to the point of dimpling the frame. The installation manual from Reese specifies hand tight & 1/4 turn beyond. Haven't installed the new heavy duty brackets from Reese yet because threads have to be cleaned with tap and die to install.
Makes you wonder why I didn't just buy hitch from etrailer.com and install myself with help from AcadianBob. Would have saved $300-$400. A little irritating to say the least when you pay "expert" to screw it up when all they had to do was read the "manual".

cavponysoldier · 07-29-2011, 11:16 PM

Thought the members should know the outstanding response I received from Michael Lindsay at etrailer.com. I contacted them about the bent brackets and was upfront that I hadn't purchased the Reese Strait line from them. They were very helpful nevertheless and one of their tech team people followed up with me. Kudos to the guys who get my business next time!

Look'in To Ecapé · 08-13-2011, 06:06 PM

Just to clarify...all three times we have had the brackets bend have been in forward motion and we know that it happens when the truck and the trailer are on opposite inclines to each other or in a sharper turn that puts the truck and trailer way off a level plane - such as when pulling out of a parking lot or making a turn out of an incline. Took our first trip out since installing our newly received "reinforced" brackets and arrived home without them bent. However, we are overly cautious about where we go now and go to great lengths to try and not get in the situation that we know bent the previous brackets. Yes, we use the 1200# bars so would be interesting to know if it is these bars that are having more of this issue then the 800# bars.

I'll be interested to see what happens in future trips and will certainly update here on this thread.

MtnGuy · 08-14-2011, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Look'in To Ecapé

Yes, we use the 1200# bars so would be interesting to know if it is these bars that are having more of this issue then the 800# bars.

1200 lb. bars on a trailer with a listed dry tongue weight of 814 lbs. is probably sized about right. Reese skips from 800 to 1200 lbs. with the trunnion bars, although I think you can get 1000 lb. bars with the round bar system.

It makes sense that the 1200 lb. bars would cause the problem more than 800 lb. bars, since it puts more stress on the system.

TimeFurnace · 08-14-2011, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cavponysoldier

Thought the members should know the outstanding response I received from Michael Lindsay at etrailer.com.

I couldn't be happier with etrailer. I go there first when looking for gear. On a recent order, about a day after I placed it, I received a personal phone call from them that part of my order would be delayed from their vendor and they were eager to know how I would like to respond. Most companies would have just kept me waiting. Other than one exception, all other orders from them have arrived faster than expected. They are just great to deal with.

leencharlotte · 08-14-2011, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtnguy

1200 lb. bars on a trailer with a listed dry tongue weight of 814 lbs. is probably sized about right. Reese skips from 800 to 1200 lbs. with the trunnion bars, although I think you can get 1000 lb. bars with the round bar system.

It makes sense that the 1200 lb. bars would cause the problem more than 800 lb. bars, since it puts more stress on the system.

I have the 1000lb round bar dual cam setup. I was looking for the installation manuals on their website and could only find 800 /1200#. So I called. They said after further testing they recertified them to 1200#. So the 1000# round bars are now 1200 according to the cd person at Reese

MtnGuy · 08-14-2011, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leencharlotte

I have the 1000lb round bar dual cam setup. I was looking for the installation manuals on their website and could only find 800 /1200#. So I called. They said after further testing they recertified them to 1200#. So the 1000# round bars are now 1200 according to the cd person at Reese

I had heard that also, so it is good to get confirmation. Thanks.

Coops1 · 08-14-2011, 01:08 PM

We had our trailer at the dealer fixing a few things and looking at the bent snap bracket and they readjusted the cam arm lengthening it by 3/4" to an 1". I've brought the trailer home and so far the bracket is fine but we head out this week on another trip so we'll see what happens.

One result of this adjustment is how much easier it is to remove the bars off the cam, before I would have the jack up so high almost lifting the truck off the ground and would still have to hit the bars with a hammer to knock them out of the cam.

MtnGuy · 08-14-2011, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coops1

One result of this adjustment is how much easier it is to remove the bars off the cam, before I would have the jack up so high almost lifting the truck off the ground and would still have to hit the bars with a hammer to knock them out of the cam.

Something just ain't right with that. Once you remove the chain from the snap up bracket, there is no tension on the cam and spring bar.

leencharlotte · 08-14-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Something just ain't right with that. Once you remove the chain from the snap up bracket, there is no tension on the cam and spring bar.

Could be too much tilt on the head so the relaxed position is still pushing down on the cams??

MtnGuy · 08-14-2011, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leencharlotte

Could be too much tilt on the head so the relaxed position is still pushing down on the cams??

That would really be a tight setup, and probably way too much tilt of the head assembly. My cams will go all of the way to the ground once I release the chains, but I have a low tongue. I would guess if once the chains are off and the cam rotated to downward position the spring bars still won't come off, then the entire setup needs to be reviewed. If you need a hammer to get the spring bars off, how in the world do you get them on ??

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