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Old 03-17-2010, 09:59 PM   #1
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Blue OX sway control likes dislikes?

Hello, new to this forum but not to RVing and I have recently purchased my first Forest River product a Flagstaff 829BHSS. I have yet to take delivery so don't have exact weights. One of the other F.R. dealers did have the Rockwood version (8298SS) and they are now posting delivered weights into Canada. So the posted dry weight is 6412 lbs. with a dry hitch weight of 822lb (this included all the same options that I put onto my Flagstaff) with an overall length of 31'6".

My tow vehicle is a 2006 F150 Supercrew XLT4x4 with the 5.4L, W.B. of 150.5",3:73, tow rating of 8600 lb., hitch weight of 860lb and GVWR 14,500lb. I generally travel with between 800-1200 lbs of gear kid wife etc.

My question is I'm in the market for a weight distribution hitch and my local RV dealer carries the Blue OX W.D.H with sway control. I've been to a few other forums and done searches for blue ox and really only found one or two people that have used this W.D.H. Has anyone on this forum used this hitch? If so what are your likes - dislikes? ease of setup and does it actually control sway?

I have looked at some of the other W.D.H. that have been talked about at length on this forum such as the reese dual cam but am reluctant to weaken the frame by mounting a sway control device.This seems to me like the dual cam mounting system becomes the weakest link? I have read in other forums about the husky centerline being recalled but cannot actually find anything concrete on this. and last but not least the Equalizer hitch is also on my short list as well. I have seen the H.A. but have been unable to locate a Canadian dist.
Thank you to all that post. your input will go to keeping me on the straight and narrow down the road.
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Old 03-17-2010, 10:35 PM   #2
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I don't understand how you think a Reese Dual Cam weakens the frame? I have one, and everything is bolted on, no drilling or welding required. There might be one hole drilled for the snap up brackets, but that is part of the weight distributing, and has nothing to do with the dual cam sway control. You will get this hole with any system. The dual cam is built in to the spring bar ends, and will not weaken the frame, as far as I can see.
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Old 03-17-2010, 10:51 PM   #3
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Hello Windrider.
The video that I've seen shows the brackets for the cams having 2 holes drilled into the frame for mounting with one bolt on the opposite side to hold for the snap bracket. I do like the overall design of the dual cam but when I saw this video the first thing that came to mind was this is a weak point. And with the cams connected to this bracket having to control the forces induced by sway, that just blew my mind that this actually works. With the other 2 hitches that I mentioned.. Equalizer and Husky the mounting brackets go around the frame making it more of a unitized system.

How did you install yours? How long have you used your dual cam setup? No issues obviously? Because I will say that this was my first choice.
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Old 03-17-2010, 11:13 PM   #4
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First of all, welcome to the forum.

With thousands of hitches installed on thousands of vehicles I have never heard of anyone breaking a frame or having any such problems by using the Reese system. Considering the known tensile strength of steel there should not even be a concern about weakening the frame. Consider all the holes put in it by the factory for setup on the alignment jigs on the lines. Putting a hole in the frame will not weaken it. Don't rule out an otherwise fine system due to unfounded fears of others.
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Old 03-18-2010, 12:00 AM   #5
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Hello NWjeeper.
Thank you for the welcome.

I should have clarified my position a little better. It isn't the frame that I'm concerned with more with the way the bracket is mounted to the frame. 2 bolts to control one side of the dual cams? This is just my opinion. other than that I do like this system.

I am however still looking for O.P. opinions, real life experiences with the Blue Ox sway pro WHD.
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Old 03-18-2010, 12:55 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by renaultc View Post
Hello NWjeeper.
Thank you for the welcome.

I should have clarified my position a little better. It isn't the frame that I'm concerned with more with the way the bracket is mounted to the frame. 2 bolts to control one side of the dual cams? This is just my opinion. other than that I do like this system.

I am however still looking for O.P. opinions, real life experiences with the Blue Ox sway pro WHD.
Think of it this way. 100s maybe 1000s of trailers are towed everyday with class 3 hitch setups of up to or more than 5000lbs on a single 5/8" pin.

The strength of a single 1/2" x 20 tpi Grade 8 bolt is as follows:

Under tension: 22674lbs
Under Shear: 17870lbs

Not knowing what size bolts they are using this is just an example but it is remarkable to me the amount of strength in a bolt. I would see no problem with the 2 bolts used in the system assuming they did their homework and used the correct size bolts for the load applied.
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Old 03-18-2010, 06:09 AM   #7
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The Reese system is not rigid system and it is designed to give way after a predefined turning angle so the the bolts have to carry a shear load that is probably nowhere near the max capacity.

If you have doubts about the system don't buy it as you will never be at ease. Buy the one that puts you at ease.

What is a H.A??????
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Old 03-18-2010, 06:11 AM   #8
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Renaultc,

I've been using my Reese Dual cam for a couple of years, over 2000 miles, mostly highway, and haven't had any problems. Many on here have a lot more miles and experience. I have a 2001 Ford Supercrew, 139 inch wheel base, and am max tow weight when loaded.

If your concern is the extra holes in the trailer tongue, take a good look at the tongue. You will find holes where the break-away switch is mounted. Maybe even the gas bottles. Holes for the electrical junction box mounting. Possibly holes for the plate the battery box sits on. If you're scared 1 hole in each side of the tongue will weaken the frame, better get back to engineering school. I don't mean that in a bad way, I'm just trying to say that the factory builds a lot of strength in to the tongue. Could you imagine the lawsuit if the tongue broke off at highway speed and the trailer flipped and killed someone? Not even Forrest River has enough money to cover that one.
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Old 03-18-2010, 04:49 PM   #9
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Just to hijack for a moment!! I was told that the Equalizer is noisy. Is this true? obvious metal on metal. When I heard that I am swaying to the Reese Dual Cam. $300 more and no noise. I like the simplistic approach to the Equalizer. I could spend $300 on some new speakers for the truck maybe! Oh the country music blasting on the country roads, take me home, where I belong.....
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Old 03-18-2010, 04:56 PM   #10
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The Reese is noisy too. A little Vaseline on the cams quites things down. Never grease them, per Reese, as they work on metal to metal friction. Vaseline is not a lubricant, per se', and it is what Reese says to put on the cams for quietness. Works. I lightly coat mine once per trip, before I leave.
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Old 03-20-2010, 07:33 PM   #11
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We purchased and installed our Blue Ox WDH on our Wildwood 23FLSRV (total length 27' 10"). As you can see in our profile we are towing on a Ram 1500 with the factory trailer towing package. We have experienced no issues with this very easy to install hitch. It provides all the sway control we could hope for. It was purchased at the local dealer prior to us driving to TN to pick up our trailer. We got a discount on the hitch from the local dealer and we are very happy with it's performance. Very easy to connect and disconnect with less parts then many other hitches to deal with. There is relatively no snapping or popping noises from this hitch. We would recommend this hitch setup to anyone. Good luck with your purchase.
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Old 03-21-2010, 07:09 AM   #12
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My non engineer's take on the Reese Dual Cam is as follows. It works by friction and spring tension. The bending of the arms supplies the spring tension which increases as the trailer begins to sway side to side. The swaying drives the hubs along the ramps, bendy bits, in the spring bar causing the the bar to bend more and more. This is a rising rate system where the more it sways the more pressure is applied by the spring bars to restore the system to a stable state. This pressure tries to drive the hubs back to their original positions because of the angled portion(ramp/inclined plane) of the spring bar.

There is also a friction component of the angled surface of the spring bar sliding against the face of that hub. This friction is a linear component that doesn't change with the angle of the sway. It can act as a damper to dampen any sway as well.

The Equalizer system uses only friction to prevent the sway but doesn't have any mechanism to drive the trailer back to steady state. The Equalizer also has this same friction that prevents the sway preventing the trailer from going back to the steady state whereas the Dual Cam actively pushes the hubs back to the centered position.

A far as drilling holes in the tube one can look at it this simplistic way. The frame tube being bent is putting a tension on the lower horizontal surface of the tube. Drilling hole in the sidewall does not reduce the load carrying capacity of the tube in this direction because the lower surface has not been compromised. Drilling a hole in the upper or lower surface is a different story. As someone else has said, the lawyers would be all over this if this was shown to be cause of a problem.

P.S. I have a Dual Cam on my setup.
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Old 06-27-2010, 10:46 AM   #13
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I know this is a day late and a dollar short so to speak but we ended up with a 15k Blue Ox and it is very nice. The bars are set with the factory 40 Lbs of torque on them and the trailer tracked like a dream in a cross wind on the way home from the dealer on Friday. A couple times you could feel the trailer try to give a wag but the hitch did it's job and it was only one wag and back to straight. It is also very quiet and backing up is a non issue as well. Fit and finish are very good as well.
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Old 07-25-2010, 06:42 AM   #14
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I just joined the forum yesterday and I am late also, but those of you thinking about this question might benefit. We have a Blue Ox Sway Pro 1000 and absolutely love it. We pull a 8000 lb trailer (loaded) and it does wonderfully. As mentioned earlier, it is easy to install and the best two things about it is...1. You do NOT have to remove the bars while backing up. 2. There are NO pins with it. With the other setups there is always the chance of losing pins (especially at night) in the process of backing up. As mentioned earlier, the factory sets the torque at 40 lbs. Based on the weight of the trailer, the factory rep suggested I torque my bolts to 55 or 60 lbs. I set it 60 and it is perfect. You are supposed to adjust the torque based on weight. Anyway, it is a great system, very clean and easy to use. I would recommend this set up for anyone using weight distribution hitches.
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