Reese Dual Cam Question

[dezolen]

Now you are talking nonsense IMHO.
Original post did not question whether he had(according to some) the proper tv.
Question was whether he has hitch set up properly and I can tell from previous experiences many rv experts have no idea how to follow or even bother to read manufacturers literature supplied with all hitches.
Hence I do my own installs.

[flumpydog]

well it appears this whole thread is getting way off topic here.

I never asked if my trailer was too big, or if my expedition was too small. I asked about how the dual cam should be set, as I thought things were not right and have seen I was correct, with a lot of good input from the good people on this forum.

As for the Expy EL itself, it is a lot more that 5,000 lbs empty, it is actually more than 6,000 lbs . I have both the regular wheelbase and the long wheelbase, would I tow this trailer with the regular one, heck now as the long wheelbase Expy is a different vehicle altogether in my opinion. But this is not the topic at hand here ;-)

I had already stated that this this IS the trailer I want, and if I find the Expy is not suitable, I will look at getting a second vehicle in the future.

I know the truck is going to handle different, bounce some or feel a bit of tugging, that comes with towing a trailer. What I asked is how does your vehicle feel and what should I expect? Before I dug into this myself, I was not sure why the thing bounced a lot, or why the front end felt mushy and light and it really just felt like a pile of garbage. Now I know why, but there is nothing I can do to address this, until the dealer actually does the install correctly.

What I have discovered so far from research and the help of the good members of this forum, is that I have some serious issues with my whole dual cam install. With the cams not even riding in the detent, one spring bar being an inch lower that the other, with the trailer nose high and a few other things, it is no wonder this combination feels like a pile of garbage.

Again as I stated, there is nothing I can do now, until the dealer fixes it this week. After that I can then begin to better assess this thing and fine tune it ;-)

As for pics, I will post some when I hook this thing up to bring it back to the dealer.

With regards to what is happening to this whole setup, I spoke with the owner of the place where we purchased the trailer from. He was great to talk with, had a full understanding of how this dual cam should have been installed and was surprised to hear how botched this was. He has ordered a longer hitch bar, so that the ball will be 1 inch higher than the receiver on the trailer, as the current one cannot get close to where it should be. He is also has the rest of the parts in stock and if he feels things are bad, he will just replace them with new parts. He said that it is his reputation on the hook here and was not too happy with what he heard here and was going to do everything to fix this and make it right, so fingers crossed here.

The bars I have are the square 1200 lb units and it is the dual cam straight line unit, so I should be good with those, as per both the specs of the trailer and tongue weights of the expy. And back to the ball height issue, the hitch bar is already upside down, it is just simply too short, to have the ball low enough to be just 1" higher than the trailer tongue. Thanks to everyone for pointing me in the right direction on this and the overall setup of things.

If I have missed something, or if people have questions, please let me know. If you have other input on the dual cam setup and such, please post that as well.

Best Wishes,
Chuck

[flumpydog]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

Tilting the hitch head back (toward the trailer) will increase the pressure on the bars for the same number of links. So, yes, tilting the head back toward the trailer will give you more links.

Ball height; do you have a good adjustable ball mount like one of these?

Adjustable Ball Mount Ball Mounts | etrailer.com


I think you have several problems; ball height, inadequate pressure on the front of the vehicle, and trunion bar indents that are not properly seated on the cams. ALL of these problems will lead to instability.

By the way, even properly adjusted cams will show signs of wear over time.

Bingo, all these issues are causing the instability I am feeling. The front end feeling light I was able to fix, but with one bar being an inch higher than the other, even that is not as good as it should be.

I do have one of those adjustable hitches, but mine is too short.

Thanks for clarifying the effect of the head tilt, muchly appreciated. And I have weighed everything and and well within my limits.

Thanks,
Chuck

[flumpydog]

Originally Posted by dezolen

Original post did not question whether he had(according to some) the proper tv.
Question was whether he has hitch set up properly .

Yes that is very correct.

I joined this forum to avoid some of the stuff that happens on some other forums, as I felt the people here were a great group. So let's do our best to keep it this way, as it only helps attract more new people like myself.

[flumpydog]

Originally Posted by NWJeeper

Yes the OP asked if his TV was suitable, based on sound facts and figures the information he asked for was given.

Sorry, but I am the OP and I never asked if my TV was suitable. I asked about the dual cam and the stability issues I am experiencing.

Thanks to the good help of a number of people here, it has confirmed this as well as the totally botched install of my dual cam unit.

All the best,
Chuck

[DCRC]

On the way home from picking up my Windjammer 3001W, I end up stopping and buying a big crescent wrench to adjust my reese dual cam set up.

First the arms were not riding on the cams in the correct spot. Installer pulled forward and than backed up before settting them.

Further into my travel I was running in to some strong wind. I pulled into a rest stop found a flat area and unhooked the trailer and went through the whole set up procedure. Mesured the ball height, tongue height and ground to fender height front and rear on TV. Once I got it all set up it made for major improvements back on the road.

Also TV tire quality makes a big difference as well. Just go out to your TV with it unhooked and rock it side to side and see how much sidewall flex you have in the tires. P tires are horrible for towing.

I'd be more concerned about getting the trailer level and setting the hitch up according to the instructions vs. putting it on the scales. 150 lbs on the front end is not worth messing with when talking about a 5000 lb TV.

[DCRC]

Pay real close attention to your side clearances on the W/D bars. Both at the Ball area of the tongue on tight turns and at the dual cam clevis arms. Ideally you should never run less then 5 lengths of chain If you need more clearance angle the ball back more and run more links of chain. You can still have the same amout of weight distribution.



IMO Reese should have made the Clevis that attach to the Cams round instead of oval for more clearance. I would have no problem grinding on the side of the clevis, but never the W/D arms If I could not get more clearance any other way first.

Seem like they didn't take into account the different frame rail (thickness) heights on trailers. If you look at there website it looks like all the examples are 4" tall frame rails on the tongues.

Read the thread on the first page for more on the clearance issues.

[flumpydog]

Thanks DCRC, good to know all this. I was doing the scale thing before I knew how bad a problem I had with this install.
I am curious what the dealer is going to do regarding my propane tanks, as they are definitely going to be in the way of the chain lift bracket, but that is not my problem ;-)
I just know I will not accept a hack job. Just discovered another minor problem, but it all bugs me just the same now. The vehicle has the heavy duty trailer package and it comes standard with a plug under the dash, so you can just plug the brake controller in. They chopped off the plug and used standard butt plugs to connect the wires. This was after I made it very clear to them to use the plug, so I could transfer the controller to our other vehicle, grrrrr.... Somewhere there was a big lack of communication here unfortunately. Anyhoo, I am getting off topic here and venting a bit

[DCRC]

Originally Posted by flumpydog

The vehicle has the heavy duty trailer package and it comes standard with a plug under the dash, so you can just plug the brake controller in. They chopped off the plug and used standard butt plugs to connect the wires. This was after I made it very clear to them to use the plug, so I could transfer the controller to our other vehicle, grrrrr....

This would make my blood boil ! Man I would I be hot over that and to add to that I hate butt connectors.

Sounds like they have a really lazy worker or cheap boss.

I'd be pricing a new OEM harness installed in the truck and asking that they pick up the tab. Won't be cheap.

At a minium have some one qualified solder the wires back together and use heat shrink to seal it and get the correct adapter harness for you controller.

I don't think I would let them touch my truck even If I had to do it myself or pay some one else. Sounds like they not qualified for the job.

Propane tanks can be remounted-Shouldn't be a problem for anyone else to fix.

[flumpydog]

Good to know about the propane tanks. I just hope they do not suggest cutting chunks out of the plastic covers

my blood was boiling believe me. I went to take the controller out last night to put in our other truck when I discovered this. I am meeting with the owner in the morning, he was already unhappy about the other stuff, but the proof will be in how they fix this. It does look like "if" they can get the plug from Ford, that all you need to do is get some male ends, take a clip out of the plug as that secures the ends in the plug shell itself. But I am not sure if you can order this separately, but this is gonna be their problem.

In partial fairness as I stated earlier, the person that is head of the shop and started the install had an accident that required a visit to the hospital. So I am hoping that a lot of this can be attributed to someone else just doing the job, not much experience, did not follow instructions and some stuff was not communicated to him. Tomorrow morning will tell the story. Like I said to my wife, I have been nice and calm and will do so tomorrow. If this does not all get properly addressed, then I might get a bit

I just feel like I am a big whiner here with them, but it all needs addressing, and I hate being in this position.

[acadianbob]

I learned something new from your picture and comments about clearance of the WD bars vs the cams. Thanks.

[DCRC]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

I learned something new from your picture and comments about clearance of the WD bars vs the cams. Thanks.

Glad you got something out of it, but I can't take credit as I simply copied and pasted from the link earlier in the thread.

I learned a lot from reading through those links as well.

This a great W/D hitch, but it can really throw you for a loop with all the different trailer tongue configurations.

[campclanlouisa]

I have the same hitch which I installed myself using etrailer.com. They have a video and explain the process very clearly. I am not new to towing but, I am new camping. Be careful about what you put on the cams as friction is what makes this an effective sway controller. The more resistance to more sway control. Personally I don't mind the noise it tells me it's working.

[Look'in To Ecapé]

Thanks for all of the great info in this thread. I've been feeling "light" in the front end, especially on bumpy highways. I'll take my chains up a link on my return trip home and see it that helps.