which sway control

pip · 04-13-2011, 10:30 AM

I bought a new tt ( 26 bh grey wolf ) loaded about 5600 lbs. my old tt was 24 ft. and the friction sway control was good, I have a Reese wd with a standard friction sway control, i took the new tt out last weekend & the friction sway control takes about 85% to 90% of the sway out. my Question is should I go with a deluxe friction sway control or add the Reese dual cam to wd ? will I see a big improvement with the dual cam verses friction control ? thanks for any advice you can give me.

jackhartjr · 04-13-2011, 10:36 AM

We have the dual cam system. No sway, and if I get dumb and drop it off the road it comes back on without moving into the other lane.
I do not even know when a truck goes by!
Jack

SaskCampers · 04-13-2011, 11:11 AM

Add the dual cam setup if your bars have the bent tips.

**Bama Rambler** · 04-13-2011, 11:14 AM

I do recommend adding the dual cam to the WD you have, BUT first go weigh your rig and make sure you have more than 10% TW (tongue weight). I shoot for 12% to be safe. Sway control is no substitute for a properly set up rig. They should only be a safeguard in abnormal situations.

pip · 04-15-2011, 12:43 PM

Thanks bama and everybody else for the advice about weighing the unit, I have been camping alot of years and never went to a scale ( I guess a old dog can learn new tricks ) with the new camper I want to do everything right this time. 26BH Grey wolf weight all loaded with 2/3 tank of water = 4860 lbs.
camper sticker said 4899 dry weight . tongue weight = 740 lbs. that surprised me, now I'm wondering is that to much tongue weight ? and if so what's the best way to correct that. this forum is great, thanks again.

MtnGuy · 04-15-2011, 01:10 PM

pip, how did you weigh the camper ?? If you just used what is on the axles, then you have add the tongue weight for the total camper weight, which would be 5600 lbs. With a 740 lb. tongue weight, that would 13.2% of your total weight....not bad.

How did you weigh your tongue ??? Ideally, you should make a pass across the scales without the trailer, and then with the trailer. You 2 TV axles with the trailer minus the 2 TV axles solo would get your tongue weight.

And another variable, did you do this with the WDH hooked up or not ???

pip · 04-15-2011, 02:46 PM

just the trailer on the scales, than I disconnected the trailer & just put the tongue on the scale at the same height as when its hooked up to tv, I hope this is the right way because I'm starting to drive my wife nuts with all this and myself to. I did the truck 4 days ago, nobody in truck & ready to camp & 1/4 tank of gas = 5600lbs

MtnGuy · 04-15-2011, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip

just the trailer on the scales, than I disconnected the trailer & just put the tongue on the scale at the same height as when its hooked up to tv, I hope this is the right way because I'm starting to drive my wife nuts with all this and myself to. I did the truck 4 days ago, nobody in truck & ready to camp & 1/4 tank of gas = 5600lbs

That is a good way to weigh the tongue. But if you got the weight of 4860 on the trailer axles while it was hooked up to the truck, then the total weight of your trailer is 5600 lbs.....you also have to include the weight of the tongue. With a tongue weight of 13.2%, that is a good ratio. That trailer has a GVWR of 7402, so you are way under the gross....which is always good.

As TheSasks stated earlier, if you have the bent tip Reese spring bars, then all you need to complete the setup for a Reese Straight Line setup is to add the cams: Reese Dual Cam High-Performance Sway Control Reese Weight Distribution RP26002

If you have the straight bars, then it might get a little more complicated since you would have to also replace those with the bent tip bars.

What size (weight wise) bars do you have on your setup now ???

pip · 04-15-2011, 08:31 PM

I still have my old setup from old tt, Reese wd with friction bar, looking to up grade. now that i had it on the scale i think my bars are to light. on the bars it said 600 lb tw. does that mean 600lb total or 2 x 600 for 1200lb total. I will buy new bars if I have to . I called 3 places about buying the dual cams & all are on back order till April 30, one dealer said Reese is having a problem with them, but he didn't say what the problem was. has anybody heard about any kind of problem with them ? my other option is the equalizer, I have heard good things about both but it would be cheaper for me to go with the dual cams and everybody talks great about them.

thanks for all your help.

tentcamper1 · 04-15-2011, 08:46 PM

try e trailer, I ordered my part number RP26002 on 3-29 and got them in 3 days.

MtnGuy · 04-16-2011, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip

I still have my old setup from old tt, Reese wd with friction bar, looking to up grade. now that i had it on the scale i think my bars are to light. on the bars it said 600 lb tw. does that mean 600lb total or 2 x 600 for 1200lb total. I will buy new bars if I have to . I called 3 places about buying the dual cams & all are on back order till April 30, one dealer said Reese is having a problem with them, but he didn't say what the problem was. has anybody heard about any kind of problem with them ? my other option is the equalizer, I have heard good things about both but it would be cheaper for me to go with the dual cams and everybody talks great about them.

thanks for all your help.

You definitely need heavier bars. Even 800 lb. bars may be too light when your trailer is camper ready. 1000 lb. bars may be a better choice.

The 600 lb. weight is for total trailer tongue weight.

There have been some rub problems with the dual cam setup.....and I have experienced that. It is the result of a "perfect storm". If the trailer coupler is on top of a 6" trailer frame, and if using the square trunnion bars (the round bars are OK), the spring bars will sometimes rub against the yoke bolt during a sharp turn. I have that type of tongue setup, plus my trailer tongue is not exactly in line with my frame, making things a little worse. After contacting a very knowledgeable member of RV.net, and also contacting Reese technical department, I now use a 1" raised ball to make the spring bar clear the yoke bolt. I still get a rub with the yoke itself during sharp turns, but that is not as bad as hitting the bolt.

Some of the sway that you are experiencing could be from to much weight on the back of your truck....the 600 lb. bars would not give you the lift that you need. If your truck is back heavy and front lite, then that throws the manufacturers intended "geometry" out the window, plus might even overload your back axle.

There are several choices here that might work. 1st, you need heavier weight spring bars. Once you get the weight off of the back of your truck, and put that weight on the front axle and trailer axles, I believe some of the sway will disappear. To get rid of the rest of the sway, a 2nd friction control bar could work, or add a dual cam to your Reese system.

If you now have straight bars, when you order the heavier spring bars, make sure they have the bent tip....that is the only bars that will work with the dual cam. Depending on whether you have the round bar or trunnion bar system, they should both work equally as well......but the ball mount does not allow changing between those 2 systems. As a precaution, call Reese and see if the exchange of straight bar system is compatible with the bent tip bars as far as fit on the ball mount. The last time I called Reese Technical Department, I used 800-632-3290 (Cequent).

Here is an article on the dual cam rub problem: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...g/1/page/1.cfm

pip · 04-16-2011, 10:27 PM

I have the trunnion bars with bent tips, I looked today and my break away switch is in the way, if I can move that by just drilling a hole or two than I'm going to call e-trailer or Reese Monday and order 1000 tw bars & cams. my setup is about 9 years old so i hope the bars are the same size to fit , if it gets to difficult than I'm going with the equalizer.
thanks again

dretired · 04-17-2011, 05:56 AM

2 people i know of have the equalizer brand weight distributon/sway control and swear by that brand.

MtnGuy · 04-17-2011, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pip

I have the trunnion bars with bent tips, I looked today and my break away switch is in the way, if I can move that by just drilling a hole or two than I'm going to call e-trailer or Reese Monday and order 1000 tw bars & cams. my setup is about 9 years old so i hope the bars are the same size to fit , if it gets to difficult than I'm going with the equalizer.
thanks again

Sounds like a plan....you should be fine with that setup.

pip · 04-21-2011, 04:33 PM

Thanks mtnguy for the advice about sway control & scales, i could not find any Reese 1000 tw trunnion bars so i had the dealer install the 4 point equalizer in the 1000 lb. class, it cost me more this way but thats the way it goes sometimes, on the way home ( its about a 45 min. drive ) I had no sway at all. In the short time I have been on this forum I have learned more than 20 years of bull from salesman, dealers. I'm now SWAY LESS.

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