Reese Hitch.

heaton · 02-20-2007, 01:43 PM

I have a Reese Trunnion Bar Weight Distributing hitch with no sway control. If I purchase the Dual Cam set up can I use the existing bars and brackets.

Heaton

Makers Mark · 02-20-2007, 06:07 PM

Great question Heaton,
I also have the Reese weight distribution bars with a friction sway control. I wondered if I too could upgrade to the dual cam sway and still use my same bars?
I am sure someone here has the answer.
MM

**JohnB** · 02-24-2007, 07:23 PM

Heaton and Marker Mark

I can help here but I need more info on exactly which Reese WD hitch and spring bars you have to help guide you on how to add the DC. Pending the actual system of spring bar you have will dictate which Reese DC you need. They make 2 kinds,

1. An older (The original) standard DC that uses large U bolts to hold the DC arms to the TT frame
2. The newer HP DC that bolts directly to the TT frame.

The key is the actual spring bar itself.

If you have a spring bar, round or square bar and it has a V notch already forged in the end of it, looks like these:

If the spring bar has that forged V end, then you can use either the older standard DC or the new HP DC.

If your bars are flat on the ends, No forged V notch and just the 2 holes for the chain U bolts, then you can buy cam adapter kits to bolt onto the spring bars and you use it with the older standard DC. Go page 164 here in the Reese catalog and you will see the adapters and standard Reese DC See page 164 It will take a minunte or so to load. That part of the Reese catalog is pretty big.

Here is a side pic of a newer Reese HP hitch head, square trunnion style spring bars and HP DC. This is on my 2004 T2499 with the low slung axles and older 5" channel iron frame.

Let me know what your is like and I can point you to what to get. AND if you are using the newer HP DC a few pointer to looks our for when setting them up.

John

heaton · 02-26-2007, 06:12 PM

John B,

Thanks for the excellent pictures of your T-2499 and the Reese Dual Cam
setup. My Reese bars do have the cam notch. My only concern is the clearance between the cam yoke and the spring bar. I will probably have the same issue with my 2004 T-2553. Does the older DC set up have clearance issues.

Thanks,
Heaton

emam · 02-27-2007, 08:03 AM

As a Graphics guy that spends hours on PhotoChop touching up pictures, I just wonder how long it took you to make all those arrows and measurements.

Amazing job!!

For the rest of you that arent into computers, those few pictures took a long time to make for all of you!!

emam · 02-27-2007, 08:03 AM

Great Job on the Graphics!!!

**JohnB** · 02-28-2007, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by heaton

John B,

Thanks for the excellent pictures of your T-2499 and the Reese Dual Cam
setup. My Reese bars do have the cam notch. My only concern is the clearance between the cam yoke and the spring bar. I will probably have the same issue with my 2004 T-2553. Does the older DC set up have clearance issues.

Thanks,
Heaton

Heaton

I have done an amount of investigation into the HP DC and the cam yoke binding issue. You do have to make sure your rig is setup right to not have that problem. All TT tongues are different and some have no issues while others will if you do not adjust the hitch correctly. AND Reese does not spell it out in the instructions. I have written 2 letters and several phone calls to Reese technical support to help sort this out.

Here is a top shot on my T2499.

And here is a link to a long list of posts I have made on RV. net point out the binding problem and how to get out of it. There are 19 pages of pictures of various camper setup where we worked to get the problem resolved on
DC problems post

And here is anothre WD setup post. On the bottom is mrre DC setup info. WD setup post

The older DC does not have the binding issue like the HP DC. There is just more room. However the older DC has the U bolts to deal with and is not as easy to adjust. BUT once adjusted it works the same.

Glad to help more if needed.

John

**JohnB** · 02-28-2007, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emam

As a Graphics guy that spends hours on PhotoChop touching up pictures, I just wonder how long it took you to make all those arrows and measurements.

Amazing job!!

EMAN

Thanks for the kind words. Pic's and arrows go a long ways in helping explain things. Once you see it, WOW, yeah that's how.

Happy camping

John

Charlsve · 03-02-2007, 07:52 AM

Hi,
I'm new to the forum here but just have one related question: I have not found the need for sway control at all on two trailers that I have owned (the last one is my current 264SR Sunline). Do any of you find the same? I have tried making the trailer sway to check the balance and it always straightens right out with no problem. Maybe I'm just lucky. I do have a friction sway set up but never hook it up.

Thanks,
Charlie

emam · 03-02-2007, 08:27 AM

I agree to some extent. We have traveled a few thousand miles non-stop and found out that our sway bars were installed incorrectly? So in other words, up to this point we've been driving with just a ball hook up?!

?!

We had the entire set-up removed and installed properly and except for an improved ride height now that the load bars are distributing the weight properly, I dont notice that much of a difference.

I'm knocking on wood while typing this, but we've never had the coach sway one time and I too have even tried to make it do it to see how it would handle. I know once we get out on the open filds of the Great Plains it might make a difference, but I really dont think it makes too much of a difference between pulling with a Ball and having an elaborate set-up.

**JohnB** · 03-02-2007, 09:06 PM

Charlie and EMAN

Both of you like the rest of us have Sunlines. And Sunline does a good job in designing in good tongue weight. They do this on purpose. Not all TT makers do this.

Having a good tongue weight, in the 12 to 15% weight range per TT GVW is one of the best things you can do to help create natural low sway characteristics. AND your TT must be balanced right to NOT sway with no anti sway controls. Adding an anti sway control to solve an unstable camper is not a good thing to do. Sooner or later it will get you.

My T2499 dry out of the factory had 14.5% tongue and when loaded went to 18.5% and when I added fresh water, it went to 20%.... I can attest it tows straight as an arrow.

And Charlie, your 264SR has 13 % dry tongue out the factory and the way the panty is forward of the axles and the large front cargo hole, it loads front heavy. I would not be surprised you have 15% plus tongue.

The good part is a heavy tongue is good for low sway, the not so good part is, you need a good truck to hold it up. 1,200# tongues are common on these size campers.

However as a friendly camper heads up, please use your sway control and adjust your WD hitch properly. Yes your rig may be stable and it should with no anti sway device, but the day the wrong towing situation comes your way, a panic stop, a jerk jumps out in front of you, a nasty turn on a down hill run, etc. these are the times that even a properly balanced rig needs help. Once sway starts, if not controlled it will build until physics stops you.

I’m not trying to breath fire and brimstone here, just help. I have helped a few fellow camper friends help put the pieces of their rolled rigs back together. And under that investigation, they had low tongue weight. And yet they even had an anti sway hitch. Once the oscillations started, all heck broke loose. They did not optimize their WD setup. One must have good tongue weight, anti sway controls and proper optimized WD setup on the size TT’s we camp with.

I will be glad to help point out to you how to set up your WD or anti sway from what I have learned along the way. It is not that tough to do once someone points you where to go looking and how to do it. And as a fellow Sunline’r and camper friend, all you have to do is ask.

Happy camping

John

PS here is a good article off the Sunline web site on sway. Trailer life write up on sway (Click the words to fire the link)

Charlsve · 03-06-2007, 08:09 AM

Thanks a lot for your advice, John. I have the mounts for my friction sway bar already attached but just never use it any more since it didn't appear necessary (also, I forgot to take it off when backing and turning and almost damaged it one time!). I've been counting on the manual use of the trailer brake to control sway if I needed to, but then, I've never had an emergency to try this thank goodness. I'll probably take your experienced advice and just mount it from now on to be safe.
Oh, we dry camp almost exclusively and so I did also add a 2nd heavy duty deep cycle battery to the tongue, which has added some extra weight. I do know that the 1200 lb bars on my Reese WD hitch bend a fair amount when tensioning them. The rig sits perfectly level and does not seem to porpoise excessively even when hitting some of the bridge joints on Mass's not-too-good highways.
By the way, I had to also add a medium rise (good quality 10K lb, 1" rise) ball to the hitch because the bottom of the frame at the coupler was hitting and bending the Reese bar unlocking tabs. Do any others have this problem? It was annoying!

Charlie