Bars not releasing

Jeepers, Bob

I have always put them on with the bolt ends in. No one has ever said otherwise.

I have the older ones.

I'll do it correctly next time.

Many thanks for the info.

I wonder if since the hitch was put on this truck, if that might be part of the problem.

I looked the hitch over and the cams are loose. They just drop down.

genekiwi wrote:
snip..... do the bolt ends go on the inside or the outside? I put them on the inside but would turning them around make a difference?

If your referring to the Chain Hanger Bracket there is a correct way of attaching them to the Cam Arm...., improper placement will compromise the snap-up bracket function, and possibly increase related component wear.

Depending on the version of the Reese HP Dual Cam, the Chain Hanger Bracket design may very, note the different orientation of the Hanger Bracket assembly U-bolt threads when properly attached to the Cam Arm:

Latest HP version has a bend in the Hanger Bracket:




Earlier HP version Hanger Bracket is flat:


Hope this helps.

Bob

Wowwwweeee

I have learned more in five minutes about a wdh than in the past 5 years.

Often wondered if my hitch was wearing funny or if the weird wear was okay. After looking at the pictures, mine are fine.

I really appreciate the pictures and the posts.

When I take the bars off, the cams will come down but are a little on the stiff side. They don't just drop down. I will give loosening the bolt a try on Sunday.

Other thing, might seem a bit odd but when you put the chains on the cam, do the bolt ends go on the inside or the outside? I put them on the inside but would turning them around make a difference?

I have the same thing going on and thought it was just normal. Things looked to be aligned okay. I've just given it a bit of a kick for it to let go. I thought chain tension just ends up being what it needs to be and not sure how you could reduce that to get correct weight transfer? Lifting the tongue somewhat helps, but usually not enough to for it to drop on it's own.

Have a brand new TT I'll be switching our Reese DC over to and will be paying closer attention to installation details this time.

Would it matter much if someone had more or fewer threads engaged on the arm? (Different angle on the arm) Assuming weight distribution between axles would be okay, could you reduce the angle of the spring bars by changing the angle of the hitch head to help?

Will be interested to see further comments...

JBarca wrote:


The issue is that bolt is just a hair too tight. If you unloosen it a little bit, approx. 1/4 turn as a start, the problem will lessen and then tweak a little more the problem will even lessen more, then if you go too far, the cam arm will fall to the ground. Plunk!

The key is to find just enough tension the arm will not drop to the ground which can be a pain in the neck during hook up to being too tight and the WD bar does not want to come off.

In my case, with nothing connected the cam arms flop to the ground. The nut is not tight to the cam arm, it may not even be touching it. For some reason I thought that the bolt was in reality acting more like a pin and the cam arm was supposed to be sloppy so that the cam and the spring bar could line up better. Maybe that was wrong...


Based on this:

genekiwi wrote:

Since putting it on the Heartland 26rls, the bars do not separate and I have to tap cams to move to release the bars. Yes, I learned how to do this without taking my leg off.

I think he and I have the same experience. You release the chain and nothing moves. Then you tap the end of the cam arm (I give it a swift kick) and the bar "unloads". The cam arm shoots down. There may even be a little "pop" noise. You wouldn't want to have you hand or leg under there. There's definitely some kind of spring action involved.

mrekim wrote:


Is it possible your bars are contacting in a similar way?

Hi Mrekim,

Your WD bar and cam wear is "normal" for the DC. They have a forged WD bar on an all cast cam arm. The wear is hitting on the high spots since the 2 are not a machined precision fit.

If you mark the left and right WD bar and always use it on the same side all the time, after tweaking the DC into perfection, the cam and WD bar wear into a perfect matched set. If you keep flip flopping the WD bar, that wear pattern starts all over again, and again and a again.

See here my cams and older WD bars this is 25K miles and with a 1,200# TW.






I'm still using the same cams, just different WD bars on a 1,600# TW and the wear is not a lot more after another 30K miles.

And if I ever wear them down a good 1/4" or more, well flip them over (left on right side and right side on left) and wear again. In my case I do vase-o-line the cams with this heavy TW. It cuts the noise and the wear down. Since my TW is so much, the little loss of friction is not noticed on my setup. Just do not use grease, it can cut too much friction.

I expect I can easily get 100K miles before I even think about flipping the cams over and wearing again.

Note, My cams are machined as they are the older ones, same problem as the WD bars are not machined and they are not the same exact length either, another reason to mark left and right.

Hope this helps

John

genekiwi wrote:
I have the Reese dual cam wdh setup.

I have used this on a Jayco 23B and Jayco 28rls with no problems.

When unhichting, I would raise the front of the trailer, unclip the saddles and drop down the chains. The bars would be loose and drop down.

Since putting it on the Heartland 26rls, the bars do not separate and I have to tap cams to move to release the bars. Yes, I learned how to do this without taking my leg off.

The higher I raise the front of the trailer the less tension on the bars but I still have to tap to separate.

Is this a normal situation on some trailers? I have had this looked at by three different hitch guys. They said don't worry.

Anyone have any idea what the problem might be or is this okay?

Hi,

By your wording, I am assuming the problem you are having is this: (Please confirm)

When unhitching, I let the snap up bracket down, unhook the chain, but yet there is pressure on the WD bar on the cam and it is hard to get off the cam? Did I get that right?

Looks like this, right?


If so this is the issue.

When the installer moved the cams from the old camper to the new camper they "tightened" the 1/2 bolt that holds the cam arm onto the DC frame plate.

See the bolt here from cam arm to the DC frame plate


The issue is that bolt is just a hair too tight. If you unloosen it a little bit, approx. 1/4 turn as a start, the problem will lessen and then tweak a little more the problem will even lessen more, then if you go too far, the cam arm will fall to the ground. Plunk!

The key is to find just enough tension the arm will not drop to the ground which can be a pain in the neck during hook up to being too tight and the WD bar does not want to come off.

When the cam arm bolt is "tight", pinching the cam arm to frame bracket, it is holding a level of spring load, not much in the big picture, but enough the cam arm is not moving down any. So the WD bar has to slide off under pressure.

The cam arm only needs to move 1/64" to 1/32" and all the pressure is gone and the bar will almost fall off. Yet left tight, you have to pry it off.

When the "event" happens, use the pipe as a lever between the top of the WD bar and the bottom of the A Frame and push down a little and the pressure is all gone.

Go tweak the bolt a little loose and report back.

Hope this helps

John

I have that happening too. I know that when the bars are centered (TV going straight) that the spring bar is touching the cam in only two places as opposed to sitting evenly on the cam. I needed a feeler gauge to tell.


Here's a photo:




See how the it is most shiny on the top right side of the spring bar(rear) and on the bottom left (front)?

Those shiny areas are where the spring bar rides on the cam. I assume that over time it will wear in where both parts match up better and the bars will release freely.



Here's the wear on the cam arm:





Is it possible your bars are contacting in a similar way?

Are you saying that after lowering the snap up brackets and removing the chains the bars will not come off the cams without a little persuasion?
Can you post a pic of the current install on your current TT- specifically the way the cam bar detent sits on the cam? If it has worked on 2 prior installs it may be slightly off this time.

This would bind:


This is how it should look:

Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum limit of 640px maximum width.

It sounds like the chain length between the WD bar and the cam catch is too short. You're putting too much pressure on the bars. Loosen up one link on the chains. See if that helps.