Dual Cam Setup
I'm working on setting up a new Reese Dual Cam setup. I think I need a 1" extended ball, and wonder if I would benefit from a 2". Here's are some photos of where I'm at now: Side view, I think...
Forum Discussion
A comparison of Reese Dual Cam vs Equal-i-zer that may or may not be of value in the analysis.
For this Reese hitch, somehow the cam lobe is forced outward causing the frame to bend and possibly causing the snap bracket to bend.
For the Equal-i-zer hitch, whenever an L-Bracket is bent, it tends to bend inward. See note below about the pins.
The obvious looking factor is how the WD bar support is supported. For the Reese, the support comes from the outside of the cam and for the Equal-i-zer, the support comes from the inside of the L-Bracket.
Therefore, the cause of the failure or bending MAY be related to the side of the support the WD bar is supported on.
That being said, I have 2 scenario's:
1) It is possible that if the WD bars are not flexing under load, something has to give and the weakest link does. Cause can be too stiff of a WD bar or an overloaded WD bar or a combination of both (I believe the OP never had this happen with his lighter bars).
2) It is possible the WD bars when loaded with a heavy tongue weight (or if loaded too much or too heavy of a bar as explained in 1 above) do not want to turn because of the friction and therefore there is an extreme side force on the WD mounting points. The support for the mounting point acts as a lever and the weakest link bends.
Note: On my Equal-i-zer, the little pins that go around the WD bar and get secured to the L-Bracket do bend outward over time. I'm told this is normal. Because these little pins bend, it can only be related to the outward force from the bars during turns. So although the pins kind of look like an afterthought, outward and inward forces exist and can be extreme.
For this Reese hitch, somehow the cam lobe is forced outward causing the frame to bend and possibly causing the snap bracket to bend.
For the Equal-i-zer hitch, whenever an L-Bracket is bent, it tends to bend inward. See note below about the pins.
The obvious looking factor is how the WD bar support is supported. For the Reese, the support comes from the outside of the cam and for the Equal-i-zer, the support comes from the inside of the L-Bracket.
Therefore, the cause of the failure or bending MAY be related to the side of the support the WD bar is supported on.
That being said, I have 2 scenario's:
1) It is possible that if the WD bars are not flexing under load, something has to give and the weakest link does. Cause can be too stiff of a WD bar or an overloaded WD bar or a combination of both (I believe the OP never had this happen with his lighter bars).
2) It is possible the WD bars when loaded with a heavy tongue weight (or if loaded too much or too heavy of a bar as explained in 1 above) do not want to turn because of the friction and therefore there is an extreme side force on the WD mounting points. The support for the mounting point acts as a lever and the weakest link bends.
Note: On my Equal-i-zer, the little pins that go around the WD bar and get secured to the L-Bracket do bend outward over time. I'm told this is normal. Because these little pins bend, it can only be related to the outward force from the bars during turns. So although the pins kind of look like an afterthought, outward and inward forces exist and can be extreme.
