So I received my new 1500# Reese spring bars and immediately noticed a difference in the bend at the end. The 1500# new one is one top in the picture. Thought, could the older bar with less bend have contributed to some of the sway issues I was having. The DC will obviously seat better in the new one.Thoughts...?

Interesting, it looks like the old bar got bent over the miles from the constant pressure against it. I would not have thought that would happen.I'm sure it didn't have as much tension but it still should have worked to limit sway since the saddle is still intact. I bet the new one works better though.I'll have to check mine.

I would ask the factory.Maybe a product improvement?

And just for the sake of conversation the bottom one is a Draw-Tite, top is Reese.

Reese or Drawtite - parent company is Cequent and parts are interchangeable. See etrailer here for example.Looks like it's from towing a lot of miles with under-sized bars. Old bars are 1500 lb? The main "shaft" of the bar is distorted which suggests over-stressing the bars.If bars are too under-sized, you may not get enough weight transferred to the steer axle which can cause handling/sway issues. At the least, you should be measuring before and after front fender height and restoring wt. to what your TV manufacturer specifies. Better still, go to a scale to get actual weights to see how the WDH is doing, plus you can get the TW and TV and TT weights.Curious - are the bars the same length? I discovered that 1200 lb bars are a bit longer than 800 lb. The peak of the crook is at a different point compared to the ends so you will likely have to adjust the cam arms.Here is a photo of 800 lb. Reese bars we have. Very little use as we switched to 1200 lb shortly afterwards.

Top bar is new Reese 1500#Bottom is old Draw-Tite 1200#

Spring bar differences UPDATE | Good Sam Community

myredracer
Explorer II
Jan 22, 2015
TUCQUALA wrote:
John has the inside info!!! In the past posts, there was a lot of info and pics showing all the differences. Very helpful and a neutral party to the discussion.

His knowledge on these things is impressive! There should be a dedicated "ask JBarca" sub-forum...
CampingN_C_
Explorer
Jan 22, 2015
myredracer wrote:
TUCQUALA wrote:
John has the inside info!!! In the past posts, there was a lot of info and pics showing all the differences. Very helpful and a neutral party to the discussion.

His knowledge on these things is impressive! There should be a dedicated "ask JBarca" sub-forum...

X2!
He has helped me a lot here lately.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Jan 22, 2015
Not only is John a great, knowledgeable, and helpful member of our forums but he does a great job on pulling a stuck fellow camper out of a muddy field also! :B
Barney
JBarca
Nomad II
Jan 23, 2015
Gee.... Thanks guys. I'm humbled. :)

Now to the Ford verses Chevy...

BarneyS wrote:
Not only is John a great, knowledgeable, and helpful member of our forums but he does a great job on pulling a stuck fellow camper out of a muddy field also! :B
Barney

Oh yeh, the mud... One would never know on Saturday. Sun shining too!

Then comes Sunday... Well the Bowtie helped the Blue oval out of the mud... Then the CG tractor had to pull my camper over to the side of the road... Still have no idea how Dale got the MH out on his own...

Man, where does time go...
CampingN_C_
Explorer
Feb 01, 2015
So I hooked up today with the new bars on six links and went for a roughly 70 mile test trip. Six links puts the front fender back to unloaded height.
MAJOR difference! I'm not all over the road like before, everything is much more stable, no more purposing up and down.
After driving today I'm thinking I never really had "sway" exactly but more of the trailer pushing the truck. Every dip in the road was causing the front suspension to unload which was causing the constant steering corrections.
One finger on the wheel today in some of the worst wind I've towed in!!
JBarca
Nomad II
Feb 01, 2015
GREAT!!! :C And thanks for reporting back.

Yes, on the heavier TW's, too soft of a bar can in some cases make the camper push the truck around as it can be too soggy so to speak to hold the camper to truck connection stiff enough. Technically if you could load up the weaker bars enough it could help it compensate some more however you can run out of adjustment trying to get to that point.

Good luck and happy camping. :) We are in wet snow mess right now...:(

John
hawkeye-08
Explorer III
Feb 02, 2015
CampingN.C. wrote:
So I hooked up today with the new bars on six links and went for a roughly 70 mile test trip. Six links puts the front fender back to unloaded height.
MAJOR difference! I'm not all over the road like before, everything is much more stable, no more purposing up and down.
After driving today I'm thinking I never really had "sway" exactly but more of the trailer pushing the truck. Every dip in the road was causing the front suspension to unload which was causing the constant steering corrections.
One finger on the wheel today in some of the worst wind I've towed in!!

Agree! My experience also... only thing I wished I had done was buy or borrow camera to record the bounce and flexing I had before and then again after the upgrades. I know it fixed my problem, but would like to have video evidence to show others the before and after.

Awesome you resolved the problem.
lbrjet
Explorer
Feb 02, 2015
Good to hear.
Need-A-Vacation
Explorer
Feb 09, 2015
John,

Crazy question, but what is your thought concerning the issues mounting the HP DC on the various trailer frames compared to the old style DC (u bolt model)? I know the install with the u bolt model could be a pain due to the propane tanks, BUT what if Reese introduced a modified u bolt model that was easier to adjust like the HP, a "Hybrid" of the two? Not sure about the newer trailers, are the tank stand still bolted/screwed down, or welded now? That could be a huge issue if welded.

Just a crazy thought! Lol

Chris

Note: Moderator edit to remove unnecessary quote.
CampingN_C_
Explorer
Feb 10, 2015
Need-A-Vacation wrote:

John,

Crazy question, but what is your thought concerning the issues mounting the HP DC on the various trailer frames compared to the old style DC (u bolt model)? I know the install with the u bolt model could be a pain due to the propane tanks, BUT what if Reese introduced a modified u bolt model that was easier to adjust like the HP, a "Hybrid" of the two? Not sure about the newer trailers, are the tank stand still bolted/screwed down, or welded now? That could be a huge issue if welded.

Just a crazy thought! Lol

Chris

Perhaps you'd get better replies to your question by starting a new thread or PM'ing John directly.

note: Moderator edit to remove unnecessary quote.