Equalizer or Reese Dual Cam

[chinook507]

It is time for a new hitch setup. I Have a 25' TH and a Ford Excursion. I am trying to figure out which hitch to get and I have it narrowed down to 2 different models. Reese Dual Cam and Equalizer.
The problem I am having making my decision is because I dont always haul my toys around in the back. With my current setup I have the ability to drop a link when loaded and add a link unloaded. The Equalizer doesnt seem to offer adjustability unless I am mistaken. The Reese Dual Cam looks like it would be a better fit for my situation. Just want to see if anyone else has dealt with this issue when choosing their hitch. Thanks in advance!

[mbopp]

A satisfied DC user here. 10 years and two trailers.
The only issue I had was wear on the cams. When I got the new TT I flipped the cams to get a new wear surface and also belt sanded the bar hooks to 90-degrees. And I now lube the cams with a few drops of ATF.

[myredracer]

BarneyS wrote:

Why don't you do like I did? Instead of wondering after reading all the glowing reports - purchase one. They come with a money back guarantee so if you don't like it you can send it back within a certain amount of time. I am pretty sure though, that you would end up keeping it just like I did. :B
Barney

You know, I wouldn't hesitate for a second if it weren't for my bean-counting DW, an accountant... :R As well, I do 100% of the driving so she can't appreciate the challenges of towing a TT and the benefits of a top-of-the-line WDH. I might try the 'ol trick of putting one on my Xmas list. 🙂 I keep getting RV parts every Xmas tho. 😞 I should start keeping an eye on Craigslist for a used one.

Do you do loan-outs by any chance for evaluation, lol?

[BarneyS]

myredracer wrote:
Snip...
I do wonder what a Hensley or Propride are like on roads with a lot of twists and turns are like for handling as opposed to sway on a freeway which is what seems to be usually discussed.

Snip...

You just drive like you usually do and do not have to worry about what the trailer is going to do. The trailer follows the truck without any negative input so you do not have to do anything abnormal to take the curvy roads - just drive! 🙂

Why don't you do like I did? Instead of wondering after reading all the glowing reports - purchase one. They come with a money back guarantee so if you don't like it you can send it back within a certain amount of time. I am pretty sure though, that you would end up keeping it just like I did. :B
Barney

[myredracer]

Wishin wrote:
I'm a mechanical engineer and struggle to understand how the Blue Ox could manage sway as well as the Dual Cam.

I'm also an engineer (not mech.) I too struggle with the Blue Ox claims from an eng. perspective. JBarca and Ron Gratz have done detailed tech. analysis on it and the conclusion is it's basically just not cracked up to what they claim. A must-read. Posts here:

Eating Crow and
Good and Bad

We have the Reese DC and the reason I chose it was because of it's self-centering action and all the positive comments from those that use it. I totally love it. Yes it definitely can take some fiddling and tweaking to tune it up right, as I found. Mind you, I wanted the most possible out of it. I really like how it wants to snap the truck and trailer back into line. I tried a friends setup this year with an ordinary WDH and sway bars. No contest, it's the DC that's much better. It's important to keep the cams centered in the crooks of the bars and that can even change a little depending on how the truck and trailer are loaded up.

Just finished a 2500 mile trip with many hundreds, if not thousands of turns on the highways, low and high speed. It handles like a sports car and couldn't ask for more. On a freeway (up to max. 65 mph) there is NO sway (okay, maybe some tiny insignificant wiggle). Semis can pass all day long like they're never there - the key is to ignore them and keep the truck planted firmly down the center of the lane. Super impressed.

I've done other things as well to improve handling though like Dexter equalizers, shocks on the TT, Bilsteins on the truck, shimmed the WDH to take out play. I religiously check tire pressure before heading off too. Having our longer wheelbase truck and a 3/4T superduty also helps, as does a good B/C for good braking control before entering a corner. Have also scaled the TT & TV and know the weights. Not much else I can do except to upgrade the receiver. Having a marginal TV and TT combo. to start with may not be helped much by the DC WDH alone.

The only thing I do get affected by is strong gusting side winds, but any WDH is going to be affected to some degree and you need to slow down.

I do wonder what a Hensley or Propride are like on roads with a lot of twists and turns are like for handling as opposed to sway on a freeway which is what seems to be usually discussed.

A TH may not be a good fit for a Reese DC tho. because of the amount that the TW can vary.

[Wishin]

I have the dual cam system and love it. I had it on a previous trailer and towed it with my wagon. I rarely had to adjust the cams as the auto level of the wagon kept it setting the same regardless of how the car or trailer were loaded. Now with my new trailer and 2500 Suburban, I find I need to tweak it occasionally if we're loaded differently. I always check when leaving on a trip. I did have issues with both trailers getting the dual cam brackts mounted and staying tight. On the first trailer with 850-900 lbs of TW, it was just getting some locking nuts inside the frame to make it work. On the newer trailer with 1200-1300 lbs of TW, I've had issues with the wider 1200 lb bars (versus older 800 lb bars) catching on the cam brackets and pulling the bolts loose, bending the frame slightly, etc. It took a bit of custom bracket work to go along with the Reese brackts along with grinding the sides of the W/D bars to make it all work. No issues this year with about 5000 miles of towing (season 2 with this trailer). It pulls great so I don't really regret buying it, but if I knew the Equalizer or Blue Ox would work as well I'd go that route as they are simpler. Especially the Blue Ox. I'm a mechanical engineer and struggle to understand how the Blue Ox could manage sway as well as the Dual Cam. I would want to try it before I'd buy it. I think in a situation where you have large variations in TW (as with a Toy Hauler) I'd be really tempted to try the Blue Ox as it would be simpler to make adjustments. If I pulled my chains up a link on my Dual Cam, I'd definitely need to adjust the cams.

[csamayfield55x]

I had my Dual cam for over 9 years before I sold the trailer. I NEVER had to do any kind of adjustment. When my Uncle bought my trailer I was sure we would have to adjust for his truck. NOPE, hook up and go.

When my brother got his new toy hauler it was an unruly tow. Dual cam in and it is a dream now!!

This is going to be a pretty subjective argument. Both hitches are great and either will work wonderfully
Chris

[Need-A-Vacation]

One of the reasons I have adjusted mine a few times is the iniitial adjustment once loaded, then the correct shank was delivered. So once I swapped the shank out (new one is longer!) I readjusted the set up.

The air bags to compensate for when the bed is loaded vs unloaded is something I have considered so the hitch height is a constant. Regardless of how much you try to keep the weight right behind the cab, some has to go on the rear axle, changing the hitch height depending on just how much weight is there!

Not sure about the older DC's, but I noticed our cam arm bracket (that pivots on the frame mounted bracket) have a little bit of "movement" allowing some rotation. Not sure if this is on the new model only or not (ours is brand new this July).

Once set up the design behind the DC is hard to beat, except maybe by a PP or HA system.

[Hondavalk]

I totally agree with the need for proper set up on the Reese DC. The way I got around that issue is by adding air bags to my suspension. I measured my trucks bumper height when I was setting up my DC and always return it to that height after loading the truck before I hook up. That said I've had my DC for pulling a 34' 7800# trailer for 3 years and am very happy with it. As far as the original install, I read and reread the instructions, watched the videos (E trailer has some great ones), measured 2 to 3 times everything, and maybe I got lucky but got it done on the first time. Regardless of what hitch you buy if you can, install it yourself. I don't think most dealers will take the amount of time it takes. Also if you don't have one get a torque wrench and follow the instructions specs.

[fla-gypsy]

After using the Reese Dual Cam system for 8 years I am completely satisfied with performance. I have not encountered any of the issues some have stated they had with it nor did I find it hard to adjust at all. I believe the engineering behind the DC is better but you should buy what works for you.

[Need-A-Vacation]

When you have a large difference in tw, you would need to adjust the Dual Cam adjustment for the system to work correctly. The crook in the bars needs to be seated on the cam arms, and large changes in tw change this.

As for the hitch head/ bar angle adjustment, the Reese washer system offers more fine tuning over the Equal-I-Zer. In speeking w/ Equal-I-Zer on the 4 Way system, changing the hitch head angle by adding or removing a washer is equal to changing the trailer L brackets (that the bars "ride" on) up or down a hole.

The Reese SC system is very similar to the Equal-I-Zer system, but it also offers the same hitch head adjustment the DC system does. The washer and hitch head have teeth on them, and changing them 1 tooth equals aproximately 1/2 a chain link (ont he DC system) chang at the trailer bracket.

The DC can be finicky setting up as well due to the bar crook/ cam arm. I am still adjusting our DC system after a couple trips. Will find out this afternnon if it is good to go! I had asked the dealer to not mount the cam arms, but they did and one of the arms was mounted about 1/4"-3/8" back from where it should have been.

IF I was to buy again, I would look a little closer at the SC system vs the DC, even over the Equal-I-Zer based mainlly on the hitch head adjustability. IF I could (or can, haven't tried yet!), I would find a very good condition DC u-bolt system (the original model) for our trailer.

Our 1500lb Reese came with the HD chain brackets that GGardne2 mentioned.

Good luck deciding!!!

[ggardne2]

The Equalizer offers adjust ability at the a-frame brackets and in my opinion may be more adjustable than the Dual Cam. Whenever you have a change in bar position on the dual cam the position of the cam to the weight distribution bar changes, to maintain optimal sway control it is necessary to readjust the cam position. For what it is worth I also had issues on the dual cam with bending the chain brackets under heavy tongue weights. Today Reese manufactures a heavy duty bracket that has a welded reinforcement to prevent it from bending, if you are in the 1200+ lb tounge weight you may need to purchase the heavy duty brackets for your dual cam. I never had an issue with the Equalizer brackets.

[downtheroad]

Don't count Blue Ox Sway Pro out of the choices either.

Take a look here >>>>>LINK