Getting Rid of my Dual Cam system

[Mike_Up]

I really like this system but it's such a darn pain. It's so complex no one, anywhere, has any idea how to adjust it or install it.

I just had it transferred to a new trailer and new bars also werer needed. Backed it up at home to get it in the driveway and bam, broke out the top socket of the head. I've been told here that it was installed/adjusted incorrectly and I believe that.

And now, the dealership is arguing that it was installed correctly. After talking further to them, the dealer doesn't have a clue and I can't believe they got it installed as far as they did.

I really like my Strait Line system but it's just to complex and I'm done with it.

I'm looking at going with either a EQUAL-I-ZER brand or Blue Ox brand. To be honest I really like how easy and simplistic the Blue Ox brand is. What I don't like are the very VERY vague installation instructions and their short 3 year warranty. This is the system my Dealership pushes.

It's not that the Equalizer brand is bad, I just don't like how you have to tear the head apart to get to the washer adjustments and tear down the brackets to adjust them. This system looks nearly as confusing as the Reese Strait Line (HP Dual Cam and WDH).

So is the Blue Ox inferior to the Equalizer Brand or do they both work well???

Here's a big point to me, since I have to back up at extreme angles, how do they do this. I called both makers and they said they hitches wouldn't hit the ball threads/nut when turning but what's your experience.

The Reese Strait Line system has so many binding points it's nuts. I think mine bind on the cam installation bracket, broke the top socket out of the head, the T end of the Trunnion twisted while forcing it's way out of the head, and hit the ball threads. All of this because the dealer refused to adjust the head to a greater angle to get the bars below the cam brackets. They are sticking to their guns saying you can't adjusted the head beyond the threads on the adjustment area, therefore limiting how far back they could tilt the head. They only got 5 chain links from the bar's end to the snap up bracket with a 1200 lbs bar.

So now I'm going to shell out money and hope to install this thing in a timely manner, myself, on an uneven, slanting driveway because no one in my area knows how to install a hitch unless it's a simple WDH with no sway control.

Can you believe the guys at the dealer even said it was my fault for breaking my head because I didn't take out my WDH bars before backing up. :E :E :M Guess I'm suppose to put 900 lbs on a hitch receiver that states only 500 lbs when no WDH is used?!! :M

So Guys can you help me, Equalizer brand or Blue Ox. BTW, both are about the same amount of money and both claim 4 point sway control.

[Housedad]

BritRam wrote:
Just wondering if anyone has tried out the Anderson WDH & Sway control system.My neighbour has it & loves it. Very light wieght & very simple...I believe its about $450 US. It would cost me $250 to add Dual Cam to my Reese so thinking of spending the extra on the Anderson......Any thoughts ?

$395 at RadAuto with free shipping. Best price I could find. I ordered one yesterday so I can't say yet if it is any good. But I hope so.....

RADAUTO

[BritRam]

Just wondering if anyone has tried out the Anderson WDH & Sway control system.My neighbour has it & loves it. Very light wieght & very simple...I believe its about $450 US. It would cost me $250 to add Dual Cam to my Reese so thinking of spending the extra on the Anderson......Any thoughts ?

[muzzzy]

I personally think you should pick your WD of choice. I have a Reese straight line and never had a problem. I do however take the time to set them right the first time and you should be good to go everytime after that as long your load doesnt change dramatically.
Read the set up posts here and follow them. Its a great idea to do it yourself. thats the only to fully understand the hitch and how it effects you TV & TT. Every town has a shopping mall or a school parking lot you can work in for a few hours on a Sunay morning. Adjust it best you can and test drive. If you need to adjust it go back and adust as neede. Be sure to load both TT&TV as you were going camping so your set up is accurate. It's really not that hard to do.
Good luck with any choice you make.
And yes, most dealers will not take 2-4 hours to get your WD perfect. remember this 1/4" in axle hieght can make a huge change in the way TV reacts.

[jerem0621]

Hey Mike,

If you do have to go with standard sway bars there is always the option to weld the miniball to the trailer tongue that way you don't drill holes in the frame. I have had no problem with the frame on my trailer with the drilled holes for the sway bar mount.

Also, if the bars are installed correctly you don't have to remove them to back up. In the rain, most don't do anything to the sway bars, maybe back them off 1/4 turn but thats about it.

There is also a Husky hitch that is very similar to the Equalizer.

Not saying that one is better than the other, just sharing options.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Mike_Up]

Well, I've talked to John about how the round bar system won't work. I am now trying to make up my mind between the Blue Ox Sway Pro (new revision with spring bars on angled pins to control sway) and the Equalizer.

I do have to see what my options are since the dealer is ultimately responsible. Hopefully we can come to an agreeable solution.

The last options and most likely just as costly, is to go back with the trunnion head and bars and get rid of the HP Dual Cam, and use dual friction sway control arms. Don't really want to do that because they add more holes, and I don't want to have to take them off to back up. The friction sway control bar's manual also state not use in the rain (most likely because of dog tracking). So I don't want to be without sway control in the rain.

Blue Ox is easy as snot to install but Equalizer is probably better but you have to mess with all the washers and it's more work, which is a big deal when you don't have large wrenches and torque wrenches.

The dealers attitude and resolution will most likely dictate what I go with, but I will still have my say in it as well though.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[Housedad]

Absolutely sure.

A part that should be bent 90° and is really bent at 85 (edit: should read 95°, not 85°) degrees or less is a poorly made part.

[Fisherguy]

Housedad wrote:
... The snap up brackets and the dual cam brackets that mount to the frame on the newer manufactured units are not bent right. This causes the cams to be too far out away from the frame. Too many problems eith the manufacturing. Poor quality.

....

I think this is the first we've heard of this on here..?
Are you sure you didn't have the angled hanger bracket on backwards?

[Ron_Gratz]

Housedad wrote:
I just ordered a Andersen hitch. We'll see how that works out. Heavy tow with 1250lb tongue weight.

Please take a full set of axle load measurements (TV only, TT hitched without WD, TT hitched with WD) so we can see how well the Andersen transfers load with a heavy tongue weight.

Ron

[Housedad]

I agree with getting rid of the dual cam. I'm doing the same thing. The snap up brackets and the dual cam brackets that mount to the frame on the newer manufactured units are not bent right. This causes the cams to be too far out away from the frame. Too many problems eith the manufacturing. Poor quality.


I just ordered a Andersen hitch. We'll see how that works out. Heavy tow with 1250lb tongue weight.

[Fisherguy]

One other con with the CenterLine is you need to be perfectly straight inline when you hook up or unhook. With the more out of the way places we go more often than not the truck/trailer are on an angle to each other.

[great_white]

I've got a hitch that doesn't seem to be quite as common as the other popular options out there.

Husky Centerline WD hitch with built in "active" sway control;



http://www.huskytow.com/FTP/HuskyFeaturedProducts/HuskyCenterLine/Featured_CenterLineHitch_hv.html

Kind of like an Equil-I-zer design with "spring pots". They're belvedere washers working against pistons that activate during sway control, the web site gives you more "add hype" about it if you'd like to read it.

In a nutshell; it just plain works!

First, just so everyone knows I've got some experience with it, I threw it on and towed this trip;



With this rig:





Not a twitch wiggle or white knuckle moment the whole trip. Even when passing or getting passed by semi's.

Only problem we had was one of the "pressure discs" cracked. I called Husky and they overnighted a complete head assembly to the campground we were at free of charge.

Now mind you; they didn't just send just the small pressure disc (which just slides in and out of it's bore), they sent the entire head assembly, trailer frame brackets and a new drop adapter.

Basically, everything except the weight bars which are sized specifically to your trailer weight range.

Now that's service!

Apparently, they had an issue with early production run discs and the hardening of them to the point of being too brittle. Supposedly fixed in the manufacturing and I have no reason to doubt that after completing the trip without another problem.

Backing up is not and issue, even cranked right over. But I do disconnect the bars before backing into the campsite or the driveway storage spot. Unless the truck is close to straight with the trailer it can be quite difficult to unload the bars enough for easy removal.

Hitch is stone cold quiet. Not a creak or peep.

It is quite heavy though. I'd say the hitch head alone is around 55-65 lbs. A good bit of a workout getting it in and out of the receiver.

Overall, it's a great rig and I highly recommend it.

Positives: great control, easy setup and teardown once adjusted, adjustments easily done (pull pins and adjusters abound), they offer different weight bars so if you trade up (or down) to a bigger trailer you just buy new bars and pop them on, and no special shank balls or other special bits required. It accepts "off the shelf" stuff.

Negatives: heavy, expensive, taller truck will need a different drop adapter (my 4x4 needed a longer hitch adapter tan what came with the hitch, 140 bucks more) and some issues with early production (but should all be out of the system by now).

Just my .02 on another option to consider....

🙂

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

[Fisherguy]

One thing though regarding sway, I have a DC setup now with the bigger trailer, but before that I had a basic Eaz-Lift equalizer with no sway control. I never had any problems with sway either with the 17' Bigfoot trailer we had for 5 yrs or the 23 ft Nomad we had for 15 years.

[coolbreeze01]

bucsplace wrote:
I posted that and I had my appointment today. I was set on having them replace the Blue Ox with the Reese Dual Cam. The dealer that installed the hitch insisted that the ball was set to low. Their mistake - they apoligized but it sure doesn't instill confidence!!! They raised the hitch ball head. I took it out for a test drive with them and was able to drive without any sway. I had trucks passing me and did not even notice a sway. I was able to go 75 mph and make a quick lane change with little to no sway. The only problem now is that I get quite of bucking up and down especially going over rough roads. I leave for a trip tomorrow that requires a long drive so we will see. I am going to call Blue Ox about the bucking up and down. Dealer said it is becuase of the hitch height that is needed to control the sway. I am happy that sway is eliminated but the bucking up and down may be an issue. Jury still out on the hitch although I will say it is the the easist hitch to hook up no matter how the TV and TT are situated. No nosie or difficulty backing up or making sharp almost right angle turns with the system hooked up.

Thanks for posting. Way better than hearsay. I'd try one less link if the bucking continues. Have a smooth trip.

[willald]

I've always liked the Reese dual cam system. We used one for several years, until we decided to move up to a 'high end' hitch (Hensley).

It (dual cam) is the only conventional hitch setup I've seen that truly keeps the trailer 'centered', and does not just use friction to limit ALL pivoting, like friction sway bars, Equalizer, and many other conventional hitches do. IMO, it just does not get any better than the dual cam, without spending a bunch more for a high end hitch like the Hensley, ProPride, or Pullrite.

That said, I do remember when we used a dual cam, having the same frustrations with never finding ANY dealer that knew the right way to set this hitch up. This is definitely a hitch you have to set up yourself, read all the instructions and follow them closely.

I remember very well one time having to 'undo' an RV dealer's botched setup of the dual cam, re-drilling the holes in the A frame and setting it all up again from scratch, right there in the dealer's parking lot before we could head home with the new traier. Was NOT fun.

I know this may start a whole 'nother 'controversial' discussion, but have you considered any of the high end hitches I noted earlier? I know some will say that a Hensley or ProPride can be an issue with tight turns, but we used one (Hensley) for 8 years, and I'm here to tell you I pushed very tight turns when backing into our driveway with it, and we never had an issue.

Or, maybe look at the Pullrite system? That one will definitely allow very tight turns.

Hensley and ProPride both IIRC have a 90 day trial period. Maybe try one, see if it can handle your tight backing turns. If not, send it back, and you haven't lost anything but a little time.

[bucsplace]

I posted that and I had my appointment today. I was set on having them replace the Blue Ox with the Reese Dual Cam. The dealer that installed the hitch insisted that the ball was set to low. Their mistake - they apoligized but it sure doesn't instill confidence!!! They raised the hitch ball head. I took it out for a test drive with them and was able to drive without any sway. I had trucks passing me and did not even notice a sway. I was able to go 75 mph and make a quick lane change with little to no sway. The only problem now is that I get quite of bucking up and down especially going over rough roads. I leave for a trip tomorrow that requires a long drive so we will see. I am going to call Blue Ox about the bucking up and down. Dealer said it is becuase of the hitch height that is needed to control the sway. I am happy that sway is eliminated but the bucking up and down may be an issue. Jury still out on the hitch although I will say it is the the easist hitch to hook up no matter how the TV and TT are situated. No nosie or difficulty backing up or making sharp almost right angle turns with the system hooked up.