Jan-22-2013 05:07 PM
May-10-2013 09:52 AM
BenK wrote:Ben, being tapered does not make a bar "progressive".
Progressive....bats arr tappered...therefore progressive as they bend more
Different axis of rotation centers of ball vs bars....plus different plansI don't know the significance of this. Can you elaborate?
May-10-2013 07:28 AM
May-09-2013 08:43 PM
May-09-2013 08:41 AM
Beyond making the tow vehicle much easier to control in an emergency maneuver, the ball mount angle assists with directional stability going straight down the road at highway speeds.---
---Even in small degrees of direction change, the torsion bar on the outside of the turn gains tension much faster than the bar on the inside loses tension. This is because as a torsion bar bends it requires progressively more effort to bend the same distance.---
Another way to think about it is to picture the forks of a bicycle or motorcycle. They always angle backward at the top. This is why you can ride a bike with no hands. If the forks on a bike were completely vertical, you would not be able to ride it with "no hands" -- it would be too unstable. The angle on a ball mount provides a similar function as forks on a bicycle.
May-08-2013 07:21 PM
Rescue16 wrote:
I have a short bed truck with a ARE Deluxe Walkin Cap which does away with the tailgate on the truck but the ARE Cap weighs almost 450 lbs and a Carry probably 600lbs of gear in the back of the truck when towing
Rides a little rough is kind of hard to explain. I towed a 6K TT no weight dis or sway control for the dealer on a 25 mile trip on the highway and did not even know the RV was back there it was a smooth ride the same road with my trailer you could feel every bump and the front end of the truck almost seemed like it was bouncing somewhat. Will try and answer the rest of the questions in a couple of weeks although it is going to take a while for me to get to scales. Thanks for any input or thoughts
May-08-2013 06:22 PM
JBarca wrote:
Hi Rescue
Maybe can help. I looked up your camper.
http://www.keystonerv.com/cougar-xlite/ Nice camper, congrats.
That 34' 7" long camper starts out at 7,401# dry with a 750# dry tongue weight. That comes out to be 750/7401= 0.101 or X100 = 10.1% dry tongue weight. That is a very light tongue weight for a camper of that length. That means when you load it, you would really want to get it more in the 13% to 15% range. Since you have 1,599# of cargo capacity, if you added 1,200# of stuff, (not hard to do in 35 feet) this could put you up at 8,601# loaded GVW. At 13% loaded tongue that is 1,118# and at 15% that is 1,290# loaded tongue weight.
Tell us what "ride is a little rough" feels like?
In this case a trip to the truck scales can really help sort this out. Need 3 set of weight in progression. TT & TV hitched with WD on, TV and TT hitched no WD (drop the chains) and then truck only. All axle by axle weights.
If you are at 1,000# WD bars now, and you should be up in the 1,100 to 1,200# TW range, you really do not want to go lighter bars.
I have some experience with your truck suspension, mine is a 05, yours and 06 but they are close.
Also tell us, what do you have in the truck bed when towing the TT? and where is it in relation to the rear axle, on top, in front or behind?
Any chance of providing fender heights unhitched and then hitched with the WD bars snapped up?
Do you haul fresh water to camp and if so where is the tank in relation to the TT axles, on top, in front or behind?
Hope this helps
John
May-07-2013 04:55 PM
May-07-2013 06:47 AM
May-07-2013 04:45 AM
Mike Up wrote:
OK I FINALLY SEE the affect as I was reading an old email from one of their engineers.
He stated this new head offers supperior sway control and now I see why. It finally just dawned on me and it's very simple but very effective.
First as mentioned, the spring bars bend much more than any other makers bars and Blue Ox took advantage of this.
They angled their head more than other heads because they can get away with it because the bars will bow, while other bars would be straighter interfereing with ground clearance and the such.
The steep angle, which is greater than the Reese trunnion, Equalizer brand and even Blue Oxs old head, allows the bar to swing up when pushed outward and load more, putting more push on that side, while the other bar swings inward and down, putting less force than normal, allowing the other side to push toward it, in that direction.
This force isn't done by other system because they don't have the steep head downward tilt that the Blue Ox head has, which is allowed by the bars ability to bend up and not have inteference issues.
May-07-2013 03:32 AM
Mike Up wrote:
Thanks John. I completely agree about what you're saying. The people I talked with at Blue Ox previously, swear that the new Sway Pro controls sway much better than the old with the friction control bolts. They are really proud of the system and proved that point to me, as I spoke to an engineer and the VP and there were several posts.
Unfortunately, my dealer wouldn't pony up for an entire new system and only replaced the obvious broken parts. Now that I'm seeing more damage that couldn't be seen until the system was pulled and dismantled a few times, I'm think I'm done with it. I just don't trust the Reese Dual Cam parts as there maybe other unforseen stresses that could cause failure.
Besides if it was all new, I wouldn't trust it not to bind up again. I wish I would had bought a new Equalizer or Blue Ox system with the new trailer. To many issues with the Dual Cam bars contacting the cam arm lobe brackets and mainly due to Reeses direction saying 5 links are needed which doesn't provide enough clearance.
Thanks again.
May-06-2013 09:15 PM
May-06-2013 09:04 PM
May-06-2013 06:45 PM
Mike Up wrote:
Very good explanation John.
What I don't really understand, as you have stated as well as Blue Ox, is how having the flex creates more spring force than a simple Reese Trunnion chain system without any sway control added.
Even though the Reese bars don't flex as much, they are still adding in force that's equal, as long as you use the same rated bars, chain links, and head tilt. I just can't see how the flex matters as long as there is force.
Andy wrote:
6) Next check the angle on the ball mount. The ball mount should angle back as much as possible. This angle on the ball mount acts like the forks of a bicycle - it makes the unit want to stay in a straight ahead position (that is why you can ride a bike with no hands).
May-05-2013 10:04 AM
May-05-2013 09:24 AM