Reese dual cam system

[No1Eman]

Hi,
I currently have a Reese dual cam WD system that I use on my Ford 2012 F150 to pull my Open Range Light 272RLS camper trailer. My Reese dual cam is the one that is rated for a 800 LB tongue weight. I have recently found out that the tongue of my trailer weighs 830 LBS and this is why I can't seem to adjust my hitch so that the truck drives comfortably. I was wondering if I can upgrade my system to the Reese dual cam system with 1200 LB bars and just use the stiffer bars. OR, do I have to change the clamps on the trailer, and use a different hitch on the truck too. In other words, can I use stiffer bars, or do I have to purchase an entire new Reese dual cam hitch system?

Thank you for your help
Chris

[mosseater]

cruz-in wrote:
I beleive you will find you are exceeding the weight carrying capacity of your f150.. Once you consider to, hitch weight, passengers and gear.... Amazing how quickly it adds up...

I wondered this as well. His 800 lbs might easily go north of 1000. Mine was listed at 903 and loaded is actually 1050-1200. WD number on OEM hitch was 930, even though Ford uses the same hitch on all 150's. Properly equipt, the truck/hitch combo can handle like 1100 is memory serves. Load carrying (without WD bars engaged) is probably 500. You need to take a serious look at what your actual tongue weight is. Do not guess on this number. My OEM hitch began to fail at 1100 lbs and have replaced it with a Drawtite unit which is rock solid. Not a fan of how Ford mounted the OEM hitch on the back of the frame rails of the 150.

[myredracer]

I would not order new bars until you get the actual TW. Internet says that's a 35' trailer with 9990 GVWR. Tongue weight is typically in the 12-13 percent range and sometimes closer to 15 percent (like us). The actual TW could conceivably be as high as 1400 or so lbs depending on what's loaded into it and what options/upgrades/mods it has. You don't want to find that 1200 lbs are too small. You could conceivably even be over the receiver rating.

Reese has a chart somewhere showing how to size spring bars based on actual TW. I can't find it at the moment - maybe it's not around anymore.

Our TT has a dry TW of 540 lbs. When we ordered the TT, I ordered 800 lb trunnion bars in advance thinking that 800 lbs would be more than adequate. Could not get enough weight transferred to the steer axle even after going to a scale to play with the adjustments. The scale showed the actual TW to be over 900 lbs. Ended up having to order 1200 lb bars and then it was fine. Reduced bounce in the tail of the trailer quite a bit too.

With tongue weights around 1200 lbs and up, you can sometimes have trouble with the Reese forming screws holding the cam arm brackets to the A-frame. The snap-up brackets can also be a problem. Reese has a heavy duty snap-up bracket and as well, you can use forming screws to help hold it in place. If you find the forming screws are not staying put, there are ways to better secure the brackets in place. There's also a couple of other things to know about the Reese DC setup when TW is on the higher side.

Then there is the question of whether or not the F150 is adequate for the GVW and TW of that trailer... Personally, I would not tow that large a TT with a 1/2 ton truck.

[cruz-in]

I beleive you will find you are exceeding the weight carrying capacity of your f150.. Once you consider to, hitch weight, passengers and gear.... Amazing how quickly it adds up...

[No1Eman]

mine is from 2005. I went ahead and ordered
Reese Weight Distribution w/out Shank - Trunnion Bar - 12,000 lbs GTW, 1,200 lbs TW
this will work with my shank and snap up brackets and dual cams. the bars alone were kinda pricey, and it woulda been more had I needed the center piece separately, so I just bought it that way.

[TUCQUALA]

Can you post a pic of your hitch head and bars?? As "Need" posted, there have been many changes to the heads and bars, both in the round bar style and the trunnion style. New stuff may not work with most older heads.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Dodge,

TY!

No1,

Does your hitch head have a washer with fine teeth on it for adjusting the head angle? Or is it a washer with 2 offset holes in it that you turn and flip to adjust the angle? If the 2 hole washer, the new bars probably won't fit. That is the model/style hitch I had with the last tt and the new bars won't fit.

[No1Eman]

thanks for all the great info. yes, I'm guessing that my hitch weight is north of 1000 lbs...I am planning on ordering the 1200 lb bars for my reese dual cam system..I am really suprised that the RV dealer didn't capitalize on my undersized system to try to sell me something else! LOL! their loss I guess. Thanks again everyone.

[dodge_guy]

Need-A-Vacation wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
30lbs over will not Harm anything. It will take more tension to transfer the weight though. Nothing to worry about.

That is the "brochure" dry weight, not the loaded tw! He probably has every bit of 1100lbs as a guesstimate.

No1Eman,

I would suggest still weighing your rig combo. Just because you think you are ok weight wise doesn't mean you don't have 1200lbs tw when all loaded up and ready for a trip. As a comparison, our "brochure" dry weight of 910 (or 920) lbs is actually about 1400lbs loaded, ready for a trip. I do need to reweigh after changing a few things, but it is in that ballpark to give you an idea. Weight adds up very fast.

Thanks! didn`t see your your post about looking up his trailers specs. I thought he weighed it the way he posted!

Then yes it will be every bit of 1000 lbs, probably closer to the 1100 you quoted!

[Need-A-Vacation]

dodge guy wrote:
30lbs over will not Harm anything. It will take more tension to transfer the weight though. Nothing to worry about.

That is the "brochure" dry weight, not the loaded tw! He probably has every bit of 1100lbs as a guesstimate.

No1Eman,

I would suggest still weighing your rig combo. Just because you think you are ok weight wise doesn't mean you don't have 1200lbs tw when all loaded up and ready for a trip. As a comparison, our "brochure" dry weight of 910 (or 920) lbs is actually about 1400lbs loaded, ready for a trip. I do need to reweigh after changing a few things, but it is in that ballpark to give you an idea. Weight adds up very fast.

[dodge_guy]

30lbs over will not Harm anything. It will take more tension to transfer the weight though. Nothing to worry about.

[BarneyS]

I agree with the suggestions to get your rig weighed at the earliest opportunity. I would not be surprised if you find you tongue weight well north of 1000lbs. If you get the 1200lb bars, I suspect that they will fit your existing hitch head. I would go ahead and get them, try them in the head, and if they fit you are all set, if not then get a new hitch head. The rest of the stuff like the shank, snap-up brackets, chains, will be fine so no need to purchase that.
Barney

[fla-gypsy]

Without knowing the actual TW you are taking unnecessary risks. Find out your actual weights and size appropriately and be certain you are not exceeding other ratings as well.

[No1Eman]

Ok, thank you...I'm good up to 1130 lbs with a WD hitch...so I should be ok there. I had this system on another camper that was quite a bit lighter. I had RV place install it on this camper, you would THINK they may have alerted me to the fact that the weight of this trailer exceeds the limits of this WD hitch! I been fiddling with the adjustment, wondering why I can't seem to get it right! LOL! Well, guess I will now...thanks again!

[Need-A-Vacation]

It depends on the age of your wdh. If it is newer you should be able to buy a set of 1200lb bars and be good to go. You will probably need to readjust the dual cam system with the new bars.

Worst case new hitch head and wd bars.

Call Reese with your hitch head model and they can help.

Just looked up your 272, and if it is the same as what is currently listed on their website you probably have a lot higher tw than 830lbs!!! That is the manufactures "brochure" dry weight, which does not even include the propane tanks or a battery on the tongue. That along adds ~160lbs for 2-30lb tanks and a battery. So now your already at ~1000lbs tw before loading the tt up with your stuff for a trip.

The best thing you can do is go visit a CAT scale and weigh your rig as suggested in my signature link.

Also, verify you are not exceeding the trucks receiver hitch rating. You could be over that as well.