Reese Dual cam vs Equalizer

[gpeade]

First off I am not trying to beat a dead horse here to decide which is the better hitch. I have not owned a TT for more than 10yrs but thinking about getting another one. Probably been that long since I have been here as well.
Previously I had a Reese dual cam and loved it. Easy to hitch and unhitch and never had any sway issues.(not that the hitch was entirely responsible for that)I say I loved it but I had nothing else to compare it too. The Reese is the only WD hitch I have ever used.
The dealer I visited recently sold Equalizer products. Exactly where does the equalizer generate the sway control? In looking on the website it looks to me it's in the joint where the WD bar attached to the hitch itself but my salesman said it was simply friction from the metal on metal contact from the bar resting on the take up bracket. For me, I would think the dual cam on the reese would preform more effectively.

I would like to hear opinions, experiences from those of you that have possible used both.

Please skip the post telling me I NEED a Hensley. I'm aware of the product but not spending that kind of money for what I will be doing.
Thanks

[Bobbo]

When I was buying my TT, the salesman said they would throw in the WD Hitch as part of the deal. Knowing that dealers are not known for their generosity, I asked what kind of hitch they would use. The salesman said an equalizer hitch. Being the suspicious sort, I asked if I could see the box the "equalizer" hitch came in. He took me into the shop and showed me a pile of Fastway E2 hitches. I said thanks, but no thanks. I want a Reese Strait-Line hitch with Dual Cam. The dealer said it would be another $400, and I said OK.

I still think I made the right decision.

(When picking up the TT, they took my truck in the back to install and set up the WD hitch. After about 2 hours, the technician came out swearing. He said he hopes he never has to do another one of those _)(&(**& things again, but it was ready to go.)

[dodge_guy]

camperdave wrote:

dodge guy wrote:
The EQ, even though they claim 4 points is really only 2! And those are at the L brackets. The pivot points at the hitch head do very little.

You got it backwards. The friction between the bar socket and the head is where the majority of the work is done. The fact that they sell L bracket plastic pad things pretty much confirms that they are not counting on much friction happening here. Otherwise the'd use brake material instead of plastic lol.

as stated on the Equal-i-zer website:

"Use of the Sway Bracket Jackets does slightly reduce the amount of friction sway control provided by the L-bracket assemblies. However, this reduction is minimal, and in most applications barely noticeable because the majority of the Original Equalizer Hitch’s integrated sway control comes from the rotational friction surfaces of the spring arm sockets in the hitch head. This sway control is not affected at all by the use of the Sway Bracket Jackets. The L-brackets will still provide a certain measure of sway dampening friction."

Yes I know what they claim on their site, but physics prove differently! It does work the way I explained!

[BarneyS]

gpeade wrote:
Not sure why the links didn't post. I added them via the hyperlink tab.
Turns out the salesman was showing me two different hitches. One was an original Equal-i-zer and the other was a Fastway E2.

The reason your links didn't show is because our software will not let new members post links for a certain period of time. I don't know how long that is but the reason is to help prevent dealers from coming on here and posting links to their stuff or websites.

According to our rules, links to commercial sites are ok as long as they are in answer to a question asked but you cannot just come on here and post a link to something that is for sale unless someone asked about it first.

I posted links to the two hitches you were talking about in my post earlier.
Barney

[camperdave]

dodge guy wrote:
The EQ, even though they claim 4 points is really only 2! And those are at the L brackets. The pivot points at the hitch head do very little.

You got it backwards. The friction between the bar socket and the head is where the majority of the work is done. The fact that they sell L bracket plastic pad things pretty much confirms that they are not counting on much friction happening here. Otherwise the'd use brake material instead of plastic lol.

as stated on the Equal-i-zer website:

"Use of the Sway Bracket Jackets does slightly reduce the amount of friction sway control provided by the L-bracket assemblies. However, this reduction is minimal, and in most applications barely noticeable because the majority of the Original Equalizer Hitch’s integrated sway control comes from the rotational friction surfaces of the spring arm sockets in the hitch head. This sway control is not affected at all by the use of the Sway Bracket Jackets. The L-brackets will still provide a certain measure of sway dampening friction."

[ScottG]

Nosedive wrote:
I've had both. I actually had a couple failures of the Reece cam arms. I do not believe that this was due to the anything wrong with the hitch itself, but rather the relationship of the heights of my truck vs. the camper tongue which required a severe hitch head angle that attributed to the failures. The Reece is a good product. I now run the Equalizer and will say it doesn't provide as much sway control as the Reece Dual Cam did by a fractional amount. What the Equalizer does do it not make you turn your trailer frame into swiss cheese. Initially my dealer set up my Reece hitch completely wrong which required redrilling holes to position the brackets correctly. My trailer now has 6 holes on each side due to this. If the dealer had set up an Equalizer wrong, all it would have meant was loosening bolts and adjusting. I'll take the tradeoff on the slight amount off less sway control.

Reese did have several revisions of the snap-up brackets over the years. One rev wasn't too long ago.

[Nosedive]

I've had both. I actually had a couple failures of the Reece cam arms. I do not believe that this was due to the anything wrong with the hitch itself, but rather the relationship of the heights of my truck vs. the camper tongue which required a severe hitch head angle that attributed to the failures. The Reece is a good product. I now run the Equalizer and will say it doesn't provide as much sway control as the Reece Dual Cam did by a fractional amount. What the Equalizer does do it not make you turn your trailer frame into swiss cheese. Initially my dealer set up my Reece hitch completely wrong which required redrilling holes to position the brackets correctly. My trailer now has 6 holes on each side due to this. If the dealer had set up an Equalizer wrong, all it would have meant was loosening bolts and adjusting. I'll take the tradeoff on the slight amount off less sway control.

[gpeade]

Not sure why the links didn't post. I added them via the hyperlink tab.
Turns out the salesman was showing me two different hitches. One was an original Equal-i-zer and the other was a Fastway E2.

[gpeade]

Ya'll got me questioning what the salesman said as well. There were two hitches on a display rack. One was ***Link Removed***
Which he said I didn't need and he called a E4 I believe.

After reading the responses the other hitch that he called an Equalizer was actually a ***Link Removed***
Or at least that's exactly what it looked like. So if nothing else I have learned one thing here...do not listen/trust what the salesman tell you. Granted I already knew that. Why else would I be here asking my questions :B

[dodge_guy]

I have the Reese DC and it works flawlessly. The EQ, even though they claim 4 points is really only 2! And those are at the L brackets. The pivot points at the hitch head do very little. Watch how much the rotate with small right to left turns! If at all. For them to actually stop away the trailer would have to be way out of line which you don’t want to even let it get there. That’s where the DC does great! It’s stops away before it starts and then wants to return back to center where the EQ will want to hold it where it’s at!

[BarneyS]

Sounds like you were talking about the Fastway E2 hitch.. In that case, there is no comparison between that and the Dual Cam. The Dual Cam wins hands down!

Here is the original Equal-i-zer hitch that I was discussing earlier and which I assumed you meant in your original post.
Barney

[downtheroad]

gpeade wrote:

Equalizer as in brand name, not hitch style.

OK, like I said, maybe I'm confused.
Can you provide a link to an actual Equalizer brand hitch? (not an Equal-i-zer hitch.)

The term equalizer is often used as a generic name for a basic weight distribution hitch.

[gpeade]

downtheroad wrote:
Maybe I'm confused....but is your dealer talking about an Equal-i-zer brand hitch or an Equalizer hitch (often a generic name for a basic weight distribution hitch)??

Equalizer as in brand name, not hitch style.

[bikendan]

gpeade wrote:

BarneyS wrote:
Your salesman was mistaken.

Barney

Partly yes I believe he was. That's why I came here for unbiased real life experience based opinions.

From what I have researched, what you are referring to in the model 4. He advised the trailer I was looking at would only require a model 2. This model had round bars that clipped into the hitch head from the bottom. Based on what you fine folks have told me, and my own research on that particular model hitch, the bars sliding on the take up brackets is the only sway control. Which to me don't seem like would provide much resistance for a 3ton trailer.

The 4 point Equal-i-zer WDH is American made, while their E2 hitch only has 2 points of sway control and is made overseas.
The 4 point is mipuch better than the 2 point.
And adding their Bracket Jackets to the L bars, eliminates most of the noise.
Agree that my 4pt Equal-i-zer has been so easy to use and adjust and I've had it for 13 years.

[downtheroad]

Maybe I'm confused....but is your dealer talking about an Equal-i-zer brand hitch or an Equalizer hitch (often a generic name for a basic weight distribution hitch)??

[gpeade]

BarneyS wrote:
Your salesman was mistaken.

Barney

Partly yes I believe he was. That's why I came here for unbiased real life experience based opinions.

From what I have researched, what you are referring to in the model 4. He advised the trailer I was looking at would only require a model 2. This model had round bars that clipped into the hitch head from the bottom. Based on what you fine folks have told me, and my own research on that particular model hitch, the bars sliding on the take up brackets is the only sway control. Which to me don't seem like would provide much resistance for a 3ton trailer.