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

[dodge_guy]

Huntindog wrote:

Bobbo wrote:

Huntindog wrote:
The DC fans fixate on what the cams do.... Letting the TT freely return to center.
What they do not understand is that, yes the cams do resist sway moving away from center, but not towards center,,,,even though motion returning to center is STILL a sway event! Sway is a back and forth motion much like a dogs tail. The EQUALIZER dampens sway in BOTH directions. Perhaps with less resistance that the DC when it is moving away from center, but with much more resistance when moving to center. So the net result is about the same.

Personally, I consider this a GOOD thing. We WANT the trailer to return to center. My opinion of the perfect system is one that resists moving off center, allows free return to center, then resists moving off center in the other direction, damping down the sway but encouraging a centered trailer. That is exactly what the Dual Cam does.

You are not understanding what I am saying.

I am sure that you have seen a trailer on the road swaying. It sways in both directions. When it changes directions, it is headed back to center... It doesn't need any help from cams. It will head that way without ANY sway control.
So if you believe that the cams impart a signifignant force towards center (quite a few don't believe this) then it will speed up the motion towards center, When it reaches center it will then encounter resistance in the other direction... Think about it. A 5k -10K weight swinging back and forth, and actually encouraged to sway faster in one direction! If this is actually what happened then it would be felt in the TV as sway.

I don't subscribe to that thinking. Many debates have happened here over the years with our resident engineer Ron Gratz weighing in. His opinion was that the DC is primarily a friction based system. That the cams don't add all that much.

The EQUALIZER without any cams needs no consideration for what cams may or may not do.. It imparts the same sway braking resistance in BOTH directions. slowing down the sway event quickly.

Since both the DC and the EQUALIZER have had great reviews here over many years, it is obvious that they both perform well. They just do it differently

The trailer coming back around towards center is where the Dual Cam is superior. The trailer will want to stay behind the vehicle due to the cams. the last thing you want is the trailer to go past center during a sway event, which the EQ will let it do. You can feel the trailer "lock" (probably not the exact term but you get the idea) in when it hits the center of the cam. The EQ lets the trailer continue on its way past center. which is where sway is!

[Huntindog]

Bobbo wrote:

Huntindog wrote:
The DC fans fixate on what the cams do.... Letting the TT freely return to center.
What they do not understand is that, yes the cams do resist sway moving away from center, but not towards center,,,,even though motion returning to center is STILL a sway event! Sway is a back and forth motion much like a dogs tail. The EQUALIZER dampens sway in BOTH directions. Perhaps with less resistance that the DC when it is moving away from center, but with much more resistance when moving to center. So the net result is about the same.

Personally, I consider this a GOOD thing. We WANT the trailer to return to center. My opinion of the perfect system is one that resists moving off center, allows free return to center, then resists moving off center in the other direction, damping down the sway but encouraging a centered trailer. That is exactly what the Dual Cam does.

You are not understanding what I am saying.

I am sure that you have seen a trailer on the road swaying. It sways in both directions. When it changes directions, it is headed back to center... It doesn't need any help from cams. It will head that way without ANY sway control.
So if you believe that the cams impart a signifignant force towards center (quite a few don't believe this) then it will speed up the motion towards center, When it reaches center it will then encounter resistance in the other direction... Think about it. A 5k -10K weight swinging back and forth, and actually encouraged to sway faster in one direction! If this is actually what happened then it would be felt in the TV as sway.

I don't subscribe to that thinking. Many debates have happened here over the years with our resident engineer Ron Gratz weighing in. His opinion was that the DC is primarily a friction based system. That the cams don't add all that much.

The EQUALIZER without any cams needs no consideration for what cams may or may not do.. It imparts the same sway braking resistance in BOTH directions. slowing down the sway event quickly.

Since both the DC and the EQUALIZER have had great reviews here over many years, it is obvious that they both perform well. They just do it differently

[Wishin]

Love my DC, been using it on 2 trailers for 11 years. I love it and once set-up, I don't need to mess with it over the season unless there is a significant change that makes me want to check my alignment of the cams. However, the initial set-up and mounting issues make me hesitant to recommend it. Plus it seems mosts Reese stuff is made in China now, not that it is bad, but I prefer to by stuff may by my fellow Americans.

Perhaps if I had all new stuff that was designed to work together and I used the rivnuts from Reese, it would all be fine. My original one was from 2008 and not wide enough to accomodate the bigger bars of my newer larger trailer. I did some grinding and beefed up the mount and it has been fine since.

[mich800]

downtheroad wrote:

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.

You are not crazy. There are many that use the term equalizer for a weight distributing hitch in the same way people use the term Kleenex for facial tissue.

[mosseater]

LIKE2BUILD wrote:

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.

This is a good point and should be considered when choosing your hitch head style. Typically I've found if the ball coupler is mounted on the top of the trailer A-frame a round bar style hitch works best. This allows the bars to set below the trailer frame and decrease the chance that the head will impact the frame and dislodge the bars.

If the coupler is on the bottom of the frame then a trunion style head works nice and gives you the most ground clearance.

I towed for 10 years with a round bar style Reese Dual Cam it worked flawlessly the entire time. I have ZERO experience on the Equal-I-zer 4-point so I can't say good or bad. If I went back to a TT, I'd use a Dual Cam in a heartbeat simply because it performed perfectly without any failures.

This is a valid point about the relative heights of the coupler socket. I didn't realize what the issue was until I had bent my trunion socket on my hitch head, and spit a bar across the pavement late one night in a campground somewhere in Nebraska I think. If you use a trunion bar hitch with an upper "A" frame socket on your trailer, a higher hitch ball is usually required. That, or know your absolute turning angle and don't exceed it. I used a 1" rise, heat treated ball rated at 24000 lbs and my issue was resolved. Hitch has worked beautifully for 10 years and is very quiet if I keep the necessary lube in the necessary places.

[Bobbo]

Huntindog wrote:
The DC fans fixate on what the cams do.... Letting the TT freely return to center.
What they do not understand is that, yes the cams do resist sway moving away from center, but not towards center,,,,even though motion returning to center is STILL a sway event! Sway is a back and forth motion much like a dogs tail. The EQUALIZER dampens sway in BOTH directions. Perhaps with less resistance that the DC when it is moving away from center, but with much more resistance when moving to center. So the net result is about the same.

Personally, I consider this a GOOD thing. We WANT the trailer to return to center. My opinion of the perfect system is one that resists moving off center, allows free return to center, then resists moving off center in the other direction, damping down the sway but encouraging a centered trailer. That is exactly what the Dual Cam does.

[Huntindog]

My main issue with the DC is that often the setup results in the bars at a severe downhill angle.... Very little ground clearance. This is a big deal for my usage. The EQUALIZER, setup properly has the bars parallel to the TT frame. Much better GC.

As for how they each reduce sway, they are different, but both are effective.

The DC fans fixate on what the cams do.... Letting the TT freely return to center.
What they do not understand is that, yes the cams do resist sway moving away from center, but not towards center,,,,even though motion returning to center is STILL a sway event! Sway is a back and forth motion much like a dogs tail. The EQUALIZER dampens sway in BOTH directions. Perhaps with less resistance that the DC when it is moving away from center, but with much more resistance when moving to center. So the net result is about the same.

[LIKE2BUILD]

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.

This is a good point and should be considered when choosing your hitch head style. Typically I've found if the ball coupler is mounted on the top of the trailer A-frame a round bar style hitch works best. This allows the bars to set below the trailer frame and decrease the chance that the head will impact the frame and dislodge the bars.

If the coupler is on the bottom of the frame then a trunion style head works nice and gives you the most ground clearance.

I towed for 10 years with a round bar style Reese Dual Cam it worked flawlessly the entire time. I have ZERO experience on the Equal-I-zer 4-point so I can't say good or bad. If I went back to a TT, I'd use a Dual Cam in a heartbeat simply because it performed perfectly without any failures.

[bikendan]

TurnThePage wrote:
I don't like how noisy the Equal-I-zer can be when doing slow maneuvers in the camp ground. That can be rectified with a little grease though.

And Bracket Jackets for the L-brackets.

[TurnThePage]

dodge guy has been stuck on this issue for a long time.

Back in the day, I camped with my brother a fair amount. I had the Equal-I-zer, and he had the dual-cam. We observed each other's set ups and shared stories. When it was all said and done, we determined that they both worked well and did what they were supposed to do.

I personally like being able to leave the hitch and bars attached to the tow vehicle, but pushed up close to the bumper out of the way. I can drive around that way with no problem. I don't like how noisy the Equal-I-zer can be when doing slow maneuvers in the camp ground. That can be rectified with a little grease though.

[Lynnmor]

camperdave wrote:


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.

Of course Reese has a similar hitch with friction material, I guess they think like me and find that steel on steel for friction is ridiculous. Real Friction Pads

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, I towed the same trailer with the same hitch with the same tow vehicle for over ten years. And about two more years with a new tow vehicle. I have the Equal-I-zer brand hitch. (4 point) In this time I have never replaced a single part of this hitch. No problems and very easy to use.

I have friends who have to Dual Cam and they work great. Not as easy as the Equal-I-zer to use. All of the Dual Cam users told me that it's a real pain to get the Cams centered correctly. And if done wrong, they break the Cam adjusters.

[camperdave]

dodge guy wrote:


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

Obviously you are not a golfer.

[owenssailor]

This is our 7th 4+ month trip with our trailer. We travel around 8000 miles most years We are using the Equal-i-zer brand 4 point hitch. The trailer has been very stable all the time. I found that having the L brackets set so the bars travel evenly over the bracket reduces the noise almost completely, You can tell if the are parallel by looking at the rub mark on the bottom of the L.