Sway/Reece dual cam issue with a F250

[9one1_]

Ok I just about had it with my Reece Dual cam set up. This is my second trailer with it and I've replaced 4 snap up brackets the last one being their HD version. The cam arm mount bolts stripped out so I had to drill through the entire frame and and run a bolt all the way through. The bars pop so loud that they can be heard three towns away. It doesn't do anything for the sway as I pulled over half way home from the last trip and took them off and it wiggled less then with them on.

My truck is a 2011 F250 with the Powerstroke with 7500 miles. Interesting side bar with the truck- I just picked it up from the dealership after I complained about too much rear squat in the back with any load and especially towing. They put the F350's 4 inch rear blocks on in place of the 2 inch F250 ones then changed out the rear shocks and some other spacers. Truck looks great now, not ass heavy empty (level when measured wheelwell to ground) like before.

My last trip of the year last year is when the HD snap up bracket bent. I ended up bolting them to the frame per the Reece tech suggestion and resetting up the hitch. I again followed the instructions and leveled the trailer with the ball height then the truck with the tilt and chain tension. My first trip this year was Memorial Day weekend and I ended up stopping 100 miles into the trip and it did not feel right. I ended up loosening up the chain by one link. It felt better but still wasn't perfect. A little light reading of my owners manual says that the front measurement should only be returned to 1/2 the unhitched height which is probably why I didn't feel like I was in control.

2nd trip was this past weekend. Same set up as before and it felt the same. The truck steering was fine but the trailer was moving around a lot more then I felt comfortable with especially above say 50mph.

Like I mentioned earlier, I took off the bars 1/2 way home to see what would happen and there really wasn't much change. If anything it swayed less.

I don't have the $2500-3000 for a Hensley or Propride so I'm looking at a Blue Ox SwayPro or maybe an Equalizer. I just don't know what to do.

The trailer is a Jayco 29QBH 33.3 feet long which has GVWR of 9250lbs and a dry tongue weight of 920lbs. When I weighed the trailer last it was 7840lbs. I'm guessing the tongue weight with a full load of propane was at least 980lbs. I think I should have had plenty of tongue weight and I'm running 1200lbs bars.

The other variable with the trailer is that it has an under slung coupler which is why Reece said to bolt the snap up bracket for added support.

Here is a picture from the Memorial Day trip after I took out a link of tension.



Ok...HELP!!

[Passin_Thru]

Buy some Airlift airbags and put them on. They bolt on and are a joy on Fords which ride worse than a Chevy 2500 and that jars your back. Have owned both so know how easy it is to install and will solve lots of problems. Then put the Reese back on and let er POP!

[demiles]

Is the rear of the truck 2 inches higher when unhitched too? If I transfer too much weight off the back of the truck I start having issues while towing. On my Silverado the truck only sank 1 3/4 in. Hitched with no WD. With WD if I allowed to come up more than a 1/2in. The truck would start to wander. The same thing happened today adjusting the EQ for the Titan XD, it sank 2 3/4in. hitched with no WD. With the WD if I went up over 1 in. it produced the same effect though not the same magnitude. Both scenarios resulted in a truck that sat lower in back but very stable when towing, the Titan was rock solid at 75mph.

[9one1_]

demiles wrote:
Maybe it's just the picture but your truck looks level front to back and the front of the trailer seems to be higher in the front. I ran a D.C. at one time and now am using a EQ and both styles towed better with the rear of the truck slightly down and the trailer front down a tad. I was setting up my EQ on a new tow vehicle today and ended up at the same trailer front slightly down configuration. It appears you have a ton slop in your receiver too.

Truck is 2 inches higher in the back. Trailer is 1- 1 1/2 inches lower in the front then the back measuring from the bottom of the frame. Picture is deceiving.

Not sure why the recover is that way. It has a sleeve inside maybe that makes it look like that.

[demiles]

Maybe it's just the picture but your truck looks level front to back and the front of the trailer seems to be higher in the front. I ran a D.C. at one time and now am using a EQ and both styles towed better with the rear of the truck slightly down and the trailer front down a tad. I was setting up my EQ on a new tow vehicle today and ended up at the same trailer front slightly down configuration. It appears you have a ton slop in your receiver too.

[9one1_]

Hannibal wrote:
That's a nice looking truck and trailer! Do you put a drop of oil on the bar sockets and chain ends? I use Mobil-1 on mine (trunion sockets) and it's almost silent. Just a couple of drops on the ball too. Worst language I ever heard was when DW got against it stored in my little corner of the pass through storage. Ruined her new shorts.

Hahaha!!

I put a little lube on the bars but hadn't thought about the chains!

[Hannibal]

That's a nice looking truck and trailer! Do you put a drop of oil on the bar sockets and chain ends? I use Mobil-1 on mine (trunion sockets) and it's almost silent. Just a couple of drops on the ball too. Worst language I ever heard was when DW got against it stored in my little corner of the pass through storage. Ruined her new shorts.

[9one1_]

Took off the Dual Cam set up and ran just the weight distribution. No sway and I even tried a couple of evasive maneuvers at highway speed and put the trailer wheels off the shoulder. It is breezy today so other than feeling that it was fine.

What it looks like now....

[Hannibal]

Don't let me steer you wrong incase something else is causing it. If it's a rhythmic fishtail that gets worse with speed, it's sway. If it's wallowing all over your lane, it could be tread squirm with soft tires or all terrain tread. If you're feeling trucks pass, especially box trucks, busses and motorhomes, or gusts of wind while passing tree breaks, you might not see much improvement from one hitch to the next. We didn't feel the push and pull of side winds with our 5th wheel. Once I got used to it with the travel trailer, I just ride with it and it doesn't bother me. We get pushed around more in our car. Everyone is different and yours might be felt more than ours.

[9one1_]

Hannibal wrote:
When we went from our 5th wheel back to a 32.5' TT back in May, I opted for a Reese HP trunion style with no sway control just to satisfy the receiver's ratings. I set it up myself while waiting for our trailer to be built. I went with 800 lb bars. Not sure what the actual tongue weight is but advertised is just over 700 lbs. Probably 900 lbs by now. Ours tows great. I feel a little push from side winds and gusts but not bad. We've towed it almost 2000 miles so far and I have no desire for more hitch. Rear sits 2.5" down and the bars bring it back up an inch. Front doesn't change either way. Trailer is 1" low in front.
Back in '94, we bought a 21' TT and the dealer set up our Reese trunion style hitch. It was squirly and tiring to tow. After a second hitch and some learning on my part, I finally ended up towing our TT with a short standard ball mount with no WD or sway control. Towed great. Tongue weight set the rear of the truck down 2" so the truck was level. Trailer was an inch low up front.

Might try that tomorrow. Just the weight distribution bars without the cams and see how it goes.

[Hannibal]

When we went from our 5th wheel back to a 32.5' TT back in May, I opted for a Reese HP trunion style with no sway control just to satisfy the receiver's ratings. I set it up myself while waiting for our trailer to be built. I went with 800 lb bars. Not sure what the actual tongue weight is but advertised is just over 700 lbs. Probably 900 lbs by now. Ours tows great. I feel a little push from side winds and gusts but not bad. We've towed it almost 2000 miles so far and I have no desire for more hitch. Rear sits 2.5" down and the bars bring it back up an inch. Front doesn't change either way. Trailer is 1" low in front.
Back in '94, we bought a 21' TT and the dealer set up our Reese trunion style hitch. It was squirly and tiring to tow. After a second hitch and some learning on my part, I finally ended up towing our TT with a short standard ball mount with no WD or sway control. Towed great. Tongue weight set the rear of the truck down 2" so the truck was level. Trailer was an inch low up front.

[9one1_]

Its 1200 lbs

[dodge_guy]

9one1! wrote:
Sorry to bring up an old thread but I bought a new truck and will be pulling again after a 3 year hiatus (seasonal site) and it seems I'm having the same issues with this hitch. I towed it home from the seasonal campsite about 30 miles with the new truck without the weight bars hooked up just on the ball and it towed perfectly. The was some rear sag on the truck but the BBQ grill and all the cinder blocks in the bed of the truck didn't help.

Once home and unloaded I spent a few hours dialing in the new set up with included a new 8 1/2 drop to get the trailer level. Once set up I took it for a spin and was getting the same uneasiness I was getting with the F-250. The bars are sitting in the cams correctly but it feels like it is fighting itself all the time even on straight smooth highway. Then there is the banging noise that is so incredibly loud it's scary. You can actually feel it when it pops.

So I am ready to scrap the Reece DC and go with the Blue Ox Sway Pro. I think the Jayco under slung coupler has a lot to do with my issues and Blue Ox make a specific model for those type of trailers. I'm tempted to just run the spring bars without the cams and maybe add a friction sway control unit. That wound probably be the cheapest fix.

Anyway you guys are the experts what are your thoughts.???

Check your tongue weight!

[9one1_]

Sorry to bring up an old thread but I bought a new truck and will be pulling again after a 3 year hiatus (seasonal site) and it seems I'm having the same issues with this hitch. I towed it home from the seasonal campsite about 30 miles with the new truck without the weight bars hooked up just on the ball and it towed perfectly. The was some rear sag on the truck but the BBQ grill and all the cinder blocks in the bed of the truck didn't help.

Once home and unloaded I spent a few hours dialing in the new set up with included a new 8 1/2 drop to get the trailer level. Once set up I took it for a spin and was getting the same uneasiness I was getting with the F-250. The bars are sitting in the cams correctly but it feels like it is fighting itself all the time even on straight smooth highway. Then there is the banging noise that is so incredibly loud it's scary. You can actually feel it when it pops.

So I am ready to scrap the Reece DC and go with the Blue Ox Sway Pro. I think the Jayco under slung coupler has a lot to do with my issues and Blue Ox make a specific model for those type of trailers. I'm tempted to just run the spring bars without the cams and maybe add a friction sway control unit. That wound probably be the cheapest fix.

Anyway you guys are the experts what are your thoughts.???

[MitchF150]

Wouldn't a trunion style bar setup work better for your tongue setup?

I've just got a standard WD round bar setup, but my trailers tongue is on top of the frame, so my round bars work fine...

Just compare how much more space you have between your A frame and your bars compared to mine..





Wouldn't that make a difference in the angle of your DC bars?

Or, just run a regular trunion style WD setup and call it good... 😉

You said yourself that it seemed to tow 'better' without any WD at all...

Good luck!

Mitch