Equalizer vs Dual Cam

[aarond76]

I am currently pulling a roughly 9,000 lb 34' camper with a Reese Round bar WDH and friction sway control. My bars are rated at 1,000 lbs, I am sure tongue weight is substantially more but they seem to ride fine.

I want to get rid of the friction sway and go to either a Dual Cam or Equalizer set-up. If I stay with the 1,000 lb bars I can add the Dual Cam for around $200 so that is the cheapest option. However if I go to heavier rated bars I'm basically buying everything new and the cost is comparable between equalizer and a complete new dual cam set-up.

I had a 600/6000 lb Equalizer on a hybrid before and liked the set-up. The Equalizers were very popular with the hybrid people. It seems like the heavier campers tend to go with Dual Cam more often. Is one system better then the other when towing heavy? I want the nicest set-up I can get without going the $$$$ route of Propride or Hensley.

On the Reese hitches is there any performance difference between round bar and trunion bar? I see a fair amount of the trunnion bar 1,200 lb hitches complete with Dual Cam on Cragslist. The ball mount on our camper is attached to the top of the frame, I assume that limits me to round bar and the trunnion hitches are made for campers that have the ball mount on the bottom of the frame?

Alot of people say to add a 2nd friction sway bar with this long of camper. The only way to do that on a Reese hitch is to have someone weld another plate on the left side of the hitch head. By the time you do all that you might as well pay a little more for the Dual Cam so that is not really a consideration.

Thanks.

[jerem0621]

Actually, DC is very proactive. Saying that DC is reactive only is to not fully understand the design. At least the old style like I have is. It actively prevents sway that is induced by the spring arm swinging laterally under the trailer frame. While the WD arm is in the cam saddle it is held firm. There is no way the WD bar can move laterally from left to right like a standard WD hitch spring bar. This is a proactive approach to sway control.

With a Standard WD hitch you can push the spring bar sideways while it is hitched up. You CAN'T do that with a DC equipped hitch. It is impossible for the spring arm to move laterally (unless something breaks).

When the trailer tries to sway and forces the WD bar out of the cam saddle the tension increases and tries to return the spring bar back to the saddle, thereby self centering the trailer.

The new Blue-Ox Sway Pro hitch advertises this as part of their sway control, they reduce the amount of free chain links, reducing the opportunity for sway to be induced by lateral movement by the spring bar.

As to where the DC and friction come in to play.. Friction results when something rubs something else. In the case of the DC a Metal spring bar is used and a Metal cam is used. When these two pieces join together they create friction.

DC is a simple design with a lot of things going on at once. Friction is part of it. The spring bar being prevented from moving laterally is part of it, the cams and the spring bar is part of it.

Geeze, I have almost talked myself to reinstalling the DC sway control on my trailer. LOL

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[Huntindog]

myredracer wrote:
Reese says it is okay to add petroleum jelly to the cams to reduce noise. Clearly that would reduce friction so how is it that the DC is friction based?

Still not getting the claim that it is friction that the DC operates on.

I'd prefer to see some engineering or scientific data to confirm this.

Reese also says that the cams should not be greased as that will reduce the FRICTION....

Lots of reading in those links that will ally your concerns.

[myredracer]

Reese says it is okay to add petroleum jelly to the cams to reduce noise. Clearly that would reduce friction so how is it that the DC is friction based?

Still not getting the claim that it is friction that the DC operates on.

I'd prefer to see some engineering or scientific data to confirm this.

[BarneyS]

301TBS wrote:
If your bars are pointing DOWN, your setup is wrong, should be parallel to trailer frame or slightly up.
As for friction or not, who cares?
It works, but takes a lot of tinkering to set up correctly.

Nope! The trunnion style bars are designed to point downward when they are in use.
The round style bars should be parallel to the trailer frame. None should be pointed up.
Barney

[301TBS]

If your bars are pointing DOWN, your setup is wrong, should be parallel to trailer frame or slightly up.
As for friction or not, who cares?
It works, but takes a lot of tinkering to set up correctly.

[Huntindog]

jerem0621 wrote:
Metal sliding against metal equals friction.

The Reese Dual-Cam System relies on friction and tension to do its job.

Where it differentiates itself from other sway controls is that it is a proactive sway control, increasing tension on the WD bar to return the swaying trailer back to center. As the WD bar rides up on the the cam the spring tension built into the bar is increased and tries to force the bar back to center.

It is friction, but it relies on spring tension as well to do its job. The forces at work in the DC are tremendous which is why there are frequent reports of broken cam arms and other misc. broken parts. All of these issues can be dealt with and the DC made to perform excellently. Just something to be aware of.

DC = Proactive sway control
Friction sway (add on sway bars and Equal-i-zer = non proactive sway control (basically dampner)

Thanks!

Close, but no cigar.:BThe DC does not "try to force the TT back into line" with the TV. It has more FRICTION when moving away from center and less when moving towards center. But it does have friction in both directions. That makes it REACTIVE, not proactive. It some situations it may have a advantage, in others a disadvantage, but they are small differences

The broken parts often reported are usually a result of parts interfering (crashing) with each other. Proper setup to avoid this usually results in the bars at a downward slope and low ground clearance. This really is my only objection to this type of hitch. Low ground clearance for me is a non starter.

[jerem0621]

Metal sliding against metal equals friction.

The Reese Dual-Cam System relies on friction and tension to do its job.

Where it differentiates itself from other sway controls is that it is a proactive sway control, increasing tension on the WD bar to return the swaying trailer back to center. As the WD bar rides up on the the cam the spring tension built into the bar is increased and tries to force the bar back to center.

It is friction, but it relies on spring tension as well to do its job. The forces at work in the DC are tremendous which is why there are frequent reports of broken cam arms and other misc. broken parts. All of these issues can be dealt with and the DC made to perform excellently. Just something to be aware of.

DC = Proactive sway control
Friction sway (add on sway bars and Equal-i-zer = non proactive sway control (basically dampner)

Thanks!

[myredracer]

That's a lot of reading in those links. When I think of "friction" type sway control, I think of a device that involves a clamping force to create friction. The dual cam does not use this principle. From reading on other forums, that's the understanding I've gotten too.

Of course there is some friction involved because of the force imparted on the cams by the spring bar, but the way I see it, the crooks on the bars "roll" up and down on the cams in relation to swaying. This imparts a horizontal force on the sloped sides of the crooks which in turn exerts a force (in opposite directions on each side) to straighten out the TV and trailer in relation to each other. I'm an engineer by training but not a hitch expert so maybe I am dead wrong, or worse even... Come to think of it, the dual cam arrangement ought to work even if you had roller bearings in place of the cams, except that the bars would probably need more tension.

Is there factual engineering info. from the manufacturer that supports the claims here? Just being curious.

[Huntindog]

myredracer wrote:
I agree that it can be a challenge to set up the Dual Cam correctly.

We bought the DC setup with 800 lb bars before we picked up our new trailer. The factory dry tongue weight is 518 lbs so I thought 800 lbs would be fine. Lo and behold, after going to a scale, I found that the actual tongue weight is 960 lbs. I struggled and struggled to get the DC dialed in to no avail. I was having to wind up the bars with near gorilla force to get enough weight transfer. I had the bars at max. tilt which was causing problems with the cam arms. Someone said that the 800 lb bars should still be okay but it wasn`t. I ended up getting 1200 lb bars which I just installed. Now it works great.

All I can say when it is dialed in is WOW!! It`s like magic almost. I love the way the handling is. There is a lot less up and down movement of the trailer and the truck runs straight as an arrow down the road.

The Reese (or Draw-Tite which is the same thing) dual cam setup is not friction based as someone said. The crooks in the bar ends ride on a `cam` which creates the self-centering effect and which creates the resisting of sway. The equalizer on the other hand is friction based.

What is in the Equalizer is that the friction is constant no matter how much the TV is turned in relation to the trailer thus it is not self-centering like the DC. I suppose if one had the equalizer they would get used to it and of course it would *seem* like a big improvement over a WDH without any friction control. But if you would try the DC you would see how nicely it works.

As stated numerous times here, the trick is to get the DC dialed in. Going to a scale is a must IMHO. Without knowing what your tongue weight is, you could be way off in your bar rating. As I recall, the OPs trailer is 9,000 lbs meaning that his tongue weight could be around 1350 lbs. Besides the fact that it could mean that the tongue weight is over the rating of the factory hitch receiver, the bars he has may be undersized.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.... Now back to lounging in my recliner in the sunshine at our cg. 😄

The DC is friction based. That fact has pretty much been settled in past discussions. I have posted some links to specific posts on this. Reading back thru time is interesting as some thinking has "evolved" during past discussions on this.
Things are not always as they first appear at a glance. There are still some minor points of disagreement on exactly how the two work, but the basics seem to have a general consensus.
Ron Gratz 1
Ron Gratz 2
Ron Gratz 3
Ron Gratz 4
Ron Gratz 5
Ron Gratz 6
Ron Gratz 7
Ron Gratz 8

[myredracer]

I agree that it can be a challenge to set up the Dual Cam correctly.

We bought the DC setup with 800 lb bars before we picked up our new trailer. The factory dry tongue weight is 518 lbs so I thought 800 lbs would be fine. Lo and behold, after going to a scale, I found that the actual tongue weight is 960 lbs. I struggled and struggled to get the DC dialed in to no avail. I was having to wind up the bars with near gorilla force to get enough weight transfer. I had the bars at max. tilt which was causing problems with the cam arms. Someone said that the 800 lb bars should still be okay but it wasn`t. I ended up getting 1200 lb bars which I just installed. Now it works great.

All I can say when it is dialed in is WOW!! It`s like magic almost. I love the way the handling is. There is a lot less up and down movement of the trailer and the truck runs straight as an arrow down the road.

The Reese (or Draw-Tite which is the same thing) dual cam setup is not friction based as someone said. The crooks in the bar ends ride on a `cam` which creates the self-centering effect and which creates the resisting of sway. The equalizer on the other hand is friction based.

What is in the Equalizer is that the friction is constant no matter how much the TV is turned in relation to the trailer thus it is not self-centering like the DC. I suppose if one had the equalizer they would get used to it and of course it would *seem* like a big improvement over a WDH without any friction control. But if you would try the DC you would see how nicely it works.

As stated numerous times here, the trick is to get the DC dialed in. Going to a scale is a must IMHO. Without knowing what your tongue weight is, you could be way off in your bar rating. As I recall, the OPs trailer is 9,000 lbs meaning that his tongue weight could be around 1350 lbs. Besides the fact that it could mean that the tongue weight is over the rating of the factory hitch receiver, the bars he has may be undersized.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.... Now back to lounging in my recliner in the sunshine at our cg. 😄

[MontanaCamper]

MackinawMan that is perfect. Thanks... Think I will pick up the bigger hitch as well.

[DarylSue]

Shavano wrote:
OK.

I edited and deleted posts that were either flaming or off topic.

I will let this thread stay open with the caveat that the next post flaming another member shuts the thread down for good. We can make our points without nastiness or name calling.

Thanks,
Don

thanx Don.

[Shavano]

OK.

I edited and deleted posts that were either flaming or off topic.

I will let this thread stay open with the caveat that the next post flaming another member shuts the thread down for good. We can make our points without nastiness or name calling.

Thanks,
Don

[TUCQUALA]

In these many "discussions" aboot these fine hitches, I have not heard much about what changes in trailer weight distribution does to hitch performance.

I have towed since 2003 with a Dual Cam HP on 2 different trailers, both have the water tank just above the front axle, and rear holding tanks. I have always set up the DC with full water tank, and have accepted the slight changes that occur when returning home with less FW and sometimes full holding tanks. Not to mention the loss of TV rear axle weight when a 44 gal tank is heading downhill.

For the DC to be perfect all the time, in every situation, and weight scenario is impossible unless you go out there and re-adjust the cams every time something changes the setup. I for one will not go through that, and my setup has always been reasonably close going and coming. I have never felt unsafe using my DC.

We boondock (dispersed camping) in the NW mountains, almost 100% of the time. Getting to our favorite sites will be on good 2 lane, freeway, on dirt & rock forest roads, in rain (and snow at times), wind, truck traffic, etc, and the DC has done its job so far. Will be going back east for 3-4 weeks this summer, and I don't feel we will have any sway problems.

For this simple reason, maybe those that have "difficulty" adjusting the DC, who may have a long TT with long overhangs that affect the tongue weight severely, should use a different hitch. Also, a lot of people just tow empty to and from their "campgrounds" and only have that one setup and load to adjust for.

Yes the DC is finicky on setup, but not impossible. I have never used an Equilizer, so can't comment on its performance or ease of use.

[Huntindog]

LarryJM wrote:

jmtandem wrote:
In fact a poorly adjusted hitch of either type will be useless, as they both rely on TW for their anti sway properties.
So if one is not wiling/able to adjust them properly, they would be better served by a friction control, as it will provide some sway resistance even if the hitch setup is terrible.

Huntingdog,

Your point is well taken. I think and hope that all users take the time to be sure the hitch is set up properly so it will work at it's best.

While I agree TW is critical to anti sway and properly trailer handling in general it is my belief that TW is less important st it plays a part in the working of the anti sway features in the Equal-i-zer hitch. This is because most of the anti sway is provided by the pivots in the hitch head. I'm not saying TW doesn't effect the anti sway or more properly sway mitigation it's just there is a significant component of it there that is not dependent on TW.

Here is my reasoning:
Move the bars back and forth when they are free of the L brackets. They will swing pretty easy.

Now pick up on the end of a bar and notice that it is now in a bind in the hitch head. It will be harder to swing it. Of course this force will be MUCH greater when it is all hooked up to the TT. And this force originates from the TW.
The more TW, the more force will be put into this "bind". And this bind is transferring TW as well. The higher the TW, the more weight that will be getting transferred, while making the "bind" even stronger.
Conversely, a poorly setup hitch may not be transferring enough TW, so the bind will be weaker.
And as TW of a TT is decreased, there is less of it to be used in this "bind".

That is in a normal situation. While writing this, it occurred to me that one could force this bind with low TW...Still thinking about the ramifications of doing this. I do know that Equalizer doesn't recommend less than 300 #s or so.

Larry