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Old 08-01-2016, 07:37 PM   #1
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Is this Normal for a Reese Hitch?

I have a Reese straight line hitch with 800lb trunion bars. When I snap up the cam on the drivers side it is considerably harder than the passenger side. I have my hitch dialed in (weights good, wheel well height measured, CAT scale tickets etc...). The ride is fine, no sway etc. Just finished a 6,000 mile trip to the mid west and was pleased with the combination(Other than the Teton Pass, but that is another thread). And, yes both sides are sitting in the cam perfectly. Only thing I can think of is the drivers side is the tank side and I do drive with a full fresh water tank.
Vehicle is a 2008 Tundra towing a 28' International.
Any ideas?? Talked to a Reese Tech and he said it should not be that much different from one side to the other.

Any other Reese people having the same experience?
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Old 08-01-2016, 07:54 PM   #2
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I find if I hitch up with car in any sort of angle, one side will be harder to lift. I have Reese, but not dial kind. I put on 5th chAin.
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Old 08-01-2016, 08:08 PM   #3
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Try hooking up the driver's side bar first next time. The head will twist slightly in the receiver, and make it harder to raise the second bar.
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Old 08-01-2016, 08:43 PM   #4
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One of the bars might be bent causing less force on that side. Switch the bars from side to side to see it that is it. If it is still on one side and does not follow the bar. Measure to see that the bars are at the same position relative to the trailer, when on flat ground and no load on the bars. Your hitch head might be bent.
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Old 08-02-2016, 11:32 AM   #5
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I have a Reese Dual Cam hitch, now sitting on a shelf in the garage; 'cause I'de had enough!
Like Malinoi38, I found that doing up the snap-up on the drivers side was ok, but the passenger side really needed a hefty amount of force to get it up.
Then when undoing the chains, (I usually start at the driver's side), I would raise the nose up as high as the jack would allow, and the driver's side would undo no problem. However..........
The passenger side needed a lot of muscle to lower the pipe, and it would push very hard against the still taut chain. No way to remove it, except;
I purchased a small scissor jack to take the tension off the chain, so that I could remove the bar and chain from the snap-up. (I got this tip from a fellow RVer who had the same problem.)

Then while driving down the highway, the Ford F-150 would wiggle back and forth like a snake caught in a light socket. I theorize that the 'ball' was a little too small for the 'cup' on the bars, on the cam assy. and had a little 'play' before the cup would work.

I'm using the Ford to pull a 30' 'Cloud', so I took it into CanAm in London, and they changed the set up to the original Husky 'Eze-Lift' with friction bars.
It groans when I turn, but so what!
It works.
Anyone wanna buy a slightly used Reese hitch?
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Old 08-02-2016, 01:33 PM   #6
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I have not noticed much difference with mine , I do like it works good.....I don't think I would worry about it.
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Old 08-02-2016, 01:47 PM   #7
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On ours, the force needed to lift each side is about the same, unless there is an angle (even a slight one) between the TV and the trailer. Then one side is always a heavier lift. Joe
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Old 08-02-2016, 02:26 PM   #8
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Try lifting the tongue jack with your truck attached, enough that you can easily hook the cams up by hand/no pipe.

If you are lifting the weight of the truck with the pipe as you hook the bars, first one will always be hard and second one easier. I never use a pipe. I raise the truck and trailer together and attach by hand. Never had a problem with 1/2 ton or 3/4 truck. It has little or nothing to do with the water in the tank on one side or the other, other than the effect that has on tongue weight
Good luck. I've used dual cams/straight-line with great success over many miles. It is probably not the best sway control setup, but it is fine for us.
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Old 08-02-2016, 02:45 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MelGoddard View Post
I have a Reese Dual Cam hitch, now sitting on a shelf in the garage; 'cause I'de had enough!
Like Malinoi38, I found that doing up the snap-up on the drivers side was ok, but the passenger side really needed a hefty amount of force to get it up.
Then when undoing the chains, (I usually start at the driver's side), I would raise the nose up as high as the jack would allow, and the driver's side would undo no problem. However..........
The passenger side needed a lot of muscle to lower the pipe, and it would push very hard against the still taut chain. No way to remove it, except;
I purchased a small scissor jack to take the tension off the chain, so that I could remove the bar and chain from the snap-up. (I got this tip from a fellow RVer who had the same problem.)

Then while driving down the highway, the Ford F-150 would wiggle back and forth like a snake caught in a light socket. I theorize that the 'ball' was a little too small for the 'cup' on the bars, on the cam assy. and had a little 'play' before the cup would work.

I'm using the Ford to pull a 30' 'Cloud', so I took it into CanAm in London, and they changed the set up to the original Husky 'Eze-Lift' with friction bars.
It groans when I turn, but so what!
It works.
Anyone wanna buy a slightly used Reese hitch?
In IMO if tv wiggles like a snake you have to much weight on hitch at rear making front lite. also hitch is not set up proper as there will be no wiggle. I have used Reese dual cam since put on market and if I exp. with dif. links to move weight around it becomes a night mare. Set up takes more than adjust chains. Ie. ball hight trailer level, angle of ball tension on bars, saddles in middle of cams, cams placed on tongue properly to much or to little tension on bars or wrong bars. I base this on exp. with having Reese dual cam 40 yrs. No sway no wiggle and didn't cost arm and a leg to pur. and easy to hook up. Or maybe mix of other hitch manf. in set up
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Old 08-02-2016, 03:17 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MelGoddard View Post
I have a Reese Dual Cam hitch, now sitting on a shelf in the garage; 'cause I'de had enough!
Like Malinoi38, I found that doing up the snap-up on the drivers side was ok, but the passenger side really needed a hefty amount of force to get it up.
Then when undoing the chains, (I usually start at the driver's side), I would raise the nose up as high as the jack would allow, and the driver's side would undo no problem. However..........
The passenger side needed a lot of muscle to lower the pipe, and it would push very hard against the still taut chain. No way to remove it, except;
I purchased a small scissor jack to take the tension off the chain, so that I could remove the bar and chain from the snap-up. (I got this tip from a fellow RVer who had the same problem.)

Then while driving down the highway, the Ford F-150 would wiggle back and forth like a snake caught in a light socket. I theorize that the 'ball' was a little too small for the 'cup' on the bars, on the cam assy. and had a little 'play' before the cup would work.

I'm using the Ford to pull a 30' 'Cloud', so I took it into CanAm in London, and they changed the set up to the original Husky 'Eze-Lift' with friction bars.
It groans when I turn, but so what!
It works.
Anyone wanna buy a slightly used Reese hitch?
That hitch was never set up correctly. There are many reasons in the hitch set up if not do correctly will cause this problem. Bars not sitting correctly on the saddles. WD not set up correctly leaving the front axle of the TV floating. Bars are not exactly the same length and if switched side to side can be additive to sway, mark the bars by sides. Trailer not riding level.

As for the original question there are a few reasons that may be in play here.

On a concrete pad are the TV and trailer sitting the sane side to side. Use a level to test. If the trailer is tilted to the drivers side while on the concrete that will cause this problem


The first side raised will always be harder as that bar reduces the weight you have to lift on the second side.
The bars may not be equal in weight, both 800 lbs. One bar may have noticeable greater ware on the trunions thus reducing its strength.

I have seem the upper trunion cup on the head actually FLOW, not ware, away from it original position thus reducing the weight it will carry and reducing the strength to lift it.
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Old 08-02-2016, 03:46 PM   #11
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It's normal. Don't overthink it.

I hate the wheelbarrow analogy, but it works in this case. If you lift a wheelbarrow with one handle, you need to lift the total weight. As soon as you lift the other handle, you reduce the weight on the first bar and divide the load between the two handles.
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Old 08-02-2016, 04:16 PM   #12
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"I have my hitch dialed in (weights good, wheel well height measured, CAT scale tickets etc...). The ride is fine, no sway etc. "

Sounds like the important part to me.

I also run a Reese dual cam with 800 lb bars. I use the tongue jack to help with with the chain lifts. Frequently one side is harder than the other but I never noticed a pattern as to which side. I thought and still think it is caused by having an angle between the truck and trailer. I do not think it is a problem. Often there is a loud snapping sound in the first 20 feet or so of travel. I assume it is one of the bars snapping down into the proper position.
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Old 08-02-2016, 08:07 PM   #13
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Get yourself a longer piece of 3/4" black pipe and that will also make it easier to lift each side, or email me and I have a Hensely arrow that U do not have to lift bars just turn a screw system to raise the bars with a drill. The hitch has 500 miles on it after it was rebuilt, and half the price of a new one. It is in the Chicago area.
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Old 08-02-2016, 08:48 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HowieE View Post
That hitch was never set up correctly. There are many reasons in the hitch set up if not do correctly will cause this problem. Bars not sitting correctly on the saddles. WD not set up correctly leaving the front axle of the TV floating. Bars are not exactly the same length and if switched side to side can be additive to sway, mark the bars by sides. Trailer not riding level.

As for the original question there are a few reasons that may be in play here.

On a concrete pad are the TV and trailer sitting the sane side to side. Use a level to test. If the trailer is tilted to the drivers side while on the concrete that will cause this problem


The first side raised will always be harder as that bar reduces the weight you have to lift on the second side.
The bars may not be equal in weight, both 800 lbs. One bar may have noticeable greater ware on the trunions thus reducing its strength.

I have seem the upper trunion cup on the head actually FLOW, not ware, away from it original position thus reducing the weight it will carry and reducing the strength to lift it.
Both TV and AS sat level, 'East/West, North/South'
1000lb. Bars.
I store the AS on a level purpose built concrete pad.
Tongue weight at coupler avg. 900-1100. Lb. as weighed with Sureline scale.
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Old 08-02-2016, 08:51 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markdoane View Post
It's normal. Don't overthink it.

I hate the wheelbarrow analogy, but it works in this case. If you lift a wheelbarrow with one handle, you need to lift the total weight. As soon as you lift the other handle, you reduce the weight on the first bar and divide the load between the two handles.
Your point being??????
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Old 08-02-2016, 09:05 PM   #16
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Point is that you are lifting the total transferred weight when you hook up the first bar. Then when you hook up the second bar, you are lifting half the transferred weight, while reducing the load on the first bar.

So it appears that the weight on the first bar is double the weight on the second bar.

I'm not discounting the fact that there is also a difference in perceived pull up force when the trailer is not level or the trailer and tow vehicle are not aligned.

I am just claiming that there is also a condition, perfectly aligned and level, where the first bar lifted requires more pull up force than the second bar.
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Old 08-02-2016, 09:12 PM   #17
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Do you have any pictures of your setup? I'm having a hard time figuring out why you're having such a hard time...... with our 34' Avion, after I latch the coupler on the ball, I can raise the tongue of the trailer high enough to latch chains by hand. My setup leaves two loose links on the chains.

As at least one other has mentioned, the only time I have to use a bar to latch the chains is when I'm on a weird angle... not level
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Old 08-02-2016, 09:36 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulnGina View Post
Do you have any pictures of your setup? I'm having a hard time figuring out why you're having such a hard time...... with our 34' Avion, after I latch the coupler on the ball, I can raise the tongue of the trailer high enough to latch chains by hand. My setup leaves two loose links on the chains.

As at least one other has mentioned, the only time I have to use a bar to latch the chains is when I'm on a weird angle... not level
I have 4 links hanging, 5 links under stress per side. I raise the jack/truck enough to get the cheater bar hooked up. Do not want to raise jack/truck much higher and stress out the jack...
The drivers side is always much harder, regardless of which side I hook up first. This also occurs when TV and AS are both on level ground.
I just ordered the 1200lb bars to see if this changes anything, as my tongue weight hovers around 1050lbs. Have to see how this works out because I popped a half dozen interior rivets on my last trip after installing new Michelins & centramatics..???

Thanks for all the responses! I will report back with feedback from the 1200lb bar experiment.
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Old 08-02-2016, 10:03 PM   #19
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Maybe the pix is an optical 'delusion', BUT it looks to me that neither the TV nor A/S is level. Looks like either the ball height is wrong or not enough tension on the spring bars. We tow our A/S with an Armada and 1,000# spring bars with a Reese Strait Line hitch with Dual Cams and just love the control we get with it. Initial setup can be hellacious, but once you get the ball height/spring bar squared away, this is a good hitch. I wouldn't be too concerned about which bar is harder to lift. My experience is even if the TV is squared with the A/S, one always is a bit harder. I always use the jack to take pressure off the bars for easier lifting.
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Old 08-03-2016, 06:15 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MelGoddard View Post
I have a Reese Dual Cam hitch, now sitting on a shelf in the garage; 'cause I'de had enough!
Like Malinoi38, I found that doing up the snap-up on the drivers side was ok, but the passenger side really needed a hefty amount of force to get it up.
Then when undoing the chains, (I usually start at the driver's side), I would raise the nose up as high as the jack would allow, and the driver's side would undo no problem. However..........
The passenger side needed a lot of muscle to lower the pipe, and it would push very hard against the still taut chain. No way to remove it, except;
I purchased a small scissor jack to take the tension off the chain, so that I could remove the bar and chain from the snap-up. (I got this tip from a fellow RVer who had the same problem.)

Then while driving down the highway, the Ford F-150 would wiggle back and forth like a snake caught in a light socket. I theorize that the 'ball' was a little too small for the 'cup' on the bars, on the cam assy. and had a little 'play' before the cup would work.

I'm using the Ford to pull a 30' 'Cloud', so I took it into CanAm in London, and they changed the set up to the original Husky 'Eze-Lift' with friction bars.
It groans when I turn, but so what!
It works.
Anyone wanna buy a slightly used Reese hitch?
I might have a potential interest in your Reese dual cam. What are the components and price you are looking for?
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