About the "High Performance" dual cams...

[SteveH]

I currently own and use a Reese trunion bar "High Performance" dual cam weight distribution hitch. It's the new one with the adjustable cam "arms", as opposed to the older style that you had to loosen the "U" bolts to slide the cams for adjustments. I've owned two of the older style in the past, and they worked fantastic, and were easy to adjust, and my experience with the older ones influenced my decision to purchase the new one I have now with the current trailer, an '01 25' Excella.

With the older design "U" bolted cams, it was a simple matter to loosen the bolts, maybe have to tap the slide with the wrench, and watch them pop into the perfect position to resist sway. Not so with the new "High Performance" cams. I've been fighting these stupid things for almost a year trying to make them work correctly without success, until now. Oh I've read and reread the instructions about having to loosen the nuts, drive the vehicle and trailer making a few turns, and then tighten the nuts, but quite frankly, it does not work. If the cams are not in the proper position in the bars, the anti sway system just doesn't perform correctly.

It has been my experience in the last several months, that the cams just do not want to slide in their mounting with the weight of the tensioned bars on them. (You see, from my past experience with the old design dual cam, I knew how the hitch should perform.) Basically, they are in a bind because of the load from the chains placed on one side of them preventing them from sliding in their brackets. I have gone to the extreem of using a feeler guage between the bars and the cams and taping on the cam arms with a hammer in an effort to get them in the correct position, but even that did not work.

However, today I found a procedure that seems to work perfectly. Of course you have to set the ball height correctly, and the tilt correctly, and the bar tention correctly to start with, and that's a given with any WD hitch. Then, of course you drive the vehicles to a straight, level piece of pavement, stopping the rig making sure it is straight ahead, just like in the instructions.

Now here's what seems to work to actually get the cams into perfect position. First, loosen the cam retaining nuts...the big ones. Then with at least a two pound hammer, tap the ends of the bars inward (towards the "A" frame of the trailer) behind the cams, and watch as the cams magically jump into place perfectly. Then, turn the front nut down tight by hand (after all, there is no wrench made in the world that you can get in there ) and while turning the front nut as tight as you can get it, continue taping with the hammer until you can no longer tighten the nut any more. Finally, tighten the rear nut. Of course, do this on both sides. (duh) At this point, the anti sway properties of the hitch will work as good as I have been able to get it to work in the last year. (Yes, I'm really tired of fooling with it!)

If you've got the newer Reese Dual Cam hitch, give this a try because I would wager your cams are presently not set optimally.

[markdoane]

Makes perfect sense, I've noticed the cams hang up in the keyway too.
Thanks.

[SteveH]

Just got back from a 3K+ mile trip, and the hitch is working very well for the first time since I've owned it using this setup porcedure. Give it a try if you have one of the newer Reese Dual Cam hitches.

[r carl]

Do you need to mark the bars left and right so you dont interchange them or are they the exact same length?

[Mikethefixit]

Steve
Sounds like a lot of work to me. Sometimes NEWER is NOT BETTER. I use the old style Reese Dual Cam, with 550 lb bars.I don't recall having to go thru all that setup procedure.
Glad ya got it workin correctly.
Roger

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by Mikethefixit

Steve
Sounds like a lot of work to me. Sometimes NEWER is NOT BETTER. I use the old style Reese Dual Cam, with 550 lb bars.I don't recall having to go thru all that setup procedure.
Glad ya got it workin correctly.
Roger

Ah yes Roger, the old style Reese Dual Cam is much easier to adjust. Just straigthen the rig out, loosen the "U" bolts, and the cams jump into place by themselves. And in addition, I think the old style actually worked better as far as sway control is concerned.

Given the choice, I'd opt for the old style any day. However, it's really not an issue for me any longer, as I've moved on to a ProPride hitch. Now THAT'S sway elimination. I will never go back to a Reese.

[SteveH]

Originally Posted by r carl

Do you need to mark the bars left and right so you dont interchange them or are they the exact same length?

Yes, you need to keep the bars in the same place after you have adjusted the cams. The bars are supposed to be the same length, but a difference of a few thousands of an inch will cause the anti sway function to not work as well.

[Paul&Dee]

Could you post a couple of pictures of your procedure? I'm not clear on which nuts you are loosening and where you are tapping the cam arms.

[SteveH]

Sorry, I cannot take pictures of a hitch I no longer have.

I think if you have one of the new Reese hitches, and re-read my instructions carefully, it will be very easy to understand.