Newbie w/questions

[Peter&Denise]

First thing I would like to say is how glad I was to find this on-line community. It has been a wealth of knowledge and good advice already. I recently bought our A/S (off of E-bay of all things) and I'm looking forward to doing some week-end camping trips with it this summer. Although I picked it up and hauled it home over 350 kms with little drama, I want to get all the proper equipment to tow it properly. The trip home was without weight dist. bars or even an electric brake control for that matter, and it actually towed and stopped pretty good. By searching these forums I've figured out what all the riggin' that is stamped "Reese" and attached to the tongue is all about. It would appear that I have an incomplete reese dual-cam setup, probably of the same vintage as the trailer. All the components seem to be on the trailer, but the PO never towed the trailer himself and didn't have the spring (trunnion?) bars or the hitch head / drawbar - ball mount assy. Obviously I need these parts and have been watching E-bay hoping to find something used. I've seen lots of hitch heads and weight distributing bars come up for auction, but none of them seem to be for a dual cam system. All of them have chains on the end of the bars and I assume are for weight distributing set ups only. I think that the ball mounts are all the same (other than differences in rise or drop) , but will the regular spring bars work with a dual cam system if you remove the chains? I've seen some pictures of spring bars from a dual cam and I thought that they looked a little different, with a bit of a hook on the end or something, possibly to better ride in the saddles of the sway bars. Any insight on this matter would be greatly appreciated, or if anyone here has the parts that I need for sale, I would gladly make a deal.

[j54mark]

These parts are frequently available used at hitch shops, rv dealers, or anyplace that sees a lot of hitches. Most, if not all parts should also be available new from Reese dealers.

Mark

[bake315]

try Hitchtrader. http://www.hitchtrader.com

[juel]

Question: When you check the brakes and axels can you jack up just one axel on a dual axel trailer or do you have to jack both up at one time. Hope this isn't a stupid questions. Judy

[Rebee]

I did my brake adjustments this evening. Each wheel can be raised independent of the other wheels. I used a bottle jack and it was no problem.

[Anon]

Originally Posted by juel

Question: When you check the brakes and axels can you jack up just one axel on a dual axel trailer or do you have to jack both up at one time. Hope this isn't a stupid questions. Judy

I had a 1976 Argosy 24 with tandem axles.
I never jacked up both axles.
If you were to jack up both axles on both sides of the trailer, you just effectively lifted the whole trailer!

[Tarheel]

Judy just make certain that you jack against the frame and not on the axel. You can jack one wheel at a time or two it doesn't matter. You can pull the trailer so that one wheel in on a ramp (about 3 2x6's stacked) and it will raise the other wheel so you can pull it without jacking, something that I do quite often.

[Peter&Denise]

Wow, this thread kinda got hi-jacked (pun intended). To put it back on topic, does anyone out there know if there are any spring bars for regular Reese weight distributing hitches that will work with a dual-cam hitch if you remove the chains? It seems to me as long as they rode in the dual-cam saddle properly that they should work, or is there some special feature that the dual cam spring bars have and the others don't? Thanks in advance, P.

[Tarheel]

Peter I would highly recommend that you go to your local trailer supply store that carries the Reese product and show them what you have. I am almost certain that they can provide you with the parts you need. I had some pieces that I was uncomfortable with due to the wear on them and could find all the replacement parts. I ended up buying an entire Reese system, brand new, for less than the repair parts and I am very comfortable with the purchase. It may seem like more money but for me it was worth it in peace of mind.

[Peter&Denise]

Just saw an ad in the parts for sale section of this site. It's about the fourth ad down titled "reese hitch and sway bars" or something like that. The spring bars appear to have a strange bolt-on hook on the end unlike anything that I've seen to date. Does anyone know if that's what I need for my A/S? I would like to avoid some expense by getting the stuff that I need used if that's at all possible. I can get a new weight dist. hitch through my work for cost as we have an account with Coast Distribution, but I like the idea of the dual cam doing both jobs of weight distribution and sway control, and they don't sell anything like that. Again, thanks in advance, P.

[thenewkid64]

That would be what you need, the only issue you need to address is the weight rating of the bars. Too low and you will not have the proper weight distribution , too high and you can begin to damage stuff.

The weight rating is normally molded or stamped into the bars.

Even if you only get the setup for the bar ends, they have value. Reese does not make this model anymore and the add on "hooks" are NLA. One thing to remember,the hooks will wear, so you will need to replace it someday.

[Peter&Denise]

From the picture it looks like they are 1000 lb bars, should be about right for my application. Do the hooks at the end of the bars stay in the saddles? It doesn't appear that they could move very far fore or aft without falling out. P.

[thenewkid64]

The shape of the hook and the saddle are what acts as your sway control. Remember the T shaped end moves as you turn too. If you got into a situation where the hooks fall out of the saddles you will have a real problem situation on your hands.

[WayWard Wind]

First, I'd suggest you go to the Reese.com site & look at thier info available. I think the bars are weight measured @ 1" bar = 450# + 100# for Dual Cam ( which I think you're refering to) ---1 1/8" bar = 650# + 100# for Dual Cam--1 1/4" bar = 900# + 100# for Dual Cam. I think the bolts & funny ends you're refering to are add-ons that Reese came up with to retro fit thier existing WD for the Dual Cam set-up. Again it's best if you look at the Reese.com site, at least to determine what you do need.
Best,