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BoldAdventure · 07-24-2015, 06:10 PM

Today has been one craptastic day. So this happened in a camp ground, around a corner up and incline that leveled out at 90 degrees and I think it was to much twist on the hitch and pop.

I think we all agree that no sway is a bad idea. Problem is, I'm a long way away from civilization boon docking in the mountains and no idea where I am going to find a fix.

On the ball travel, how far how slow? The spot we came to is full, there is another campground about 20 miles, then I have to figure out where I can find parts, hopefully I can drop and find them in Missoula about two hours away.

Murphy's law right. F me.

Not, side of the road ain't going to work, and the nearest Walmart is two hours away.

tinbender · 07-24-2015, 06:31 PM

Rocky Mt Truck and Trailer 5680 Expressway Missoula, MT listed on Reese website as authorized dealer. 406-549-4243 9 to 5:30

Best of luck....

Lance M · 07-24-2015, 07:03 PM

Craptastic for sure!
I have a set sitting in my shop that I ordered and never installed. I have to go to FEDEX tomorrow, so if you'd like I can ship you what you need or the whole set. I bought it from PPL. The PN for the set is 99-1427

norsea · 07-24-2015, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoldAdventure

Today has been one craptastic day. So this happened in a camp ground, around a corner up and incline that leveled out at 90 degrees and I think it was to much twist on the hitch and pop.

I think we all agree that no sway is a bad idea. Problem is, I'm a long way away from civilization boon docking in the mountains and no idea where I am going to find a fix.

On the ball travel, how far how slow? The spot we came to is full, there is another campground about 20 miles, then I have to figure out where I can find parts, hopefully I can drop and find them in Missoula about two hours away.

Murphy's law right. F me.

Not, side of the road ain't going to work, and the nearest Walmart is two hours away.

Having had the same thing happen to us, I would like to think that I have some qualification(s) to speak to this issue.

First, I will point you to something I wrote up after the fact; this meaning that I pretty much had solved the problem.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...-up-43568.html

Bottom line: The individual who installed the hitch did not do it properly.

After completing the work shown in the above referenced post, we put 70K+ miles on the truck/trailer with no problems what so ever.

Regards,

Jim

Jim Flower · 07-24-2015, 07:20 PM

You can jury rig the weight distribution by attaching the u bolts directly to the spring bars. You must do both spring bars in order to retain some balance. Tie off or disconnect both of the cam assemblies. It's not a catastrophic problem and you should be able to make it to camp without issue. Even if none of this works, you will be ok on the ball. Just easy does it. Good luck. Jim

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

BoldAdventure · 07-24-2015, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Flower

You can jury rig the weight distribution by attaching the u bolts directly to the spring bars. You must do both spring bars in order to retain some balance. Tie off or disconnect both of the cam assemblies. It's not a catastrophic problem and you should be able to make it to camp without issue. Even if none of this works, you will be ok on the ball. Just easy does it. Good luck. Jim

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

Thanks for the advice!! I didn't realize I could do that, but now I see. Just glad to at least have 4G LTE in this area and the forum with it's awesome members.

I googled this topic, and HOLY MOLLY, apparently this happens a lot, to a lot of people.

BoldAdventure · 07-24-2015, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Top

Craptastic for sure!
I have a set sitting in my shop that I ordered and never installed. I have to go to FEDEX tomorrow, so if you'd like I can ship you what you need or the whole set. I bought it from PPL. The PN for the set is 99-1427

I appreciate this offer so much. I'm not in an area though to receive it, so I using the above advice, we are going to head to Missoula tomorrow, slow and steady and then work from there.

There is an authorized reseller, and two different RV dealerships in Missoula and enough paid camping to setup and figure things out.

Tonight we are resting and trying to destress from panic mode that set in at first.

BoldAdventure · 07-24-2015, 09:01 PM

Looks like this will work. Great advice! Now for some beers.

Lance M · 07-25-2015, 06:46 AM

That will work, for sure.

HowieE · 07-25-2015, 09:06 AM

If you replace the Reese Strait Line trailing arm you will have to change your adjustments to prevent this from happening again. If the trailing arm angle is too shallow the outer arm will hit the WD bar when backing up in a tight turn and cause the arm to fail.

I had to grind about a 1/4 in. of material off the outer edge of the yoke body to get clearance.

This is a problem that Reese knows about but has not yet addressed it or given advice on how to overcome it.

BoldAdventure · 07-25-2015, 09:20 AM

Yeah, we googled this topic last night and was shocked by the number of threads on other forums discussing that part breaking on people. We weren't backing up, but did go around a tight corner that was up hill and leveled off at 90 degrees. It put the truck and trailer at different angles for a moment and that's when we heard the pop and shift in the truck.

fth · 07-25-2015, 11:23 AM

You could just go with it as you have and install a friction anti sway bar and forget the dual cam altogether. Our cam bent but didn't break and we replaced it for $80, decided to sell it and went with a reconditioned Hemsley. Haven't tried that yet but will tomorrow.

Gnorts · 07-25-2015, 12:11 PM

In looking at your first pic, that hanger plate looks quite bent. That would lead me to believe your setup wasn't adjusted properly. Once you get to Missoula (nice town, btw) and get a new parts (cam and hanger plate), be sure everything is adjusted properly. You need a wrench big enough for those nuts on the threaded shaft - a 12" Crescent will do it. If your other hanger plate is bent like the one in the pic, replace 'em both. Also, if the bearing surface on the intact cam is galled where it was contacting the crook in the spring bar, reverse it and use it on the other side so you'll have a fresh bearing surface.

You will need to find a flat, level paved area like a parking lot and drive in a straight line for about 200 feet and then stop and adjust your cams so they rest exactly in the center of the crook in the end of each spring bar. The cam's round surface should touch the flat surfaces of the crook on both sides.Once you get it adjusted properly, put a small amount of vaseline (I use a tiny bit of silicone grease) on the flat surfaces of the crook where it contacts the cam. Don't use too much, because it will reduce the effectiveness of the anti-sway function.

If I'm maneuvering, and especially if I'm backing, into a tight space, I will often drop the bars before I make the tough moves to keep from over-stressing things. In my case, it involves using the tongue jack to unload the bars, which takes a bit of time, but it's easier on the equipment to do it.

There are some good videos on Youtube that deal with adjusting the Reese cam system. Good luck!

BoldAdventure · 07-25-2015, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gnorts

In looking at your first pic, that hanger plate looks quite bent. That would lead me to believe your setup wasn't adjusted properly. Once you get to Missoula (nice town, btw) and get a new parts (cam and hanger plate), be sure everything is adjusted properly. You need a wrench big enough for those nuts on the threaded shaft - a 12" Crescent will do it. If your other hanger plate is bent like the one in the pic, replace 'em both. Also, if the bearing surface on the intact cam is galled where it was contacting the crook in the spring bar, reverse it and use it on the other side so you'll have a fresh bearing surface.

You will need to find a flat, level paved area like a parking lot and drive in a straight line for about 200 feet and then stop and adjust your cams so they rest exactly in the center of the crook in the end of each spring bar. The cam's round surface should touch the flat surfaces of the crook on both sides.Once you get it adjusted properly, put a small amount of vaseline (I use a tiny bit of silicone grease) on the flat surfaces of the crook where it contacts the cam. Don't use too much, because it will reduce the effectiveness of the anti-sway function.

If I'm maneuvering, and especially if I'm backing, into a tight space, I will often drop the bars before I make the tough moves to keep from over-stressing things. In my case, it involves using the tongue jack to unload the bars, which takes a bit of time, but it's easier on the equipment to do it.

There are some good videos on Youtube that deal with adjusting the Reese cam system. Good luck!

Thanks, it's not bent, it's the photo. The system was purchased in 2007. We just re-adjusted the whole thing in NY just over a month ago, over the scales to 3 times. It was dialed in, and we followed the same steps you outlined above that I pulled off e-trailers videos.

Yesterdays maneuver took me by surprise.But we weren't even going to camp here. Just pulling thru.

And like you, I typically unload the bars before pulling into a spot. Two reasons, I can turn into tighter spots and not worry about the bars taking off my foot even with the jack taking off tension, and I've found it's easier to back around corners.

Thanks for all the great advice though. Much appreciated. I've gotta redo the whole thing anyways when I get the replacement part.

ltorgy · 07-25-2015, 05:17 PM

I just bought an Anderson WD Hitch. It's only 60 lbs, easy to connect and works differently than the standard WD hitch. See picture. Haven't actually tried it yet, but will give report when I do.

HiJoeSilver · 07-25-2015, 07:29 PM

Subscribing, still working through the 23 pages in the linked post.

HowieE · 07-26-2015, 08:36 AM

If you want to eliminate the possibility of the bars causing a failure with the Reese Straight Line System consider this.

Mount the trailing arms rearward on the tongue with the trailing arm facing forward rather than forward on the tongue with the trailing arm facing reward, the factory method. This removes the possibility of conflict and affords much greater ground clearance. You will have to swap the arms side to side to do this.

If you want to do this first reposition the hitch head angle to reduce the downward angle of the WD bars. The steep angle is not necessary when installed this way and will gain ground clearance. While the trailer is on the ball and the trailer supported level on the jack insert one of the bars in the hitch head and pull up on the end of the bar. Note the ground clearance, remove the trailer from the ball, and reposition the hitch head to increase that distance by an inch or more. Loosen the nuts on the trailing arm so the bolt is floating freely in the yoke. With the trailer back on the ball and the trailer level support the WD bar against the trunnions of the head. Position the trailing arm against the frame while the cam is resting in the saddle of the WD bar. Mark the holes for the trailing arm on the frame and mount it to the frame. While in this position mount the hangers to the frame. Now hook up the trailer and make what ever adjustment needed to distribute weight and have the trailer riding level. With this rough adjustment drive around the block and come to a stop after driving straight for at least 200 ft. At this point i like to tap the yoke and the cam to ensure they are seated completely on the bars. If so hand tighten the nut within the yoke and then tighten the outer nut.

Yes mounting the trailing arm reward on the tongue may require some modes of other things in that area such as, battery box frame, or gas bottle mounting. A small price to pay compared to a road side disaster.

I used this method on my daughter's trailer having had this a problem on my trailer and not wanting to repeat it.

BoldAdventure · 07-29-2015, 10:41 AM

I ended up using UPS MyChoice to order from eTrailer and get it shipped to a UPS store near me. Not to openly complain, but dealers and their markup. Absurd. The lowest markup difference I got calling around was $100 vs online pricing. And no one could get it here any faster than the 3 days eTrailer could get it to me. So why would I do business with you? So much for attempting to support local businesses, since they all wanted to rip me off.

Thanks for the advice in the thread. Hopefully this weekend I'll be setting up the hitch all over again.

And maybe down the road consider the PP seriously.

Lance M · 07-29-2015, 11:09 AM

Is this what you bought from eTrailer?
Replacement Cam Arm Assembly - Qty. 2 Reese Accessories and Parts RP58435

I sure would have sent you this for nothing more than the cost of shipping and a few beers and make you listen to my war stories when you travel through Texas.

BoldAdventure · 07-29-2015, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Top

Is this what you bought from eTrailer?
Replacement Cam Arm Assembly - Qty. 2 Reese Accessories and Parts RP58435

I sure would have sent you this for nothing more than the cost of shipping and a few beers and make you listen to my war stories when you travel through Texas.

I ended up buying this - one of my hangers did turn out to be bent on closer inspection. My original receipts show this was purchased in 2007 and the photos online look like there has been a change in the design. So I figured, I'll replace both sides at once.

The only reason I'm noting going to a PP today is I want to spend that money on lithium batteries once I make my way to Oregon.

I'll take ya up on beers and war stories when we make it thru Texas.