The next time Reese tells you or anyone that Vasoline is OK, someone PLEASE remind them that it is a Petrolium product! Personally I use a dash of STP on the cams for lube. Metal on metal induced with friction and weight without some lubrication will ALWAYS promote gualling. You are right about the Semi effect, no matter the direction of travel. Push you out, suck you in, and push you back out , but the sway is controlled by the bar leaving the sturip to the outer and inner portion of the bars to the higher point on the sturip thereby forcing the trailer back into its saddles(but I know you knew that). Lubrication will not stop the law of physics on this one. Oscar PS My bars and sturips are original! ('62)
Originally posted by Pahaska I keep hearing that friction sway controls don't work in the rain. I disagree ... I can't tell any difference, rain or shine. It is just like disk brakes, the high pressure wipes them clean of water and they work just as well.
John, disc brakes are rotating at high speeds slinging the water off with tremendous centrifugal force, plus when you apply the brakes, there's a lot more heat. But that being said, even wet disc brakes aren't as effective until they dry. I towed a lot of trailers in the rain in Florida, and have to disagree about them losing friction from being wet.
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If they are properly installed, they don't have to be fiddled with when backing. I put my Reese on when I hitch up and tighten it. I don't touch it again till I unhitch.
Knowing you, you also pay attention to the details that would prevent sway in most cases, and it wouldn't be a problem for you even if you didn't have a sway control. It would be my _opinion_ that your sway control isn't tight enough for those who would need it, if it doesn't bind in sharp turns.
Disk brakes aren't always rotating at high speed. Plus, they are in a constant stream of spray from the tires.
When disk brakes first hit the market, many years ago, a technical article I read said that the high pressure of the pucks immediately wiped away water and the brakes did not lose effectiveness in the wet. I think that is true.
We also didn't have any extended wet landing runs in the aircraft I flew. There was only one number, wet or dry, stopping up to 34 tons.
I could do without the sway control (I have forgotten to put it on a time or two and didn't much notice the difference), but I do set the tension per Reese instructions with the arm turned parallel to the bar.
__________________
John W. Irwin
2005 Classic 28 "Sabre-Dog III"
2004 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison
WBCCI Region 9 Webmaster, #9632
Kistler,
My dealer installed my dual cam on my Safari. He had to move a gas line to get the clearance necessary. As a matter of fact he was able to bend the pipe, without messing it up, to get the clearance he needed. I'm pretty sure your dealer just didn't want to mess with the gas line. It's not a warranty issue.
The other issue we had with the dual cam was a bracket that needed to be mounted through the tray that holds the gas bottle. We placed a round spacer that slightly raised the bottle, enough to keep the bracket from contacting the bottom center of the bottle.
I used the dual cam on my previous 28' SOB trailer that I pulled with a Chevy Astro Van. Without the dual cam that combination would have been untowable.
Yes it groans and pops at low speeds but other than my home neighbors looking up when I back into the driveway, it really isn't an issue.
Regards,
Jack
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Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
Interesting to hear about the lube/non lube issue on the Reese dual cam. I have run it w/o lube and put up with the groans and pops. On my last two trips, I've lubed them. MUCH quieter, and I couldn't tell one bit of difference in control. I used Reeses' own teflon ball lube. PS. I tow a 77 24' Tradewind w/ a 1/2 ton Suburban with absolutely no problems. Most of it is highway-through Arkansas on I30 and I40 with probably the highest concentration of fast moving semis on the planet.
For those who can't fork over the cash for a Hensley or Pullrite, what is next best??
There is a lot of stuff on Equal-i-zer and Reese Dual Cam but I haven't seen anything about anyone going from one to the other because of performance. It seems like both camps like their hitch as well as the Hensley and Pullrite people like theirs.
I don't know if I have a problem or not but I am not sure if my Reese Dual cam is set up right. As far as the hitch head and load bars go they are in place and don't have any adjustment but where exactly are the rear brackets supposed to be? How far back from the ball centerline? I don't know if the cams are in the right place after I get the bars chained and tensioned up. I have never heard any noise from it, popping or otherwise so I just want to be sure it is set up correctly and working o.k. Any measurements for me, anyone?
Thanks a bunch! As I guessed mine is not set up correctly. The frame brackets are mounted too far rearward due to the propane tanks being in the way. The chains are not straight up and down like in the pics but slanted to the rear. I guess I need to fix it but how? I will see but I may have to get some weld on ones that will fit by the tanks or modify my old ones and do the same. If I remember right this seems to be a common problem on the original Dual cams? As far as I can tell it has been set up like this forever!
The propane tank issue is common. My dealer drilled the u-bolt holes through the bottom plate that holds the bottles. The high arch of the ubolt was resting dead center bottom of the bottles, just barely touching them. I used some foam pipe insulation (the kind that slips over a pipe) and created a small foam donut that raises the tank just enough to keep the bolt off the tank.
Reese's new design dual-cam unit has eliminated that problem.
Jack
__________________
Jack Canavera
STL Mo. AIR #56
'04 Classic 30' S.O.
'03 GMC Savana 2500
'08 Vespa GTS 250
If the spring bars that you have with the trailer aren't the one's that were part of the original setup, it is possible that they are a different length. In 1998 after having my hitch examined by a Reese technician, it was discovered that my spring bars were too light for my Overlander and new Reese 750 pound spring bars were purchased. The technician didn't mention it, nor did I notice when hitching up that the new bars were shorter and the chains were now at an unusual angle. I began experiencing what you mention. A fellow Vintage Airstreamer at the Rally Grounds noticed my consternation when I was hitching up and offered to help me get the rig in proper adjustment. Fortunately, the mounting on my '64 Overlander just clears the propane tank retainer ring with the shorter spring bars - - an inch shorter and the tank retainer ring would have needed to be repositioned.
Before resorting to welding the Reese Dual Cam levers to the "A" frame, I would suggest considering the possibility of finding a longer set of spring bars or relocating the mounting base for the propane tanks. During this past weekend I checked the three sets of Reese spring bars in my garage, and they vary in length nearly three inches from the shortest to the longest (the spring bars cover a span of 30 years). At least for my setup, I like the idea of being able to compensate for different spring bar lengths by moving the dual cam lever arm mounts.
Kevin
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Kevin D. Allen WBCCI (Lifetime Member)/VAC/Free Wheelers #6359 AIR #827
1964 Overlander International/1999 GMC K2500 Suburban (7400 VORTEC/4.11 Differentials)
1978 Argosy Minuet 6.0 Metre/1975 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible (8.2 Liter V8/2.70 Final Drive)
Longer load bars would be a easy fix. More length equals less weight rating (due to leverage) or is rating dependent upon diameter of the bars? But I am also hearing that the Reese Dual cam needs a minimum weight for it to even work correctly. I should probably weigh my tongue and see what I have. I am totally not sold on even having a equalizer hitch on my rig as my F-250 seems to have no problem at all without it. As it is I am using the last link on the chains which is more than enough tension, it will actually make the rear of my Overlander a bit lower to the ground, something I really want to keep from doing. I also have AirLift airbags on the rear of my truck (from my slide in camper days) so the only thing I might be missing by losing the Dual cam is the anti-sway feature.
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Personally I use a dash of STP on the cams for lube. Metal on metal induced with friction and weight without some lubrication will ALWAYS promote gualling. You are right about the Semi effect, no matter the direction of travel. Push you out, suck you in, and push you back out , but the sway is controlled by the bar leaving the sturip to the outer and inner portion of the bars to the higher point on the sturip thereby forcing the trailer back into its saddles(but I know you knew that). Lubrication will not stop the law of physics on this one. Oscar PS My bars and sturips are original! ('62)
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