# How Much Movement Is Normal?



## where'smycoffee (Jan 28, 2007)

Hi Everyone,

I'm fairly new to towing so I'm not sure what kind of movement is normal towing sensations and what could potentially be a problem. I've tweaked my reese staight-line hitch a little by going from the fourth link to the fifth link and just got back from a 424 mile round trip haul to myrtle beach. For the most part the trailer behaved fairly well. I did experience some porpoising on bad roads but not on level roads. The trip was fairly flat there and back. I experienced what I think is normal sucking in and pushing away from the tractor trailers, but sometimes after a tractor trailer went by going probably 75 mph or better I would experience some fish tailing or tail wagging.

Do I need to continue tweaking the Reese hitch? I have 800lb bars and noticed that they have a slight bend to them on the fifth link. I guess I need to invest in some fairly big wrenches if I need to adjust the ball angle.

I'm a little perplexed when it comes to what to do at this point. I just bought the 2006 Expedition. Should I take a hit and try to get into a used F-250 or 25000?

Thanks everyone!


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

Just curious what the difference is between a Reese in line hitch and an Equalizer...does the Reese have really good anti-sway control?

Could a Hensley Hitch fix the problem or am I way off here?
Would be lots cheaper than a new truck


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Sounds like you still need some fine tuning. Load the trailer and the truck like your going camping, and with the Reese directions in hand, start at the beginning and set everything up again. You also might consider switching to 1000 or 1200# bars. The 800's leave little margin. When I weighed my 26RS a few years ago, loaded for camping, tongue wgt was 760#. I have since switched to 1200# bars.

Your TV could be the problem too. I originally towed my 26 with a Chevy Avalanche, and was never happy with it. I have since changed to the Excursion, and with the 3/4 chassis, have never regretted it. Switching to an LT type tire on the Expe could help. What is the WB of the Expe. For the 26RS, the rule of thumb would be 134" WB, but anything over 130" should be good.

Good luck.



> Just curious what the difference is between a Reese in line hitch and an Equalizer...does the Reese have really good anti-sway control?


Dawn, the Reese Straight Line is merely a Reese Trunnion Bar WD Hitch packaged with a Dual Cam HP sway control in the same box. It is very comparable to the Equal-i-zer.

Tim


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

Does the Expedition have P-rated or LT-rated tires? How level do you ride?

John


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

When setting up the hitch, did you follow the directions exactly? It can take some time and tweaking to get it just right, I spent about 3 hours and a couple of test drives to get mine where it needed to be.

The straight line or dual cam setup as well as the equal-i-zer hitch require a lot of tension on the wd bars to work effectively. If you were getting some porpoising, you might need to tilt the hitch head back a couple of degrees so more weight is being transferred to the front axle of your truck when you cinch up the bars. It should take quite a bit of effort to cinch up the bars, I've found hooking up the truck and trailer and then raising them up with the jack makes it a lot easier to get the bars into place.

Mike


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## HootBob (Apr 26, 2004)

I would start with going with heavier bars I had to do the same thing and it's been a lot better and went with the Dual cams also
Also you didn't state what type of sway control you are using

Don


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## where'smycoffee (Jan 28, 2007)

Tim,

The wheel base on the Expedition is actually only 119 inches.

John,

I honestly don't know what the rating of the tires are, although they are the ones that came stock on the truck when I bought it. I have a feeling that they aren't truck tires but are more of a highway tire. They only have 8K miles on them. They are 2ply side walls but I don't think that matters because I've seen truck tires with 2ply side walls as well. I don't think they measure them that way anymore?

I know I'm with in the weight limits for the Expedition but I haven't weighed it at a scale yet. The dry weight of the trailer is 5250 lbs and GVWR is 7300 lbs and the GVWR of the Expy is 7300 with a GCVWR of 14500.

I'm just not sure how much movement just takes a while to get used to or if I shouldn't be experiencing it at all.

Thanks everyone

Don,

I have the complete set up which I guess they call the "straight-line" hitch. It came with the WD bars and the dual cams for sway. I've read some replies to other posts that said that reese recommends the 6th link but I think if I go to that one I might have binding issues with the cams and the bottom of the A-Frame.

Thanks for the replies!


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## skippershe (May 22, 2006)

hatcityhosehauler said:


> Dawn, the Reese Straight Line is merely a Reese Trunnion Bar WD Hitch packaged with a Dual Cam HP sway control in the same box. It is very comparable to the Equal-i-zer.
> 
> Tim


Ah! Gotcha...


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

> I've read some replies to other posts that said that reese recommends the 6th link but I think if I go to that one I might have binding issues with the cams and the bottom of the A-Frame.


Angling the hitch head back more will allow you to put more tension on the bars without creating any binding issues. The number of links is not as important as finding the right combination of links and correct hitch head angle so your truck drops evenly front to back.

Mike


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

camping479 said:


> The number of links is not as important as finding the right combination of links and correct hitch head angle so your truck drops evenly front to back.
> 
> Mike


Exactly.

Bill


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## where'smycoffee (Jan 28, 2007)

Ok Thanks Mike and Everyone,

I guess I need to try to find a level parking lot and attempt to set up the hitch myself. Is it safe to adjust the hitch head bolts by using regular hand wrenches? I'm sure the dealer put those bolts on using an impact wrench but the best I'm going to be able to do is purchase a big adjustable wrench.

Has anyone order the bigger bars on-line? I think I may try that upgrade as well and try to exhaust every option before I think about getting rid of a new truck and losing some cash.

Although I did notice a 2004 Excursion at a local dealer with 60K miles on it....







but that's a last ditch option because DW will probably kill me!


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## MJRey (Jan 21, 2005)

I've got a similar setup as yours except for the Equalizer hitch. It took me several trips and some fine tuning to the hitch to get it just right. I still feel the push-pull when larger vehicles pass me but I've never had any sway. I experienced sway a couple of times with the Expedition and my old popup so I know what if feels like, not much fun. Sounds like you need just a bit more work but you may need to go with larger spring bars, mine are 1,000 lb.


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## freefaller25 (Mar 19, 2006)

You might be much better with the 1000lb or larger bars but before you do that max out the settings on the 800lb set. At least three things are necessary.

1. Tilt the hitch head all the way back (ball away from the TV)
2. Set the chains as short as possible without causing any binding.
3. On flat ground, after the air suspension finishes its work, drive to straighten everything out and then set the cam position. This last step is required to prevent sway with any change to the chains or hitch head angle.

You can buy a Reese hitch wrench at Wal-Mart for the hitch head bolts. It is the right size and long enough to apply some serious torque. You'll need two or a big adjustable wrench to hold the bolt while you work on the nut with the Reese wrench. Autozone or another parts store may have a big whench that you could take out on a loan and save the money of buying one.

The push-pull when a truck passes will always be there but should not require much steering input to counter and should not cause sway. If you stay to the right the effect is greatly reduced. Sway should not be a constant problem to fight. Make sure the cams are setup without a gap between the steep ramp on the bars during #3. Try to tow with the tanks empty as well.

The Expedition suspension should soak up the small bumps really well but can be â€œfloatyâ€ on pavement rough enough to upset the trailer. More weight distribution will help stiffen up the rear.

Tony


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

while cranking the hitch head bolts down with a big wrench will probably do the trick, for piece of mind, see if a local service station or your mechanic has a BIG torque wrench, and make sure the bolts are torqued to the Reese spec's, and check them periodically.

Unless you have regular need for one of those, you don't want to buy one just for the hitch head...prices start at about $250.

As far as the bolts them selves, they are 1 1/8" if I remember correctly. I just went down to Sears and bought a socket, and a combination wrench in that size. I already had a big breaker bar. That was sufficient to get the setup, and get the TT back home. (used a school parking lot about a mile from the house). I then just took the truck down to work, and borrowed the department mechanics RBTW (really big torque wrench) to make sure everything was in spec.

Good luck.

Tim


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## where'smycoffee (Jan 28, 2007)

freefaller25 said:


> You might be much better with the 1000lb or larger bars but before you do that max out the settings on the 800lb set. At least three things are necessary.
> 
> 1. Tilt the hitch head all the way back (ball away from the TV)
> 2. Set the chains as short as possible without causing any binding.
> ...


Tony,

I'm not sure I understand what you mean in #3 above? How do you adjust the cam position? I thought they just stayed where they are. Also can you explain the part about the gap between the steep ramp on the bars? Not sure where I should be looking for the gap. Also, I don't have the load leveling suspension on my expedition so I'm not sure how that would affect the set up.

Thanks,
Stephen


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## wcocolin (Sep 29, 2005)

I am towing a 30RLS with a 2005 Expedition. I had a BlueOX sway pro for the first year, was not satisfied the the swaying. I was shopping for a longer TV, but this winter I installed a Hensley Arrow. The difference is like night and day. I took a 1100 mile round trip in March. Not one sway problem, not even in high winds in the mountains of NC, and VA.

Good Luck,

Bill


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## freefaller25 (Mar 19, 2006)

where said:


> You might be much better with the 1000lb or larger bars but before you do that max out the settings on the 800lb set. At least three things are necessary.
> 
> 1. Tilt the hitch head all the way back (ball away from the TV)
> 2. Set the chains as short as possible without causing any binding.
> ...


Tony,

I'm not sure I understand what you mean in #3 above? How do you adjust the cam position? I thought they just stayed where they are. Also can you explain the part about the gap between the steep ramp on the bars? Not sure where I should be looking for the gap. Also, I don't have the load leveling suspension on my expedition so I'm not sure how that would affect the set up.

Thanks,
Stephen
[/quote]

Stephen,

If you have integrated sway control, you should have two gold colored adjustable links from the frame to the end of the WD bars. Other Reese setups have fixed length black links held to the frame by U-Bolts. With everything loaded and straight you need to adjust the link length so that the rounded surface at the end of the link fits perfectly under the saddle at the end of the WD bar. With the gold links you loosen both nuts before tightening the chains. Then verify the cam is in the right place or tap it to the right place if needed. Finally tighten first the inside link nut by hand and the torque the outside link nut. With the U-Bolt system you just loosen the U-bolts and tap the support bracket to center the cams. If there is a gap between the link end and the forward most portion of the saddle on the WB bar, this will allow sway to occur.

If you don't have the links and your WD chains hook directly to the WD bars, then you don't have a dual-cam sway control hitch.

Tony


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## Txcamper (Apr 3, 2006)

I don't have a problem with large semi's or buses passing or overtaking with the Equalizer hitch. Maybe some minor adjustments may be called for on your set up.


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## where'smycoffee (Jan 28, 2007)

Thanks Tony,

I do have the integrated sway control. I have the two gold links, they look like turnbuckles I guess. The dealer never mentioned anything about adjusting those. I think the curved end of the WD bars does sit pretty well over the round end of the turnbuckles. Maybe it has something to do with the angle of the bars when they are on the round end of the sway cams? I think when I am hooked up the curved end of the WD bars are higher up then the end that attached to the ball head. The angle between where the WD bars go into the hitch head are probably close to a 45 degree angle.

Should the WD bars be level or flat when they are attached and under strain of the weight?

Thanks,
Stephen


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

When properly set up, the WD spring bars should be close to parallel with the ground, and the TT and TV should be level. The best thing for you to do is find a flat, fairly level parking lot, and readjust your hitch head angle.

Tim


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