# Reese dual cam hp sway control



## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

I have my reese dual cam hp sway control on order, should be here tomorrow. I'm currently using a friction control that is bolted on the street side of the a-frame. The hp model needs to have holes drilled in the both sides of the a-frame. I haven't measured yet, but I'm concerned about more holes in the a-frame and their location to the friction mount holes. I could leave the friction mount on which would give more stability to the area. Has anyone done this install and encountered a similar concern? What was your solution?


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

Check out this previous topic for adjustmentsPrevious posts

The extra holes should not be a problem, it is only two per side that do not go thru the frame. Regardless if you leave the friction there or not, there will still be extra holes in the frame. From memory, the front hole is about 12 1/2" back from the coupler. I can measure it if you want.

I did run into a problem hitting the serial number plate, I just drilled out one of the rivets, flipped it over and re-riveted it.

Good luck

Kevin


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

hurricaneplumber said:


> Check out this previous topic for adjustmentsPrevious posts
> 
> The extra holes should not be a problem, it is only two per side that do not go thru the frame. Regardless if you leave the friction there or not, there will still be extra holes in the frame. From memory, the front hole is about 12 1/2" back from the coupler. I can measure it if you want.
> 
> ...


Thanks-excellent information in that thread that will help a great deal. It did raise another question however. Draw-tite's instructions for my product read that when finished with the proper weight distribution, the front measurement of my vehicle should stay the same and the rear measurement should be slightly lower. I have checked my setup and that is exactly what i have, the front wheel well stays at 32 1/2 inches and the rear drops 1 1/4 inches with trailer mounted. The thread states that each measurement should drop an equal amount front and rear- which is correct or is it different for each tow vehicle?


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## camping479 (Aug 27, 2003)

Having the front and the rear drop the same amount and having the wd bars approximately parallel to the ground is the goal you are trying for. If your front is staying the same and the rear is dropping 1 1/4, then you need to tighten up the bars to get more weight to the front axle. It may be as simple as raising up to the next chain link on the bars, or, you may need to tilt the hitch head back a few more degrees to get more tension on the bars and have them stay parallel to the ground.

It can be a pain to set it up the first time, but the reward is a much better handling setup.

Mike


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## jallen58 (Oct 27, 2003)

As camping479 says it can be a pain but well worth it if your bars are parellel to the tt frame then you need to tilt the hitch head back witch tilts the bars lower so you get more tension with the same number of chain links hanging. You should get the same squat front and rear preferably a little more in rear. If the front is'nt squating then no load is being transfered to the front wheels witch could make for light steering as to much rear squat will cause sway.

Jim


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## DANJOGAVINMO (Apr 17, 2004)

Illinois boy,

I had to end up pulling my friction bar plate off because it interfered with the dual cam. I don't worry too much about the extra holes.

Regarding the adjustment, I really struggle with the various opinions that exist on the topic. I have been able to bring my rear end up well within 1" of unloaded height and keep front end matched to unloaded height. If I don't hook up the bars, the FE definitely sits higher when loaded, so I know that I am transferring some weight forward.

I have pretty much run out of tilt in my hitch head thus I would have to crank up another link on the bars which in would then make the bars come unlevel. Seems there is no way to get my setup any better than it currently is, but I am currently set up like the instructions specify so I guess I am inclined to feel OK about my setup.

Danny


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

I had the same problem as you may have read in the linked thread. I'm pulling from the 4th link with the bars slightly out of parallel with the trailer frame. It still works perfectly although I had to notch the propane bottle bracket because the cams were lightly rubbing on it.

If the Reese head tilted farther back I could get balanced on the 5th link instead. However, you should really try to get more pressure on your system. If your dropping 1.25" in the rear and nothing in the front you're still out of balance. Not badly though, but still could be better. I'll bet you can get it to drop 1/2" in the front and .75-1" in the rear if you went up a link. This would be close to ideal.

It's more important to level the load on the tow vehicle than to get those bars perfectly level with the frame. The bars and Reese system will still work fine. Mine do


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

California Jim said:


> I had the same problem as you may have read in the linked thread.Â I'm pulling from the 4th link with the bars slightly out of parallel with the trailer frame.Â It still works perfectly although I had to notch the propane bottle bracket because the cams were lightly rubbing on it.
> 
> If the Reese head tilted farther back I could get balanced on the 5th link instead.Â However, you should really try to get more pressure on your system.Â If your dropping 1.25" in the rear and nothing in the front you're still out of balance.Â Not badly though, but still could be better.Â I'll bet you can get it to drop 1/2" in the front and .75-1" in the rear if you went up a link.Â This would be close to ideal.


I have begun installing the reese dual cam ( heavy suckers ) and have notched the gas tank bottle frame, prepared to remove the serial number plate and have the actual cams temporarily mounted to the frame. So far so good. But ( there's always a but ) the instructions that came with the setup call for an 18" distance between the center of the hitch ball socket and the forward nut on the cam. This has my chain hanging pretty far forward. The instructions state " it may be necessary to adjust frame plate position on frame for certain coupler and frame combinations ", but does not give a reference point to adjust by. Am I trying to get the chain to hang straight through the rear of the cam as in the pictures on the instructions ? It further says " confirm that the cam is approx. 1/2" forward of the detent of the spring bar as it is raised by the snap up bracket " , this would follow that the chains should be hanging straight or very close to it. Correct ? Also, the spring bar must ride on top of the cam loosely (?) since the width of the spring bar is thinner than the width of the area of the cam it sits on, or is my Drawtite spring bar the wrong size ?


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Hello Mark:

Yes the chain should hang as straight as possible over the cam heads so when you pull them up the chain is close to a 90 degree angle to the frame. Also, my chain levers are not bolted to the frame, just cinched up with that big hold down bolt in the back. You can leave it like this, or just use it to try the system a few times, then drill the frame and bolt it down when you think it's right.

It's most critical to get that forward bolt for the cams the right distance from the center of the ball mount. Then just hang the chain straight over it. You will be able to adjust the cams forward and backwards to get them sitting right in the "socket" of your spring arms once it's all together.

Good deal that you notched the propane bottle mounts. Even at 5 links those cams are still pretty close.

Here is a picture of what it should look like when done:


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

California Jim said:


> It's most critical to get that forward bolt for the cams the right distance from the center of the ball mount.Â Then just hang the chain straight over it.Â You will be able to adjust the cams forward and backwards to get them sitting right in the "socket" of your spring arms once it's all together.


I have the cams all mounted with the spring bars attached for a dry run and here is what I have. I did not want to cut into the gas tank frame too far, so I switched the frame plates and put them in the " optional " orientation ( cam front rides under the front screw instead of rear unlike yours ) and have levelled the chains by moving the lifters farther forward, like yours, in the picture. The only thing I don't like is the amount of threads showing on the rear of the cam arm is almost none. Almost all of the threads are in front of the yoke, leaving very little for adjustment., although I think that the rear nut is only for locking anyway. Is yours like that or are there more threads because you cut off more of the gas frame and used the preferred orientation for the frame plate ?


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

I'm not sure what you mean by the orientation of your cam front being under the front bolt. Regardless, so long as your round cam sits properly in the rounded end of the spring arms you are OK. Once you get the position right it won't need to be adjusted anymore.

Really if you think about it, you don't have a choice about the cam location. The cam bend in your spring bars is going to be a set distance back because of the bar length and hitch head. So your objective is to set the cam in a location where it easily sits in that spot. Then you can use the cam adjustment to fine tune the location.

My cam is sitting right about in the middle of the threaded adjustment. Also, even though I'm pulled up on the 4th link which has my bars riding high on the back end, I still didn't need to cut out much of the bottle mount. just about a 3/4 x 3" piece.

Sounds like you're almost there









ON EDIT: After taking a close look tonight I measured 16" from the CENTER of the ball socket to the CENTER of the first frame bolt that holds the cam assembly. Also, my cams are adjusted IN almost all the way forward with very little thread left to go.


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

Hi guys, When I went through the set up proceedure I also followed the measurements they recommended, 18" from center of ball with bracket closest to chain holder( preferred mounting according to instructions). As it turned out when I went to do the adjustments I had no threads to do it with. Luckly it was a easy fix by just turning the bracket around( optional mounting according to instructions), this gave me all the threads I needed and put the locking bolts in the center. Hopes this helps Kirk


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

I finally called Reese Support 'cause I didn't want to screw it up. The tech told me that the most important measurement was to get 1/2 inch between the integrated cam on the spring arm and the cam seat so that when it was drawn up by the chain puller, it fit directly on the cam. He said the 18 " measurement was only for reference and to spread my cams so the threads were even and then mount the frame plate accordingly. So I did. It's installed, needs a little bit of tweaking, but it did not change my weight distribution at all. I see that you Jim, have 3 links showing in your picture for your setup between the hook link and the u-bolt. Has this given you the pressure you needed to send your weight up front? I'm on 4 and I will try three if you recommend it. Thanks.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

OK, I see what you guys mean about the optional mounting position. You simply reverse the brackets to the the other side of the trailer, right to left and vise versa.

As to the links down, I'm on the 4th and would not reccomend going any further. At the 4th I had to notch the bottle frame as you know, and at 3 links your bars would be pulled up way too high. Your solution is to tilt your hitch ball as far back as it will go. This is assuming you have the Reese hitch head that uses that multisided washer. If so set the washer to the #1 position which is stamped right on the washer and is the farthest back you can go.

Even in this position I still found that the Reese head could not tilt far enough back to give me enough pressure on the 5th link. That's why I'm riding on the 4th. Just to clarify, what I am referring to as the 4th link is the 4th link starting at the cam and counting AWAY or UP the chain. Don't count the U-bolt either, just chain links.

With the hitch ball tilted all the way back you should be able to generate enough pressure on the bars at hopefully the 5th and definately the 4th link. At the 4th my truck dropped 1/2" at all four fenderwells.

One last note, after you get the Reese system all adjusted, don't forget your trailer needs to be perfectly level or slightly lower in the front. This may require changing your ball height which could then affect your weight settings on the bar too







Yeah, a bit of a hassle, but once it's done you can "set it and forget it!" It was worth the effort on mine and definately rides rock solid.


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

I have a Draw-tite head. It can be adjusted by putting washers behind the bolt which gives the same effect as yours, but yours is slicker. This is a little more difficult than I thought, especially since everytime I talk to the hitch man at my dealership, he talks abou the rear settling and the front measurement staying the same, which as I mentioned is what the draw-tite instructions call for. I can see after this amount of time, that a dealer would never spend this much time tweaking a hitch to get it as near perfect as possible, plus he has no idea of what or how you are loading the trailer. I'm going to try to install a washer to force the head back tonight and see if that changes the weight distribution any.


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## aplvlykat (Jan 25, 2004)

Mark I know what you are saying, after Jim explained it to me there was no way the dealer spent the time to set it up right. They just did a quicky and set it ot the default setting. Kirk


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

I tried to get those bolts loose for 1/2 hour with no luck. I don't think I have the right tools for this type of heavy duty job. I think I will either try to take it to the local auto shop or try to get the dealer to do it tomorrow when I go in for warranty work. Hopefully if I ask him while it's there, the hitch installer will spend a little time with it and help me tweak it a little if I tell him what exactly I need.


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## DANJOGAVINMO (Apr 17, 2004)

If they are torqued good it will take big wrenches to move the bolts on the head. Thankfully my father in law had a set for these sized bolts. I had to reef on them and they are probably 16" long or more.

technically some would claim that you should use a torque wrench to retighten them (assuming you can ever get the things off). I just tightened them as hard as I could. probably should get a torque wrench at some point.

If you are trying to loosen with something smaller i would recomend purchase of some decent wrenches so you can do adjustments yourself in the future. Seems like you also need a big wrench to tighten down the cam bolts also.

Good luck. A trailer with a well adjusted dual cam system is a pleasure to tow.

PS, I also got "duped" by the whole 18" deal, bottom line is that measurement is totally controlled by the length of your wd bars. I also moved my chain shackles forward some to allow the chain to be vertical from the cam to the shackle.


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## illinoisboy (Jun 11, 2004)

Just got back from the dealership and he took the time to re-measure my hitch, ball height and check the weight distributing system. He added two washers to the bolt that adjusted the hitch angle out and it dropped the front 1/4 " and the back 3/4 ". I think thats about as good as it's gonna get until we load for camping. I can feel the difference in the nose- it's not so light and with the dual cam setup the tv and tt feel as one unit. When one moves the other moves with it which is a little strange at first, but I think once the hitch weight is raised when loaded - it should be fine. Thanks guys for all your help and input.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Very nice Mark, that sounds pretty good. I think Reese even says in their brochure that their intention is to lock the TV and TT into one unit when pulling in a straight line. And that sounds like what you have accomplished. You will be well pleased with the system properly set-up. Congrats!


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