,among other issues with the installation and setup of my weight distribution and sway control.
I bought a new Jayco 26BH TT in December and the dealer installed my Reese 1200lb round bar and DC. Since camping season has started I recently loaded it up with all of our gear, gone to the scales, and adjusted my WDH for my loaded setup. In the process of adjusting my my hitch I noticed that for the dentents on the spring bars to sit centered on the cam lobes one cam arm needed to be adjusted further than the other. I took some measurements and it looks like the cam brackets are not the same distance from the center of the coupler. The installation instructions from Reese say the center of the cam arm pivot should be 18 inches from the center of the coupler; they installed the streetside at 18 1/8 and the curbside at 17 5/8. My question is this: Is the fact that the cam arms are different lengths causing more sway than it is correcting, or is it still working the way it should since the cams are adjusted so the bars sit correctly?
If the cams are centered EXACTLY in the V of the bars when the truck and trailer are lined up straight, then you should be fine and the sway control will work as it should. Just watch extremely tight turns, especially if the truck and trailer are tipped a bit in opposite directions (like coming out/in of a gas station driveway) as one bar may be close to coming off the cam. This is not likely but has been known to happen.
Barney
2004 Sunnybrook Titan 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch
2002 Ford F250 Super Duty, 7.3L PSD Visit our website here
buzzard616 wrote: Don't rely too heavily on dealers.
Dust off your tools. put on a dirty shirt. Watch this video; and revel in your newfound knowledge and power.
Stu
I've watched all those e-trailer videos a few times, don't worry!
My only issue would be if I need to move the mount that's at 17 5/8" back to match the 18 1/8"(since that's already pretty durn close to the 18" spec) I would have to drill new 7/16" holes in my frame only 1/2" from the old incorrectly placed 7/16" holes. Since that won't leave me a whole lot of material between the holes, I'll also want to weld up the old holes to feel comfortable with the strength of the new attachment.
BarneyS wrote: If the cams are centered EXACTLY in the V of the bars when the truck and trailer are lined up straight, then you should be fine and the sway control will work as it should.
Barney
That was my first thought, but then I started thinking the unequal length arms might be exerting unequal force in sway situations which could increase sway instead of counteracting it. Then I started thinking I might be over-thinking and should ask for opinions...
Until the OP shears off one of those bolts during a tight turn...
or that it might have higher resistance when turning one way vs the other
How, exactly, would that happen?? The end of the WD bars is in the same place regardless of where the bracket mounts in front of it, right? The only thing that changes is where the bracket is mounted, and if the brackets are not even on the tongue, the angle of the adjustment link will differ slightly from side to side.
Quote: Also, there is a difference in forces between the left to right, so
will it 'steer' or 'pull' one way or the other?
Where is the difference? Again, if the bar ends are nested in the pockets like they should be, what does the arm care where the bracket is on the frame? It's the bar that moves, not the cam.
I'd personally contact the manufacturer and ask them before I contact the dealer again. In the mean time, I wouldn't be concerned myself.
fla-gypsy wrote: I don't think that 1/2" is significant in the overall operation of the system
Until the OP shears off one of those bolts during a tight turn...
or that it might have higher resistance when turning one way vs the other
Also, there is a difference in forces between the left to right, so
will it 'steer' or 'pull' one way or the other?
I'll not say not any concern, as who knows exactly what the difference
is and whether it will make a difference when every ounce of whatever
forces are necessary at that moment when you need it most
Do agree that since the holes are drilled, that there is little material
left to work with.
Never the less, I'd have that dealer make it right or have a 'good'
mechanic make it right (possibly weld? or whatever is needed) and
bill that dealer
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...
Funny, my dealer also didn't install it correctly. I had a bent bracket when I got home. They had to mail me a new one so I could fix it with the help of a friend who knows the hitch.
2011 Toyota Sequoia Platinum 5.7L V8 (next will be a 3/4, someday)
2012 Jayco Flight Swift 267BHS (5963lbs dry, 6650 wet)
Propride hitch (I had a Reese dual cam round bar WDH for 4 months)
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