Now that I saw its a 35 footer...you NEED anti sway, no matter what. Not worth the risk.

Please take my advice.


Shane

 

+1

The bad part is that when you find out you need it, it will be too late. If you're lucky, you'll only need new shorts.

 

What do you guys think about using an independent sway control device w/o a WD hitch??

 

Your TT is going to be probably around 8k pounds dry. By the time you are done loading it, expect to be well north of 9k and most likely 9.5+. Since you have 2 large rear slides, you will need to learn to nose load that trailer to help offset the weight in the back to where you have proper tongue weight. It looks like you will also have storage in the back which will work against nose loading the trailer. Too much weight in the back can lead to sway. Then you have your tanks. If those tanks have anything in them and if they are forward or in back of the axles can also affect tongue weight, + or -.

I have driven a TT with a W/D that was improperly setup and I can tell you it wasn't pleasant (Improper setup can equate to no W/D). Front of the truck felt very loose/light so steering wasn't exact where I would want it. It also lead to a bit of uneasyness for the handling and some porpoising = white knuckle driving. So, since I have experienced a bad setup, I will not drive a TT without W/D and sway control. Seems like cheap insurance to me even on my SRW F350.

I have never driven with only sway control and not sure exactly how to do that cheap anyway since friction sway requires a special hitch...unless there is something I am not aware of. I use Reese Dual-cam rounded bars at 1200# and I am very happy with it. I originally had a friction bar and didn't feel it did much of anything, probably needed two. For your trailer, you would absolutely need two friction bars for that weight and length but there are better anti-sway devices than friction bars. A good online shop for W/D and hitches is etrailer.com. I have bought many things from them and they are always very helpful and have decent prices.

Not trying to scare you just letting you know what to expect.

 

I'm not concerned with the weight of the trailer and the truck being level. Ride rite air bags will fix that.

My only concern is not having enough tongue weight. The fresh water tank is behind the rear axles and there isn't much storage up front to offset it. I will be taking a trip to the scales to find out how heavy it really is and how much tongue weight it has, empty and loaded. I'll add a secondary water tank up front if needed to help offset the rear tank.

 

Forget the Reese or any other brand chain style wd hitch. My buddy and I both had 30ft travel trailers, similar floor plans and weights, he bought the cheaper Reese chain type we'd hitch and I got a 12000lb equalizer wd hitch with integrated 4point sway control. He can't go much over 55mph before his sways and causes the white knuckles I can go 80mph with all the confidence in the world. I have towed well over 40k on my equalizer, sold to thiis buddy a few weeks ago as I bought a new fiver and didn't need. Sold him the equalizer for $300, similar to used prices others were getting. He called me the minute he hit the road the first I've and said he would have never bought the Reese we'd hitch if he knew just how much better the eqaulaizer is. He can now do 80mph with zero sway. Hands down, equalizer is he way to go! Period.

On the equalizer you don't have to jump out to unlock the friction sway like you do on others. Just set it and hit the road. Ask anyone who has an equalizer, WAY better than anything else. And no, I don't sell equalizers. Just a science teacher that has traveled the us each summer for the last five years, two months of vacation is awesome! The kids are more bearable if I think oabout June and July!

 

Hensley is also a good alternative. I had one on my TT. Sway and wd are built into it. Excellent choice but pricey...lifetime warranty though if I recall.

 

As can I with my Reese Dual cam. If it is not setup correctly you will have problems...just like any other W/D hitch.

Don't for a second think the Reese hitch is bad because it is not and there are plenty of people who would agree. Not trying to start an argument, just don't agree with your statement.

 

I have driven both, have you? If not, find one and then let me know.

 

Why? Mine works perfect as it is adjusted correctly and I have no reason to switch. I'm not saying the Equalizer is bad, just saying the Reese is not bad.

 

Pro pride is great..

Do not knock the Reese dual cam.

Do homework before you make any decisions. My Airstream is 7300 loaded more....I will live by my Reese...and I have already towed over 20,000 miles with it from Florida to the great state of Washington. Mountains,hills,winds storms......no problems EVER,

Get the Reese.


Btw....I have and do tow up to 80+ mph...not advised,..but New Mexico is pretty open.
Shane

 

Here is a good read from air forums.....



Some time ago there was a post asking for opinions on Eq vs. Reese dual cam from someone who has towed with BOTH. There were no responses to that request. I am now in a position to give an analysis of both with several thousand miles towing with each.

Rules of engagement:
1) Hensley and PP are not in this evaluation only because I have no personal experience with either and just can't see dropping the cash for that price class of hitch unless I receive a windfall. They are fine hitches, I just haven't used one. So this post only deals with us lower price class buyers. If you can afford a PP or Hensly, go for it.

2) This post is MY HUMBLE OPINION based on MY experiences only!!! I am not interested in opening up the traditional arguments...my opinions are mine....take them or leave them. OK? Fair?

Hitches used:
1) Equalizer 10,000 pound ball mount and 1000 pound bars
2) Reese dual cam 10,000 pound ball mount and 800 pound bars

My trailer is a 30' Classic, 8500 total weight, with hitch weights varying from 850# to 975#, depending on trip and "toys" etc. aboard. Verified with shurline scale before each trip start.

Various TVs used.

I am 100% confident in proper setups of both hitches, from years of experience as well as nuggets of knowledge picked up in these forum threads. I use weight slips as well as measurement of TV and AS for setups.

So, here we go:

Setup:
Eq is very simple to adjust, with only 2 possible adjustment areas; head tilt and L-bracket height. (OK, torque on the torsion bar trunnions is an adjustment, but only have to torque them down a couple times a year, at most. BTW, spec is 45#feet minimum torque. I like about 60#feet of torque.)

Reese is complicated to adjust to varying loads. There are 3 adjustment to contend with; head tilt, cam arms, and chains. (OK, really you shouldn't be moving the chains up and down, they should be at 5 links under stress and all your additional flex needs should be accomplished with head tilt. HOWEVER, virtually any relatively significant change in load or ANY change in head tilt requires the cam arms to be adjusted. More on this later.

FOR EASE OF SETUP EQUALIZER WINS.

Noisy operation:

EQ creaks and moans with some occasional pops when the bars move suddenly and "slap" the L-brackets or retainer pins. This can be reduced to an acceptable level by lubing the friction surfaces at the trunnions and the L-brackets. Bracket Jackets can be purchased for the L-Brackets. They work fine with no greasy mess and don't seem to noticeably change performance.

Reese was VERY noisy out of the box, with all the noise coming from the cam to spring bar interface. SUBSTANTIALLY louder creaks and pops than the EQ. With the trunnion lubed, there is no appreciable noise from that area. Vasoline (NOT GREASE) applied to the cams greatly diminishes the pops and creaks from that interface. I did one other thing to the spring bars which VIRTUALLY eliminated all noise. When the bars are bent to form the cam pockets (in a forge???), during manufacture, they are anything but flat in the surfaces which interface with the cams. I found tooling marks, and twists which caused a non-uniform contact with the cams. Some of the twists and "lips" left during the bending process, very quickly cause grooves to be cut in the cams. Every turn causes the bars to pop in and out of these grooves. LOUD popping resulted. I took a DREMMEL stone and lightly worked the high spots on the spring bars, and after several tows, and examining and "tooling" contact patterns after each tow, I now have pretty even contact patches on both cam/bar interfaces. It's now pretty doggone quiet until vasoline wears off. (500 - 600 miles), and then it's just a little creaky.

FOR NOISE IT"S PRETTY MUCH A PUSH, except the Reese took more fiddling to get there.

On Road Performance:

EQ is rock solid and very predictable with the same amount of RESISTANCE to motion in both directions of trunnion travel during a sway activity. This give a feeling of a very dampened or dead type of movement. When you get a truck push AND you don't induce more sway, you get the one motion toward the curb and one motion back to center...very dampened and predictable.

Reese is very solid on center and wants to stay there...MAYBE a little better than EQ, but the difference is imperceptible to the point that you think you may be trying to convince yourself that there is a difference. HOWEVER, where I find the Reese a little quirky is when you do go off center, by it's design, it wants to actively find center again. This seems to cause 3 motions: The truck push toward curb, the cam system "pulling" you back to center...AND what feels like a small "snap" off center to the streetside. I think this is because if you have the proper flex (tension) on the bars they will want to SNAP back to center and "overrun" the center point a little. I don't think this is a worse performance than the EQ, but it is an extra motion in the "wag" that I don't prefer. I prefer the deadness of the friction in the EQ. Also, I have found that it doesn't take a lot of load change, either in the truck bed or the front of the trailer to cause the cams to not be centered in the spring saddles since last adjustment. You can't just eyeball this. It can look centered but try slipping a .010 or .020 feeler gauge between the spring bar and cam face. This is enough to cause a twitchy on center feeling.

I PREFER EQ FOR ROAD FEEL although sway "control" is a push when I purposely induce a sway (where safe and appropriate to do so).

But, folks, here is the deal breaker! We have, in other threads discussed in depth the flexibility (or lack thereof) of various bars and brands, and the possible detrimental effect on your AS. (See Inland RV for article and graphic test results). Search for threads and you can read for days!
I just couldn't live with the stiffness of the 1000# EQ bars, even with a half ton TV suspension. I won't clarify any further here on that subject, as there are MANY threads and posts re. that. Unfortunately, EQ only sells lower rated bars matched with lower rated ball mounts. I think I would try a 600 pound EQ bar, but it comes with a 6000 pound ball mount. I weight in a 8500 pounds....not going to happen. Various EQ bars are not interchangeable with any given ball mount. The trunnions are different sizes. I need a 10000 pound ball mount with 600# (or less with the STIFF EQ ratings) spring bar.

SO! even though I like the performance and ease of setup of the EQ, until they wake up and provide a way for US to dial in our setups, REESE DUAL CAM is the winner.

Equalizer vs. Reese dual cam road test - Airstream Forums


Shane

 

Looks like an excellent choice sir! I'm sure your boy will come around

 

Andrew, a list like this helps me out a bunch.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...UVrbEVManVSUWc

 

You need a good parts place. My favorite is here: RV Parts and Accessories for Sale - PPL Motor Homes. Amazon also has lots of RV stuff. You have to experiment with toilet mixers (bio or blue formaldahyde) to see which works best and keeps your sensors clean. I put a 250 watt solar panel on my 5er, and a charger. I use an inverter to power the DVD/TV at night because it is quiet. The next day the panel charges my two 6 volt golf cart batts. You will want to upgrade to Costco or Sams golf cart batts at some point. They really last WAY longer before peetering out. Do you have a Onan genset on that unit? If not you can pickup a refurbed 2800 watt Yamaha on the Yamaha website for running your microwave and coffee pot. 3300 watt to start your AC if you have that. Buy one of those black tank cleaners that have a swiveling head on the end of a hose type things and shove that down your toilet, turn it on and spray off the walls of your black tank with it. Otherwise your tank level sensors will degrade quickly and you may have an overflow condition (we finally did) and it was not pretty, which isnt a problem if you stay level on the way home. Look around your yard for a "clean out access" for the sewer pipe that runs from your house to the street. You can use a macerator pump and hose to dump in there instead of paying 10 bucks each time. Or if you have a bathroom close to your parking pad at your crib. Your neighbors will watch, so have a few cold ones on hand and invite them over to watch and have a beer and get them close enough downwind of the hole. They will leave you alone then. That always irritates me at state campgrounds, you are trying to dump and people come over to shoot the breeze. I mean, dumping is a private matter almost as private as going. Why do people do this? Do they enjoy the smell of *&^% in the morning?


You MUST have some sort of weight distributing hitch to transfer your trailer weight to your front axle. Air bags wont do that. Just go buy a reasonably priced one. Ive used a few diff brands from camping world. The cheapest one was noisy and I feared it would snap off. I settle on their "good" model with chains, no sway control as the truck will do that for you. (that should get the hackles of some up).

I have a keystone and it is built rock solid. The cougar line is popular because it is a awesome RV and lasts. You did good! A cheap floor jack for the camper I believe is a must for changing a blow out. You will get one the first time you have a flat and use a bottle jack. Put it in your storage nooks with a small tool kit and some RV light bulbs and fuses. If you stop at an RV park, you'll blow fuses as their power is horrible. One more thing, buy and install an in line water filter with a replaceable cartridge. Mine is in the main bedroom sink cold water line. That way, we can use our fresh water tank for drinking water and tooth brushing and coffee water without dragging along more water in bottles. Most of the good cartridges filter out all sorts of bacteria. You don't want your 7 year old with water tank diarrhea and bloody head gashes on the camp site. Congrats Mike