I posted awhile back about our new 35' travel trailer with a tongue weight close to 950lbs and trailer weight coming in at about 9,000. the dealer put on my existing Reese Dual Cam system but sis not have it adjusted right. I found a big parking lot (casino) and adjusted the system per some videos and advice that I received on here. We just got back over the weekend from a camping trip and when we were leaving and i was hooking up the bars I noticed that the shaft part of the dual cam system were bent outward! The driver side is the worst. The passenger side is only bent a little. Has anybody had this issue? I am not sure what would have caused this.

 

Picture of set-up would be helpful. This has been reported before on Expeditions only, as far as I can remember. Seems to me it was related to number of chain links hanging. Might run a search and see what you find as it generated a lot of discussion. I don't recall it happening on any of the pick-up models.

What did the dealer do, that you did differently?

Steve

 

The dealer had the snap-up bars too far back on the frame so the chains were not straight up and down. They were at a diagonal towards to the back of the camper. They also did not have the end of the spring bars sitting in the cam arms properly.

I have four links hanging down now when I tow.

 

It sounds to me like you made all the necessary corrections. Why not call Reese customer service directly and see what they say? They are the experts on their products and that would be my first step. I called them a couple of days ago when I had a question and they were very helpful.

Steve

 

Yep, I tried that and they told me to go to the camper dealer. I am hesitant of that since they did not get it set up right in the first place. I don't have any other places close to me so I am at a loss. It sounded like that the dealership had to make the call whether it was set up wrong or part defect. I have the camper scheduled for service this friday so I guess I will bring it to their attention.

 

There was a service bulletin sent out by Reese on these as many dealers were installing them incorrectly plus Reese had 3 different styles. Send me your e-mail and I can forward you the service bulletin.

 

Take a look at the torsion bars, they should have a weight rating on them. Mine are rated for 750 pounds. With your new TT there is a possibility you have overloaded the bars and bent them.
Four links seems awful tight to me, six is much more reasonable (just something to look at).

 

Looking at my photo attached below, which version of Reese Dual Cam arms bent on you?


The top one (as installed on one of my trailers)?


Or the bottom one (resting on wood for reference)?

 

Matt, my email is spiderkdc@yahoo.com.

Y2k, mine are like the bottom ones resting on wood pile.

Wrvond, my torsion bars are rated at 1200 pounds and that is note what bent. My cams bent on the Reese system.

 

The bottom ones on the wood pile are Made in China. That's why they are on the wood pile, and not on my trailer. Unfortunately, the original ones that are on my trailer (Made in USA and Canada) are no longer available.

My recommendation: Call the Reese hotline at Cequent Towing products. I know you said you already called. Call them back. Ask for an email address to a Reese technician to whom you can send a photo of a Reese product to. That may lead to a replacement part being sent, and/or some additional diagnosis on what went wrong.


Also, post the photos on the RV sites like rv.net and irv2.com to solicit their thoughts.

 

Since Reese already suggested you check with a dealer and you are taking it in, do that as a first step as you have nothing to lose.

I would suggest reviewing the videos on etrailer for this set-up as they are detailed. I also have noted in researching the Internet that five chain links is the recommended minimum to insure adequate clearance, though I do know if this caused your problem.

This product is well rated by owners so I suspect failures are uncommon, although incorrect installations by dealers also are widely reported leaving me to consider the possibility the installer did not understand how the dual cam works.

My two cents worth

Steve

 

You already posted that you were taking your camper in this Friday, and you've already determined that the manner in which your dealer set up your WD was inconsistent with the videos you watched on the topic.


It might be a good idea to print the pdfs of official Reese instructions on their High Performance Dual Cam system, and bring these print outs with you when you go to the dealer this Friday. Perhaps highlight ahead of time some of the diagrams in the instructions on the relevant steps where you think the dealer deviated from how it was supposed to be set up.


Basically, bring some substantiation to your claim that the dealer may have erred.


I would still send photos of your bent arms to Reese. I misunderstood earlier that they were "broken", but I re read your first post to find that they were only bent. That's a big difference, which points more to set up issues than a lack of quality control of materials.

 

Given the OP changed the initial install, even though they were installed incorrectly, I would anticipate a battle. I encourage my customers to always call me immediately if they feel there is a problem with what I did. I think most service centers feel the same way.

Steve

 

Thank-you everybody for your input. I will start with the dealer and see where that goes.

Do you guys think that making tight turns can cause this? I have to make a tight turn in my driveway when we get back from a trip in order to get it parked. I guess I could always stop, jack it up and take the bars off before moving but that would be a pain every time, plus the EX squats really bad. The only thing I have added is the Roadmaster springs. I know I need new leaf springs all around and I am thinking about air bags as well.

I have attached some pictures. It is a little hard to make out that it is bent but refer to the threaded part of shaft and you can tell and you can see the flat bar where the chain connects to is all bent up.

 

I can't tell you for sure what caused it, but often folks disconnect their bars in a situation such as you describe. I have the very very old double cam that predates the design of anything pictured here and it raises Cain on tight turns, though I haven't bent it yet.

The bend in your pictures is obvious as thought there was not enough clearance.

Steve