Trusted Reese Hitch Guy ?

[RWRiley]

If you have been watching my other posts, you can probably tell I have been unsure about what to do about sway control. I'm reluctant to do anything because my current setup it just about perfect in terms of Weight distribution, as proved by the scales. But, I have no sway control.

If I can have what I really want, it would be Reese Dual Cam. I had another rig that used that setup and it was rock solid. I currently have a Reese trunnion bar setup with no sway control. I don't get a lot of sway, but I'm not rock solid. I could go with the Reese friction sway bars without changing my setup, but I question how much they really help.

I had a trusted guy in Northern Indiana that did my last one, but he says he doesn't do much Reese anymore. Does anyone know of a good Reese hitch guy in my part of the the midwest (Indiana, west Ohio, east Illinois, southern michigan) they would trust to install and setup a Dual Cam ?

Rich

[{tpc}]

I have experience with the friction sway bar. It actually does help. You have to tighten it up a bit more then you might even think, but it does work. I actually have two, one on each side, and for me that setup works really well.

If I know there isn't any wind, and I'm going a short distance like from storage yard to home, I don't even put them on. If its a trip and wind is light I might not start with them really tight unless I feel it needs it, then I will tighten them up during a rest area stop.

As for a trusted guy, I really don't know. We bought our trailer at General RV so I have had them adjust my hitch a few times. You just have to feel out the guy your talking to and figure it out. The very first time, the guy was super knowledgeable explaining and showing us everything with the hitch. Later on when I got a new truck I got a older guy who pretty much was just a manager and tried to step in because they were busy. He just tried to tell me to crank up the bars more to level it out (which isn't the way to do it) and he ended up busting a knuckle trying to show me. 10 min later a younger guy came out and I told him what I wanted and he took it back and adjusted it properly.

So I guess I trust the general guys because they have a ton of places and sell lots of rvs. I feel like each place has at least one guy who can set up a hitch right. Who that guy is, I don't know, but you can tell when you talk to them.

[mwemaxxowner]

Is there a reason you can't install and adjust it yourself?

I installed my Curt, and adjusted it with a tape measure per the instructions, then went to hit a scale to see how well my weight was distributed. Going off the measurements, with my goal being to get the front wheel well back close to unloaded spec, got my scale numbers pretty good. I need to back off one hole to remove a small bit of tension on my bars, because I've actually transferred a bit too much weight to the front axle.

It was very close though and towed well set up like that.

[{tpc}]

Originally Posted by mwemaxxowner

Is there a reason you can't install and adjust it yourself?

I installed my Curt, and adjusted it with a tape measure per the instructions, then went to hit a scale to see how well my weight was distributed. Going off the measurements, with my goal being to get the front wheel well back close to unloaded spec, got my scale numbers pretty good. I need to back off one hole to remove a small bit of tension on my trunnion bars, because I've actually transferred a bit too much weight to the front axle.

It was very close though and towed well set up like that.

Just speaking for myself, not the OP, I just don't have the tools required to properly break loose and torque down the hardware, which is why I had it done.

I actually changed the shank at one point myself, but I did it in the garage at work with the help of a guy who isn't here anymore unfortunately. At least here we have/had the tools.

[mwemaxxowner]

Yeah, I do have the tools and a torque wrench. I prefer to spend my money on the tools to do a job, so that I can save money doing subsequent jobs in the future, vs paying labor rates for someone else to do a job. As long as the job isn't over my head. I have learned the hard way, though, that there is definitely a time to understand your limits and hand it over to a pro. Lol

I keep a torque wrench in my camper to check the lugs and the hitch hardware each time I hitch up.

[RWRiley]

Originally Posted by mwemaxxowner

Is there a reason you can't install and adjust it yourself?

The 1 thing stopping me on the Dual Cam is drilling into the frame. I just don't feel good about that.

If I go with the Husky Centerline TS, I feel good about doing it myself, although (like {tpc} said) I don't have a torque wrench. I do have a breaker bar and a 4' pipe, but I would be guessing. One of the hitch bolts needs 380 ft lbs.

[NH_Bulldog]

In my opinion, the best hitch guy (or girl) is the one driving the vehicle with all you hold dear in the world. No one in the world is more invested in the life and safety of your family than you. For that reason, I am the one installing and adjusting my hitch. If something happens on the road, I know how to fix it. If something goes out of adjustment, I know how to fix it. I know it’s not that way for everyone, but I had the dealer install my hitch set-up 750 miles from home this April and it almost killed us. Re-did the set-up myself (simply following the instructions) and we now have over 5,000 miles of stress free and worry free towing behind us.

[mwemaxxowner]

That IS a ton of torque. My tightest bolts were 200 lb/ft. And a torque wrench that would measure 380 will be very expensive!

If bet many shops won't torque any of it though.

[chuckster57]

I bet those are minimum torque specs. I use an air impact gun that produces 700 ft lbs of torque. At home I have a 3/4” torque wrench that only goes to 250 ft lbs and it was near $80.00

[sourdough]

The Equalizer manual states 430 ft.-lbs. of torque for the ball. My torque wrench (3/4 drive) only goes to 300 ft.-lbs. I also use a high torque impact wrench to "cinch it down" and just use the torque wrench to make sure it is over 300 ft.-lbs. - which is darn hard to pull without a cheater bar.

I'm sure they make those numbers high simply to make sure the ball does not come loose. On the initial installation of my hitch, done by the dealer, they forgot to even tighten the ball at all. Got home and the nut lacked 2 threads or so before coming loose. Thankfully the heavy load on it probably kept it from bouncing enough to just come out. Now, it is cinched down before every trip and checked with the torque wrench and thin wall socket periodically when traveling to prevent a recurrence.

[mwemaxxowner]

My ball was already mounted, I just had to torque the bolts for the L brackets and the hitch head to shank.

[MarkEHansen]

If you want to torque to specs, then you need to also honor the torque wrench instructions. You'll find that they are only good with a certain range of their sales spec. I can't remember now, but it's something like 10% above the low spec and 10% below the high spec. So a wrench spec to 300 lbs can't reliably torque to 300 lbs.

To get the really high torque values required by the hitch parts, I purchased the Performance Tool 200-600 ftlb Torque Wrench M204, which gives me plenty of range for those really high torque values. I think I got it for around $280 from Northern Tool but I see they have it now for just over $200 and others have it for less.

... and like others, I found that the dealer who installed my hitch didn't bother to torque any of the nuts to spec - some not even close (I'm sure those were missed).

[RWRiley]

Originally Posted by mwemaxxowner

That IS a ton of torque. My tightest bolts were 200 lb/ft. And a torque wrench that would measure 380 will be very expensive!

If bet many shops won't torque any of it though.

I had a local shop switch out my hitch ball because the spec called for 450 ft lbs on the nut. They ended up using a crescent wrench, and there is NO WAY they even came close to 450. I ended up putting a pipe wrench on it with a 4' cheater bar. Not sure I got to 450, but I'm pretty sure it's not going anywhere.

If I do the hitch myself, I will do the same. 18" breaker with a 4' cheater. Hopefully my breaker can take it.

[chuckster57]

I use an air impact gun that produces 700 ft lbs.

[MarkEHansen]

I'm curious (as I have an electric impact wrench) - how do you know if you are under or over torquing a fastener? Both are bad, aren't they?

[travelin texans]

It seems that just in past few years that EVERYTHING has to be torqued. A few years ago torque was a 4' cheater on your breaker bar, if more was needed you stood on the end of the cheater & if you wanted it damn tight use a longer cheater with a couple guys standing on it. Mechanics & machinist were the only ones I knew that had or used torque wrenches. Now even the castle nut on the wheel bearings has to be torqued, which I never knew or did for 40+ years of packing wheel bearings.

[sourdough]

Haaa! And therein lies the conundrum for those that have pulled for years. Years past, I don't know that they sold a "torque" wrench that would pull 400 ft. lbs. We just wrenched it as hard as it would go. Result? It worked just fine and nothing went south. Now....? Manufacturers are trying to CYA because they know the current generations expect "someone" did it for them...Not trying to start a conversation or debate - just a real life observation from someone that deals with it all the time.

[RWRiley]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Manufacturers are trying to CYA because they know the current generations expect "someone" did it for them...

CYA is right. If something goes wrong the manufacturers can always say it wasn't torqued to the correct spec.