m16fullauto
Louisburg NC USA
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Something just dawned on me. If you have that much force causing bent metal between the TV hitch and TT, you may be causing enough metal fatigure to snap the metal in your tow vehicle hitch !
I'd take the time to check the hitch ball shaft for any cracks plus the hitch assembly and especially where the sway bars connect
2004.5 Dodge 2500 Diesel 4x4
2006 Jayco Jayflight 31BHDS
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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Anyone else notice that it looks as though the WD bar is too wide for the cam arm? either way you need to be watching the bars as someone else turns the truck with the trailer attached.
You`ll find it, just keep an eye open.
Good luck!
Wife Kim 
Son Brandon 8yrs
Daughter Marissa 7yrs
Dog Shadow 
07 Cherokee 32B
02 Excursion 4X4 V-10 4.30 gear, Hellwig sway bar
Reese HP dualcam,Prodigy brake controller.
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rvluversnc93
Thomasville NC
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By the pictures and where the bend started it almost makes think that the swing arm had hit the threaded end of the u-bolt that mounts the swing arm to the trailer tongue. Is there any side to side play in the pivot bolt where the swing arm attaches to the plate. Its very odd to say the least as that swing arm is a substantial piece of steel.
Happy Camping !!
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04.5 Dodge Ram 2500 CTD 600 Series Q-Cab
02 Sierra 30GT Travel Trailer
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sh410
Northwest
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From the pictures, it looks like the hitch head is slanted back a lot. That will place a lot of tension on the leveling bars. In addition, with only four links under tension, it will add even more tension. I think that reese recommends at least 5-6 links under tension and that the chain is vertical so that the leveling bars will not make contact with the swing arm. You may want to re-evaluate your setup so that is setup properly.
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shadows4
Kansas City, Mo
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dodge guy wrote:Anyone else notice that it looks as though the WD bar is too wide for the cam arm? either way you need to be watching the bars as someone else turns the truck with the trailer attached.
You`ll find it, just keep an eye open.
Good luck!
Kevin! You may have something there. My wife and I were discussing this and we had no problems for 4 years with this setup on two different trailers using 1000lb bars with the cam adapters. Last fall I bought the 1200lb bars. Just wondering if the cam area is bigger on the HP cams? Anyone have any idea about this? Thanks,John
2000 4X4 Excursion Limited 6.8V10, 4.30, 124,000 miles
Hellwig Rear Sway Bar
Roadmaster Active Suspension
2000 Coachmen 297 RKS (Approx. 9000lbs loaded)
Reese Dual Cam Sway Control
I WORK FOR FORD, SO I DRIVE A FORD!
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TankerDude
West of Middle Earth
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What you mentioned about the u-bolts/mounting plates moving around is EXACTLY why I got rid of that setup.
What I would like to see is a top view of both of the arms.
Based only on what I see in the first and third pictures, I think what's happening is this:
Due to the close proximity of the spring bars to the u-bolts/mounting plates, when you're in a turn the hitch head is pushing the spring bar into the mounting plate and the sway control arm mounting bolt.
Notice the marks on the side of the spring bar in the first picture.
When the spring bar makes contact with the sway bar mounting bolt, the spring bar now becomes a lever. Your vehicle and TT is heavy, so your never going to feel this when it's happening. Of course with a lever, when one end moves, the other end will move in the opposite direction.
Basically, I bet the bars on the INSIDE of the turn are getting bound up and bent.
Also, I wouldn't worry to much about "the bars being too wide" for the sway bar seat.
You might reconsider your thoughts on getting a taller ball. While that might help some, what it will do is create some additional forces on the neck of the ball itself. A better idea to get the bars down lower from the u-bolts/mounting brackets would be to have a good welder take that coupler off, and weld on an inverted coupler. This type of couple is attached at the bottom of the A-frame rails, instead of at the top like the one you have.
In this photo, you can barely see the coupler/frame attachment.
It doesn't matter to me if you don't own a Mac.
It should matter to YOU that you're still tethered to Microsoft.
2004 Ford F350 PSD 6L 4x4 Crew Cab.
2007 Jayco Eagle 322 FKS.
Camping with DW Terry,
Bobi-Sue and Billy-Joe,
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shadows4
Kansas City, Mo
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TankerDude wrote:
You might reconsider your thoughts on getting a taller ball. While that might help some, what it will do is create some additional forces on the neck of the ball itself. A better idea to get the bars down lower from the u-bolts/mounting brackets would be to have a good welder take that coupler off, and weld on an inverted coupler. This type of couple is attached at the bottom of the A-frame rails, instead of at the top like the one you have.
My thought on the taller ball was for the reasons you state for moving the coupler. By getting a taller ball I could lower the ball mount and change to 5 or 6 links thus lowering the spring bars.
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Center Pin
Fort Langley, BC
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Swithing to the new style cams may be a better option. Here's a better picture of them.
Trailer: 07 Tango 299BHS
TV: 2004.5 Dodge 610 CTD 3500 QC 48RE 2wd Laramie SRW, FP Gauge, FASS 95/95, Rhino Lining, Hensley Arrow, Reese Signature Series 5er Hitch, Air Bags & Compressor, Canopy, AL Boat Rack.
Been running B100 home brew June 2008!
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TankerDude
West of Middle Earth
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Center Pin wrote:Swithing to the new style cams may be a better option. Here's a better picture of them.
Maybe, but he's using a different type of spring arm also. Using the HP Dual Cam would do very little, if anything, to solve what I see as being the cause of the problem.
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BarneyS
S.E. Lower Michigan
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I think the fact that you only have 4 links under tension is causing the WD spring bars to be too high and close to the trailer A frame. This causes the WD bars to bind up on the cam arms during tight turns, especially if the ground is not level or if you are going over a bump or rise like a gas station entrance.
The solution is to put more tilt on your hitch head so the bars slant downward more and you can use more links. Also, the idea of using a ball with a rise shank on it can work but you need to be careful and not get too high. The suggestion to put a new coupler on the bottom of the A Frame instead of the top is a good one also.
Member JBarca has addressed this problem in his posts in the second half of this thread. It deals with the HP Dual Cam but the principle and problem is exactly the same as you are dealing with on the older style Dual Cam. You would not gain anything by changing from the older style to the new HP style. Hopefully you will be able to find another arm and then get your rig set up correctly so this does not happen again.
The whole key is to get the WD spring bars angled down enough to give clearance so they don't hit the cam arms or mounting bolts during turns.
Barney
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2004 Sunnybrook 30FKS TT
Hensley "Arrow" 1400# hitch
2002 Ford F250 Super Duty, 7.3L PSD
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