Warped stabilizer "pins"

[Barretta2]

Thanks so much to all who have replied---very helpful! I am contacting equalizer, ordering new pins, checking installation, and doing a full lube job.
One thing puzzled me, tho: a couple of you mentioned "slop/play". I don't see how there can be any slop...when my bars are in place and the trailer ready to tow....those stabilizer bars, and the chunky L-shaped pins that hold them in place, are ferociously tight....nothing can budge until I raise the jack to unhitch.

[Gene]

The pins (made of aluminum I think) bend normally and then stop bending. We have had our Equalizer for 9 years. The pins bent right way and have stayed the same way ever since. The company will tell you that is normal and not to worry. I tried to get them to replace them under the lifetime warranty, but they wouldn't. It may look bad, but it is fine. Don't waste your money on new ones.

The L brackets and the two plates that they attach to can be pushed back and possibly at an angle. The problem is the plate on each side of the tongue was not tightened enough. I think Equalizer tells you to torque to 60 lbs., but that isn't enough as I just found out. I just had to take mine apart and re-tighten them. Make sure you put the lower bolt on the curb side above the propane line or the plate will bend. The design on the L brackets (the brackets are not "pins"; pins are things that hold other things in place like "cotter pins") has been changed since we got our hitch and the new design is somewhat better except for difficulty torquing the plate bolts.

I have had welds break on various Equalizer parts and they have honored the warranty and replaced them. They tell me they don't understand why the welds have broken and that people use this hitch for hundreds of thousands of miles without problems. We are only near 55,000 miles.

The hitch is easy to use and works very well to prevent sway and for weight distribution. Some people don't like the noise, but to us it just means it is doing its job. It operates by friction and friction can bones. If reducing the noise reduces efficiency by 5%, are you 5% less safe? You can back up with it without removing anything. I can't imagine why anyone would buy a hitch you can't back up with. I think that's the Reese with chains and didn't Reese copy the Equalizer with a very similar hitch (no chains)?

Gene

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by Barretta2

Thanks so much to all who have replied---very helpful! I am contacting equalizer, ordering new pins, checking installation, and doing a full lube job.

One thing puzzled me, tho: a couple of you mentioned "slop/play". I don't see how there can be any slop...when my bars are in place and the trailer ready to tow....those stabilizer bars, and the chunky L-shaped pins that hold them in place, are ferociously tight....nothing can budge until I raise the jack to unhitch.

The slop/play I refer to is in the L-pin itself.
If the hole for the cotter pin was even closer to the L-bracket it wouldn't have the ability to have play in it.
Just get you some new flip-over pins for the L-pins and hitch head and Sway Bracket Jackets, lube the hitch head and ball, and all will be good.


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[Rich W]

I have about a 3/8" space between my spring arms and the L-pin. When I make a turn the spring arms will pop between the pin and the L-bracket. The nylon pad has made that a lot quieter but it still has a strong pop or click sound.

The L-pin fits fairly loose in the L-bracket hole. Since I bought this used I don't know if the L-pin fit in the hole tightly or not. Even so, if I hold the pin vertical there is still about a 1/4" play between it and the L-bracket.

I've not had any problems with the Equalizer, it does its job and the trailer rides well behind the TV, no sway.

[m.hony]

The tighter it is- the more washers and the higher the L-brackets- the less it will move or pop-


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[FCStreamer]

My L pins are tight and don't move a mm. After I install them the pressure of the bars keeps them in place.

[m.hony]

If the bars are tight because there are enough washers to get enough tilt and the L-brackets are high enough that the weight bars fit tight there will be no movement.
The bars being tight against the horizontal portion of the L-brackets is the weight distribution and the bars being tight against the vertical portion of the L-brackets is the sway control.
When it's right it's right.
When it ain't right it ain't right.
Took me a couple of years to get it right, but now it is saweet!


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[J. Morgan]

IMHO your assessment of the cause of the bending and looseness as outlined in the lead post I think was correct. I think it was caused by jackknifing your trailer beyond your hitch setup's limits.

The bent pins likely will not fail unless their bend makes them want to back out of the holes. All the same I would replace them.


Gradiens super tenui glacie.

[Ray Eklund]

Baretta2...

What is your tow vehicle?
How many washers are used for you ball adjustment?

With a 23 foot, you are really getting some odd torque to the outside pins. My 25 foot International being towed by a 2012 Tundra, until recently, wore on the inside of the 'L' brackets and not against the 'pins'. This is more likely an adjustment of your hitch than anything else.

Backing up and turning sharply while going forward or in reverse, should not have different consequences. My hitch setup from the dealership was OFF. My hitch ball was LOOSE.

I carry sockets and torque bar now on all trips. Nothing has come loose since then... so trust some other local Airstream owner with a similar setup as yours. Take no chances... I have a reference to a similar group of bent 'pins' on my Equalizer Slop Thread. It might do you some good to read that thread as many have commented.

Cheap Chinese metal? Come on. Do you believe that Chinese metal and Mexican metal is going to distort like this? I think it more how your hitch is fitted to your vehicle and trailer. I can pull my pins out while the trailer is attached to the tow vehicle with no effort at times.

Please let us know what solved your issue. You need to read some of the great Threads on this subject already existing. You need to describe how your Equalizer Hitch is set up. It could be as simple as that. Read the manual that comes with the hitch. If I can follow the instructions, anyone can...

[Al and Missy]

Those pins are steel. I have used Equalizer hitches on two trailers, one 6300# and one 9000# without ever bending a pin. The only way I can see the pins bending is from a tight turn in combination with improper mounting. The fact that the L-brackets moved on the frame is another clue.

Make sure you have the new design trailer brackets. Look at this parts breakdown:
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/EQ...own_6to14K.pdf

The L-bracket assembly is on the top right. Notice that the L-bracket (Item 10) is mounted to the link plates (Items 6 and 8) with two bolts and lock nuts. The old version has the L-bracket mounted to the outside link plate with a single square head bolt and had the potential on my old hitch to come loose. That could result in the whole arm assembly coming loose.

If you have the old style, I'd recommend you call Equalizer and they can tell you what you need to order to convert. If I remember correctly I changed the outside link plate but kept the old inside link plate when I converted.

Check your installation to be sure the brackets are placed at the proper distance from the head. If they are too close, the bars will be at a greater angle and could result in bending the pins. Follow the instructions when installing/tightening the link plates. The bolts must be tightened evenly to avoid bending the link plates. If the plates get bent they will not have maximum contact with the frame rails and may slip.

+1 on not trying to straighten the pins. As much as they have been bent I doubt you can straighten them without weakening them, if they are not weakened already.

Al

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by Barretta2

Thanks so much to all who have replied---very helpful! I am contacting equalizer, ordering new pins, checking installation, and doing a full lube job.
One thing puzzled me, tho: a couple of you mentioned "slop/play". I don't see how there can be any slop...when my bars are in place and the trailer ready to tow....those stabilizer bars, and the chunky L-shaped pins that hold them in place, are ferociously tight....nothing can budge until I raise the jack to unhitch.

******

I inserted a wide and long steel shim on top of the 2" sleeve that inserts into the 2 1/2" hitch with my Equalizer 2" shank to 'fit'.

After two weeks on the road... the steel shim looked as if someone took a hammer to it and beat the hell out of it. That is why I looking forward to my 2 1/2 inch shank next week to replace my sloppy 2".

A Ford F250 owner had Ford replace his entire hitch as the loose shank had hammered it out of shape, and warranty replaced it.

When moving the play up and down and left to right when you insert the Equalizer... just that should probably convince you to spend the money for the larger shank. I am frugal... but never stupid.

PS... Just from memory, which is short. There were some Equalizer L brackets that had the hole for the pins too CLOSE. Maybe this is your problem. I believe this is on the same Thread I mentioned earlier. In that case... Equalizer owes you a REFUND and NEW PARTS.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by m.hony

The tighter it is- the more washers and the higher the L-brackets- the less it will move or pop-


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My spring arms were bowed and the trailer was nose up, I think that's pretty tight. The spring arms were still 'banging' because of the free space between the arms and the L-pins and L-brackets. Everything is torqued, there's just a lot of space in that square L-bracket hole. The L-pin is very loose in there. I have 8 washers in the head

[m.hony]

There is still something amiss.
Maybe the ball height?
The trailer shouldn't be nose up.
A little nose down is better than nose up.
Nose up in and of itself can create sway.
Too much weight distribution?
Picking up the front of the trailer and the back of the truck too high?
Do you have the Sway Jacket Brackets?
Every single adjustment- hitch height, number of washers, height of L-brackets requires changing every other adjustment.


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[Rich W]

Originally Posted by m.hony

There is still something amiss.
Maybe the ball height?
The trailer shouldn't be nose up.
A little nose down is better than nose up.
Nose up in and of itself can create sway.
Too much weight distribution?
Picking up the front of the trailer and the back of the truck too high?
Do you have the Sway Jacket Brackets?
Every single adjustment- hitch height, number of washers, height of L-brackets requires changing every other adjustment.


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Sorry, it WAS nose up and there was sway, so I dropped it back down and it's pretty level now. Hitch ball is at 17.5", recommended height in the owner's manual. I was just trying to make a point about the amount of stress on the spring arms and that even with that amount of stress they were still moving. Understand they aren't moving much, but they do move in the turns and when they do... BANG. Trailer loaded or not, they BANG.

I followed the instructions on the Equalizer site and owner's manual about measuring the TV front and rear heights. Everything is right where it's supposed to be and the rig is level, handles well on the road with cross winds, big rigs, everything. There's just play in the spring arms and they do go BANG

[m.hony]

Still scratching my head...
Have you lubed the hitch head and tightened weight bar sockets to 44 ft. lbs.?
Sway Jacket Brackets?
Seems like the weight bars should always be tight against the L-brackets.
Whenever mine gets noisy I clean it and grease it and it quiets back down.


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[Rich W]

I torque the socket bolts to 40-45 lbs. I have the L-bracket jackets. I don't lube the spring arms because I have the jackets, but I do lube the spring arm sockets. Next time I go to the storage lot I'll take a picture and post.

It's only when I turn, never on the highway. It's not a problem, just a little extra noise. The spring loaded L-pins are nice, much easier to put on, and the jackets sure make it quieter without any grease.

[m.hony]

Everything seems just right by the description.
Maybe mine makes the same noise and I don't hear it.


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[Rich W]

Probably because I have an SUV? I don't know, it's not as noticeable when the rear window is up. When it's down it scares the wife and people on the sidewalk move out of the way.

[Rich W]

4th time trying to post this video.

Hopefully, here is a video of the slop in the spring arm between the L-bracket and the L-pin. Even with the rear window up there is still a pretty good 'BANG' at low speed turns.

[m.hony]

My iOS device won't play the video because it was uploaded on Windows...


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