Equal-i-zer Hitch Thread.

[mefly2]

Looks better and sounds like you have the plan in place ... even with the 600 bars I would think that you are fine. Suggest to add one more washer - I know, what a pain to disassemble and add, but once you get it dialed in, you are set!

[subfan1]

If it were me, I would add the two remaining washers and then drop a hole when reinstalling the hitch head. The reason is the washers will raise the rear end of your SUV and would then raise the front end of your trailer as well. Cant really tell by the picture provided due to possble uneven terrain. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it dialed in.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by mefly2

Looks better and sounds like you have the plan in place ... even with the 600 bars I would think that you are fine. Suggest to add one more washer - I know, what a pain to disassemble and add, but once you get it dialed in, you are set!

I am SOOO good at taking this thing apart now I can do it blindfolded in under 2 minutes; kind of like disassembling an M-14 in the army.

I measured the hitch ball height this morning and I had to drop down to the next shank hole. I'll go ahead and add the one washer I have left. We have to hook up in the morning so I'll have the opportunity to check wheel well height again. Then a 60 mile relocation trip for good measure.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by subfan1

If it were me, I would add the two remaining washers and then drop a hole when reinstalling the hitch head. The reason is the washers will raise the rear end of your SUV and would then raise the front end of your trailer as well. Cant really tell by the picture provided due to possble uneven terrain. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get it dialed in.

Since I have it stored away from the house and since the weather back home was so cold, I've postponed making more adjustments. Now that we're down here in Florida for a month, I've got some time to tinker.

I'll add the one washer I have in the morning. I measured the hitch ball height and came down one notch. I'll recheck the wheel well height in the morning before we head out.

Thanks

[Rich W]

Measurements now are
Front - 33.75
Rear - 33.125

So the front is now 1/2" higher than it is unloaded but the rear is almost 3" lower. I'll try the last washer and see what that will get me. At 1/2" I don't think I'm blinding anyone anymore, but I don't understand why adding a washer and putting more tension on the spring arms (raising the L brackets) increases the pressure on the rear axle.

Still learning

[mefly2]

All else being kept the same (not changing the ball position), adding a washer or raising the L-brackets increases the WD and should raise the rear of your TV, raise the front of the AS, and lower the front of the TV.

Something else must be going on here. Is the TV suspension in order? City, county, and highway law enforcement officers will let you know at night if your headlights are still too high ......hopefully without a valentine! Around here, failure to dim or elevated beams are a reason for a traffic stop (pc implies impaired) and a magnet for citations.

[Larry C]

Originally Posted by mefly2

All else being kept the same (not changing the ball position), adding a washer or raising the L-brackets increases the WD and should raise the rear of your TV, raise the front of the AS, and lower the front of the TV.

Something else must be going on here. Is the TV suspension in order? City, county, and highway law enforcement officers will let you know at night if your headlights are still too high ......hopefully without a valentine! Around here, failure to dim or elevated beams are a reason for a traffic stop (pc implies impaired) and a magnet for citations.

I wish we would have some of your area's police officers in Alabama. Most native drivers here go out of their way to blind drivers in oncoming cars. The same applies to following too close and having high beaon onms AND driving lights on at the same time.....
For whatever it's worth...

Larry

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by mefly2

Something else must be going on here. Is the TV suspension in order? City, county, and highway law enforcement officers will let you know at night if your headlights are still too high ......hopefully without a valentine! Around here, failure to dim or elevated beams are a reason for a traffic stop (pc implies impaired) and a magnet for citations.

The 4Runner has less than 75K miles on it, never had a problem with it. Really seems odd but I'll add that washer and see what it does. I usually pull in someplace by dark anyway. Since the front is nearly what it is unloaded I don't think it's impacting the headlights much. We'll see what the next tweak brings.

[Drathaar]

I finally remembered to get a few images of the Air Safe - Equalizer combination. That's a heavy beast.

[Siegmann]

I've been towing my '98 Classic 30' with an F-250 and a PullRite hitch for 16 years. No better hitch in my opinion (pivot point is at rear axle), but they do not make one to fit my new truck, a Ram 1500. I've decided to order an Equalizer.

My Airstream is currently parked on uneven ground and can't be moved, so I can't accurately measure the height to the inside top of my coupler. My original owners book says it is 18 3/4", and I still have the 15" wheels on it and my axle is good, so I'm assuming this is correct. Can anyone confirm that this is correct?

My inside top of receiver height is 20". The Equalizer on-line shank selector tool indicates the I should use the 90-02-4300 shank which has a 6" drop. Because it is 11 1/4" tall, I'm concerned road dips could cause ground impacts, as others have described here. Is anyone with similar receiver heights finding they have to use a shank with this much drop?

Lastly, my measurements indicate I might not be able to lower my tailgate while hitched up. Is this common? If so, has anyone tried the 18" long shank (vs. the standard 12")? It seems that it would somewhat impact the effectiveness of the sway reduction and weight transfer. I don't know if its worth it just to be able to lower my tailgate.

[Siegmann]

Of further note, on the Equalizer on-line shank selector tool, when I increased the coupler ground height by just 3/4", it recommended a shank with just a 4" drop vs. the earlier mentioned 6" drop.

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by Siegmann

I've been towing my '98 Classic 30' with an F-250 and a PullRite hitch for 16 years. No better hitch in my opinion (pivot point is at rear axle), but they do not make one to fit my new truck, a Ram 1500. I've decided to order an Equalizer.

My Airstream is currently parked on uneven ground and can't be moved, so I can't accurately measure the height to the inside top of my coupler. My original owners book says it is 18 3/4", and I still have the 15" wheels on it and my axle is good, so I'm assuming this is correct. Can anyone confirm that this is correct?

My inside top of receiver height is 20". The Equalizer on-line shank selector tool indicates the I should use the 90-02-4300 shank which has a 6" drop. Because it is 11 1/4" tall, I'm concerned road dips could cause ground impacts, as others have described here. Is anyone with similar receiver heights finding they have to use a shank with this much drop?

Lastly, my measurements indicate I might not be able to lower my tailgate while hitched up. Is this common? If so, has anyone tried the 18" long shank (vs. the standard 12")? It seems that it would somewhat impact the effectiveness of the sway reduction and weight transfer. I don't know if its worth it just to be able to lower my tailgate.

The bottom of my shank would sometimes hit; so I used a cut off wheel in a 4" grinder and cut it off. Be prepared as it takes some time!
The longer 18" shank may cause a bit of instability... so, we stayed with the standard "extension" and got used to not being able to open the tailgate all the way when hitched... just padded it between the tailgate and the camper jack when not disconnected. Suggest checking "in hand" with a local dealer to make sure of the proper shank as they are spendy to ship back and forth. I needed one exchanged and the dealer still charged me $30 !

[Siegmann]

Mefly, thanks for the info. The cost to change out shanks was exactly why I'm trying to pin that down.

Anyone else out there that has a 20" receiver height and can share their specific shank model?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Siegmann

Mefly, thanks for the info. The cost to change out shanks was exactly why I'm trying to pin that down.

Anyone else out there that has a 20" receiver height and can share their specific shank model?

Hi, the top of my receiver is also 20"s high; I asked George Sutton RV to order a new shank for my new F-150. I haven't received it yet and don't know the part number. Since this dealer sets up Airstreams with Equal-I-zer hitches, I trust that they should know which one to use.

[Siegmann]

Robert, when you get it, and assess the resultant hitch ball height, please post again, or send me a PM. Thanks--

[silverlabs]

Has anyone changed their shank out to the 18" long one vs. the standard 12" model? I ordered one and installed it today to be able to lower my tailgate (2015 F150) while hitched up. I got it set up with everything looking pretty good. Front of TT about 1 lower than back of trailer, and front of TV about 1/2" higher than when unhooked. I have not towed any distance with it but was just curious if others have done this and what their towing experiences have been, positive or negative with the extended shank.

Thanks

[Siegmann]

Silverlabs, I asked the same question not too long ago and got no replies. I would assume that anything that moves the trailer pivot point further from the TV rear axle would reduce the towing stability. But I do not know if 6" would be significant.

[silverlabs]

Siegmann, thanks for the response. I installed it today and just drove it back to storage. Seemed fine but that was short distance. Leaving next week for a 3-4 week trip so I will get some time on the road with it. Bringing other shank along and will change back if I don't like it. Thanks again.

[Al and Missy]

I just traded my 2006 F150 for a 2013 Ram 2500. As has been stated here, the ride is somewhat stiffer and I'm considering machining the bars on my hitch. My trailer came from the PO with a 10000/1000 hitch. Since the trailer GVWR is only 6300#, one could argue that the 6000/600 hitch might have been a better choice for him (and for me). I am concerned about the shock being transmitted to the trailer, and am thinking about machining the bars to be equivalent to the 600# bars. I am assuming that I will still need/want some weight distribution, but i can't hook it up to measure yet because my hitch has a Class IV shank and the new truck has a Class V receiver. While i address that problem, I'd like to get ready to machine my bars.

Questions:
1. If you are towing with a recent (2007-2015) Ram 2500, how much weight are you shifting to the front axle?

2. Can anyone provide me with the height and width of the 6000/600 bars?

Thanks,

Al

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Siegmann

Robert, when you get it, and assess the resultant hitch ball height, please post again, or send me a PM. Thanks--

Hi, Siegmann; This is where I'm at right now. And I will post some pictures.

(1.) This is the shank that was recommended and later returned.

(2.) With this new shank in my receiver, It looks like I could plow a field with it.

(3.) I use a 4' stick with blue masking tape to mark fender heights; This one is my front fender unloaded.

(4.) This is my front fender when hitched; It is up 1/4".

(5.) This is my rear fender unloaded.

(6.) This is my rear fender when hitched; It's down 7/8".

(7.) This is the trailer connected using my cut-off Lincoln shank. I dropped the hitch by one hole on the shank.

(8.) This is my new Equal-I-zer brand standard shank. It is all set-up, greased, and torqued.

(9.) This is the side view. I later greased the ball and put my hitch away.

(10.) This side view shows the new shank attached in the same place as my test with the cut-off Lincoln shank; One exposed hole on top.