Equal-i-zer Hitch Thread.

[m.hony]

Originally Posted by Alphonse

I used to fret over how to store bars and head when camping. I gave it up and now store them like this. Obviously I have given up worries about theft of the bars. Also yields big benefit when hooking back up, it's all right there.

That's exactly what I do.
I camped in 2012 and 2013 and part of 2014 before it occurred to me to store them that way.


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[mefly2]

Originally Posted by Alphonse

I used to fret over how to store bars and head when camping. I gave it up and now store them like this. Obviously I have given up worries about theft of the bars. Also yields big benefit when hooking back up, it's all right there.

I'd chop off those cross bolts before you get buggered / ouched ...takes a while, but worth the effort.

[Alphonse]

Originally Posted by mefly2

I'd chop off those cross bolts before you get buggered / ouched ...takes a while, but worth the effort.

Thought about it but I have another hitch that I'll likely use soon and simply didn't want to spend the time on it.

[Gsmblue]

Finally ordered the sway jackets. This week I will add 2 washers to the hitch and move the brackets to make the bars more parallel with the frame..

I love how easy this hitch is to use.

[Rich W]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

Does any know how much lower the bars go down in relation to the L brackets when you add another washer on the head? The lower the bars go down the higher you have to raise the trailer connected to the truck. I also have to clear the thickness of the bracket jacket I have on the L bars.

Kelvin

I thinkered with my hitch earlier this year. As I recall, adding the washers transferred more weight to the front axle and didn't have much of an impact on how high I had to raise the TV to slide the bars on. I added two washers and went up one hole on the "L" bracket. Raise that "L" bracket a notch and that makes a big difference in how high the TV rear end has to go. I tried two notches initially, came back down one. The TV was almost off the ground and the bars had a definite bend in them.

[KJRitchie]

I don't want to raise the L brackets as they are parallel to the frame which I believe is the recommended position. Adding a washer pivots the head down a bit and the angle of the bar sockets on the head. My Tundra sits level with the AS attached, 37" from ground to vendor on all wheels. The front clearance is about 50% returned from the unloaded position. Just wondering what would one more washer would do to the front and if it would require the power jack to work a lot harder especially at campsites with a bit of a hill so the hitch head is angled further down in relation with the trailer. Guess I can pull it to level ground then put the bars on.

Kelvin

[m.hony]

Parallel is recommended, but I couldn't get enough lift/weight transfer or sway control until I raised the L-brackets. They are no longer parallel, but the whole towing experience is better- les bounce in the ride snd less sway when vehicles pass-


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[interstateflyer]

Originally Posted by Alphonse

I used to fret over how to store bars and head when camping. I gave it up and now store them like this. Obviously I have given up worries about theft of the bars. Also yields big benefit when hooking back up, it's all right there.

It looks like you drilled and pinned your L Bracket retainers and abandoned the stock wire bales. Is that what I'm seeing in your photo?

Did you have a stock one with the wire bale fail?

[m.hony]

That is to reduce slop and play in the L-pins, I think-
I have the ones with the flip-over wire bail at the L-pins and where the bars attach to the hitch head- much easier- the original ones with the cotter keys are in my rear bumper storage just in case I lose or break one.


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[Alphonse]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

It looks like you drilled and pinned your L Bracket retainers and abandoned the stock wire bales. Is that what I'm seeing in your photo?

Did you have a stock one with the wire bale fail?

No failure, that's how it came from Equalizer about 3 years ago.

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

It looks like you drilled and pinned your L Bracket retainers and abandoned the stock wire bales. Is that what I'm seeing in your photo?

Did you have a stock one with the wire bale fail?

Up until last year, they were through drilled and secured with pins. The flip over is relatively new for the L-pins.

[SilverCabin]

Had a surprise when I hitched up a few days ago for this weekend's outing. As I lowered the tongue onto the ball the ball spun! It was a good thing I was looking at it. I raised the tongue and put a wrench on the base of the ball. Sure enough it was loose. We have a Camping World nearby and they had the special thin-wall socket and an impact wrench that they told me would go up to 800 ft-lbs. The mechanic fixed it quickly and I returned to hitch up the trailer and we were on our way. It cost us a couple of hours, but averted a possible disaster.

The ball was installed on my hitch by our Airstream dealer last year. It looked like they knew what they were doing, but I'm thinking they must have used an impact wrench calibrated for lug nuts. I think I'm going to invest in the special socket and a 3/4" breaker bar just so I can check it periodically. The Camping World mechanic told me it should never come loose again, but it would be reassuring to know and be able to get it tight enough to get somewhere if necessary.

Randy


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[interstateflyer]

Originally Posted by SilverCabin

Had a surprise when I hitched up a few days ago for this weekend's outing. As I lowered the tongue onto the ball the ball spun! It was a good thing I was looking at it. I raised the tongue and put a wrench on the base of the ball. Sure enough it was loose. We have a Camping World nearby and they had the special thin-wall socket and an impact wrench that they told me would go up to 800 ft-lbs. The mechanic fixed it quickly and I returned to hitch up the trailer and we were on our way. It cost us a couple of hours, but averted a possible disaster.

The ball was installed on my hitch by our Airstream dealer last year. It looked like they knew what they were doing, but I'm thinking they must have used an impact wrench calibrated for lug nuts. I think I'm going to invest in the special socket and a 3/4" breaker bar just so I can check it periodically. The Camping World mechanic told me it should never come loose again, but it would be reassuring to know and be able to get it tight enough to get somewhere if necessary.

Randy


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Glad you caught it in time.

Have you found a source for the thin wall socket? What size?

[SilverCabin]

it's a 1 7/8" thin-walled socket, 3/4" drive. $83.00 from equalizerhitch.com. There may be other sources, but I haven't researched that yet.

Randy

[Rich W]

Powerbuilt 643216 3/4-Inch Drive 12 Point 1-7/8-Inch Socket - - Amazon.com

$14.99 - Temporarily out of stock but more on order. Several reviews say they purchased for their Equalizer hitch and it worked perfectly for them. 4/7 of 5 stars. 1 2-star for not fitting on a 14,000 lb. hitch.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by SilverCabin

Had a surprise when I hitched up a few days ago for this weekend's outing. As I lowered the tongue onto the ball the ball spun! It was a good thing I was looking at it. I raised the tongue and put a wrench on the base of the ball. Sure enough it was loose. We have a Camping World nearby and they had the special thin-wall socket and an impact wrench that they told me would go up to 800 ft-lbs. The mechanic fixed it quickly and I returned to hitch up the trailer and we were on our way. It cost us a couple of hours, but averted a possible disaster.

The ball was installed on my hitch by our Airstream dealer last year. It looked like they knew what they were doing, but I'm thinking they must have used an impact wrench calibrated for lug nuts. I think I'm going to invest in the special socket and a 3/4" breaker bar just so I can check it periodically. The Camping World mechanic told me it should never come loose again, but it would be reassuring to know and be able to get it tight enough to get somewhere if necessary.

Randy


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Hi, glad that you caught that; Mine is over ten years old and still tight. I think your mechanic is right, "it should never come loose again". [now that is has been tightened properly]

[paiceman]

Question which I have not been able to find on the thread:

I've used Reese products for 40 years. Bought an Equalizer 4 Point for our 30' FC. I am having a tough time with the bars. Putting them on the L brackets or taking them off. Sometimes it goes smoothly but most of the time it does not. I picked up some helpful info from another AS this weekend, but when we got home had difficulty removing the bars again.

So, question is do the truck and trailer need to be level for easy install and removal? I could not get them off when the unit and truck were on a small incline. I put everything away and moved to a pretty level spot and raised the hitch and rear of the truck and they came off, one much easier than the other.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I like the hitch when traveling, but might go back to the Reese.

Thanks

Bud

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by paiceman

Question which I have not been able to find on the thread:

I've used Reese products for 40 years. Bought an Equalizer 4 Point for our 30' FC. I am having a tough time with the bars. Putting them on the L brackets or taking them off. Sometimes it goes smoothly but most of the time it does not. I picked up some helpful info from another AS this weekend, but when we got home had difficulty removing the bars again.

So, question is do the truck and trailer need to be level for easy install and removal? I could not get them off when the unit and truck were on a small incline. I put everything away and moved to a pretty level spot and raised the hitch and rear of the truck and they came off, one much easier than the other.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I like the hitch when traveling, but might go back to the Reese.

Thanks

Bud

Hi, Lift your trailer with your power tongue jack and the spring bars will almost fall off. Never had any problem in over ten years.

[kscherzi]

Originally Posted by interstateflyer

Glad you caught it in time.

Have you found a source for the thin wall socket? What size?

See post #616 on page 62. Had the same issue. Links to what I purchased. Worked great.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

See post #616 on page 62. Had the same issue. Links to what I purchased. Worked great.

Hi, see post #616 on page 44, we haven't made it to page 62 yet.