Equali-i-zer Hitch Weld Failure

[kscherzi]

The other day, while unhitching my trailer following a camping trip, I just happened to spy something unusual on the hitch head. I looked closer and noticed it was a crack in the one of the welds. Lo and behold, it appeared to be a rather significant crack, and by the evidence of rust, probably one that's been slowly growing for some time.

My post here is not meant to be a criticism of the hitch or the company, just a heads up to those using this hitch to take a moment and examine your hitch head for possible cracks. A total weld failure could result in a catastrophic loss of the trailer.

Nonetheless, I have to credit the company as they immediately sent me a brand new hitch head, postage paid, upon seeing the photo's below. They also sent me a prepaid UPS label for mailing the old head back.

I have owned this hitch for five years, and towed about 25,000 miles. A failure like this is probably highly unusual. But sometimes things happen. For the record I tow a 27FB with a F-150 using the 12,000 lb Equali-i-zer hitch. The tongue was weighed in at 950 lbs packed for camping, well below the 1,200 lb tongue rating of the hitch. I find the hitch to be a good match for my purposes and will continue to recommend the Equali-i-zer hitch.

[GMFL]

Thanks for the post and pic. Glad to hear they replaced it for you.
We should all inspect our hitches.

[wulfraat]

I had a similar crack form in my equalizer head after ~25k miles of towing my 25’.

Equalizer promptly replaced the head as well! They take care of their customers.

Agreed that it’s import to inspect your rig on a regular basis.

[Kanusport]

Wow that’s a good catch. It could have been a real problem had you not seen it and as others have mentioned, this serves as a reminder to inspect things. Thanks for sharing.

[devolo]

Mine was replaced due to a head crack as well. Design problem?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, thirteen years on my Equal-I-zer brand hitch and it still has all original parts. I visually check it before and after each trip for things like this. Your pictures give users a good idea of where to look for possible failures. Thank You for posting.

[JMynes]

Interesting. The crack is on the under side, which implies it was caused by forces which were lifting the ball.
What could do that?
1) Lifting the truck with tongue jack to hook up WD. Not likely as it is a gradual load and the jack rating is far below the hitch rating.
2) Extreme WD bar tension. Unlikely, poor drive traction would prevent travel.
3) Crazy porpoising at speed. Likely would result in a crash, or at least a change of underwear.
4) Significant grade angle changes that flex your hitch joint to create a ‘V’ between tow vehicle and trailer. I would think the rear skids would drag pretty hard.

Or maybe they need to hire a better welder.

I have to go check my hitch head now.

[franklyfrank]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

The other day, while unhitching my trailer following a camping trip, I just happened to spy something unusual on the hitch head. I looked closer and noticed it was a crack in the one of the welds. Lo and behold, it appeared to be a rather significant crack, and by the evidence of rust, probably one that's been slowly growing for some time.

My post here is not meant to be a criticism of the hitch or the company, just a heads up to those using this hitch to take a moment and examine your hitch head for possible cracks. A total weld failure could result in a catastrophic loss of the trailer.

Nonetheless, I have to credit the company as they immediately sent me a brand new hitch head, postage paid, upon seeing the photo's below. They also sent me a prepaid UPS label for mailing the old head back.

I have owned this hitch for five years, and towed about 25,000 miles. A failure like this is probably highly unusual. But sometimes things happen. For the record I tow a 27FB with a F-150 using the 12,000 lb Equali-i-zer hitch. The tongue was weighed in at 950 lbs packed for camping, well below the 1,200 lb tongue rating of the hitch. I find the hitch to be a good match for my purposes and will continue to recommend the Equali-i-zer hitch.







'

Looking at the pictures that is a substandard weld .
I am surprised it passed inspection .

[jimfa440]

Thanks, I'll be checking mine this afternoon.

[CAV]

Thanks. Will check mine. Did see a crack but thought it was just the paint. Maybe not. Scary! 25’ w 20,000miles.

[trikdacy]

This inspection will now be part of my routine. Thanks!

[CruizinDux]

I'm with bob and the others. A good reminder indeed.

I'm a little lower on the years and miles than most but very satisfied with my Equ setup. 20000 & 4 years, but soon to add another 10k. Very timely, leaving for Key West soon and just cleaned and inspected the head.

To reiterate, thank you for your post and positive comments.

Bob

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, thirteen years on my Equal-I-zer brand hitch and it still has all original parts. I visually check it before and after each trip for things like this. Your pictures give users a good idea of where to look for possible failures. Thank You for posting.

[quietguy]

Thank you for your post and pictures. I’ll be certain to check mine regularly also.

[Holy Grail]

Same thing happened to me. In my opinion it's caused by a combination of a half ton pickup, 27+ foot trailer and travel over short steep terrain. Basically, too much pressure on the hitch head to level rig causes the cracks. Solution: Use air bags or 3/4 ton pickup.

[silverlabs]

Good catch on the crack. They are a good hitch but from talking to some others with this hitch and my personal experience with it, there are differently some things to watch for. If you have gone through some dips, steeper driveway entrances etc., there is a lot of stress put on the hitch head as well as the friction mounts due to the design of the weight distribution/sway bars. It is inherent in this design. With the bars being solid square bar throughout the length of bar, there is no flex available which is needed when going through dips, etc. The stress is not provided in the bars, therefore being passed on to other parts of the hitch. The hitch performs as designed, but you do need to be monitoring the pieces where this stress could occur. Glad to hear they replaced and provided good customer service.

[DSteed]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

The other day, while unhitching my trailer following a camping trip, I just happened to spy something unusual on the hitch head. I looked closer and noticed it was a crack in the one of the welds. Lo and behold, it appeared to be a rather significant crack, and by the evidence of rust, probably one that's been slowly growing for some time.

My post here is not meant to be a criticism of the hitch or the company, just a heads up to those using this hitch to take a moment and examine your hitch head for possible cracks. A total weld failure could result in a catastrophic loss of the trailer.

Nonetheless, I have to credit the company as they immediately sent me a brand new hitch head, postage paid, upon seeing the photo's below. They also sent me a prepaid UPS label for mailing the old head back.

I have owned this hitch for five years, and towed about 25,000 miles. A failure like this is probably highly unusual. But sometimes things happen. For the record I tow a 27FB with a F-150 using the 12,000 lb Equali-i-zer hitch. The tongue was weighed in at 950 lbs packed for camping, well below the 1,200 lb tongue rating of the hitch. I find the hitch to be a good match for my purposes and will continue to recommend the Equali-i-zer hitch.

I am going down to Look at my stabilizer hitch.
I have a 2008 27 fb I purchased in 2014 and I am so glad I went with the 27 even though it just my bride, two dogs and little old me.

Mine looks good no rust no cracks.... my Stabilizer is only five years old with about 14000 miles.
One thing for sure this is going to be something I check before each trip.

[Mollysdad]

Thanks for the heads up.
I'm taking mine apart tomorrow to add another washer, so I'll be sure to flip it over and look.

[czunc]

This is a good reason you should clean and inspect your hitch on a regular basis. I dissemble and clean mine with brake cleaner at least 2 times a year. This allows me to inspect everything and get clean grease in it. You pickup a lot of grit when towing that wears the friction points quickly if you don't keep it clean.

[Milo1952]

Trailer in storage now. Will check for cracks at earliest opportunity.
Thanks for the Heads Up !

[KK4YZ]

Originally Posted by Holy Grail

Same thing happened to me. In my opinion it's caused by a combination of a half ton pickup, 27+ foot trailer and travel over short steep terrain. Basically, too much pressure on the hitch head to level rig causes the cracks. Solution: Use air bags or 3/4 ton pickup.

Hi. I’m unsure how a 3/4 T truck or air bags would alleviate this, unless you mean that the stiffer/ higher suspension would not need as much or any torque from the weight distribution bars. But I thought the purpose of a weight distribution hitch was to distribute the hitch weight. Leveling is used as an indicator of weight distribution. Or do I have it wrong?