equalizer hitch - any negatives?

[safari62]

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

Brad.

All travel trailers have a "sway" regardless of manufacturer.

Little to no tongue weight creates a sway, that basically cannot be eliminated.

A proper tongue weight creates a sway, that can be eliminated, depending on the components used and how they are adjusted.

Andy

No sway, man!

That's what we all want. Lots of tongue swaying going on here and I am getting confused.

Sounds like if you can afford the Hensley it is the best. Why one would go to that extent with a super duty truck and a 22' trailer sounds a bit much, but if you must.
The Equil-i-zer (brand) is a weight distribution device with a sway design built into the system. from what I read on the EQ web site it seems to be the right choice for someone on a budget coming in at about $450.00. The orange one would be six times as much.
The other brands seem to have adjustment issues with the round bars and chains, but I suppose it is what you get used to. Not saying they bad!

My question was overlooked before about way a super duty truck would need the wt. dist. factor ??? With all the concern some have about stiff trucks beating up our tender Aluminum trailers and all. I got a safety lecture instead. That's OK, I am often misunderstood.

I have tryed to buy a WT/Dist/ sway product several times and salesmen keep talking me out of it. Once again, their concern was it would lighten the rear of the truck enough to negatively effect handling. I suppose I won't know until I try it.

[1cericks1]

So after reading all this, now I'm wondering. Does using grease to reduce the noise also reduce the sway control? Maybe for a 23' with a F150 there would be no real sway and the weight distribution is 90% of the value?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, Gene you beat me to it, But in conclusion, An Equal-i-zer hitch is a worthless piece of crap that has "no friction" and "does not prevent sway."

So, all of us Equal-i-zer users/owners there is only one answer "It's Magic"

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by safari62

My question was overlooked before about way a super duty truck would need the wt. dist. factor ??? With all the concern some have about stiff trucks beating up our tender Aluminum trailers and all. I got a safety lecture instead. That's OK, I am often misunderstood.

Hi, with a Super duty truck and a small trailer, my opinion, weight distribution will do little or nothing, but you still need sway control.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by 1cericks1

So after reading all this, now I'm wondering. Does using grease to reduce the noise also reduce the sway control? Maybe for a 23' with a F150 there would be no real sway and the weight distribution is 90% of the value?

Hi, lubeing the hitch pivot points is recommended. Lubeing the "L" brackets or spring bars where they make contact with each other, Is also mentioned by the manufacture. But at a small loss of friction. They also make "L Bracket, plastic pads." I personally don't lube the "L" brackets or use the plastic pads.

[rashton]

All this talk almost,almost makes me long for my old sob fifth wheel. Didn't seem to have all the controversy over hitch type. When we got our 27 safari sutton installed an equlizer hitch ,did they do me wrong??? the service guy talked down the haha as too many $$$ for what you get.

[crispyboy]

Heck - I'll throw my stick in and stir the pot a little myself.

First off I have no experience with the Equalizer system but I considered it when I was shopping. It looks like a good system and many folks on the board here have had good luck. I wouldn't be afraid of it.

Secondly - Andy has a lot of real world experience and even though he sells only Reese I think his opinion carry's a fair amount of weight. In my opinion the Reese dual cam system is a tried and true system if you have the correct spring bar rating - even with a heavy duty truck. You have to use the light duty bars with a heavy truck to get the proper flex in the bars - that allows the dual cam to work properly giving you the sway protection - a good system if set up properly.

Third - In my situation (towing a 22' trailer) and could possible be towing with a vehicle with a very light suspension or a 3/4 ton pickup I wanted to find the best of both worlds. I purchased a used Hensley off of ebay ($650).

With this system:

• I have weight distribution adjustment on the spring bars of 0 lbs to 750 lbs.
• I have sway protection no matter what weight I have on my spring bars.
• With the help of the Propride hitch manufacturer I welded up a stinger that I can use on any vehicle. Check out post #697 on this thread. http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...-26279-50.html

I know I did a lot of leg work but in the end I have a hitch that will potentially last a lifetime (I'm 40 yrs old and have the potential to use this hitch for the 30 years, since rebuilding it is easy to do.)

[moosetags]

Any sway is unacceptable to me. A HAHA is a lot cheaper than a new tow vehicle, and works a lot better.

Brian

[Gene]

Originally Posted by 1cericks1

So after reading all this, now I'm wondering. Does using grease to reduce the noise also reduce the sway control?

There's a thread which probably can be under the hitch topic about greasing the Equalizer (clarity note: I will not use the dashes in that word, but I mean the brand name).

The many grease or not grease answers seemed inconclusive to me. The company sells a lubricant and it's answer to the question of whether it compromises sway control did not convince me of anything. Common sense (common sense isn't always correct) says when you lubricate something where friction is required to do the job, you reduce efficiency. But, maybe the reduction is so little as to not matter, except in some extreme situation where that little bit of difference matters (or maybe not). My opinion is: why have another opportunity to get grease on my clothes? I don't care about the noise, and maybe it does reduce efficiency, but how much, who knows?

Concerning tongue sway and tongue flapping as expressed in these threads over hitches— It seems just about all is anecdotal, including mine. Not having seen the articles Andy has prepared, I can't say whether his analysis is correct or not. I have a lot of respect for Andy, but on this particular issue, I don't know what type of analytical process he has used. I do know that I have prepared many reports, done much analysis, and sometimes someone points out a flaw which may render the whole thing less than correct; I never like it when that happens. Point is anyone can make mistakes, or, be absolutely correct. And when those articles come out, I'm sure whatever they say, right or not, there will be criticism.

It doesn't seem we have heard from anyone who has been in a near accident, had to use emergency procedures to avoid something and their experience with a particular hitch. Maybe we have, but I don't remember. Maybe if we'd heard from people with all sorts of hitches and their emergency experiences, it would help, but it would still be anecdotal and possibly affected by personal bias.

But the best solution: someone get a few million dollars, unleash the engineers and actually test all the major brands under controlled circumstances, and report back to us. Anytime there's an issue and lots of people want the answer, there's a process that happens—first we get facts, factoids and myths based on, maybe, personal experience (or, my brother-in-law says…); then argument; then unsubstantiated theories; next, some "analysis" or, hopefully, good analysis; more argument (actually argument continues throughout); someone gets the grant and uses scientific methods. Sometimes we find the last stage was done badly, and we can start again. Through the process, some people were right, some wrong, some partially right and wrong.

Perhaps people with big AIG bonuses can contribute to my new research institute: All Towing Questions Answered Research Institute. ATQARI will find out what hitch is best, what to do when it snows, which tow vehicle is best, how big a truck do I need, are flamingos tacky, is magic truly involved, and all the other thorny questions that need answers. Scientific methods guaranteed. Contributions will be accepted through my Nigerian partners. When everything has been answered, the Forum will be a lot less fun.

Gene

[Diesel1]

MY opinion ( like my rear end, we all have one) I pull a 67 Tradewind with a F350. Very stiff heavy duty suspension. Hell for stout sway bars front & rear. If I were picking a TV for my old Airstream it would not be this stiff. But for a varitiy of reasons (mostly I had the truck) this is what I use. I don't use a WD hitch, physics tell me that with maybe 500# of toungue weight I don't need it. Experiance tells me I don't need sway control. I control the harsh suspinsion to some degree by lower tire pressure, and I tow at about 60-63 MPH. This reduces or eliminates sway and keeps the tires cooler and makes me kinda green- better MPG.
As Gene asked about I have had a few spincter tighting tow episodes over the course of my life. Pulling a 0 toungue weight trailer past Denver one night I tapped the brakes to get off at the rest area to pee. The trailer passed me more than once by some miricle we stayed on the road. When we got down to the right way niether my buddy nore I had to pee any more. I learned alot about tongue weight, sway & speed that night. Tongue weight- have some, speed- keep it down!
Adios, John

[dmac]

For Equal-i-zer owners... it is imperitive that the pivot bolt torque be set properly. Wear of the contact surfaces loosens things up. Check the bolts with a torque wrench. It makes a big difference in towing!

[handn]

I use an Equalizer to tow my 25 foot Safari. The hitch came with the trailer. I think I would select a Reese if buying new. A Hensley is not in my future because I do wilderness camping and often have to hook up on non level conditions. Tow vehicle is a Ford Excursion.
The I have towed at least 25,000 miles and the Equalizer looks good for another 25k at least.
Sway control is advertised for the hitch. My rig doesn't sway but that may be because the Excursion has a stiff rear suspension and the Safari tows very well. Based upon the amount of groaning and squeaking the hitch makes when I make a tight turn, there is sway control in the hitch. Whether it is enough to steady a big squirrely trailer being towed by a vehicle with a soft rear suspension, I cannot say.
I have a couple of minor gripes about the hitch. One, I high center the sway bars going over a vado or speed bump too fast. This pops out the clips. I have learned to carry spare parts and slow down for any hazard. Two, the supports for the springbars are merely clamped to the frame. They walk forward when driving the trailer I have to readjust them every few months. I cannot tighten them very tight because it just bends the clamps.

[Inland RV Center, In]

I believe there is adequate negative feedback from some Airstream owners, that bear out my comments about Equalizer hitches.

Andy

[Minnie's Mate]

Originally Posted by handn

I have a couple of minor gripes about the hitch. One, I high center the sway bars going over a vado or speed bump too fast. This pops out the clips. I have learned to carry spare parts and slow down for any hazard. Two, the supports for the springbars are merely clamped to the frame. They walk forward when driving the trailer I have to readjust them every few months. I cannot tighten them very tight because it just bends the clamps.

I have towed my 30' Safari with an F-250 about as many miles as you have and have never experienced any of the issues you report. My guess on the sliding L-brackets might be that they aren't installed properly. There is a thread somewhere that addresses this issue, but i really can't remember enough to find it with the search function and I don't remember the issue or remedy. Maybe someone else would have better luck finding it than I did. Of course, I do take it pretty slow on speed bumps and watch out for pot holes.

Originally Posted by Inland RV Center, In

I believe there is adequate negative feedback from some Airstream owners, that bear out my comments about Equalizer hitches.

Andy

You must count differently than I do because I have read a lot more people say they are satisfied with their's than have said they weren't. Again, I have no beef with you except that you are singularly minded in your prejudice against the product that competes with the only one that you sell. Now I don't doubt the quality or effectiveness of the Reese product. I even considered buying one myself until I opened my mind and compared the two for myself.

Charlie Chan once said, "Mind like parachute, works best when open."

[Minnie's Mate]

Back to the original question, the only negative I have found is the noise from the L-brackets.

If you lube the L-brackets, I believe the affect on the sway control is minimal because the sway control doesn't come from the L-bracket friction but from the binding affect on the pivot points in the head where the spring bars insert into the sockets.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Minnie's Mate

Again, I have no beef with you except that you are singularly minded in your prejudice against the product that competes with the only one that you sell. "

I have not actively sold "any brand" of load equalizer hitches, for 27 years.

Someday, we might.

They are not in our web site, or in our inventory.

Andy

[Minnie's Mate]

I guess I'll be re-reading my old issues of Airstream Living.

[rashton]

Andy,

So Sutton sold me a piece of junk with the equlizer hitch. I don't want to damage my safari 27. I tow with a 2500 chev extended cab. What do I need ???You talk reese with light bars do you have a "kit" for us poor equalizer folk? Is this a home install or do wwe need to find a local dealer?

[DEITZ645]

I will add my name to the list of satisfied customers using the Eqaul-i-zer brand hitch. The only other experience I had was a Reese with a friction sway control towing an SOB. So that would be like comparing apples to oranges.

We have towed our 30' '06 Classic with slide (lots of tongue weight) over the last three years and lots of miles with no jumbled trailer contents or loose or popped rivets. The TV is an '06 GMC 2500 HD 6.6L turbo diesel crew cab with 8' bed with a cap. While towing my speed and driving habits are conservative at best.

I don't claim to understand the science or physics behind it all. But the hitch was easy to set up and use and the towing experience has been great so far.

Before each season I disassemble the hitch, clean, lubricate, reassemble, and torque all bolts to the specification in the owner's manual (torque is also checked each time before I tow). Prior to the season last year I noticed some rust spots developing so I wire brushed everything, primed, and repainted it.

My mom always said not to discuss religion, politics, or the Gtreat Pumkin. Now I can add tow vehicles, weight distributing / friction control hitches, and brake controllers to that list.

[Sean Woodruff]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, ironically we have three venders who claim their three hitches are the best and only safe hitches on the market; BULL. When ever I go camping I'm absolutely amazed that the hundreds of trailers dragged into the campgrounds from everywhere imaginable using every brand of hitch known to man [and woman] and they all made it there, and I'm sure they all made it back home. Not everyone has a Ha-Ha, a P-P, and a R.D.C.

I have and use an Equal-i-zer hitch that came with my trailer when I bought it new Sept. 7, 2004 and it works qiuite well. My tow vehicle and trailer are a good match and with my hitch it all becomes a team that works well together. Proper set-up and driver abilities are still the most important ingredients for a safe trip.

Hey Bob, since you included ProPride in the first paragraph I thought I would comment.

You will never find ANYWHERE I have said that the ProPride is the ONLY safe hitch on the market. I don't even think you can find anywhere Reese has said that about the RDC. In fact, I sell the Reese hitch so I must not believe it is a bad hitch.

As far as the HYPERBOLE of the word ONLY in claims or advertising, you'll only find one company that claims that and there's only two explanations for it. They are ignorant of the facts that there are other options for sway control/elimination, or it is just flat out dishonesty. The market will choose and has been doing so rather smartly as of late.