Equalizer Question

[SilverToy]

Brad etal -

Ain't this ASF's just the coolest place around? Everyone is to the good, bad guys & practices get the 'daylight' they deserve... we all learn.

Win, win, win.

Axel
SilverToy

[hiker]

Originally Posted by SilverGate

The Summary of our Equal-i-zer questions, concerns and issues (post #46 above) was sent to the Airstream Factory, my dealer, and Equal-i-zer last Sunday night.

The only response, so far, has been from Josh Jones, Equal-i-zer’s Customer Support Representative, which I received today and post here in the spirit of sharing knowledge... and finding a solution.

Have you received a reply from Airstream?

[halimer]

I recently purchased a new 2006 Classic 25. I down loaded the installation instructions and studied them. Prior to picking AS and hitch I had 3 conversation with the folks at Progress Mfg concerning the installation and moving of the propane line. I drilled out the rivets holding the propane line and gingerly lowered the line. I placed a piece of rubber fuel line hose on the lower link plate bolt(between the link plates) and also on the propane line. I tried a short piece of PVC, but I was unable to get the bolt through the link plates. I used one of the orginial propane gas line hangers and secured it to the frame with a long sheet metal screw. No problem with the plates moving.
When in doubt read the instructions.

[SilverGate]

Originally Posted by hiker

Have you received a reply from Airstream?

Hi hiker,

I am sorry to report that, as yet, I have not received a reply from Airstream or from my Airstream dealer regarding the "Equal-i-zer Question"… not even an acknowledgement of our concerns.

On the other hand, Josh Jones, Customer Support Rep. for Progress Mfg. Inc. (maker of Equal-i-zer) was very responsive as seen in post #51 of this thread.

I heard that Airstream Reps are at the International Rally in GA.
If anyone sees them, please let them know that we are still waiting for answers to at least one key question:

Would lowering the propane line in the area of the Sway Control bracket-bolt be problematic and/or void any Airstream warranty?

[SilverCabin]

Originally Posted by halimer

I recently purchased a new 2006 Classic 25. I down loaded the installation instructions and studied them. Prior to picking AS and hitch I had 3 conversation with the folks at Progress Mfg concerning the installation and moving of the propane line. I drilled out the rivets holding the propane line and gingerly lowered the line. I placed a piece of rubber fuel line hose on the lower link plate bolt(between the link plates) and also on the propane line. I tried a short piece of PVC, but I was unable to get the bolt through the link plates. I used one of the orginial propane gas line hangers and secured it to the frame with a long sheet metal screw. No problem with the plates moving.
When in doubt read the instructions.

halimer,

Please post a picture of your installation.

Thanks,

Randy

[henw]

Well. It happened to me yesterday. Taking a right turn out of a filling station there was a dip in the road. The left L bracket on the equalizer hit the pavement. The whole bracket swung back and up putting a nice crimp in the gas line. Fortunately no fire.
Fix your gas line location if you haven't yet. This problem is for real !!

[SilverCabin]

Here's an update on how this issue is resolving for me. I've posted in four parts, because I couldn't get in-line pictures to work.

Before we left for Perry, GA, I was able to have good look at my Equal-i-zer installation. Street-side there are no issues. The bolts holding the sway brackets in place are directly above and below the trailer tongue frame, and tightened evenly so that the outer plate doesn't pinch or bow. The square-headed bolt on this side was staying tight, and not backing out.

Curbside was another story. The mechanic who installed my hitch without rerouting the gas line had tightened the bolts so much that he bent the plates. Here's a couple of shots of the curb-side sway bracket. You can clearly see the bent plates.

[SilverCabin]

Looking underneath, you can see that the bolt is below the gas line. Note the two pipe hangers riveted to the frame in the vicinity of the sway bracket. Previously, I suspected that these were installed by the dealer when the hitch was installed, because the other hangers are attached with screws.

[SilverCabin]

While at Perry, I was pre occupied with all the goings on that I didn’t think to discuss this with the Airstream reps. Saturday night though, SilverGate posted a message saying, "Hey, someone at Perry ask Airstream about this." Fudge! The Airstream reps left at close of business Saturday.

The Airstream sales were still active on Sunday, so I took a good look at the trailers before any hitches were installed. It turns out, that Airstream installs the two riveted pipe hangers; all of the units there in Perry had them. My selling dealer was one of the dealers exhibiting at the International, so I discussed the situation with the dealer people at the rally. They took an action to call back to their service manager on Monday and have her verify with Airstream that drilling out the hangers and dropping the gas line for the required clearance wouldn't create any warranty issues. I was to call the service department on Monday afternoon. After calling a couple of times and leaving messages, I was finally able to connect with the service manager, and an appointment was set for Thursday July 5.

Everyone seemed to be ready for us upon our arrival at the dealership on Thursday. I didn't have to explain what to do, and was assured that there is no warranty issue in making the modification to properly install the hitch. I gave them a copy of Josh Jones' message that is posted in this thread discussing the problem for their files. The mechanic, a different person than who installed the hitch on delivery, told me the hitch was installed incorrectly.

He drilled out the two hangers, and pulled down on the line just enough to clear the bolt. The slack is obtained by bending the hangers fore and aft of this location. The inside sway bracket plate was replaced. He said the outside plate still met Equal-i-zer's specs. The brackets were then mounted properly, with the correct torque on the two nuts so as not to create any pinching or bowing. The line was covered with a plastic split tubing for chafe prevention, although there is adequate clearance between the line and the bolt threads. This now looks a lot like Tom's (Minnie's Mate) installation, except his dealer used foam instead of plastic for chafe prevention.

[SilverCabin]

The mechanic also did a little tweaking of my hitch settings. He said the trailer was going a little nose down, down the highway, and reset a couple of things to get us level. I couldn't really tell.

Previously, I had to stop every couple of hundred miles and put a wrench on the curbside square-headed bolt to keep it tight. In the 300 miles we towed since leaving the dealership, it never came loose. Although I'll keep checking, it looks like it's fixed, and now there is no danger of crimping the gas line like what happened to henw.

Randy

[Minnie's Mate]

Sounds like your dealer took good care of you as soon as they realized the mistake. Sometimes one mechanic isn't familiar with all the details of an installation and does it the way he/she does it with other brands. That's no excuse, just life unfortunately. I'm glad to hear that things were corrected, though, and things are like they should have been to begin with. Now you can tow with one less thing to worry about; monitor yes, worry about, no.

I know that since I have read about brackets falling off I'll be monitoring mine just to make sure it doesn't happen.

[SilverGate]

Randy,

Thank you for posting your 4-part Equal-i-zer installation repair report and photos.


Your clearly written comprehensive report with details and photos is very helpful.

For now, I’ll continue to monitor mine.

[SilverCabin]

Silvergate,

I would be a little cautious when towing over rough terrain. What happened to henw (post #66) is something we weren't thinking about when this thread was started.

Randy