How much weight will Equalizer Hitch transfer

[MOS]

Have a 28W FC tow with a F150 ecoboost 2000# payload
The andersen hitch does not seem to transfer much weight to the front wheels of the truck.
So before I spend money on a new hitch , what can i get from buying a Equalizer ?
Mike

[paiceman]

Your payload does not change by transferring the weight to the front from the rear, it will remain the same load on the truck. We use an equalizer on our 30' FC with 1,000 pound bars, by adjusting the L brackets which are on the A frame of the trailer I can transfer as much or as little weight as I need to in order to get the truck and trailer level, which is what I shoot for. I've never actually weighed a set up in 45 years of towing so I am not able to say how much weight I transfer, all I do know is the set up is level.

[KJRitchie]

You can also add washers to adjust the head angle. Equalizer suggests for a permanent solution to add washers vs adjust the L brackets to keep the bars parallel to the A frame.

You just need a long breaker bar to get the required 320lbs torque on the shank bolts.

When you say the Anderson isn't transferring do you mean the front axle is not being returned to the unloaded height or at least 50% back to unloaded height?

Kelvin

[ghaynes755]

Mike have you gone and weighed your rig? Look up Ron Gratz on the forums and follow his weighing instructions. Unless you do the trips to the CAT scale the best you can is measure the height of the front fender well without the trailer, with the trailer w/o the WD engaged and with WD engaged. Not sure what Ford says but for GMC the goal is to return 50% of the measurement. So if it measures 36" truck only, 40" with trailer then adjust the WD until you are 38".

[MOS]

I have been to the scale. I just want to know from the owners of the equalizer if this hitch move how much weight back to the front wheels , please
Mike

[dkottum]

Almost any w.d. hitch has a choice of w.d. bars and enough leverage in the w.d. bars to transfer proper weight for your F150, the Anderson is not one of them because the leverage is not there.

However, if you load a huge amount of weight behind the rear axle of your truck, and excessively overload the 1,000 lb tongue weight limit of your Airstream, all bets are off. Loading is part of the deal for good results.

[RLS]

If you are asking for a lb. number, you won't get it. The wd bars can transfer as much weight as you need, depending on what weight bars you get. In other words, I would not try to transfer 1,000 lbs. using 600 lb. bars.

[m.hony]

I have 1,000# bars, but I think only about 200# is being transferred to the front axle and 200# is being transferred to the trailer axles.
Don't concentrate on that number so much as getting the entire rig level and having effective sway control while handling well- almost as if the trailer isn't even there-
Sometimes I only know the trailer is there because I see it in my rear view mirror.

[WestieHouse]

I have an Equilizer hitch with 1,000 lb bars on my 23FB FC (usual traveling wt is about 5,500 lbs w GAVW of 6,000 lbs.) and a Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel TV.

I have adjusted the hitch several times depending on conditions and obtained pre-post CAT scale weights for front or "Steer" axle (and other axles of AS and Jeep "Drive" axle). I have obtained Steer Axle (front) weights ranging from 2,720 to 3,200 lbs by adjusting the L brackets and/or number of washers. I am sure I could do more wt transfer to the front axle as I was nowhere near the limits on either adjustment, but these weights are within the range I am targeting. The rig drives fine in the ranges mentioned, but the lighter front weight was noticeable.
I hope this helps. I have over 16,000 miles in wide variety of conditions with this setup. All were safe and comfortable miles.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by MOS

Have a 28W FC tow with a F150 ecoboost 2000# payload
The andersen hitch does not seem to transfer much weight to the front wheels of the truck.
So before I spend money on a new hitch , what can i get from buying a Equalizer ?
Mike

Mike.

The purpose of a load equalizing hitch, is exactly that.

Many years ago, Caravanner Insurance Company, was a division of Airstream. They did considerable research as "why" loss of control happens, along with proper rated hitch bars.

To keep the soft ride that Airstream trailers MUST HAVE, the heavier duty the tow vehicle the lighter the bars must be.

For your Airstream, a larger car would use 1000 pound bars. A 1/2 ton truck would use 750 pound bards and a 3/4 ton or higher would use the lowest rating bars available, which is 600 pounds. In your case the 750 pound bars would be perfect.

Also when selecting a hitch, consideration must be given regarding sway control. Friction type sway control does not have a brain. A few brands have torsion type sway control, that in a turn, the stress on each bar unequally increases, which tells the hitch which direction you turned.

Simply stated, just because a truck is used as a tow vehicle, does not in any way eliminated the absolute need for sway control.

Sway control, is SAFETY. Things happen, but without sway control, your begging for trouble. Statistics say so.

Andy

[GammaDog]

Mike: I can't tell you what you will get. I can tell you what I've measured on my setup. I have a 2014 Eddie Bauer 25 and a 2014 Tundra crewmax (4 door, short bed 5.7L).

With my specific setup including 1,000 pound weight bars on the Equal-I-Zer on my last pass over the scales, I moved 360 lbs from the truck's rear axle to the front and 180 lbs from the rear axle to the trailer's axles when measuring with weight bars on versus weight bars off and in the bed of the truck (so the weight of the bars is in both measurements and all I measure is their WD effect).

I restore front axle load as close to 100% as possible without going over. The above is 95% FALR.

As others have said, your results will vary. But that's what I've measured.

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by GammaDog

Mike: I can't tell you what you will get. I can tell you what I've measured on my setup. I have a 2014 Eddie Bauer 25 and a 2014 Tundra crewmax (4 door, short bed 5.7L).

With my specific setup including 1,000 pound weight bars on the Equal-I-Zer on my last pass over the scales, I moved 360 lbs from the truck's rear axle to the front and 180 lbs from the rear axle to the trailer's axles when measuring with weight bars on versus weight bars off and in the bed of the truck (so the weight of the bars is in both measurements and all I measure is their WD effect).

I restore front axle load as close to 100% as possible without going over. The above is 95% FALR.

As others have said, your results will vary. But that's what I've measured.

Perfect weigh distribution.

But, your slowly killing the Airstream, with the bars.

Lower the bar rating to 600 pounds, and you still can transfer exactly the same weights.

BUT. you will soften the ride for the trailer.

With your present bars, here's a little test you can do.

Hook the rig up for travel. Then get up on the couple and jump up and down. You will find that the coupler will barely move vertically. Change out the bars as suggested, and do the same test. You will find that the coupler will now move vertically, which in turn, softens the ride for the Airstream.

You may have to adjust the snap-ups since the lower rating bars will bend more, which also is a big step in the right direction.

Then let others know your findings.

Heavy duty bars with heavy duty tow vehicles, is a NO NO for the trailer.

Andy

[111]

I have a 2015 f150 and a Anderson hitch. I was able to transfer 40lbs more with the Anderson at 6.5 turns over the equalizer with the solid 1" bars. I could of cranked the angle again on the equalizer but I was just verifying that the Anderson did its job. With the smaller 23D I run 5 turns . My old Nash required the higher transfer.

Removed 280 lbs off the rear axle with the Anderson.

[MelGoddard]

Originally Posted by KJRitchie

You can also add washers to adjust the head angle. Equalizer suggests for a permanent solution to add washers vs adjust the L brackets to keep the bars parallel to the A frame.

You just need a long breaker bar to get the required 320lbs torque on the shank bolts.

When you say the Anderson isn't transferring do you mean the front axle is not being returned to the unloaded height or at least 50% back to unloaded height?

Kelvin

And HOW do you measure "320 ft. lbs." with a 'Johnson Bar'???

[m.hony]

Depends...
More or less weight is transferred according to how high/low the L-brackets are and how many washers are in the hitch head.
The tighter the weight bars are in the L-brackets, the more weight is being transferred and the more sway control you have, too.