Tundra/Equal-i-zer adjustment questions?

[No. 13]

I have found that with roughly the same weight in both trailer and truck each time I tow, I was starting to sag and needed to readjust.

I don't think I have towed enough since last adjustment...6 trips but only about 500 miles in total...to have compressed the washers. TV is 2008 Tundra DC with TRD and tow package.

Any thoughts from Tundra/Equal-izer people?

Also, do any of you keep the torsion bars marked in some way for right and left? And/or inserted with the label in the same direction each time? Does it matter? Thanks.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, CrawfordGene would be the person to talk to. Tundra, Equal-i-zer, 25' Airstream.

[bike_addict]

I don't know that it matters on the bars but I am consistent where the label shows out and is right side up.

I'm pretty level and haven't had to make any adjustments in the setup so I dont know what kind of time it takes to compress everything. But I really like my setup. Granted its the only setup I've owned but I like it. My towing experience with this setup has exceeded my expectations.

[dkottum]

Not sure what "starting to sag" is. The Equal-I-Zer adjustment procedure is to measure the truck wheel well height front and rear, the adjust the hitch so the drop at the rear wheel well is roughly equal to the drop at the front. Okay if the rear drop is slightly more, but never okay if the front drop is more because you are taking too much weight from the rear axle which controls the trailer. Meantime the trailer must be kept perfectly level front to rear for safe handling and equal weight on its two axles.

The washers adjust the tilt of the hitch head and this should always be at least slightly down toward the rear so the weight distribution bar tends to resist movement by stiffening when a turn or sway happens, not the opposite. The washers provided are "hardened" washers so they do not flatten under normal weight. Three conditions come to mind which may flatten the washers. They are not original washers and are too soft, there is too much downward tilt on the hitch head, or you are driving up steep inclines such as driveway approaches that put too much pressure on the weight distribution bars and therefore all other hitch and trailer tongue components.

Check it out using the Equal-I-zer adjustment procedure and be sure the "sag" is not caused by bending of the trailer tongue, a danger of the stiff bars of this hitch design. We have a 25' and Tundra but that doesn't matter for hitch adjustment.

Could you be overloading your trailer (concentrate load over the axles of the trailer as much as possible) or truck? A trip to the weight scales may be in order to see, and adjust your hitch more accurately.

The w.d. bars should always be in the same position when installed, the labels right side up and to the outside.

doug k

[handn]

I have an Equalizer hitch, a 25 Safari and a diesel Excursion. I have a small amount of sag. It doesn't appear to have gotten any worse. I will readjust per dkottums instructions.
I have 1000 lb spring bars. I stick them in any way they will fit. I can't imagine it would make any difference how they are inserted.
When I was running E range Maxxis', I had quite a bit of hobbyhorsing which was unpleasant. I imagine the hobbyhorsing would be as bad or worse with a lighter tow vehicle. It went away when I switched to Michelin 235 R 15 XL tires. They are inflated to 50 pounds and make a huge difference to the better in the ride of the rig.
600 lb spring bars would help the ride also but I have never gotten around to buying a set.
I towed in Mexico with the old tires before they blew up and the trailer got beaten up by the crappy roads. I hope I didn't bend the tongue. How do you check for a bent tongue? Run a yardstick on it? Is there any other test?
I have 200k+ miles on the Excursion, much of them towing something. I notice that the hole in the receiver (where the pin is inserted) in the vehicle is somewhat enlarged. This thread got me thinking that my hitch may be bending up in the receiver due to the englarged pin hole increasing trailer sag. Has anyone encountered this problem?

[No. 13]

Appreciate the responses. I have not paid much attention to the position of the labels each time, but certainly will now. I have made a number of adjustments to get everything perfectly level when we got the trailer. Like I said, lots of trips since, but not a ton of miles. By sag I meant truck rear end has dropped and trailer is tilting toward tongue. I would highly doubt I have bent the tongue in this short of time.

Doug, using all hardened washers from equal-i-zer, tilt is correct, etc., travel light with pretty much the same gear and usually about half a tank of gas for the short trips, always loaded the same way. I spent about an hour last weekend driving around in the storage yard making adjustments to the hitch and all is level again. Now I am wondering if my bars were just upside down? I will closely monitor.

[No. 13]

Just a side note: a new equal-izer hitch does not come with the self tapping screw for the trailer frame. Anyone know why they don't any more?

[aftermath]

I am running the same set up as you. My 2008 Tundra has been a great truck and I too like the Equalizer. I had another one when I pulled my SOB and was lucky enough to get the larger one with the used trailer we picked up.

My set up is level but when I really load the truck up I have a teeny bit of "sag" as you would say. I don't let this bother me as it is very small and I know that it is better to have your trailer nose down than the other way.

With the 1K bars I have found that I don't need to crank it down much to attain a level ride. My older trailer with the lighter hitch required more washers and much more tension. The ride was OK but the noise was much greater. I like the set up and have not noticed any degradation due to worn washers. I do watch my bars and always put them on the same side by paying attention to the stickers. I don't know if this is really that important but it does make me feel better.

[Friday]

The bars themselves act as springs, so they will develop a 'memory' to being flexed in one way. If you kept flipping them around, I think you'd increase the risk of them failing eventually. But, they don't really bend a whole lot, so maybe they'd handle the fatigue...

Because if this, you could definitely get an extra few hundred pounds of lift (or loose it) if you installed them upside down after they were used to flexing only one way.

[Gene]

I never pay attention to the labels. They are just advertising. So far as I can tell, they stick the label on either side and the bars are the same either way. By random selection, they are half of the time by one way and half of the time the other; also half of the time on the left and half on the right.

The "sag" appears to be the washers are compressing or the bolts on the side are loose. I haven't adjusted mine in a while, so my memory cannot be trusted. Here's what I remember:

If there's a space for the washers to move, you need more. The bolts on the side of the hitch head (one holds it together and the other adjusts it and holds it together) have to be torqued quite high. 160 lbs. comes to mind. My torque wrench goes to 120 lbs., so after reaching the limit on that, I torqued it some more guessing I got it right. You may have to use a breaker bar, but don't go crazy with it. Those bolts are big and hard, but anything can break. You will probably need to buy a large socket for the bolts and use a really big channel locks or a big adjustable wrench on the other side to hold it stable.

The more washers, the more angle to the hitch head. The dealer put on 5 and must have thrown the others away, because I had to buy more. Get hardness 8. Should be available at any decent hardware store (along with the giant socket and channel locks). I added 3 (total 8) and the hitch head angle downward toward the trailer—maybe 20˚, but that's just eyeballing it. More than 8 washers is ok, but uncommon. On mine there is a screw on the bottom of the hitch head; I think, my can't be sure, it fine tunes the washer adjustment, but check the instructions if you have that screw.

This will, if I am visualizing it correctly, change the angle of the hitch head so the tongue goes farther down. You adjust it up with other bolts. But there are other adjustments also which change things. Everything is interrelated and getting it right takes time and playing with the various adjustments. Make sure the brackets on the tongue are in the right spot. Move the propane line under the L bracket bolt so you can tighten it properly. I believe the torque on the tongue bracket bolts are 50 lbs; too much and the bracket bends. The brackets are one of the adjustment points. You can add a second plate behind it and get longer bolts. You'd have find a plate that fits and drill holes for the bolts. I haven't done this and the brackets have stayed in place, especially the one where the propane line is after I moved it.

Read the instructions carefully a few times, call the manufacturer when confused (they are helpful) and make sure the truck and trailer are on a level surface. It can be a hill, but a hill with the same grade, but then you'll have to chock the trailer because you don't want it rolling away. There are some older threads about adjusting Equalizers and use the search function to find them. They can be very helpful too.

Use a level on the trailer to make sure it is level before and after adjusting. The belt line is a good place to check it. Trucks are checked by measuring the distance from the top of the wheel cutout to the ground to see what adjustments have done. Without the hitch and just on the ball, the front end of the truck will go up and the headlights will light the sky. Then you play with the hitch until you get both vehicles right.

First priority is a level trailer, second is a fairly level truck, and third is the bars should be close to level. My bars are not level, but that is lowest priority and if the trailer is level, and the truck is close, the bars just have to be where they are,.

Every rig is different, so it takes experimenting and add one washer at a time and go through the adjustments. You'll need some big sockets for the 2 bolts on the side of the hitch head—one adjusts, the other holds things together.

We have the same truck and trailer, so you may come out with 8 washers and bars not too level too. I am presuming an '08 and '07 Tundra are identical. We have TRD and tow package and double cab. That is the same. We have a hard tonneau and that adds about 100 lbs. to the rear.

I last adjusted it about 3 years ago and nothing has changed. The dealer did a bad job and even then the trailer towed well, but once I adjusted it, it towed better. Be prepared for several hours reading and asking questions of the company, and then finding a level place. It took me several more hours playing with various adjustments. It was hot and the hitch head got heavier and heavier as I took it off and on several times. I hope it goes faster for you, but getting it right takes time—that's why some dealers do a bad job.

Since washers compress, everyone has to do this eventually. It is good to know how it works and you can do a better job than a dealer in a rush (and would you want to pay a shop to spend lots of time with this?).

A properly operating hitch is a safety measure and deserves the time, inevitable frustration and the happy exhaustion when you are finished. Maybe I'm making this sound worse than it is and I hope you are smarter than me, understand the directions better and get it done fast. It is a worthy endeavor and after you are finished, go out to dinner and order the best desert on the menu.

Gene

[dkottum]

If all else fails, here's the mfg's instructions:

http://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/eq...anual_0111.pdf

doug k

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Friday

The bars themselves act as springs, so they will develop a 'memory' to being flexed in one way. If you kept flipping them around, I think you'd increase the risk of them failing eventually. But, they don't really bend a whole lot, so maybe they'd handle the fatigue...

Because if this, you could definitely get an extra few hundred pounds of lift (or loose it) if you installed them upside down after they were used to flexing only one way.

Hi, Equal-i-zer hitch instructions say that the spring bars can be swapped around on all of their hitches except for their 14K hitch and it has offset notches in the bars.

[dkottum]

Swapping bars around. May be, but if they get a little curve or set in them for whatever reason, and you put one in curve up and the other in curve down, for example, you've got some goofy things going on.

Should be noted we're talking about bars on the same hitch, you cannot swap one size rated bar to another hitch of a different rating. The hitch head is designed to hold them tightly, a different rated bar is a different thickness.

doug k

[aftermath]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I never pay attention to the labels. They are just advertising. So far as I can tell, they stick the label on either side and the bars are the same either way. By random selection, they are half of the time by one way and half of the time the other; also half of the time on the left and half on the right.....Gene

I really don't know if you HAVE to keep the bars on the same side or not but I choose to do so simply for my peace of mind. The labels will help. It is not random selection, you simply place the bars so that the labels are outside and not upside down. When un-hitching I always leave the pins in the ends of the bars with the cotter pin doo thingy on the inside. I never mix up the bars.

Now, I agree, if you never noticed whether or not the labels are outside, inside, upside down or right side up or readable for that matter, it would be random selection.

[Wazbro]

Originally Posted by handn

I have an Equalizer hitch, a 25 Safari and a diesel Excursion. I have a small amount of sag. It doesn't appear to have gotten any worse. I will readjust per dkottums instructions.
I have 1000 lb spring bars. I stick them in any way they will fit. I can't imagine it would make any difference how they are inserted.
When I was running E range Maxxis', I had quite a bit of hobbyhorsing which was unpleasant. I imagine the hobbyhorsing would be as bad or worse with a lighter tow vehicle. It went away when I switched to Michelin 235 R 15 XL tires. They are inflated to 50 pounds and make a huge difference to the better in the ride of the rig.
600 lb spring bars would help the ride also but I have never gotten around to buying a set.
I towed in Mexico with the old tires before they blew up and the trailer got beaten up by the crappy roads. I hope I didn't bend the tongue. How do you check for a bent tongue? Run a yardstick on it? Is there any other test?
I have 200k+ miles on the Excursion, much of them towing something. I notice that the hole in the receiver (where the pin is inserted) in the vehicle is somewhat enlarged. This thread got me thinking that my hitch may be bending up in the receiver due to the englarged pin hole increasing trailer sag. Has anyone encountered this problem?

With the OEM receiver on newer (2000+ maybe earlier) GMs the bending receivers are way way way to common.

[No. 13]

Wow! What great info from all. I sure appreciate all the advice. I think my issue is less about the set up, which I had dialed in almost perfect, and more about the slow change in the levelness of the TV and the trailer.

Crawford Gene: Thanks for taking the time for a very informative response. I too was amazed when hooking up without the WD active. There is no way I could tow without. I have purchased the thin-walled socket for the ball and a 3/4" drive breaker bar along with a 3/4" to 1/2" drive adapter...so no problem with all the monster torques. Instead of adding washers I actually removed one and moved up one position on the L-brackets, with good results. Trailer is perfectly level and the truck is back where it should be. My front wheel well measurement does not change, and the rear is exactly one inch lower when loaded and hitched with the WD. The torsion bars are close to level with just a little bend. I keep the set bolt tight as prescribed in the manual, and check all of the other bolts for tightness. This was my reason for wondering about the WD bars being consistent with placement. It is the only thing that I have not paid attention to.

I did a re-adjust and I am happy with the results. We are heading out for the 4th...but only 15 miles away...so it may take time to see if things hold. Here are pics of my latest (6th or 7th tweak) set up.

[Gene]

'13, I'll have you adjust mine next!

Gene

[steverino]

After a couple seasons of success with my Equalizer, I'm about ready to move on to something else. The link plates now walk pretty significantly, even during a 50 mile tow. I've re-straightened the link plates the best I can, added the suggested spacer at the bottom of the link plates to prevent bowing, torque carefully in 5 lb increments, yet I find it necessary to readjust every couple of legs. Even if the plates don't move, the L-brackets swing due to the slop in the bracket mounting holes. The L-brackets are starting to deform so that they are no longer square. I've already replaced the L-pins due to them deforming, and now the second set is showing signs of the same. I dont have a whole lot of WD cranked in, so I'm curious why the brackets and pins are bending.

When it works, I like the system. It's solid, and easy to hook up.

So I'm faced with replacing the link plates, L brackets, and L-pins (which will add up in cost) or replace tne whole thing with Reese or other. How it behaves for the rest of this trip will be the deciding factor.

[No. 13]

Are you applying any grease to the L-Backets? I did not at first and had lots of noise and a little movement of the L-Brackets...none since.