Can two more inches make a difference?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, this is about my Equal-i-zer brand hitch. I have towed my trailer with this hitch for over six years, many thousands of miles, and in all kinds of weather conditions. I have never had any problems towing with this hitch, but I still like to tinker and make adjustments from time to time. We also know that this brand hitch has some really hefty spring bars. So I think there must be a way let this hitch do it's job and allow for more spring action. Re-reading the owner's manual, I noticed that Equal-i-zer allows for a Ball center to "L" bracket measurement from 29"s to 32"s providing that there is a 3" amount of spring bar beyond the center on the "L" brackets. I decided to take a measurement and go to the max, 32"s. Mine was set at 30"s. With spring bars this tough, I think that giving them another two inches will allow my spring bars more room to flex. Now it looks like I need some touch-up paint for the frame and hitch parts.

[Gene]

Bob,

Avoiding the obvious double entendres your question begs for, this is an interesting thought. I have noticed that my L brackets tend to move forward after towing some thousands of miles. I tighten them to 50 lbs. as the company suggested to me—any tighter and the clamping parts tend to bend—but they still can move. Moving them back may put less pressure on them, but figuring that out is best done by an engineer.

Gene

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, Gene. I have a cure for the sliding brackets; Maybe I need to take a few more pictures, but not take it apart again.

[Foiled Again]

some would prefer to be tickled rather than strangled
...or so I've been told.

[subfan1]

Our 19 foot came with a 1000 lb bars and towing I have lost some inside rivits. I have replaced the bars with 600 lb Equalizer brand by the way. I have also mearsured from top of ball head back 32 inches center of L bracket. It now tows a lot smoother and no other rivits have come off.
I think you'll be happy with a little more flex in your bars. Every inch counts you know!

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

some would prefer to be tickled rather than strangled
...or so I've been told.

Hi, after a few times of re-positioning the "L" brackets and not being able to tighten them enough to stop them from moving because over tightening of these parts causes them to bow or bend, making them move even more; You might feel like you want to be strangled. But I found a cure for this. What I did was to buy a third nut and bolt for each side, cut a piece of [scrap found in my garage] 1/2" copper tubing to the length of the width of my frame, install this copper tubing on the third/bottom bolt, between the brackets. Now this holds the lower part of the brackets at the same width of my frame allowing you to torque the #*@&$ out of these bolts without bending or bowing these brackets. Since I have done this modification to my hitch brackets, they have never moved.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by subfan1

Our 19 foot came with a 1000 lb bars and towing I have lost some inside rivits. I have replaced the bars with 600 lb Equalizer brand by the way. I have also mearsured from top of ball head back 32 inches center of L bracket. It now tows a lot smoother and no other rivits have come off.
I think you'll be happy with a little more flex in your bars. Every inch counts you know!

Hi, I hope that this adjustment will be noticable. Also the 1,000 spring bars are too much for your trailer; It will like the lighter, 600 lb bars much better.

[Soyboy]

I think most folks are better off with a slightly lighter bar than one that is too big. When I switched from my 23 foot Jayco to my 28 foot '99 Safari I kept the 600 lb. bars based on what I had read. Towing with my 3/4 ton truck I think it helps to give the trailer a smoother ride while it handles as well as it did with the lighter trailer. Of course I would think that this could vary with your tow vehicle trailer combo.

[Gene]

Bob,

That copper tubing is inspirational. I would think copper would compress when torquing the "#*@&$" out if it, but sounds like it didn't. I'll try to remember that when I remove the brackets to remove the inevitable rust and repaint, then look for some scrap tubing.

Popping rivets can be caused by poor riveting. In our trailer there is a line of rivets running front to back over the kitchen and everyone has popped over the last 3 years—they appeared not to be attached to anything and I assume the riveter missed something consistently. I had to use oversized rivets in some of the holes, but all the ones I replaced have held, possibly to nothing underneath.

Gene

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, Gene. The tubing will try to compress a bit, but it's pretty tough trying to compress it in that direction. Also I used a thin piece of plastic tubing to wrap around my propane pipes on the curb side and I ran my propane pipe in-between the two lower bolts in the hitch brackets. If I used thicker tubing for my lower bolt and propane line, it wouldn't fit between the bolts. I used a 3/4" boxed-end wrench on the nuts and a 3/4" socket attached to a long breaker bar on the bolt-end. I cranked them down tight enough that you can't loosen them with the wrench.

[Gene]

Bob,

Why not use the 2 bolts supplied with the Equalizer and put the tubing just below the tongue? Then the propane line should fit just below that. I used thicker vinyl on our propane lines so I doubt it would fit between two lower bolts.

Did you crank down the upper bolt? Why not use tubing on that one too?

Gene

[dkottum]

My Equal-I-Zer was also installed at less than 30" and I moved it back to 32". I also added a washer to tilt the head down. It rides and handles better. But I still do not trust those stiff 1000# bars when entering drive with a deep dip before it. I either don't do it, or take the bars loose if I have to.

Doug

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Bob,

Why not use the 2 bolts supplied with the Equalizer and put the tubing just below the tongue? Then the propane line should fit just below that. I used thicker vinyl on our propane lines so I doubt it would fit between two lower bolts.

Did you crank down the upper bolt? Why not use tubing on that one too?

Gene

Hi, Gene. Did you mean put the copper tube under the frame and put the bolt in the bottom hole?........ Anyway, by putting the copper tube on the third/bottom bolt, it holds the brackets apart, and when tightening the bolts that are located right under the frame, it wants to bow inward. But it can't, so the brackets hold tight against the frame and flat. The top bolt rests on the frame, so with the lower bolts snugged, the top bolts can be tightened without bending the brackets. The problem of the brackets bending is partially because the bolt just below the frame has some space between it. I thought that if I used the copper tubing on the bolts close to the frame, I wouldn't be able to tell if I was tight on the frame or tight on the tubing. Like I said, they have never moved or slipped since I have done this.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by dkottum

My Equal-I-Zer was also installed at less than 30" and I moved it back to 32". I also added a washer to tilt the head down. It rides and handles better. But I still do not trust those stiff 1000# bars when entering drive with a deep dip before it. I either don't do it, or take the bars loose if I have to.

Doug

Hi, Doug. Like subfan1, with his 19'er, you might be better off with the 600 lb spring bars; Not sure what your tongue weight is.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I can just buy some black spray paint for my hitch parts, but what are any of you using for painting the frame? Do I have to buy Airstream paint or is there a match/close match at the auto parts store. If so, do you have the actual brand, number, or color discription?

[Gene]

Bob, I mixed two pint cans of paint to get the grey that matched the tongue. Not exactly, but close enough. Of course, you can contact Airstream to get the exact paint match and a dealer may carry it. I think I understand why you did the bolts the way you did and now it makes sense. Sorry for being so slow witted.

Gene

[steverino]

Excellent ideas, Bob. My L brackets are also at 30", and I'm going to try moving them to 32". As well, over just 3000 miles of towing, I've had to reset the L brackets twice due to the dreaded creep. The third bolt looks like it should help!

Steve

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by steverino

Excellent ideas, Bob. My L brackets are also at 30", and I'm going to try moving them to 32". As well, over just 3000 miles of towing, I've had to reset the L brackets twice due to the dreaded creep. The third bolt looks like it should help!

Steve

Hi, Steve. Don't forget the spacer on the third bolt. Mine has never slipped since and it has been about two years now.

[dkottum]

When my Equal-I-Zer was installed, they torqued the bolts on the frame brackets so the brackets bowed slightly. Not good because the brackets only gripped the frame at its edges, and were prone to creep easily. I took them off and reversed them so the slight bow would straighten when I tightened the bolts, and grip the frame more evenly. The brackets have not moved in 6000 miles. It looks like the bolts are over-tightened if the brackets creep.

Bob, I would like to switch to 600# bars from the present 1000# bars, but I need a whole new hitch. The bars are not interchangeable. Anyone need to trade up?

Doug

[Gene]

Doug, I doubt you will find many takers, if any. Dealers habitually install heavier bars and hitches because they don't have to stock all sizes and tie up cash in inventory. Hitch manufacturers are probably ok with this because they get to sell lighter weight hitches somewhere down the line.

Gene