Equalizer advice needed

[steilkurve]

Hey all. Want to make my GT 25FB and RAM 2500 Cummins rig more stable.

The way dealer had set it up, the Equalizer hitch didn’t transfer any weight to the front axle. It was handling fine on smooth roads but rocked badly on bumps, overpass expansion joints, etc.

I went the easy route and raised the L brackets. Marked difference right away. With WD applied, the front wheel well returns to its non-towing height. And the rig stabilizes rapidly after bumps with limited rocking. However, my spring arms are now not parallel with the A frame. See photos.

Is this OK?

Or should I return the L brackets to their prior position and simply add washers (there are already 6 plus the rivet thing)?

Thanks for the tips!

[kscherzi]

That's a big drop hitch, it could be bending a little. You can go to eight washers. Might give that a go and lower the L brackets so the arms are parallel. When the arms are flat against the L brackets there is more metal to metal contact and more sway resistance.

With the Equalizer, the more weight distribution the more sway resistance.

[GCinSC2]

I have a 30' Classic and tow with a Dodge Ram 2500 with Equal-I-Zer.

1. Consider starting with the Equal-I-Zer manual setup procedure.

2. Look at the hitch head where it clamps onto the stinger. Is the head tightly wrapped on the stinger or is there a gap? I've fixed many gaps with a homemade shim. Objective is just creating a tight connection.

3. Bracket jackets? These non metallic pads allow for a smoother quieter sway bar to bracket connection.

4. And this is a tougher one to fix. The fit of the stinger to the receiver. I made SS full length shims for my connection that cover three sides one is even 90 degrees around the stinger. It went from loose and sloppy to DARN snug. For me it made a calmer steering wheel, way less minor course corrections. My theory is creating a slop free connection with items 2 and 4 to compliment the hitch action. Does it work for me? Yes. IF I lost them it would be job #1 to make a new set.

Gary

[steilkurve]

Originally Posted by kscherzi

That's a big drop hitch, it could be bending a little. You can go to eight washers. Might give that a go and lower the L brackets so the arms are parallel. When the arms are flat against the L brackets there is more metal to metal contact and more sway resistance.

Thanks for the reply. By the drop hitch bending, do you mean from the play in the receiver? I can see the spring arms bending but the drop hitch itself, didn’t know it was possible.

I suppose it varies based on hitch head and L bracket height but would adding a single washer equate to going up one hole on the L bracket?

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by steilkurve

Thanks for the reply. By the drop hitch bending, do you mean from the play in the receiver? I can see the spring arms bending but the drop hitch itself, didn’t know it was possible.



I suppose it varies based on hitch head and L bracket height but would adding a single washer equate to going up one hole on the L bracket?

Typically, one washer will equal "about" one l-braket hole (or chain link, etc). No harm in experimenting.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Airstream Forums mobile app

[steilkurve]

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

3. Bracket jackets? These non metallic pads allow for a smoother quieter sway bar to bracket connection.

4. And this is a tougher one to fix. The fit of the stinger to the receiver. I made SS full length shims for my connection that cover three sides one is even 90 degrees around the stinger. It went from loose and sloppy to DARN snug. For me it made a calmer steering wheel, way less minor course corrections. My theory is creating a slop free connection with items 2 and 4 to compliment the hitch action. Does it work for me? Yes. IF I lost them it would be job #1 to make a new set.

Yep, got the L bracket sleeves. Does make a difference.

On stinger/receiver connection, I know what you mean. Mine is not snug at all. Quite a bit of play, especially with the 2.5 to 2” adapter. I’ll have to look into that.

[GCinSC2]

Originally Posted by steilkurve

Yep, got the L bracket sleeves. Does make a difference.

On stinger/receiver connection, I know what you mean. Mine is not snug at all. Quite a bit of play, especially with the 2.5 to 2” adapter. I’ll have to look into that.

Closer look at pic yes, I missed the jackets you have.

I look at that final connection as if I'm looking at a steering system on a vehicle. Great tires, ball joints etc but one sloppy tie rod end messes the whole system up.

[Mollysdad]

First, I'd weigh your tongue. Don't go by Airstream's specs.
On mine, the book says the tongue weight is 903 but on a scale it's 1125! And I'm not storing much up front.
But had I known my tongue was 1125 I might have gone up to a 1200 Equalizer.
But with my 1000 Equalizer I'm running 7 washers, and the bars normal. It tows great. The bars are in their normal position on the "L" brackets.
To answer your question, I prefer the bars to be parallel to the frame and increase WD by adding washers.
I'm considering a Blue Ox sway pro, just to see if I like it better.

[2link2]

In your RAM manual they may give you recommended WDH front axle measurements & on my RAM using the manual recommendation it gets the front back to within an 1/8" of where it sits not hooked up. Transferring aprx 240lbs to front axle. If your transferring weight & it tows good your there.

I would call Equalizer about bars being parallel, they are very helpful. Just a thought, since your dealer installed a WDH & that wasn't transferring any weight I'd make sure what they sold you is correct hitch ? As you know Equalizer sells hitches based on trailer & hitch weights.

[GOUSC]

Like others have said, I would go to the Equalizer manual and do the steps they suggest. I had to do the same thing after my dealer hitch install. I have a GMS Sierra 2500 HD and have a couple observations;

1. I tried adding more washers, etc to see if it made a difference and reached out to others. I was told, and found, that with 3/4 and 1 ton trucks its very hard to transfer much from the back to the front as the chassis are built to carry that weight already. IMO, if set up properly you don't need to increase WD a lot, you just need enough friction for sway control. I would be surprised if you need more than 4 washers or less. You shouldn't have much squat with a 3/4 ton truck and miniumu WD.

2. By adding more friction, you are adding more stress to the front end and may do more harm than good (i.e. front end separation issue).

3. On that note, I see you don't have a front storage compartment. I have a 27' GT and I thought the 25' had a front storage compartment as well. I had mine removed when I had my front end separation issue repaired by a 3rd party. I was curious if you did the same or, if the 25' doesn't come with a front storage compartment?

[steilkurve]

Originally Posted by 2link2

In your RAM manual they may give you recommended WDH front axle measurements & on my RAM using the manual recommendation it gets the front back to within an 1/8" of where it sits not hooked up. Transferring aprx 240lbs to front axle. If your transferring weight & it tows good your there.

I would call Equalizer about bars being parallel, they are very helpful. Just a thought, since your dealer installed a WDH & that wasn't transferring any weight I'd make sure what they sold you is correct hitch ? As you know Equalizer sells hitches based on trailer & hitch weights.

Thanks for this. Just put the brackets back to their prior position and added a washer and guess what, I’m 1/8 of an inch to where it was with trailer not in tow! That looks like the RAM specs you quoted. Haven’t road tested yet.

[steilkurve]

Originally Posted by GOUSC

3. On that note, I see you don't have a front storage compartment. I have a 27' GT and I thought the 25' had a front storage compartment as well. I had mine removed when I had my front end separation issue repaired by a 3rd party. I was curious if you did the same or, if the 25' doesn't come with a front storage compartment?

No front compartment on the 25FB.

[steilkurve]

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Typically, one washer will equal "about" one l-braket hole (or chain link, etc). No harm in experimenting.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Airstream Forums mobile app

Thanks. Just added a washer and moved the L brackets down one hole. Front wheel well is now at 40 1/8 compared to 40 3/8 without WD. With AS not in tow, it sits at 40. With the brackets up one hole, front came back down to 40. So, it does look like one washer does the trick. Will hit the road and test later this week.

[2link2]

Originally Posted by steilkurve

Thanks for this. Just put the brackets back to their prior position and added a washer and guess what, I’m 1/8 of an inch to where it was with trailer not in tow! That looks like the RAM specs you quoted. Haven’t road tested yet.

Nice ! Good luck on your test run, nothing like having a solid rig I hate the white knuckle drives.

[djangelo71]

I would seriously consider taking it back to the dealer and have them address your concerns. I installed an Equalizer on my Basecamp 16x. I experienced a catastrophic failure of the camper hitch frame. Airstream refused to honor the warranty, saying it was caused by improper installation of the hitch. When I say catastrophic, I mean it bent the hitch upward about a foot, and cracked the frame.

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by djangelo71

I would seriously consider taking it back to the dealer and have them address your concerns. I installed an Equalizer on my Basecamp 16x. I experienced a catastrophic failure of the camper hitch frame. Airstream refused to honor the warranty, saying it was caused by improper installation of the hitch. When I say catastrophic, I mean it bent the hitch upward about a foot, and cracked the frame.

I don't want to start something here, but this is why I keep preaching about doing the math and using the minimum WD, per the numbers. It is also why I got rid of my equal-i-zer....the bars have little flexibility.

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[2link2]

Originally Posted by djangelo71

I would seriously consider taking it back to the dealer and have them address your concerns. I installed an Equalizer on my Basecamp 16x. I experienced a catastrophic failure of the camper hitch frame. Airstream refused to honor the warranty, saying it was caused by improper installation of the hitch. When I say catastrophic, I mean it bent the hitch upward about a foot, and cracked the frame.

Wow ! Do have more info on that one ? I'm about to buy an Equalizer hitch & now am wondering if that's a good choice. Just about every review of them I've read is positive. I've used WDH before and just can't imagine them having enough force to bend a frame.