Equalizer hitch - sway bar torque question

[Maineiacs]

Have a new equalizer hitch. The sway bars need to swing out 3 to 4 inches to allow for disconnection to the trailer. They are incredibly hard to move! I'm just under 300 pounds and it took my entire body weight yesterday to disconnect. This morning I loosened the bolts that hold the square fittings that hold the sway bars. Backed them off a good quarter inch. Still stiff. Applied white lithium grease to the rubbing surfaces, very slightly better, still extremely stiff. The square fittings are firmly captured between the top plate and the bottom plate. Is there some trick to making them a little easier to work with? If it wasn't Saturday, I'd call their tech support but thought I'd try the wizards and veterans here first.


Thanks in advance.

[chuckster57]

If you stay hitched to the tow vehicle, lift the tongue as high as it will go. That should remove the pressure and allow the bars to come off with very little effort. Then just lower the tongue, unlock the hitch and lift off the ball.

Hooking up, lock onto the ball, lift as high as it will go, install bars and then lower the tongue.

[sourdough]

When new the Equalizer bars can be hard to pull/push back and forth. The most important key is having the tongue up enough to remove the weight on the bars from the L brackets. Next, when new I had the bolts tightened to 65 lb. ft. of torque as a minimum. Coat the sliding surfaces of the square bar receiver with grease; I used Reese hitch grease, you used white lithium which in my experience doesn't do much or last long. When new, at times it was almost impossible to get the bars in/out and I was pretty stout back then and could do it but figured something was going to "pop" one day while yanking on the things. To eliminate that I found a 5' length of 1" steel pipe that I just threw in the pass through for a cheater bar....made the world SO much better and eliminated the problem. After thousands of miles of use the hitch loosened up and I now run it at 75 lb. ft. and they work without the bar and it does an excellent job.

[Maineiacs]

If you stay hitched to the tow vehicle, lift the tongue as high as it will go. That should remove the pressure and allow the bars to come off with very little effort. Then just lower the tongue, unlock the hitch and lift off the ball.

Hooking up, lock onto the ball, lift as high as it will go, install bars and then lower the tongue.


That's exactly the process I followed. Now unhooked, hitch is in the truck upside down for access to the bolts for lube. Put bars in and can just barely move them. Doesn't seem quite right. I know that friction is an integral part of the design but this seems extreme.

[chuckster57]

That's exactly the process I followed. Now unhooked, hitch is in the truck upside down for access to the bolts for lube. Put bars in and can just barely move them. Doesn't seem quite right. I know that friction is an integral part of the design but this seems extreme.

As Danny said above, the bars can be VERY stiff when new. They will get easier

[sourdough]

I forgot to mention a couple of things. Read that you had your hitch upside down in the receiver...this would be right. When new I backed off the torque on the hitch bolts and used the sway bars to pull the square heads out about 80 degrees to lube them; pushed them back and retorqued. DO NOT forget to tighten the set bolt for the hitch head angle every time you pull the hitch and retorque the bolts...it WILL loosen up and you will lose the angle for your ball. Over time I just used the cheater bar and now just pull the bars out by hand when unhitching before I pull the pin and clip.

[Maineiacs]

Thanks to you both! We have a long trip coming up after Christmas and hopefully that will help wear off the newness.

[skids]

Hooking up, lock onto the ball, lift as high as it will go, install bars and then lower the tongue.

Don't forget to raise the stabilizer jacks before messing around with raising/lowering the tongue. It is obvious but can be forgotten...

[sourdough]

Don't forget to raise the stabilizer jacks before messing around with raising/lowering the tongue. It is obvious but can be forgotten...


^^^^^x2x2! Very important, very obvious....but, can be forgotten!! Just ask me. And, dropping the tongue will absolutely fold the stabilizers, BUT, the good thing is they can be replaced.....for $700.

[66joej]

[QUOTE=sourdough Coat the sliding surfaces of the square bar receiver with grease; I used Reese hitch grease, you used white lithium which in my experience doesn't do much or last long.[/QUOTE]

If Reese hitch grease is unavailable (which is my issue) I use a good quality synthetic grease such as Valvoline, Mobil1, Lucas. It sticks better than Lithium as sourdough suggested.

[ken56]

Without having the book at hand as I recall those bolts should be torqued to 40-60 ft.lbs.
I set mine at 50 ft. lbs. and can move them with a hefty pull. The friction on the L-bracket is what gives the sway control more than the hitch head bar connection. Loosen the bolt torque to where you want it. Remember to grease those rub points on the hitch head every time too.

[sourdough]

Without having the book at hand as I recall those bolts should be torqued to 40-60 ft.lbs.
I set mine at 50 ft. lbs. and can move them with a hefty pull. The friction on the L-bracket is what gives the sway control more than the hitch head bar connection. Loosen the bolt torque to where you want it. Remember to grease those rub points on the hitch head every time too.


This is a link to the current guidelines as best I can find for the 4 point:

https://www.equalizerhitch.com/manuals-guides/manuals/6k-14k-model-owners-manual/installation/spring-arm-setup

This says 60 but I've never seen anything previously less than 65. 40 psi on the 4 point would be useless in my experience. 60 would be useless as well with a trailer over maybe 6k.. Loosening the head bolt torque to "where you want it" is just bad advice. It needs to do its job and you have to set it to specs then do what is required to keep it there....not "make it easy" because "it's hard". JMO

[Modifier]

You did not say what brand of hitch you have but it sounds like a weird hitch. I think that any hitch that you have to lift the back of the truck to hitch up is a very strange hitch.

[chuckster57]

You did not say what brand of hitch you have but it sounds like a weird hitch. I think that any hitch that you have to lift the back of the truck to hitch up is a very strange hitch.
Most weight distributing hitches are much easier to "load" when the tension is off. There is a degree of tilt to the hitch head and when you put the bars on they will point in a downward direction. unless you lift the truck and trailer up to change the angle, putting the bars on takes a lot of effort.

[JRTJH]

You did not say what brand of hitch you have but it sounds like a weird hitch. I think that any hitch that you have to lift the back of the truck to hitch up is a very strange hitch.

Every weight distribution hitch that uses "spring bars" to shift weight employs the concept of lifting the rear of the tow vehicle to unload the bars to make connecting/disconnecting safer and easier. In fact, Equalizer, in their owner's manual has a CAUTION about always lifting the trailer connection before setting or releasing the WD bars.

It's on page 7 of the owner's manual and reads:

"Do not loosen or remove any part of the hitch while the hitch is under load. Use the tongue jack to take the tension off the spring arms before removing L‑pins."

[sonofcy]

Every weight distribution hitch that uses "spring bars" to shift weight employs the concept of lifting the rear of the tow vehicle to unload the bars to make connecting/disconnecting safer and easier. In fact, Equalizer, in their owner's manual has a CAUTION about always lifting the trailer connection before setting or releasing the WD bars.

It's on page 7 of the owner's manual and reads:

"Do not loosen or remove any part of the hitch while the hitch is under load. Use the tongue jack to take the tension off the spring arms before removing L‑pins."

Did any of you notice he said SWAY bar, not SPRING bar!
When I had an equalizer the spring bars moved easily as in with my pinky finger. I didn't have an anti-sway bar on that hitch.

[sourdough]

Did any of you notice he said SWAY bar, not SPRING bar!
When I had an equalizer the spring bars moved easily as in with my pinky finger. I didn't have an anti-sway bar on that hitch.



Which Equalizer did you have that didn't have sway control?

[chuckster57]

Danny: I think he means the separate sway control that uses a ball on the head, another ball 24” back on the frame and a bar that gets squeezed between brake pads.

[sonofcy]

No idea, that was 7 years ago and I have trouble remembering what I had for breakfast. It was a round bar equalizer with no sway bar at all. If I was going to guess I would say Husky. The lack of sway bar was not an issue for me as my truck had electronic sway control and the one time I needed it in the Rockies it worked perfectly. The only reason I got some sway was the loose nut behind the wheel and the truck saved his *** (me). There was no issue taking off and putting on the round bars when I was a young 70 years old.

[sourdough]

Got it! I was thinking the brand Equalizer when equalizer was mentioned in the post and I'm not aware of any of them without sway control.

[JRTJH]

Did any of you notice he said SWAY bar, not SPRING bar!
When I had an equalizer the spring bars moved easily as in with my pinky finger. I didn't have an anti-sway bar on that hitch.

Maybe you should go back and re-read post #13... NOWHERE in his post will you find the word "sway"....

He specifically stated: "You did not say what brand of hitch you have but it sounds like a weird hitch. I think that any hitch that you have to lift the back of the truck to hitch up is a very strange hitch."

I'd suggest that any hitch (with spring bars) is much easier to hitch if the back of the tow vehicle is lifted to remove the tension on the spring bars.... That post (#13) is the post to which I was responding and "sway" is not a part of the poster's comment or my response"...YMMV

[Modifier]

It would appear to me that a lot of the members of this forum don't know that there are other brands of WD hitches besides Equalizer. There are a lot of much better brands of hitches with built in, superior, sway control. And yes as usual "better" translates to more costly. But they work better and are more user friendly.

[sourdough]

It would appear to me that a lot of the members of this forum don't know that there are other brands of WD hitches besides Equalizer. There are a lot of much better brands of hitches with built in sway control. And yes as usual "better" translates to more costly. But they work better and are more user friendly.


Everyone knows there are other brands. I think it would be a revelation that there are a "lot of much better brands of hitches" than Equalizer since most/many of the members own Equalizer and like them after using multiple brands...can you expound on that? You can leave ProPride and Hensley out so what's left in your opinion?

And while I agree "better" usually translates to more costly I think it would be beneficial to understand "better" and "more costly" to you. I like "better", I don't care about "cost".

[Modifier]

I am not in the business of advertising or promoting any product but for many years I have used Reese Dual Cam hitches and they do not require any lifting of the truck to hitch up and the sway control is excellent. The use of the snap up brackets and a lever bar makes hook up easy.

[sourdough]

I am not in the business of advertising or promoting any product but for many years I have used Reese Dual Cam hitches and they do not require any lifting of the truck to hitch up and the sway control is excellent. The use of the snap up brackets and a lever bar makes hook up easy.


Thanks. I see you posted the Reese vs a "lot of other much better brands with built in sway control" as you previously stated. I'm not seeing "lots". As far as "better" translates into more costly, I think you will find the Equalizer will generally cost more than the Reese. In addition, the spring bars with chains pulled up with the little cheater bar is exactly the same design I started with back in the 70s...things have improved. The only difference, to me, between the dual cam and the old spring bars/chains and the bolt on, tensionable "sway controls" is the addition of the "cams" on the underside...same concept.

I'm not trying to be argumentative or take a side, simply pointing out that your original post was misleading and needs to be clarified.

[Gunny Mike]

Etrailer.com sells the grease that the mfgovernment recommends. Our first hitch was brand new and was tight where the bars would only move out about 5 inches. We ended up loosing that one in a campground one weekend during one of those forgot moments that occur almost every triperson it seems. There is always some drama when hooked up. We picked up a used one in Elkhart at a hitch place and it cost $300.00. The square bars are not interchangeable so we had to pick a head that fit the bars we had instead of waiting two days for an exact fit. This one has more movement in it and my bars cans swing forward enough to touch my rear bumper. Have traveled 5k plus miles using this hitch system and have not once had a sway problem. I guess that's why I paid the extra money, no trailer sway and no need to hook up a anti sway bar.

[Modifier]

To each his own opinion. Let's agree to disagree and move on to more important things. That is enough said.

[sourdough]

To each his own opinion. Let's agree to disagree and move on to more important things. That is enough said.


Don't want to harp, but my questions to you were about your statements; not your choice of hitch - to each his own, and his opinion.

"It would appear to me that a lot of the members of this forum don't know that there are other brands of WD hitches besides Equalizer. There are a lot of much better brands of hitches with built in, superior, sway control. And yes as usual "better" translates to more costly. But they work better and are more user friendly." Your post.

This statement implies that you have LOTS of experience with ALL kinds of hitches and know definitively you know of what you speak. That's why I asked for clarification and what it is that you know that others of us don't; not to debate your choice of hitch.

We have lots of new members, and untold numbers of non members, that read these posts hoping to learn...real stuff, not just words that have no backing in fact. If you do in fact have facts, data etc. to share that would be great. If you just like your Reese hitch that is great too, just don't say stuff that just isn't so.

[SummitPond]

Can someone educate me on the real big difference/benefit of a 4-point system like Equalizer versus a 2-point system like Fastway's e2? Is there a breakpoint on TT length/weight where the less expensive 2-point is considered by the Equalizer users "just as good" as the 4-point? I haven't exhaustively searched the manufacturers' web sites, but I don't see the technical justification - only generic discussions on how they work (or maybe I need new glasses!)

I was given (as much as a dealer will give you anything - but I did trade them a spreadsheet I used to scope out the new trailer) the e2, although the Equalizer is also offered at that dealership.

I'm curious to know, if and when we "move up" to a larger TT, do I (or at what point do I) replace the WDH I have with something new.

Thanks.

[Northofu1]

While it is my first WDH, I like my Blue ox sway pro. They have great reviews.
You do have to raise the hitch to engage and disengage the bars.

[JRTJH]

I am not in the business of advertising or promoting any product but for many years I have used Reese Dual Cam hitches and they do not require any lifting of the truck to hitch up and the sway control is excellent. The use of the snap up brackets and a lever bar makes hook up easy.

You might want to take a look at the owner's manual for your Reese Dual Cam hitch, page 8:

"WARNING:
When lifting/lowering Snap-Up Bracket, Avoid putting any part of your body in the path of the lifting handle and under the cam arm and spring bars. Components of this system are loaded with substantial force and could shift position or drop suddenly causing serious injury or death.
Never Raise or Lower Snap-Up Brackets without raising the trailer tongue jack to remove the load from the spring bars and cam arms. Failure to do so could cause serious injury."

While your chosen procedure for tensioning the Snap-Up brackets is a means to accomplish "loading tension on the hitch", it is against the WARNING in your owner's manual.

Again, I'll say, "I know of no hitch that uses spring bars to distribute weight that isn't easier to "load the bars" by raising the trailer/tow vehicle to unload the tension.

[travelin texans]

I haven't had TT in 20 years & it had the chains, a 18-24" bar to flip the chains over & sway bar that clamped down between 2 tiny balls on the truck & trailer. At the time I was under the impression if they weren't somewhat difficult to tighten then they were doing no good, tension=weight transfer. Did raise the tongue jack with it attached to the truck to make loading the chains much easier, actually I couldn't attach them without raising, I had the link I needed painted red.
My FIL had the same system & found out you can transfer TOO much weight. He had the chains so tight that it was raising the rear of his truck & spinning the tires very time he took off, wore a rear set of tires in 1 summers travels. He thought his old GMC 454 with a manual 4 speed was too much truck til I adjusted his setup for him, he said it even towed better afterwards.

[sourdough]

Can someone educate me on the real big difference/benefit of a 4-point system like Equalizer versus a 2-point system like Fastway's e2? Is there a breakpoint on TT length/weight where the less expensive 2-point is considered by the Equalizer users "just as good" as the 4-point? I haven't exhaustively searched the manufacturers' web sites, but I don't see the technical justification - only generic discussions on how they work (or maybe I need new glasses!)

I was given (as much as a dealer will give you anything - but I did trade them a spreadsheet I used to scope out the new trailer) the e2, although the Equalizer is also offered at that dealership.

I'm curious to know, if and when we "move up" to a larger TT, do I (or at what point do I) replace the WDH I have with something new.

Thanks.


Ken,

I've never used the E2 nor have I seen a chart that gave hard information on when/where to go from a 2 points of sway control to 4. I think that is simply due to the countless possible combos of trailers and trucks.

For me, I started with a chain wdh on a 1/2 ton, long bed Ford and a 25' TT with no slides. I traveled primarily throughout TX and SE NM. Initially I started with one of the add on "sway" bars that attach to the little outboard balls on the hitch head. That didn't do enough in the wind so went to 2; that still didn't fix it but I lived with it for a few years. I learned of the Equalizer (no internet back then) and went with a 4 point (don't know if they even made the 2 point then) and problem solved.

The difference between the E2 and the 4 point is obviously the points of contact for sway control, 4 vs 2. The E2 gets its sway ability from the contact of the round/trunnion bars contacting the L bracket on the frame. The 4 point gets its sway from those same 2 points plus the adjustable friction swivel points at the head which, IMO, give more control than the L brackets.

Where to draw the line when there is no difference in performance? I don't know definitively. I will say, again IMO, that if my original chain wdh couldn't control a 25' trailer the E2 will do no better so I'm thinking something in the <25'/6000lb. range might be OK. Above that you need all the sway control you can get and aside from the ProPride/Hensley it's hard to beat the 4 point in my experience and conversations with others.

To me you have to separate the 2 functions; wdh and sway control. I figure nearly any wdh out there will work up to about 10k lbs. when many of them limit out (not Equalizer). When effective sway control is considered the field narrows quickly and is as important, or more so, than the distribution aspect. Trying to determine if you have the "best" wdh/sway control possible for a given combination can turn into an expensive little test so I just opt for getting the most/best I can within reason. IMO you can't get TOO much sway control (it can be adjusted) but you definitely can have too little.

[TDoggart]

"WARNING:
When lifting/lowering Snap-Up Bracket, Avoid putting any part of your body in the path of the lifting handle and under the cam arm and spring bars. Components of this system are loaded with substantial force and could shift position or drop suddenly causing serious injury or death.
Never Raise or Lower Snap-Up Brackets without raising the trailer tongue jack to remove the load from the spring bars and cam arms. Failure to do so could cause serious injury."

That sounds like it was written by a lawyer and not an RV tech.

[UsTwo]

So i went to a Husky Centerline WDH, that has the built in sway,after using the ol chain and Sway bar control.. Big difference.. To the question asked.. Yes they are really really stiff at first. hardly movable..To just after 4 months of use, 1 to 2 times a month. Now the wife can move them in or out from the hitch area when needed.

[JRTJH]

"WARNING:
When lifting/lowering Snap-Up Bracket, Avoid putting any part of your body in the path of the lifting handle and under the cam arm and spring bars. Components of this system are loaded with substantial force and could shift position or drop suddenly causing serious injury or death.
Never Raise or Lower Snap-Up Brackets without raising the trailer tongue jack to remove the load from the spring bars and cam arms. Failure to do so could cause serious injury."

That sounds like it was written by a lawyer and not an RV tech.

No, if you consider what's "really happening" it makes perfect sense to unload a spring before you try to push it beyond where it wants to go... But then, if you're trying to argue that it can be done "anyway", I'll concede, yeah, if you're strong enough, you can push harder than someone who isn't as strong and "force the spring into submission"... You can also travel without wearing a seat belt, if you contend that requirement is also, "written by lawyers not a vehicle driver".....

[chuckster57]

Isn’t that why they give you the cheater bar? That way you can lift the spring bar up and over, proving your strong as an OX..and as smart LOL.

[skids]

"WARNING:
When lifting/lowering Snap-Up Bracket, Avoid putting any part of your body in the path of the lifting handle and under the cam arm and spring bars. Components of this system are loaded with substantial force and could shift position or drop suddenly causing serious injury or death.
Never Raise or Lower Snap-Up Brackets without raising the trailer tongue jack to remove the load from the spring bars and cam arms. Failure to do so could cause serious injury."

That sounds like it was written by a lawyer and not an RV tech.

Elastic energy is pretty extreme when it comes to tempered steel. I would reduce the flexure as much as possible before attaching/unattaching the steel bars.

[JRTJH]

Isn’t that why they give you the cheater bar? That way you can lift the spring bar up and over, proving your strong as an OX..and as smart LOL.

Yeap, and "thinking RV'ers" use the tongue jack (as suggested in all the owner's manuals" to make the job easier and not "risk injury" should the cheater bar slip....

In fact, even with the Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch, you don't have to be "strong as an Ox" to read the owner's manual and do it the "smart and safe" way, which is listed on page 6, step 5 which reads:
"5. Attach the spring bar chains to the rotating latches with the appropriate chain link. Apply tension to the spring bar by using the wrench to rotate the latch counter-clockwise until the locking pin on the latch engages. Do this on both sides of the trailer. Optional: Supporting the trailer tongue weight with the trailer jack eases the tension on the spring bar chains and allows easier latching."....

[flybouy]

Written by a lawyer? Perhaps, but in the age of litigation and "it's not my fault that I'm stupid" it's come to the point where coffee cups come with "contents may be hot" and hair dryers have labels tell you not "use it while in a shower".

In my opinion, lifting a spring steel bar with potentially a 1,000 +lb. load on it would be easier and safer if some of the load was removed. Sort of like having a car full of NFL lineman and changing a flat tire. You can tell them to "stay where you are I got this" or "o.k. guys, everybody out while I change the tire".

Maybe it's age but I'd much rather work smarter than harder. JMHO

[SummitPond]

<clip>
Trying to determine if you have the "best" wdh/sway control possible for a given combination can turn into an expensive little test so I just opt for getting the most/best I can within reason. IMO you can't get TOO much sway control (it can be adjusted) but you definitely can have too little.

Danny

Thanks for the feedback.

I recall my folks had something with the chains back in the late 60s when they had a 31 foot (?) Holiday Rambler TT. They pulled it with a Plymouth wagon (try that these days!) but I can see something was not properly adjusted due to the way the car is riding low in the back.

I didn't have any WDH/anti-sway for the 19 foot Premier (it wasn't recommended by the dealer, and not knowing any better at the time I didn't question it; fortunately the curb weight of our TV was more than the GVWR of the TT which I think helped - I never had an issue), but when we moved up to the longer, slightly heavier TT I wanted something, and the e2 is what was offered.

So far I have not had any issues. But as I mentioned, it's nice to be educated before you make the next move up (whenever that might be); I envision an Equalizer sometime in my future.

[Gunny Mike]

We had a 72 ford station wagon back in the early nineties for towing our 33' prowler so your picture brings back some memories. Used it just for those one day move outs we had to do every 6 months. Towed a utility trailer with my Buick regal back then too and I remember almost loosing it a few times as it was whipping around like a tail on a dog. Lucky we didn't flip over and get killed.