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Old 06-28-2020, 04:18 PM   #1
Deeds
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Fastway e2 rear end of truck is high

I'm struggling to get my truck to tow without feeling sloppy! I have a fastway e2 that I set up myself after dealer set up initially I've read enough to know how common this is, my specific issue is that I feel I have too much weight distribution, my rear end on my 2000 f350 cc lb is high a half an inch front is is at the same height loaded or unloaded so that measurement is hard for me to use the math on!I currently am using 6 washers on the set up and feel i should be at 5 due to the rear end being high, the gentleman at fastway said with a long wheelbase truck like mine i should be using more washers in the hitch head and less washers are for short wheelbase vehicles like suvs and 6 should be minimum for me! Well with 6 washers I'm a half inch high, it tends to get sway when taking turns or on windy days, its difficult to snap bars on and when I remove them they whack me in the shins! So I'm curious what do you all think I should do to fix this? I dont have any prior experience to how hard to bars should be to install or remove but have heard of people not using the pry bar tool to install bars and using their fingers, I would never get em without this tool! Any input is appreciated I know theres lots of posts on this but none that cover my issues!
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Old 06-28-2020, 04:22 PM   #2
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I would remove a washer and see how it does. Taking some of the tip out of the head will reduce the amount of weight distribution. In all honesty I would remove as many as needed to make it perform correctly. Or get lighter bars.
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Old 06-28-2020, 05:34 PM   #3
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Alright I'll give it a try, I just do all my truck repairs in the shop at work so I didn't wanna have to try it and change it right back the next day! Not to mention the guy at fastway was so sure I should have more than 6 washers and that a half inch high was ok but everyone calls bs on that one, my trunnion bars are level with the a frame so the washers should be the only thing left to do? I thought it was in my truck and every part in the front end has been replaced so its gotta be the wd setup! Can I ask and I know it's difficult to explain but how hard should it be to snap the bars in and remove them? Sometimes on the pry bar the bars are lower than the crescent to help with leverage its takes a good amount of lifting to get it to snap in place with the truck and trailer lifted and equally as hard to remove! Would you assume I'm on the right track that it's set up incorrect? When the dealer set it up 5 years ago I hook it up he said it was all good I hit the gas and the wheels just spun... I haven't really used it much and I just gotta get it set up right
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Old 06-28-2020, 05:43 PM   #4
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When you say the back is 1/2” high, do you mean 1/2” higher than when there is no trailer attached? If so, you have too much weight distribution going on. To correct that, you need less tilt on the ball mount. With the E2, less washers means less tilt, so remove one and see how it sits (I actually think you might end up removing 2). Hitch set-up is very situation specific, so it may take some trial and error. Ideally you want the front to stay the same loaded or unloaded and the back with no more than 1” of squat from unloaded.
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Old 06-28-2020, 06:12 PM   #5
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Yeah it's a half inch higher when hooked up, I downloaded the e2 instructions and it had the section where you measure the front and rear, well the front doesnt lift much due to it being a diesel cc lb, but I figured the guy at fastway knew his product cause he said with a truck like mine he would probably jump straight to 7 washers and definetly wouldn't use less than 6, and as far as the force necessary to snap the bars in place he could only say it was perfectly normal and I said I need the pry bar to get the trunnion bars off too and that pulling on the end wasnt enough! I was just told perfectly normal! I was frustrated so I stepped away from using it all together but the further I'm venturing the more I'm realizing the need for it! I'm not a weakling and this past weekend I watched a old lady pop one of the bars off like it was nothing so I started rethinking it all
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Old 06-28-2020, 06:27 PM   #6
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Take it for what it’s worth:

Level the trailer and measure ground to top of coupler on trailer. Set the ball height 2” taller with a 10-15 degree tilt back. Set the saddles in the middle. Then hitch up, RAISE everything until you can slide the bars on. Once locked in, retract the jack until the foot is off the ground.

Then take your measurements. I have done it this way for 9 years and haven’t been wrong but a couple of times. We adjust the saddles.
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Old 06-28-2020, 06:32 PM   #7
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I'll try it your way chuckster, if it's coming apart anyways and I'll have the tools out no reason not to! The fastway instructions leave alot to be desired! So if it works for you I'll give it a shot...

Fyi guy at fastway said to go for a 45 degree angle on the hitch head? So that's what I was shooting for
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Old 06-28-2020, 07:06 PM   #8
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I've sort of followed this thread but your last post made me jump out of my skivvies; they told you to tilt the head 45 degrees to hook up? I knew there was a reason Fastway never came up on my radar.....
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Old 06-28-2020, 07:11 PM   #9
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Lol yes, the guy at noble rv here in mn told me I was shooting for a 45 degree angle on the hitch head and I had called fastway to confirm since I wasnt anywhere close to that and just said I was told 45 degree angle is what I should shoot for is there any truth to this and the guy said yeah 45 degrees sounds about perfect, so i actually had 2 people say it, 1 dealer and 1 fastway rep so i did it! No wonder the friggin thing is so hard to snap on and remove
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Old 06-28-2020, 07:51 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deeds View Post
Lol yes, the guy at noble rv here in mn told me I was shooting for a 45 degree angle on the hitch head and I had called fastway to confirm since I wasnt anywhere close to that and just said I was told 45 degree angle is what I should shoot for is there any truth to this and the guy said yeah 45 degrees sounds about perfect, so i actually had 2 people say it, 1 dealer and 1 fastway rep so i did it! No wonder the friggin thing is so hard to snap on and remove

Here is a link to the manual. I don't see how tilting the head to 45 degrees accomplishes anything for that hitch nor for a towing situation. And, the Fastway brand is an offshoot of Progressive which makes the Equalizer??
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Old 06-29-2020, 09:58 AM   #11
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I could understand a miscommunication if they were saying " 4 or 5 degrees" and sounded like 45 degrees. If they truly said 45 degrees I'd question their sanity. I don't know how you would get the coupler to latch at that angle. Every WDH I've seen or read about was a 15 deg. tilt. But maybe it's just me, I'm not installing them for a living.
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Old 06-29-2020, 10:27 AM   #12
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As to connecting/disconnecting the bars, raise the tongue with the rogue jack to do either, usually no pry bar required.
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Old 07-07-2020, 10:50 AM   #13
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I set up my E2 myself using the instructions. I hadn't set up a hitch before, so it was my first time. I just read it through and highlighted the important bits, and then read it through a couple times to make sure I understood what they were asking. It really wasn't that difficult.

As others have said, I would start from the beginning - doing it all yourself will give you the confidence to do it again when needed (it should be checked from time to time due to loading changes, etc.).

And yes, don't try to install/remove the spring bars without first lifting the trailer tongue (with the coupler locked to the hitch ball) using the tongue jack. You lift the truck/trailer a little bit and the bars come right in/out with no effort.
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Old 07-07-2020, 03:23 PM   #14
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I removed a washer bringing it down to 5 washers total, it towed the best it ever has, I have to say I'm impressed and excited to go further from home now! I dont know why they ever told me to shoot for a 45 degree angle and I didn't miss hear they did not say 4 or 5 haha! They also said try to stay close to 6 or 7 washers...
Here are my numbers now!

Unloaded front 39 3/8
Unloaded rear 43 3/8

Loaded front 39 1/2
Loaded rear 42

Wd front 39 3/8
Wd rear 42 5/8

I'd have to think I finally got it right!
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