Is my equalizer set up proper

[davidcyndi]

I will attach a few pictures so you can see the results. My equalizer was installed by rv dealer when we purchased our TT. So I am not knowledgeable enough to make assumptions other than what I have read. This is the site I got my pointers and walk through on.
http://www.ehow.com/how_12230174_adj...zer-hitch.html

Following the directions I lowered the TT onto the hitch without the equalizer bars engaged and took a measurement. I used the top of the rim as my measuring point. It was a proper measurement so no worries. The front was 15 inches from top of rim to bottom of fender well. The rear was 13 inches from top of rim to bottom of fender well.

I then raised it back up and attached the equalizer bars onto the L brackets. I then lowered it back down and took measurements. The front from top of rim to bottom of fender well it was now 14.5 inches and in the rear from top of rim to bottom of fender well it was 13.25.

Does everything look like a proper set up or do I need to make changes?
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

[ewkearns]

I don't think we can answer any of this without knowing what the figures were without the trailer hitched up..... IOW, if you don't have an unloaded base line, no determination can be made about how the load is equalized.

Another few important bits of information.... who is the manufacturer and what is the load capacity of the hitch assembly?

The installer owes you the installation and operating instructions for the assembly. Go back and make them give them to you.....

I don't like what I see, with respect to the assembly, but without the manual....

[f6bits]

It looks like a 10,000 lb setup, as stamped in the spring bar. That sounds a bit close for that trailer. If your trailer is maxed out to its 11,000lb GVWR, you'll need a 12,000 lb setup.

That's not an Equal-i-zer brand hitch, but similar. Your goals are the following:
1) Make sure your hitch height makes the trailer sit level when hooked up: Measure ground to frame and the front and rear so they're the same or the rear is only slightly higher than the front if you can't get it level. Moving the ball up and down the shank using those two bolts through the holes adjusts this.
2) When hooked up, your truck's front end, as measured at the top of the wheel well, is within ½" higher than it is when not hooked up. Raising or lowering the L brackets on your trailer adjusts this.
3) The spring bars that rest on the L brackets need to be parallel to the trailer frame. Adjust your shank angle of the hitch ball to get this lined up. You have to remove those two bolts to get at the adjustable bolt and washer'ed bumpstop and add or subtract washers to change the head angle.

Then go fine-tune the above steps until they all fall in line. Changing one of the above often impacts one of the other measurements.

The good news is that you have a massively long and heavy Super Duty, so it's not as sensitive to hitch setup as light duty trucks and SUVs.

[GaryWT]

This is different than my equalizer hitch as my bars are all square. The one thing I can say is when hooked up and straight, I hace about 6 inches longer than the L bracket so they do not fall when turning, the picture makes it look a lot shorter and if ever turned at close to 90 degrees you don't want it coming apart.

[davidcyndi]

Originally Posted by ewkearns

I don't think we can answer any of this without knowing what the figures were without the trailer hitched up..... IOW, if you don't have an unloaded base line, no determination can be made about how the load is equalized.

Another few important bits of information.... who is the manufacturer and what is the load capacity of the hitch assembly?

The installer owes you the installation and operating instructions for the assembly. Go back and make them give them to you.....

I don't like what I see, with respect to the assembly, but without the manual....

Sorry I didn't think to get unloaded numbers. Will do that in a few.

E2 is the name of the hitch made by Fastway. Its 1000/10,000

Will call sales man tomorrow to get the paperwork/directions

What don't you like what you see? Can you explain?

[davidcyndi]

Originally Posted by f6bits

It looks like a 10,000 lb setup, as stamped in the spring bar. That sounds a bit close for that trailer. If your trailer is maxed out to its 11,000lb GVWR, you'll need a 12,000 lb setup.

That's not an Equal-i-zer brand hitch, but similar. Your goals are the following:
1) Make sure your hitch height makes the trailer sit level when hooked up: Measure ground to frame and the front and rear so they're the same or the rear is only slightly higher than the front if you can't get it level. Moving the ball up and down the shank using those two bolts through the holes adjusts this.
2) When hooked up, your truck's front end, as measured at the top of the wheel well, is within ½" higher than it is when not hooked up. Raising or lowering the L brackets on your trailer adjusts this.
3) The spring bars that rest on the L brackets need to be parallel to the trailer frame. Adjust your shank angle of the hitch ball to get this lined up. You have to remove those two bolts to get at the adjustable bolt and washer'ed bumpstop and add or subtract washers to change the head angle.

Then go fine-tune the above steps until they all fall in line. Changing one of the above often impacts one of the other measurements.

The good news is that you have a massively long and heavy Super Duty, so it's not as sensitive to hitch setup as light duty trucks and SUVs.

1. the mesurements were 29 in the front and 29.5 in the rear.
3. from my eyes the bars were parallel.

Thanks for replying.

[davidcyndi]

Originally Posted by GaryWT

This is different than my equalizer hitch as my bars are all square. The one thing I can say is when hooked up and straight, I hace about 6 inches longer than the L bracket so they do not fall when turning, the picture makes it look a lot shorter and if ever turned at close to 90 degrees you don't want it coming apart.

I have made some pretty sharp turns, not near 90 degrees but close and no problems yet. geez you have me worried on that.

[Bob Landry]

The way you described taking the fender measurements leaves a lot of room for error. I would recommend that you drop your tape measure from the fender cutout, directly in line with the center of the axle. That will give you a consistent measurement without having to possibly view it from different angles. it's just an accuracy thing.

I can't comment on the adjustment procedure for your hitch because I'm not familiar with it. However, the end result is the same regardless of the type of hitch or adjustment process. The purpose of WD is to return weight to the front axle that is removed by the fulcrum action of lowering a tongue onto the hitch. We all know that, right? The 1/2" measurement indicated in a previous post does not apply to all trucks. It varies from brand to brand and in the case of the new Fords, the manual says to take the difference between the unhitched and the hitched height(no bars) and return the fender height to 1/2 of that distance. The manual for the Tundra I had said to return the fender to the original height, so it does vary. Everyone just needs to read their truck manual.

Two things to not worry about. One is the rear squat. The current thought is to get the front right and let the rear take care of itself. So, just get the front right. The other comment I read a lot is to get an equal amount of squat from the front and rear. That's not going to happen and still get a correct WD setup. if it does, it's just a by-product and not something you should try to do. Also, you are not going to make the truck sit level with the WD setup. if the level bothers you install bags or helper springs, keeping in mind that if you do, they will affect the WD adjustment and you'll have to start over.

[ewkearns]

Originally Posted by davidcyndi

Sorry I didn't think to get unloaded numbers. Will do that in a few.

E2 is the name of the hitch made by Fastway. Its 1000/10,000

Will call sales man tomorrow to get the paperwork/directions

What don't you like what you see? Can you explain?

I don't think this EH is heavy enough and I don't like the way the L-brackets are attached. Your coupler appears to be top mounted, so this is likely upside down. As another poster noted, there needs to be a minimum of 3" from the end of the swing arms to the L-bracket. You are close, it may be OK, but needs to be checked......

Another consideration.... do you have the appropriate tools? For this installation it takes torque wrenches spanning 40-250 foot pounds. If you wish to check the torque on the ball, that is probably about 430 foot pounds....

Any way, all things are revealed, here: http://www.fastwaytrailer.com/pdf/e2...0710_small.pdf

[davidcyndi]

Originally Posted by ewkearns

I don't think we can answer any of this without knowing what the figures were without the trailer hitched up..... IOW, if you don't have an unloaded base line, no determination can be made about how the load is equalized.

Another few important bits of information.... who is the manufacturer and what is the load capacity of the hitch assembly?

The installer owes you the installation and operating instructions for the assembly. Go back and make them give them to you.....

I don't like what I see, with respect to the assembly, but without the manual....

Ok the unloaded measurements you wanted are 14.5 front and 15 for the rear. What do you think?

[f6bits]

What coupler is upside down? I didn't notice anything that looks upside down.

Originally Posted by ewkearns

I don't think this EH is heavy enough and I don't like the way the L-brackets are attached. Your coupler appears to be top mounted, so this is likely upside down. As another poster noted, there needs to be a minimum of 3" from the end of the swing arms to the L-bracket. You are close, it may be OK, but needs to be checked......

[ewkearns]

Originally Posted by davidcyndi

Ok the unloaded measurements you wanted are 14.5 front and 15 for the rear. What do you think?

I would say that, based upon page 15 of the manufacturer's instructions, you are OK. I still don't think that the assembly follows the instructions, though.....

[davidcyndi]

Originally Posted by f6bits

What coupler is upside down? I didn't notice anything that looks upside down.

Since I didn't install the hitch I don't know what goes where so I was worried about the comment something was upside down. So you think everything is good besides there not being 3 inches at the end of the bars? What about my measurements?

[davidcyndi]

You guys were also saying that the bars don't have at least 3 inches hanging over the L bracket. I measured those and they are at 24 inches. They need to be between 24-27 inches and can only be moved forward up to the 20 inch mark if your tongue weight is less than 800lbs. So I can not go any closer than 24 inches if you go by what the directions say.

ALSO, The directions say measure from the center of the L bracket to end of the bar. Which I am sure its right at 3 inches.

So looks like I am all set. I do appreciate you guys input, After reading the directions from googling the install directions I am reassured that everything is kosher. Again thanks.

But, I still need to upgrade to the 1200/12000 hitch to be safe. They gave me the hitch that would handle the dry shipping weight. Should have researched a bit more before all that so I could tell them to put the heavier one on. Live and learn.

[ewkearns]

Originally Posted by f6bits

What coupler is upside down? I didn't notice anything that looks upside down.

Yeah, I made that clear as mud.... The L-brackets are bolted too close to the bottom. See the instruction manual.... it is assembled as if the coupler was mounted at the bottom of the frame rails.....

Sorry....

[ewkearns]

[QUOTE=davidcyndi;68470]You guys were also saying that the bars don't have at least 3 inches hanging over the L bracket. I measured those and they are at 24 inches. They need to be between 24-27 inches and can only be moved forward up to the 20 inch mark if your tongue weight is less than 800lbs. So I can not go any closer than 24 inches if you go by what the directions say.

ALSO, The directions say measure from the center of the L bracket to end of the bar. Which I am sure its right at 3 inches.

QUOTE]

Scratching head..... If the L-brackets are set at 24", one would expect there to be about 6" from L-bracket to the end of the spring arm. The fact that you are at the 3" minimum means that you couldn't put the L-brackets any further back toward the 27" limit.... wonder why?

But.... if you have the 3", as you must have... I guess, from the limited information, that you are OK.

[jaydeb]

I have the same WD Hitch on my truck as in the previous pictures. I, by no means am an expert, but having said hitch, I will say I like it so far. I pulled my 2650Bh Passport to the Smokies last year wit my 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 4WD Z71 and had no trouble with sway or any other problems. The hitch was set up by my dealer so I did not know much about. I just bought a 2013Chevy 2500HD 4WD Z71 because planning on longer trips, thus more cargo. I have only hooked up to new truck one time, but the only adjustment that I made was to drop the ball height to the bottom holes to match as close to height on old truck. Seemed to pull fine, but only went about 20 miles to put TT in storage for winter. Hope to get it out soon. I had no problem with hitch at all last year.

[davidcyndi]

Originally Posted by jaydeb

I have the same WD Hitch on my truck as in the previous pictures. I, by no means am an expert, but having said hitch, I will say I like it so far. I pulled my 2650Bh Passport to the Smokies last year wit my 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 4WD Z71 and had no trouble with sway or any other problems. The hitch was set up by my dealer so I did not know much about. I just bought a 2013Chevy 2500HD 4WD Z71 because planning on longer trips, thus more cargo. I have only hooked up to new truck one time, but the only adjustment that I made was to drop the ball height to the bottom holes to match as close to height on old truck. Seemed to pull fine, but only went about 20 miles to put TT in storage for winter. Hope to get it out soon. I had no problem with hitch at all last year.

Yeah like mine too. No problems at all. 18 wheelers blow by and the trailer nor truck move a cm. Mine is at or right above limits of the bars. I called fastway and talked to the lead tech and he said they under estimate the weight limits on the bars so he said I will be fine 100-200lbs over the 1000#. Not something I want to play with so have already upgraded to the 1200# E2 just haven't put it on yet. Trip on the 5th so have to have it ready by then.