Ozzie was right...Need EQ Hitch/Anti Sway

[Bagofdimes]

Ozzie hit it right on the head. 24" VNose + Loaded = Sow:crazy:

I tried to distribute the load as much as possible with the heaviest stuff over the axles. It pulls OK, but

I ready to drop the coin on an EQ hitch. Couple of questions: The V nose does not have much trailer frame between the bumper and trailer body. Will there be a problem hooking the chain anchors to such a short section of frame?

An RV dealer should be able to hook me up with a unit, correct?

Any suggestions or things to watch for?

Thanks much.

 

[Bagofdimes]

http://www.equalizerhitch.com/productinfo/

The local rv dealer has these. Anybody have any experience with Equalizer? Looks like a decent setup.

 

[bighawg]

Try a little more tongue weight. I've pulled trailers all of my life and never used a sway hitch. Try getting a little more of your weight in front of the axle's, it may not take much to make it a more comfortable and stable pull. I would rather have too much tongue weight versus too little weight. With too little tongue weight that's when you start getting the sway or fishtailing. Good luck.

 

[Ozzie]

True...a little heavier in front would help...

I do run the Equalizer (brand name), and I love it. You don't have to unhook until you're done either and Semi's coming from the other direction are barely noticeable.
Now those damn cracks in the road surface...that's another matter...:cuss:

 

[Ozzie]

If you're gonna spring for one...get the beefier unit. You'll be happy you did.
I've got the 12k bars for mine instead of the 10k.

Oh...the stock receiver hitch won't like the power it has...I ended up replacing that too, after twisting the stocker on the last truck.

 

[Bagofdimes]

If you're gonna spring for one...get the beefier unit. You'll be happy you did.
I've got the 12k bars for mine instead of the 10k.

Oh...the stock receiver hitch won't like the power it has...I ended up replacing that too, after twisting the stocker on the last truck.

Ozzie,

Greatly appreciate the advice. I just came back from the RV Dealer with the 14K equalizer hitch. Man, what a great difference. Everything is 10X more stable and planted to the road. Pricey unit compared to some, but well worth it. I actually had to use the equalizer regardless because of my short nose. I wouldn't be able to use the chains because of the short frame. I will post some pics.

Yeah, the stock hitch....after doing some reading the last couple days I am a bit concerned, but I will be inspecting it at every stop. The bumper I built has the two bolts for the hitch and there is no way that bumper will twist...but I'm not sure that is a good thing or not. Maybe that bit of flex is what will keep the tube from snapping off! Any thoughts on that? I will probably be putting on a Tow Beast before too long.

Thanks again.

 

[Ozzie]

You're more than welcome, I'm glad it helped you. You're gonna love that EQ...

You may be ok for the short term with the stock hitch, but it won't last long with that kind of torque on it. To be honest, I'd get that stocker off of there - it's dangerous. I can't believe there hasn't been a class action suit from it.

I noticed mine on my way home with the RV trailer in tow...just had that seat of the pants something doesn't feel right thing...I was only 15 minutes from home, so I took it easy and got it parked.
The stock hitch had cracked welds so I took it to a welder thinking he could beef it up...wrong...he put a piece of stock in the receiver and showed me how bad it was tweaked. I had a new hitch on that week.

 

[Ozzie]

As long as I'm we're talking about that EQ hitch...a couple more things...
Those bolts on the EQ will work themselves loose with a full day on the road.
I carry the correct wrenches to give them a good tightening each day before starting out. Also, the bolts that tighten down on the bars (also work for anti sway) need to be torqued b/4 you load them (45 pounds as I recall).

The bad news...the bolts that came on my hitch were class 5 and started to break (a 37' trailer will do that)...they have all been replaced with class 8 and I carry spares. Hardware stores carry them and they are inexpensive. 20 bucks should set you up.

 

[Bagofdimes]

Here a couple of shots. You can see from the picture, my frame on the trailer does not stick out very much, and this hitch works great for the short nose. The underneath picture is of what I did on the bumper I built for the stock receiver....will be watching this closely until I can get a new reciever.

I adjusted the weight distributing after the picture of the truck and trailer were taken. Dropped the hitch head one hole and added 3 more washers to distribute the weight better...sits pretty level now. (Was dark, couldn't take picture).

The hitch came with Grade 8 bolts (maybe cause 14K?), but I will definitely get some spares, good idea.

Thanks again.

Oh, yeah...I know...I need to get my bumper painted.....been lazy.

 

[Ozzie]

That's the one all right...you're right about not having much room. It looks a little nicer than mine at 3+ years too.

You see the vertical bolt that goes through the spring bar coupler? A couple outings ago we arrived at the campground, went to unhook and saw the nut with the broken bolt sitting on the bumper. It snapped off and landed there. ...now I'm grade 8 all the way.

I think what takes out the stock hitch is when you go over the whoop de doos (bridge bounce). That EQ can really put it to the receiver.