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Turned Too Sharp With Easy Lift Sway Control

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Topic: Tight turns with Equal-l-zer
Posted By: mfoster711 on 06/28/14 09:57am Just picked up my new travel trailer yesterday and I got the Eaz lift weight distribution hitch with sway control with it. During the walk through setup they explained that if I need to make any tight turns while backing up that I need to remove the sway bar or it would snap the sway ball off. Well I don't want to worry about this and I would probably forget the one time it might happen.

So is this in any way an issue with the Equal-i-zer hitch?

Edit: Yes, I am talking about buying the Eqaul-i-zer brand hitch. http://www.equalizerhitch.com/ I would have bought from dealer but their price too high.

* This post was edited 06/28/14 10:26am by mfoster711 *

2015 Ford F150 King Ranch
2014 Outback Terrain 250TRS

Previously:
2007 Ford F250 Diesel
2009 Jayco Eagle 30.5 BHS Super Lite 5th Wheel


Posted By: Spur Of The Moment on 06/28/14 10:03am I've had my Equal-i-zer hitch almost jackknifed and it didn't hurt anything.
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1998 Lance Legend 945 Truck Camper
2014 F-250 Superduty Crew Cab King Ranch

Posted By: downtheroad on 06/28/14 10:12am Same confusion as there often is:

Equal-i-zer Brand Hitch
and
Equalizer (name given to any number of generic weight distribution hitches)

OP said he has a friction bar, thus he does not have an Equal-i zer hitch.

Answer: yes, remove the friction bar if you are making a tight turn back up.

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Posted By: krobbe on 06/28/14 10:15am Not an issue backing up with an Equal-i-zer. It works well towing my 33ft Bullet.
I'm assuming you're going to replace your current hitch with an Equal-i-zer brand?
Me'62, DW'67, DS'04, DD'07
'03 Chevy Suburban 2500LT 4WD Vortec8.1L 4L85-E 3.73 CurtClassV
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Posted By: Tvov on 06/28/14 10:19am My hitch has the basic anti-sway friction bar, and you can make very tight turns with it while normal towing. The thing to watch out for is when you "jack knife" the trailer, sometimes happens when you are backing into a campsite or maybe backing out of a parking area. Rarely happens when towing the trailer forward.

What I do is when I arrive at a campground, before I go into the office to check in, I take the anti-sway bar off and put it into the back of the truck (I also take off the weight distributing bars at this time). This way I just don't have to worry about it when I get to the campsite.

_________________________________________________________
2021 F150 2.7
2004 21' Forest River Surveyor
Posted By: Tvov on 06/28/14 10:21am

krobbe wrote:

Not an issue backing up with an Equal-i-zer. It works well towing my 33ft Bullet.
I'm assuming you're going to replace your current hitch with an Equal-i-zer brand?

Ohhh... the original poster is taking about getting an Equal-i-zer, and asking about it. I need more coffee I guess!

Posted By: Jaxom on 06/28/14 11:01am I jackknife my trailer into my driveway, very tight quarters, and it works just fine with my Equalizer brand w/d hitch. No issues at all, except the normal groaning of the hitch.
Jerry
2015 Jayco Seneca 36FK
2011 Jeep Wrangler Sport 2 door
2011 R & R 20' Aluminum Enclosed Car Hauler
2007 Montrose 16' Aluminum Flatbed ATV Trailer
Posted By: sfd4sew on 06/28/14 11:24am Love my equalizer. used it on my previous trailer and my new one. Never had a problem
2014 starcraft AR-One 28FBS
2010 Toyota Tundra Rock Warrior
Posted By: jerem0621 on 06/28/14 11:54am i backed up all the time with my sway bars attached. Only problem was with the installation one time. Once the miniball is correctly mounted.. no problem.

Backing up and going forward... the sway bar doesn't know the difference. If the sway bar crashes into the mini ball going backwards it will going forwards too. I have heard of people snapping off the miniballs because of a too tight on off bar on the sway bar.

BTW... for friction sway control, you really need to run two sway bars for trailers over 26 ft.... tows so nice with two controlling things back there!!

Enjoy the new camper..

I mean, if you want to spend the extra $500.00 go ahead and do what makes you feel comfortable. But People have been using the standard WD hitch and sway control for what, about 50 years or so.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

TV-2022 Silverado 2WD
TT - Zinger 270BH
WD Hitch- HaulMaster 1,000 lb Round Bar
Dual Friction bar sway control

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Posted By: harley4275 on 06/28/14 12:09pm I also take off the weight distributing bars at this time). This way I just don't have to worry about it when I get to the campsite.

Do Not ever take off Weight bars before you decide if you are going to unhook the tow vehicle. first thing ,you will be holding up someone behind you. and 2nd,you will be putting too much weight on the rear axles of your vehicle...( that is why you use bars). There are times that I never even unhook if i am not going to be staying more than one night.. there is no reason to take bars off and if you have the friction sway , just loosen it when you are going thru the park. Do the unhooking after you are on your site. The friction sway should be able to take tight turns if the small ball on the frame is bolted at the correct spot.

2013 Sunset Trail 25RB TT
2015 Silverado 2500HD 4x4 6.0 l gasser.
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Posted By: kknowlton on 06/28/14 02:37pm We've had our Equal-I-zer (sorry, can't get the small i to show up properly) for about 10 years now. At our last house, our driveway was a 90-degree angle from the (small) road we lived on, and we got our TT backed into it just fine w/o anything but groans & moans from the sway bars. [emoticon] No need to remove them when backing up - in fact, not a good idea, as others have mentioned, since you'll also be removing the weight-distribution function as well.
2007 Toyota Tundra CrewMax 5.7L V8 w/ tow pkg, Equal-i-zer
2020 Lance 2375
Posted By: NinerBikes on 06/28/14 03:58pm Does anything get rid of the groans, moans and creaking on an Equal-i-zer hitch? Grease, lube, a nylon glide plate?
Posted By: wmoses on 06/28/14 04:22pm Yes - all of the above. However you should only use a small amount of grease at the interface between the sockets and the hitch head where there is contact. That will get rid of most / all of the noise with a slight reduction in anti sway function provided your trailer is properly balanced to begin with. The manual allows some lubrication.
Regards,
Wayne
2014 Flagstaff Super Lite 27RLWS Emerald Ed. | Equal-i-zer 1200/12,000 4-point WDH
2010 GMC Sierra 1500 SLE 5.3L 6-speed auto | K&N Filter | Hypertech Max Energy tune | Prodigy P3
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Posted By: opnspaces on 06/28/14 05:06pm I have backed my Equal-i-zer into a jackknife situation many times. It is not a problem and no you do not have to disconnect anything to do so. Well you have to make sure the trailer and tow vehicle don't contact each other.

Equal-i-zer is a nosy hitch although I had mine quiet once. I had pulled the bolts that hold the socket cups in place and cleaned and greased the sockets top and bottom. After that there was not a peep out of it for a month or so. It makes noise now, but nothing like what it did before.

2001 Suburban 4x4. 6.0L, 4.10 3/4 ton
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Posted By: Tvov on 06/29/14 05:45am

harley4275 wrote:

I also take off the weight distributing bars at this time). This way I just don't have to worry about it when I get to the campsite.

Do Not ever take off Weight bars before you decide if you are going to unhook the tow vehicle. first thing ,you will be holding up someone behind you. and 2nd,you will be putting too much weight on the rear axles of your vehicle...( that is why you use bars). There are times that I never even unhook if i am not going to be staying more than one night.. there is no reason to take bars off and if you have the friction sway , just loosen it when you are going thru the park. Do the unhooking after you are on your site. The friction sway should be able to take tight turns if the small ball on the frame is bolted at the correct spot.

===========================================================

Depends on your setup! I'm towing a 21' 4500lb TT with a F250 super duty - I am well under tow and hitch capacities.

Yes, the friction sway bar can handle "tight" turns, but we are talking about jackknifing - more than just a tight turn.

Whichever, everyone figures out what works best for their setup.

Posted By: PackerBacker on 06/29/14 06:13am

NinerBikes wrote:

Does anything get rid of the groans, moans and creaking on an Equal-i-zer hitch? Grease, lube, a nylon glide plate?


Got rid of much of the noise by using Equal-I-zer hitch lube; any Equal-I-zer dealer should carry it.
Eric
2014 Enterra 314RES (Cruiser RV) TT, Equal-i-zer 12K, Honda 2000 Genny
2022 Ford F-150 Sport 4X4
Posted By: Ron3rd on 06/29/14 10:42am

Spur Of The Moment wrote:

I've had my Equal-i-zer hitch almost jackknifed and it didn't hurt anything.

X2, I never remove anything with my Equalizer (brand) hitch as it's not necessary. I've had the old girl at a near 90 degree angle too.

BTW, I used to have the old EZ Lift style hitch with add-on sway bar and I never took that off either when backing up. I guess it depends on how everything is set up as you might have to remove it in rare instances.

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