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Stclairm's avatar
Stclairm
Explorer
Jun 22, 2013

Made some Equalizer adjustments this evening....

I had a feeling my hitchhead was too high since it was originally set up on our 03 Avalanche and we now have a 13 F150 4x4 crew cab. I had to drop it one position and got it about perfect with the trailer sitting level on level ground. The guy who set it up only had two washers installed (instructions say 4 min!) and he apparently had crossthreaded the lower set bolt that you screw in to push the top of the head in place! I backed it out, lubed the threads and was able to get it all the way in a stop where it should have been. Whenever I've tried to hook up the trailer and just move it without the WD arms, it would slam down and scare the******out of me. Wish I had inspected that way sooner. He also tore out all the spec instructions from my manual, just looked them up online.
My unhitched front measurement were 37.5/37.5, hitched with WD 37 3/8- 37 3/4. The rear went from 39 1/4- 39 1/2 to 38-38. Keep in mind, I couldn't be in the truck and my wife was out for the evening. Just had my boys in the truck and don't carry anything in the bed, 3/4 tank. I believe my l brackets are one position down from centered. I noticed he had them 30" back and there is room to mount them 32" back, not sure if that's worth doing or not. I haven't been happy with how it has been towing. Cars going by and slight winds have made driving a white knuckled affair with this much better tow vehicle....
Any opinions from experience appreciated. I didn't realize I needed to log the height coupled vs coupled with WD. Trying to get it right before our next trip in a few weeks.

4 Replies

  • I highly recommend calling Progressive if you have any questions at 800-478-5578. Very helpful. Since I didn't have food or clothing in the trailer and no passengers in my truck, I gotta raise my l-brackets one position. Looking forward to the difference in towing.
  • I went back again yesterday and slid the brackets back to exactly 32", where the battery box cross bars stop it. I added another washer and positioned the bars in the middle position. My measurements didn't really change, I guess because centering the bars negated adding a washer. I also didn't have my boys with me for the added truck weight. The truck sits level on the driver side 38" f/38" r. The right side was at 37 3/4 f 38 1/4 r.
  • I just found the owner's manual and never realized he threw away all the installation instructions. After downloading them and watching videos, I realized things weren't quite right. It may not have been too bad for my 03 Avalanche I guess.
  • Sounds like one of those expert installers. Mine are 29 inches (bare minimum) and work fine. I had to retighten the link plates every outing for the first few thousand miles, but now they are firmly locked in place. I torque the socket bolts to 60 prior to each trip.

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