Newbie Alert - WDH and Backing

I never released the bars when backing up with my old EZ Lift WD or my new Equalizer WD hitch.

I have an Equilizer 4 point and never remove it , its there to keep things level. If you remove it to back up you may bottom out the jack post and bend it ,plus piss off vehicles behind you .
About the friction sway bar (which was on my old system for years) , just loosen the tightening handle a bit. If the set up is installed properly ,you should be able to do sharp turns without damaging anything

If the trailer will be at an extreme angle when you unhitch or hitch up, it can be easier to do the bars before you get in that situation. Otherwise the outside bar can be under really high tension and the cheater bar bar go a flying when you try to release the outside bar.

Thanks for all the quick responses. I can relax now I guess.

Dick_B wrote:
We have the Equal-i-zer system and have never removed the bars when backing in 10 seasons but maybe we should have! We back into our driveway every time out. So far so good.

I'm similar to Dick, i have the Eual-i-zer and have been using it for 6 seasons and never removed it and never had a problem. I hope i'm doing it wrong.

We have the Equal-i-zer system and have never removed the bars when backing in 10 seasons but maybe we should have! We back into our driveway every time out. So far so good.

There is no need to release the pressure or remove the WD bars when backing up - with one exception. If you are backing up a fairly steep incline, especially if a turn is involved, you might want to remove the bars because the angle that results between the trailer and truck can put a lot of extra pressure on the bars and the A frame of the trailer. This can possibly result in bending the trailer A frame or bending one of the snap up brackets that lift up the chains.

Other that the above situation, I can think of no reason to remove the WD bars. As has been already mentioned, you might want to remove the friction sway control bar if you have one but that even is not always necessary. I used one for many years and never removed it and did not have any problems. It just takes a second to remove however so you might want to anyway.
Barney

Go Dogs wrote:
We always remove the sway control bar. Here's our system: DH starts to back-up, I scream, 'Stop!, get the bar!". So far, one of us has remembered to get it. They say it's important when making a tight turn, not straight back.

I like your system. It seems to work and probably provides entertainment for the neighbors too. LOL

We always remove the sway control bar. Here's our system: DH starts to back-up, I scream, 'Stop!, get the bar!". So far, one of us has remembered to get it. They say it's important when making a tight turn, not straight back.

There is nothing special about backing with a Weight Distributing system but there are a few anti sway systems that you might consider removing to back up. Single friction bar comes to mind for this. I used one for many thousands of miles with no issues of backing with it attached but I was always careful not to turn sharp enough to over extend or over compress the friction bar. Those are the two main dangers of backing with the bar attached.