equal-i-zer and backing up

Probably not all the way to 90 degrees - I think at that point the truck & trailer would contact each other in a less than desirable way. Still, we've made some pretty tight turns backing up. So far the hitch has held up.

I watched a guy back in beside me and he had no WD hitch and a 16' camper, he made it look so easy but also at 90 so I thought to myself that's my problem. Maybe I should take the bars off before I back up.

Also, when I'm not level In have a hard time getting the bars off some times.

When I had an equal-i-zer I never had a problem backing up. I don't think I have ever gone a full 90 degrees because there would be now way out of it, anyway, other than going forward again.

I have towed RVs with many different WDH setups in the last 50 years and have never removed the bars or whatever when backing, in the rain, turning sharply
or whatever. Never had a problem

I'm going to go to a big parking lot on a Sunday and crank the sucker close to 90 :)

It sounds like your L brackets are too far back on the tongue. I know I can't get to 90 without the trailer contacting the tow vehicle. But when I do have it back that far the bars are still about 3 inches from falling off the L bracket.

Maybe take a tape measure and make sure the L brackets are between 27 - 32 inches from the tip of the tongue. If they are at 32 try moving them closer to the ball by an inch or so.

When you find you are at 90 degrees, you should have made corrections long before that.

that's what i thought till my buddy did in 2 minutes what took me 10 and he had his at 90 then pulled forward then back 6" and was done.

Tom/Barb wrote:
When you find you are at 90 degrees, you should have made corrections long before that.

I run an Equal-i-zer and if you pop the bar free anywhere in its range of motion, then you should check to see if you mounted the brackets too far from the coupler. Personally, I am from the camp where need to have that kind of extreme pinch should not exist when negotiating into a site. You can (and should IMO) work the trailer in-place with more, gradual moves. I say this because think about how you are loading the axles (and worse, the China bombs) when you push the tongue that way. However, to each their own.

With any WD setup, such angles will put considerable unbalanced stress in the A-frame and it's especially true with the Equal-i-zer because of the design. I have seen a few damage their L-bracket and/or L-pins under two scenarios: 1) turns just as you are asking about because note the stress the spring bar "inside" that angle exerts on everything, and 2) backing a trailer up a decent incline while the TV remains fairly level. The design can only handle so much rotation in that direction. So, where the Equal-i-zer design is concerned, I personally do feel there are times when you should pull the bars for backing.

I'm going on 15 years running an Equal-i-zer, and I can pretty much judge unconsciously when I need to pop the bars and when I don't. I've run a lot of style of WDH over the years, and I'll never run anything other than an Equal-i-zer when ball towing again!

I agree. I have always wiggled my way in. I'm never in a hurry. That's why I asked. If 90 is a bad idea then I will continue to stay clear of it.

ALL replies are helpful here guys...Thank You.