E2 Hitch/Unhitch on non-level spot

[penguin149]

This past weekend, I was on an very unlevel spot. The TT was level but the tongue was very close to the ground; truck was quite nose high when hitching and unhitching. Had to raise the tongue VERY high to get the bars on my E2 hitch off & on. Am I missing something? Is there an easier/safer way? That poor Harbor Freight electric jack was working hard!

[opnspaces]

Dutchmen, I know your equal-i-zer is gone, but for others that might read this I wanted to add to what Barney is saying about the bolt.

You probably ran into a problem because of a few things. First it sounds like your side bolts were loose as the head was able to pivot up and down with the hitch weight. And second, if you put the bars on so the head is under tension upwards; The bolt will unload so you can tighten it down and take up the slop also preventing the pivot.

[BarneyS]

I agree with those saying to hook up to the trailer coupler, pull out to level spot and then hook up the bars. That's the way I always did it for over 40 years. For backing in, just take the bars off before you start.

Dutchman, most WD hitches have a threaded bolt under the hitch head that must be tightened frequently to keep the hitch head from moving down when the WD bars are not tightened up yet or removed. It bears up against the shank portion when tightened down but has a tendency to loosen up with use. I used to check mine before every trip after tensioning the WD bars.
You can see it in the diagram below taken from the Equal-i-zer website manual. Yours must have been missing.

To keep the head from pivoting upward when the WD bars are tensioned, there are washers that go behind the hitch head and hook on to a rod on the top portion that fastens to the shank.
Barney

[DutchmenSport]

I'm long winded, sorry, just trying to describe the steps.

Edit:
I had an Equal-i-zer 4 point WD system for my previous TT. The head on the hitch would pivot downward if the bars were not attached. There was an adjustable set screw under the head that prevented the head from tilting upward, like a stop. But it could (and did) tilt downward when the weight of the trailer was on the ball. Attempting to move the trailer without bars would definitely cause the head to tip backwards, causing the ball to be at an angle to the trailer coupler. So, in my case, it was never an option to even slightly move the trailer without bars attached. At home, I had a second hitch that was solid, but did not have bars for short movements in the drive way.

Only once, did I pull the pin from the receiver hitch and leave the hitch attached in the coupler. Only once, rehitching was a nightmare.

[opnspaces]

Nah, I just used fewer words. :B

[bob213]

If it's that un-level, I take my bars off and where it is level and back in. When I leave I put the hitch on the ball and pull forward until it's level and then put on my bars. A short distance without the bars isn't going to hurt anything and is a lot less strain on me and the equipment.
I see opnspaces types faster than I do 😉

[opnspaces]

Or just disconnect the distribution bars on the road before you back into the site. Then when leaving pull it out and then stop and hook up the bars.

[Bedlam]

You can lessen the difference of the angle between the tow vehicle and trailer by running the tow vehicle on to leveling blocks. This will make connecting the WDH easier since it thinks you are level even if both trailer and tow vehicle are at the same off-level angle.

[DutchmenSport]

We have done our share of camping on very unlevel sites where the campsite ran uphill and downhill at an angle that was greater than my tongue jack could reach.

Here's how I handled it when the nose of the trailer was close to the ground and the tail in the air. (sloped downhill front to back).

To unhitch: I would put blocks under the tongue jack and lower the tongue jack to the ground, lifting the front of the trailer and the back of the tow vehicle high in the air so you can get the WD bars off easily. With a stack of wood, I could raise the trailer and truck pretty high making it very easy to remove the bars.

After the bars are off, I lowered the tongue about half the distance, and then I lowered my front stabilizer jacks.

I'd then continue lowering tongue jack until the trailer rested completely on the stabilizer jacks, then keep cranking until the tongue jack was clear of the lumber.

Once the tongue jack is dangling in the air (only an inch or less from the boards), remove the lumber and crank the tongue jack back up until the trailer just raises and takes all the pressure off the stabilizer jacks.

Crank the stabilizer jacks back up completely and then lower the tongue jack to the ground or until level, which ever comes first.

To hitch back up, reverse the process.

Crank the trailer up with the tongue jack about half way. Lower the stablizer jacks to the ground. Rest the trailer on the jacks by retracting the tongue jack enough to get lumber under the tongue. Once you have lumber under the tongue, crank the tongue jack as high as you need to go to hitch and attach the WD bars, then completely retract the tongue jack.

If parked on a hill just the opposite where the nose is down hill and rear uphill, use the same process, only put boards under the stabilizer jacks, then under the tongue jack, and if you need to add more under the stabilizer, then more under the tongue until you reach your height. This works very, very well.

Do make sure you chock your tires well first.

The first time I tried this I questioned if my front stabilizer jacks would hold the camper (I did this on 3 different travel trailers), and all 3 trailers did just fine. I practiced this scenario in the driveway, using the stabilizer jacks to momentarily hold the tongue in the air. Once I had confidence the jacks would hold, and I had confidence in the process, unlevel (front to back) campsites never bothered me again.