Forum Discussion

Ron3rd's avatar
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Sep 19, 2020

Equal-I-zer spring bar question

My son ordered a new 30 ft TT that's 9,000 gross weight. He's going to go with the Equal-I-zer hitch. What size bars should he go with; 10,000 lb or 12,000 lb?

My trailer is about the same weight and I seem to remember I went with 12,000 lb bars but that was so many years ago I don't remember.
  • Why not determine which size Equalizer by using their calculator?

    https://www.equalizerhitch.com/find-your-hitch-size
  • When we bought out Grand Design Imagine XLS 21BHE, GVWR of the trailer is 6,395, the dealer didn't have an 10K/1K equal-i-zer WDH in stock and tried to sell me a 12K/1.2K WDH. I contacted Equal-i-zer directly and got the following response:

    "Both of those hitches would be fine. They are correct in saying it isn't too much hitch. You can size up to the 12k model. The good thing about it is that they are adjustable to fit each size of trailer. So if you got a larger or even a smaller trailer later on you wouldn't need to switch the hitch. Chances are they just have 12k models and not 10k and they just want to sell you what they have in stock. In this case that is totally fine and you shouldn't have an issue with the 12k model."

    So I have a 12K/1.2K equal-i-zer hitch installed and it works fine.
  • Trailer “gross weight” 9000 pounds dry? GVWR is 9000?
  • I would get the 12000lb model. I would guess the tongue weight will be around 1100-1200lbs when it is loaded and ready to camp in.
    Barney
  • You might already know but have him check the website for the specs on where to place the brackets. On my trailer the battery brace is right in the way. I set it to the long position and the bar fell off turning a tight turn.

    Moved it forward but i wasnt happy. Ended up grinding away some of the battery bracket to move it back to the sweet spot.

    I found a used one on craiglist. These days i would check offer up and letgo. Unless money is no option then just buy new. Think its like 800 bucks right?

    My little clips that hold the bar down were bent. Thats what i get buying used. You always get a little bit of someone elses mistakes.
  • Ron3rd's avatar
    Ron3rd
    Explorer III
    Thanks for the info. He ended up with the 12,000 MODEL
  • RE: Bent Clips

    My Equalizer came with my trailer when I purchased it in 2009. The clips were also bent and it made more noise than I was used to. We had a smaller Equalizer on our previous trailer. I got it home and reset the whole thing. Following the guidelines, I noticed that the L brackets were too close to the ball. I moved things around to where they were designed, got new clips and it hasn't caused any trouble these last 11 years. I don't know why they put them where they were as there was nothing in the way to install them correctly.