Help on re-adjusting Equal-i-zer WD hitch

[vlopddap]

Hi, I recently purchase a used Sportsmen 16 feet trailer and the former owner let me his Equal-i-zer brand weight distribution hitch. It's the 600 TW / 6K GVWR model. The former owner use it to tow the TT on a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and I use it myself on a 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan so the adjustment are supposed to be identical. But the former owner told me than maybe the WD hitch may requiert a re-adjustment because the rear of his 2008 Caravan still sag more than front. But he didn't take care of re-adjustment yet because I decided to sold the trailer!

That's actually true, the rear on my van sag 50% more than front (and from increase a little bit) with the WD hitch install. That's surprising because the TW capacity of the Grand Caravan is 360 pounds without WD hitch (460 pounds with WD hitch) and my TT only weight 300 pounds tongue? I also feel like the rear end bounce a little too much when I roll over bumps on the road what make me thing the WD hitch doesn't make it job completely.

Unfortunately the former owner loose instruction manual and spare hardware coming with the Equal-i-zer hitch but I download the owner manual on manufacturer website but I'm still not sure how to re-adjust the WD hitch to transfer more load on front of the towing vehicle.

First of all I want to share some facts about the setup with you. First of all the Sportsmen is a very low profile TT and the ground clearance is VERY low. Secondly, the trailer hitch on the Grand Caravan is VERY low ground clearance too (in a sense it's a perfect match with the travel trailer... LOL), but for your info the former owner need to cut the Equal-i-zer shank from around 2 inch because the shank rub on pavement sometime! But it's not an issue because the ball height is actually good so no mater if the shank is cut, I don't need to move the ball height.

In the instruction manual of the Equal-i-zer hitch, in the troubleshooting section, when the weight transfert is not enough, they told do do two things :

1- Add more spacer washer until you reach maximum washer count. I just give a look and I saw 6 washers. Is that the maximum?? I don't know yet because it's not specified in the manual and I don't have any spares parts, so I can't know... but depending if 6 is the maximum or not, I'll find washer in any hardware store. But I just don't know how much washer is the maximum before STEP-2 (above).

2- Raise the L-Brakets from 1 hole adjustment on the trailer frame where the sway bars sit. I think I can do it because I'm not on the maximum height, but I'm afraid than this can be too much weight transfert thereafter? Should I need to remove some spare washer if I raise the L-Brakets height? I'm just confused at this point.

Your help will appreciate, thank you! I hope my english is not too poor and my explanations make sense! 🙂

Thx!!

[opnspaces]

I would only add one washer not two. I had to add a washer to mine and didn't have any so I went to the hardware store and got a grade 8 washer to use.

I have to lift the tongue of the trailer and the rear of my Suburban fairly high before I can swing the Equal-i-zer bars on so I'm guessing you don't have enough distribution.

Go through the setup in the manual and take the required measurements as you go. I've done this three times over the years on my trailer and it helps.

As far as the pry bar I wouldn't worry about it too much as it really is a cheap flimsy thing. I would much rather just lift the jack a bit higher and swing the bars on by hand than try to pry them on and saving a few turns on the jack.

[BarneyS]

I don't know if I would try two more washers right off the bat. I think I would add one (for a total of 7) first and see what you get. I know it is a pain to have to keep taking apart the hitch head to do this so I would try one first as I suspect that will do the job. Remember, a slight bit more tilt at the hitch head results in quite a bit more movement at the ends of the bars. If that doesn't do it, then add the other one. Please get back with us and let us know how it all turns out.
Barney

[vlopddap]

Thank you BarneyS for this very complete information. In fact when I slide the torsion bars on the L-bracket I keep my trailer tongue jack on the floor, but even with everything's up, the bars are pretty easy to slide on the brackets. The former owner loose the instructions and spares washers, but at least he got the hook pry bar coming with the Equal-i-zer.

I would say the weight transfer is pretty small since the bars are easy to slide on when everything is leveled up (if the trailer or the van is not on a flat surface the bars are header to slide on, but when everything is on a flat surface, it's pretty easy!

I'm gonna start by adding two more washers since I'm at 6 washers now. I don't know how the angle will be different with two more washers, but I'm gonna try this first.

Otherwise raising the L-brackets will not keep the torsions bars parallel with the trailer tongue I think, if I raise the brackets from a hole the bars will be slightly higher on the trailer's side than the vehicle side. It's my opinion at the first look, but maybe it's a matter of perspective.

[BarneyS]

"I understand that more strength you put on the torsion bars, the higher will be the weight transfer to the front? Actually the torsion bars are very easy to slide on the L-brackets (by hand, no pry bar needed), so that's probably an indication than the weight transfert is too light right now?"

That is correct. The more tension on the bars transfers more weight. You can accomplish this via tilting the hitch head (adding or subtracting washers), and by raising or lowereing the L brackets. The preferred method is by tilting the hitch head once you have the L brackets set so the bars ride flat on them.

If you can put the bars on by hand, then you do not have any, or very little, WD going on. You should not be able to do that without lifting up the back of the truck while it is coupled to the trailer. This is the preferred method of hooking up. You want to try to get a shallow inverted V shape between the truck and trailer by using the tongue jack to raise them both together. Doing this points the ends of the bars upwards which makes it easy to slide the bars onto the L brackets and then you lower the tongue back down and raise the tongue jack all the way up. Unhooking is just the reverse.

You should have received a tool that can be used to pry the bars onto the L brackets but that is often not necessary if you use the tongue jack to raise the coupled trailer and truck together up high enough to slide the bars on. This is one reason many people decide to purchase an electric tongue jack.:W
Barney

[Fastfwd75]

vlopddap wrote:
Actually the torsion bars are very easy to slide on the L-brackets (by hand, no pry bar needed), so that's probably an indication than the weight transfert is too light right now?

Mine was setup by the dealer so not 100% sure it's by the book but...

I can put on the first bar by hand but I definitely need the tool and a good pull to put the 2nd bar on. The trailer is only 3600# and my truck is 7000# so I use it mostly for the anti-sway.

[vlopddap]

BarneyS wrote:
The maximum number of washers is the number that will fit on the pin going through the center of them. I believe that it will hold about 8.
Barney

Okay if I correctly understand the basics of the WD hitch adjustment process, if I reached the limit of 8 washers and the weight transfert is still not enough (it won't be the case necessarily since I'm 6 washers now), next step is to raise the L-brakets from a hole higher? But in that case I'll probably need to remove a few washers because both of the L-braket's height and number of spacer washers work on the shank angle which act directly on the torsion bar and with the weight transfer?

I understand that more strength you put on the torsion bars, the higher will be the weight transfer to the front? Actually the torsion bars are very easy to slide on the L-brackets (by hand, no pry bar needed), so that's probably an indication than the weight transfert is too light right now?

Thank you very much for all your help!!

[BarneyS]

The maximum number of washers is the number that will fit on the pin going through the center of them. I believe that it will hold about 8.
That is the best way to adjust the amount of WD to the front of the truck. The L brackets should be adjusted so that the bars ride flat on them and not on the leading edge. In other words, the bars should be about parallel to the tongue when resting on the L brackets.

Also, once you get the thing adjusted correctly, make sure you tighten the angle set bolt on the bottom of the head so it does not allow the hitch head to pivot. It has a tendency to come loose and should be checked before every trip.
Barney

[bdhoun]

I have 8 washers in my Equal-I-zer.

[Fastfwd75]

vlopddap wrote:

I didn't take accurate measurement yet, but visually the front end is about the same (no sag at all), but rear is 50% lower than unloaded.

When completely unloaded the Caravan front and rear are perfectly levelled BTW.

Try to compare loaded without bars and loaded with bars. Measure to see if the rear gets lower when you remove the bars. If it does you know that at least some weight is getting transferred to the front. To get the perfect adjustment you will need to follow all the steps in the manual and measurements are a big part of it.

[vlopddap]

Fastfwd75 wrote:

vlopddap wrote:
the rear on my van sag 50% more than front (and from increase a little bit) with the WD hitch install.

What are the numbers for sag front and rear? Front should not sag at all. It should be higher or equal with or without the WD hitch.

Front: In the manual's example front is 28" empty, 30" without WD and anything between 28-29" with WD is OK. Front still going up but not as much as without. This is how you know how much weight is transferred.

Rear: 29" unloaded, 26" loaded and 28" loaded with WD. This number should be more than without WD but still less than unloaded. Rear end still sags; not as much.

I didn't take accurate measurement yet, but visually the front end is about the same (no sag at all), but rear is 50% lower than unloaded.

When completely unloaded the Caravan front and rear are perfectly levelled BTW.

[Fastfwd75]

vlopddap wrote:
the rear on my van sag 50% more than front (and from increase a little bit) with the WD hitch install.

What are the numbers for sag front and rear? Front should not sag at all. It should be higher or equal with or without the WD hitch.

Front: In the manual's example front is 28" empty, 30" without WD and anything between 28-29" with WD is OK. Front still going up but not as much as without. This is how you know how much weight is transferred.

Rear: 29" unloaded, 26" loaded and 28" loaded with WD. This number should be more than without WD but still less than unloaded. Rear end still sags; not as much.

[vlopddap]

Fastfwd75 wrote:
Can't help you on max washers. I also got mine used and I currently have 4 washers on it.
Your camper hitch is 343# dry. It will be more than that with propane tanks full if they are in front.
http://kz-rv.com/sportsmen-classic/16BH.html

Mine is a 2011 and the TW was slightly lighter than new model. In the 2011 brochure and on the manufacturer label into my trailer's door the TW is also 304 pounds.

In fact the rear end my Caravan don't sag that much, but it's definitely not levelled with the front. So I think I just need a little more adjustment, like fine tuning...

[Fastfwd75]

Can't help you on max washers. I also got mine used and I currently have 4 washers on it.
Your camper hitch is 343# dry. It will be more than that with propane tanks full if they are in front.
http://kz-rv.com/sportsmen-classic/16BH.html

[vlopddap]

Fastfwd75 wrote:
Manual can be found here http://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/eqownersmanual_0111.pdfhttp://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/eqownersmanual_0111.pdf
Back of your truck should go down but less than without the equalizer. Something like midway between unloaded and loaded without the equalizer. Manual explains all the steps and the order in which to adjust things.

Yes, but as I told I already read the manual from front to back and there's a little grey-zone about the maximum spacer washer count. They say to add more washer, but how many is the maximum? Since I don't have any spare washer (or any spare parts), I can't guess how many washer is the maximum before going to step 2 (raising L-Brakets)...

[Fastfwd75]

Manual can be found here http://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/eqownersmanual_0111.pdfhttp://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/eqownersmanual_0111.pdf
Back of your truck should go down but less than without the equalizer. Something like midway between unloaded and loaded without the equalizer. Manual explains all the steps and the order in which to adjust things.