Equalizer Hitch Question

[augustpilot]

Installed new equalizer hitch with sway control yesterday. Coming home when making street turns would hear popping noise. This is first bumper pull trailer so am not familiar with noises to expect , know all units have noise they will make. Anyone with the brand equal-I-zer have the popping noise. Thanks

[RinconVTR]

Equalizer manual;

"Integrated sway control works through the connection between your
spring arms and L-brackets, and between the sockets and hitch head. The
Equal-i-zer hitch takes advantage of the steel-on-steel friction generated at
these points to help reduce trailer sway."

"The friction surfaces of the head and sockets should be kept clean and
well lubricated with a good quality lubricant. They should be lubricated before
each trip. Check for damage or abnormal wear at the beginning of each
towing day and replace if necessary. Use a rag to clean dirt and road grit
from all friction surfaces regularly."

Noise:
"In some cases the friction on the L-brackets or sockets also generates
noise. This most commonly occurs during slow, tight turns where the tow
vehicle and trailer are in a twist. This noise is normal and should be expected.
It is an indication that there is friction on the L-bracket and sockets.
Most of the noise will usually subside after a few uses as the hitch breaks
in. Trailer and tow vehicle loading may also influence hitch noise.
Lubricating the socket joint may help reduce this noise, and is part of
the required regular maintenance routine."

"Lubricating the L-bracket joint is optional. A better solution is a set of official Equal-i-zer brand Sway Bracket Jackets. They quiet the ride without the mess of using a lubricant."


As most of you know, these two manuals are nearly the same. I'd just like to point out one last time for the nay-sayers, that regardless of what they claim as 4 points of friction for sway control (of which only Eqaulizer added mention to their manual), a WELL LUBRICATED steel joint, much less a pivot joint, does not add much friction to the set up. That's just common sense.

[RinconVTR]

E2 Fastaway manual;

"Integrated sway control on the e2 hitch works through the connection
between your spring arms and L-brackets. The force required by the hitch to
distribute weight rests on the L-brackets through the spring arms. The e2 hitch
takes advantage of the steel-on-steel friction generated at these points to help
reduce trailer sway."

"This added friction makes it much more difficult for the trailer to sway..."

"The contact points of the head and trunnion knuckles should be kept
clean and well lubricated with a good quality lubricant. They should be lubricated before each trip. Check for damage or abnormal wear at the beginning of each towing day and replace if necessary. Use a rag to clean dirt and road grit from all contact points regularly."

Noise:
"In some cases the friction on the L-brackets generate noise. This most
commonly occurs during slow, tight turns where the tow vehicle and trailer are
in a twist. This noise is normal and should be expected. It is an indication that there is friction on the L-bracket. Most of the noise will usually subside after a few uses as the hitch breaks in. Trailer and tow vehicle loading may also influence hitch noise."

"Lubricating the trunnion knuckle joints may help reduce this noise, and
is part of the required regular maintenance routine. Do Not lubricate the Lbracket joint. This will result in reduced friction, and reduced resistance to sway."

[RinconVTR]

The E2 by Fastaway uses ball and socket and the Equalizer uses a pivot bolt, just to be clear. Both manuals and how-to videos say to applying grease to these areas only. Not one shows applying grease to the bar ends at the L brackets, its only mentioned deep in the manuals as being optional to reduce noise.

You guys who think the GREASED trunnion knuckle end does much of anything in regards to sway control are off your rockers!

First, take a look at every stand alone anti-sway device out there. Do any rely on a ball & socket, pivot bolt, or anti-rotation of any type to induce friction. No. They use them for connecting points, not to create friction. Same deal on these two hitch designs.

Don't get me wrong, there is friction at knuckle, and this is what marketing claims to add to sway resistance. But friction is VERY low in comparison. These free moving, pivoting joints are simply not used in any design to create friction when needed. ESPECIALLY WHEN GREASED!

Common sense tells you where the friction is at. Just look at the wear marks on the hitch. The majority of wear is found on the bars where they meet the L brackets. At the ball/knuckle end, where most of us are applying grease, there are marks and indications, but nothing to get excited about. We just keep the area clean and reapply a thin layer of grease.

The L brackets is where the major friction and sway resistance is occurring on these two WHD's, not the trunnion knuckle/ball end. Period.

[lbrjet]

Rincon, simply put you are 100% wrong. Or maybe just 80% wrong since that is about the percentage of sway control provided by the hitch head sockets.

[beemerphile1]

RinconVTR wrote:

Ron Gratz wrote:

RinconVTR wrote:
Do not lube the bars at the L brackets as this IS your sway control for this WDH design. Decrease friction at the L brackets, decrease sway control. The two are directly related.

For the 4-Point Equal-I-zer hitch, the majority of the sway-resisting torque is generated at the contact surfaces between the socket and hitch head.
The friction force generated at the L-brackets is a relatively small amount.

Ron

You obviously have never owned one, or you would not state such non-sense. The ball sockets are indeed defined at part of the "4 point" system, but have little to no effect on sway in reality vs marketing.

The ball sockets (trunnion knuckles) allow the trunnion bars to articulate left to right, they DO NOT resist trailer sway at all. Driving in a straight line, there is ZERO movement at the ball sockets. Sway control on such systems like the E2 and Equalizer is 100% on the L brackets.

In fact, you have done a few calculations (that I am not in 100% agreement with) regarding forces at the ball with WDH applied that could also be used to estimate forced at the L brackets or chains. There is great force on those bars at the L brackets, and I cannot believe you of all people think metal on metal friction in the area contributes less than lubricated ball sockets that hardly move when trailer sway occurs.

Ever notice that out of the box, the friction area on the bars that meet the L brackets is unpainted? But the ball sockets and all of the trunnion head (hitch) are fully painted? Hmmm. That alone should tell you all you need to know.

Maybe you should take another look at the Equal-izer brand WDH. Maybe read the manufacturer's literature also. You are incorrect.

[RinconVTR]

Ron Gratz wrote:

RinconVTR wrote:
Do not lube the bars at the L brackets as this IS your sway control for this WDH design. Decrease friction at the L brackets, decrease sway control. The two are directly related.

For the 4-Point Equal-I-zer hitch, the majority of the sway-resisting torque is generated at the contact surfaces between the socket and hitch head.
The friction force generated at the L-brackets is a relatively small amount.

Ron

You obviously have never owned one, or you would not state such non-sense. The ball sockets are indeed defined at part of the "4 point" system, but have little to no effect on sway in reality vs marketing.

The ball sockets (trunnion knuckles) allow the trunnion bars to articulate left to right, they DO NOT resist trailer sway at all. Driving in a straight line, there is ZERO movement at the ball sockets. Sway control on such systems like the E2 and Equalizer is 100% on the L brackets.

In fact, you have done a few calculations (that I am not in 100% agreement with) regarding forces at the ball with WDH applied that could also be used to estimate forced at the L brackets or chains. There is great force on those bars at the L brackets, and I cannot believe you of all people think metal on metal friction in the area contributes less than lubricated ball sockets that hardly move when trailer sway occurs.

Ever notice that out of the box, the friction area on the bars that meet the L brackets is unpainted? But the ball sockets and all of the trunnion head (hitch) are fully painted? Hmmm. That alone should tell you all you need to know.

[Ron_Gratz]

RinconVTR wrote:
Do not lube the bars at the L brackets as this IS your sway control for this WDH design. Decrease friction at the L brackets, decrease sway control. The two are directly related.

For the 4-Point Equal-I-zer hitch, the majority of the sway-resisting torque is generated at the contact surfaces between the socket and hitch head.
The friction force generated at the L-brackets is a relatively small amount.

If an Equal-I-zer WD bar is loaded to 1000#, and the bar/bracket contact surface is un-lubricated (dry), the friction force might be around 600#.
For comparison, a single friction bar sway control is factory-adjusted to generate a friction force of about 1100#.
That means two Equal-I-zer WD bars in contact with L-brackets could generate only about as much sway-resisting friction force as could a single friction bar sway control.

If there were no rotational friction generated at the socket/head contacts of the 4-Point Sway Control,
the 4-Point Sway Control would perform about the same as the E2 2-Point Sway Control.

Ron

[81SHOVELHEAD]

The only part I grease is the ball.
I use the Moly dry lube aerosol for other parts of the hitch head & slide out mechanism .
Much cleaner & adds some lubrication without sacrificing the design on the hitch ,
Sure it pops on tight turns & going over speed bumps ,but if I don't hear it popping I get worried it is not working correctly.

[RinconVTR]

nohurry wrote:

lbrjet wrote:
The Equalizer 4 point hitch is designed to be lubed (and should be lubed) on the top and bottom of the hitch head sockets. Says so right in the manual. I lube mine liberally at least every 500 miles, most of the time before each time I tow. I have 16,700 miles on this hitch and follow what it says in the manual, not what some people say on here. Loosen the bottom nut until the socket swings freely, lube the contact points and then torque to 50-60 ft lbs. I use 60, some people use more and some people use less, use whatever works on your hitch.

This.

If your equal-I-zer is set up properly, and you lube the top and bottom of the bar socket areas, the noise is minimal. I love mine, very effective integrated WD, and sway control.

I also keep the trunion knuckles (ball end) lubed well, and often. I do not agree this is where most of the noise comes from, at least for me. I don't see how the ball/socket trunion knuckles would make any noise when greased.

[RinconVTR]

cmoecmoe wrote:

downtheroad wrote:
Someone above advised you to grease all the contact points....I would not do this as it will keep the sway components from doing their job.

You can and should grease the hitch ball and the trunnion bar ends that attach to the hitch head....but not grease the trunnion bar ends that contact the saddles.

From the manual... "Lubricating the socket joint may help reduce this noise, and is part of the required regular maintenance routine. Lubricating the L-bracket joint is optional. A better solution is a set of official Equal-i-zer brand Sway Bracket Jackets™. They quiet the ride without the mess of using a lubricant.

The noise is also addressed on the FAQ section of their web site. http://www.equalizerhitch.com/Equal-i-zer%20Support/faqs.php

Craig

Optional is the key word. If you're so bothered by the noise when maneuvering in tight quarters, then you picked the wrong WDH.

Do not lube the bars at the L brackets as this IS your sway control for this WDH design. Decrease friction at the L brackets, decrease sway control. The two are directly related.

[dadmomh]

The Equalizer we had for our HTT made a racket. The rest of the CG knew we'd arrived. But....it's a good hitch, very popular and most are pleased with the job it does. Try the grease for the noise, just know you'll have it all over you hooking up and unhooking....part of the trade-off. We have a Blue Ox Sway Pro 1000 now and it's much, much quieter and cleaner.

[nohurry]

lbrjet wrote:
The Equalizer 4 point hitch is designed to be lubed (and should be lubed) on the top and bottom of the hitch head sockets. Says so right in the manual. I lube mine liberally at least every 500 miles, most of the time before each time I tow. I have 16,700 miles on this hitch and follow what it says in the manual, not what some people say on here. Loosen the bottom nut until the socket swings freely, lube the contact points and then torque to 50-60 ft lbs. I use 60, some people use more and some people use less, use whatever works on your hitch.

This.

If your equal-I-zer is set up properly, and you lube the top and bottom of the bar socket areas, the noise is minimal. I love mine, very effective integrated WD, and sway control.

[lbrjet]

The Equalizer 4 point hitch is designed to be lubed (and should be lubed) on the top and bottom of the hitch head sockets. Says so right in the manual. I lube mine liberally at least every 500 miles, most of the time before each time I tow. I have 16,700 miles on this hitch and follow what it says in the manual, not what some people say on here. Loosen the bottom nut until the socket swings freely, lube the contact points and then torque to 50-60 ft lbs. I use 60, some people use more and some people use less, use whatever works on your hitch.

[cooperrobt]

Do not use lithium grease on this hitch. The hitch uses friction for effective sway control and the grease will defeat this.

[cooperrobt]

cmoecmoe wrote:
You can use lithium grease to lube up all the contact points and it will help with the noise. They all groan/pop and make noise as there is a lot of pressure there to "level" out the trailer/tow vehicle.

Merry Christmas to All!

Craig