equalizer question? what size to get?

[jbres]

Getting ready to order my 4 point equalizer online and trying to determine which weight class to get. I weighed by TT today and got some interesting results. My loaded TT weight is 7,000#. GVWR is 7865#. My hitch weight was listed at 960 but with it loaded ready to go its a whopping 1,100#. My truck I pull with is 2007 GMC Classic 2500HD.
My local dealer told me there hitch man has been doing hitches for 30 years, and he suggest I go with the 90-00-1400 (14k) hitch based on my weight. I said my trailer doesn't weigh 14k and he said my hitch weight is high and the 14k will not make me suffer a stiffer ride.

Also, where have you guys bought from online.? My best price is so far is on Amazon for $556 grand total.

[jbres]

well for the 2x a year I haul the 4 wheeler in the bed of the truck I didn't think it was justified to set up the equalizer with factoring in the 4 wheeler. the other 15 times a year I will not be hauling the 4 wheeler in bed. Also, I have a long bed truck and I cant exactly say the 4 wheeler would be behind the rear axle anyways.

[LarryJM]

jbres wrote:
After speaking with Equalizer again and speaking a bunch with my dealership, I chose the route of the 1,200 bars 12,000 max.
Equalizer stated either bar would be perfectly fine but always suggest one step up for when a person ends up buying a bigger TT. I bought this TT brand new and clearly have no intention of a new one anytime in the next 10 plus years. After doing some calculations, I usually wont be carrying full to the max propane as I have right now. So I am figuring my tounge weight will usually be right about 975#, not 1,100#. I thought the 1,200# bars then would probably serve me better than the 1,400# bars. Even on the occasion when I haul a 4-wheeler in the bed of my 2500HD truck, that weight should be put under my payload of my truck, not factor that into my weight distribution bars or hitch weight in my opinion. I have a payload of 3215# so I should be fine there. I think I made the right decision and hopefully will love the Equalizer much better than my POS chain style system.

Unless you re set up your Equal-i-zer with the TV loaded with the 4-wheeler your assumption that it doesn't effect the WDH system including the spring bar size required and even the receiver ratings is INCORRECT. Cargo wt. added aft of the rear axle increases the effective tongue wt. seen by both the WDH, spring bars and receiver ratings. I'm a little surprised you are now going out on your own after receiving what I consider some very knowledgeable and expert opinions on WDH sizing for your particular situation. HERE is an explanation of what I'm referring to and even Sherline in their documentation and website talks about the dynamics of tongue wt. changing because of the towing configuration and loading scenarios.

I'm fairly sensitive to this issue because at times I carry an extra 20 gal of diesel (160lbs) right at the very end of my Van which adds that 160lbs to my already measured TW from my Sherline and which my WDH system is sized for that scenario, I recognized I am now overloading my receiver by about 100lbs until I get some of that transient wt. removed.

Larry

[jbres]

After speaking with Equalizer again and speaking a bunch with my dealership, I chose the route of the 1,200 bars 12,000 max.
Equalizer stated either bar would be perfectly fine but always suggest one step up for when a person ends up buying a bigger TT. I bought this TT brand new and clearly have no intention of a new one anytime in the next 10 plus years. After doing some calculations, I usually wont be carrying full to the max propane as I have right now. So I am figuring my tounge weight will usually be right about 975#, not 1,100#. I thought the 1,200# bars then would probably serve me better than the 1,400# bars. Even on the occasion when I haul a 4-wheeler in the bed of my 2500HD truck, that weight should be put under my payload of my truck, not factor that into my weight distribution bars or hitch weight in my opinion. I have a payload of 3215# so I should be fine there. I think I made the right decision and hopefully will love the Equalizer much better than my POS chain style system.

[brulaz]

Sounds like the Equal-i-zer phone advice is similar to what their on- line calculator will give you: Equal-i-zer

[LarryJM]

jbres wrote:
spoke with equalizer company people today. They said since my tounge weight is 1100#s they suggest me go with the 1400k bars incase I ever get a bigger camper. I also mentioned to them I haul a 4wheeler in the bed on occasion and even a golf cart on occasion. they then said go with the 1400# for sure. They ASSURED me they design them so a bigger size WILL NOT HARM MY FRAME when not hauling 1400#

Good info and that is what I thought, but couldn't give a firm recommendation because I couldn't point to something definitive and authoritative.

Larry

[MackinawMan]

GeoBoy wrote:
Equalizer makes a 1200 model which more closely matches your hitch weight. Too stiff a bar can damage the trailer hitch because the trailer hitch will flex instead of the torsion/equalizer bar.

Back in 2010 we sold our Cherokee and bought our Jayco Eagle, and the owner threw in his Equalizer with the deal. It was the 1400/14000 lb. hitch.

I already had the 1200/12000 lbs. Equalizer that we used with our old Cherokee.

The tongue weight on the Eagle is around 1250 lbs. I called Equalizer and spoke with a rep about it, and he assured me that either would be OK. I specifically asked him about the bars being "too stiff" as you noted and he said that would not be an issue. He said I would be fine with either setup.

In the end, we kept the 1400/14000 Equalizer (sold the other one for a nice sum) just in case down the line we went with a bigger TT with more tongue weight.

FWIW Although I would say that if the OP's tongue weight is 1100 lbs. the 1200 lbs. Equalizer would be more than enough. However, he might elect to go with the 1400 lbs. hitch just in case he "goes bigger/heavier" down the line.

EDIT: Sorry jbres, didn't see your last post, I stopped when I read the one I quoted above. Sounds like they told you the exact same thing they told me 4 years ago.

[jbres]

delete?

[CND_SuperCrew]

delete

[jbres]

spoke with equalizer company people today. They said since my tounge weight is 1100#s they suggest me go with the 1400k bars incase I ever get a bigger camper. I also mentioned to them I haul a 4wheeler in the bed on occasion and even a golf cart on occasion. they then said go with the 1400# for sure. They ASSURED me they design them so a bigger size WILL NOT HARM MY FRAME when not hauling 1400#

[Fordlover]

jbres wrote:
Getting ready to order my 4 point equalizer online and trying to determine which weight class to get. I weighed by TT today and got some interesting results. My loaded TT weight is 7,000#. GVWR is 7865#. My hitch weight was listed at 960 but with it loaded ready to go its a whopping 1,100#. My truck I pull with is 2007 GMC Classic 2500HD.
My local dealer told me there hitch man has been doing hitches for 30 years, and he suggest I go with the 90-00-1400 (14k) hitch based on my weight. I said my trailer doesn't weigh 14k and he said my hitch weight is high and the 14k will not make me suffer a stiffer ride.

Also, where have you guys bought from online.? My best price is so far is on Amazon for $556 grand total.

When I spoke with the Equal-i-zer experts on the phone, they recommended I oversize, rather than undersize when it could go either way. They said they are adjustable (I'm guessing by head tilt) downwards. I had already ordered the 600 model, and it's worked great for the last 7 years. Good luck.

[Ron3rd]

$556 is not to bad for a 14K which is more $$ than the others. If I recall, the lighter bars are not interchangeable with the 14K head.

I paid around $480 for my 12K EQ off Amazon with shipping. The shipping weight on these things is around 80-100 lbs.

[Keith_Haw]

Might try these guys. They list a 1200lb TW without the shank and that saves $90.

[APT]

with a 3/4 ton, you probably don't need 100% front axle weight restored. 1000 or 1200 pound bars seem appropriate.

[LarryJM]

GeoBoy wrote:
Equalizer makes a 1200 model which more closely matches your hitch weight. Too stiff a bar can damage the trailer hitch because the trailer hitch will flex instead of the torsion/equalizer bar.

I'm not too sure how true that is as long as you're not REALLY, REALLY going overboard like using a 1.4/14K where a 600/6K system would work. Also, I can't substantiate it, but I would think the vehicle NVH might only be negatively impacted with a lighter based and less robust suspension type vehicle.

In this case he is only going 300lbs over his known TW so a 1.4/14K system might not be an issue. I run the 1.2/12K Equal-i-zer on a trailer with an axle wt of 6800 and TW of close to 950lbs and all is good.

Larry