Equilizer 4 Point Setup

that is the hitch I have and as far as I'm concerned the best I've ever had. you need to go to level ground, follow the install video and redo you hitch. sounds like the L brackets are set too high. I think this is the video I used to watch and set up my hitch. you might even look up etrail.com on utube and see if they have a video also.

I found the bars needed to be parallel to the tongue. I would redo the installation by first changing the L brackets. Then you will have to reset the hitch head angle to get the right amount of weight distribution. Measuring the height at the front fender will get you close. Then it is best to check by weighing your setup as described in various threads on this forum.

The wear marks on the L bracket should be even across the L bar.

Also - I find it is necessary to check the torque on the hitch parts, especially the L brackets. I have now put bright red nail polish on all the nuts so I can check visually that they have not moved.

When you add weight to the tt, you will need to readjust. Ours was adjusted correctly when we purchased it (empty) but we had to change it after we loaded it and again when we loaded it for full-timing.

If your bars were hard to remove, you didn't raise the nose enough to take the pressure off the bars.

To decide if it is set up correctly now, move to level ground, take your wheel well measurements unhitched, hitched, and then with weight distribution.

Dealer installed mine September a year ago (16 months ago). Have towed a few thousand miles now. On our last trip (Florida over Christmas), I noticed the first time that my bars are angled up and not parallel to the trailer frame. Funny, I finally noticed this after so long. I've had no problems towing or unhitching. To unhitch, the trailer tongue has to raise high enough to let the pressure off so they slide off the L bracket easily. Mine came with a funny looking cheater bar, but I've never used it, no need to. I always make sure I can raise the tongue high enough. I carry extra blocks when going to a new or unknown campground so the tongue jack can be raised higher in the event I found myself on an unlevel ground (which has not happened yet).

So parallel? I'm sure that is best, but so far, I've not had any problems with mine. My philosophy ... if it's not broken, don't fix it. But I will reevaluate this come spring when its a bit WARMER outside and can fiddle around.

drhuggybear wrote:
The DW and I picked up our new baby today - a Wildwood 29QBSS. A huge improvement from our Z-1. The dealership did the hitch adjustment but the sway arms aren't level to the frame of the trailer. They are angled up from the hitch to the L brackets. This means that the sway arms aren't sitting flat on the L-brackets but at an angle.

We got to the campsite tonight and I couldn't get disconnected because of the pressure. The site we are at isn't level so it is causing some issues getting the trailer disconnected.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5TtNUxeFWc

This is an installation video from Equilizer and the sway arms look level in the video but they don't say one way or the other.

I told them when I was leaving that it didn't look right but they swore they installed it correctly. Thinking about it now as I type this, they didn't have any Equilizer displays up. All they had were the chain models.

What say the experts on this forum? Does it sound like they didn't set it up correctly? Do I need to redo the hitch installation elsewhere -- or attempt it myself for that matter?

Did you raise the tongue of the trailer before you tried to remove the bars?

If you raise the trailer just the right amount, you can usually get the bars on or off with out the snap up bar or much effort. They don't have to be exactly level. But if the are way, off...like other said...readjust and you may need to add washers.

If the tow vechile is really twisted compared to the trailer, that can sometimes cause a problem, take the easiet bar off and then vary the height ot the trailer to find the sweet spot to take the second one off.

The spring bars should be parallel (or nearly so) with the trailer's tongue. One spacer in the head is approximatly equal to one hole in the L bracket. You may need to adjust the head tilt to get the bars tensioned and level. The trailer and tow vehicle was set up at the dealers without all your camping stuff in both. The hitch should be set up loaded and ready for camping. Some dealers know how to set up the hitch properly; some don't.

If it binds and you cannot get it to release use the tongue jack to raise the tongue enough to get the pressure off the L brackets, remove the spring bars, lower the tongue to a more neutral position, then the tongue should release. If not, then very carefully move the tow vehicle back and forth about a half inch until it releases. You should feel it release. It has always worked for me.

The best way to adjust the spring bar tension is to take the tow vehicle and trailer to the scales and return to the front axle only that amount specified by the vehicle manufacturer. Otherwise everything you do is just an guesstimate. Some manufacturer's specify only adding back half the weight taken off by the tongue so be sure to not overtension the bars. That info should be in your owners manual or the towing guide.

Do yourself a favor, always take your tools with you. The hitch is a maintenance item and some bolts need to be regurarly retightened, buy a couple of half inch nuts and bolts and put one in each top hole of the L bracket to keep them from falling out on the road as they also tend to loosen up. And stay on top of all the grease places especially on both the top and bottom of where the bars move (pivot)in the hitch head. It is a friction wear point that is under a lot of tension. The hitch will make embarassing popping and creaking noises at slow speeds and mostly when backing into a campsite. That is annoying, but normal. Lastly, be sure you have the correct torque on the pivot bolts as they also tend to loosen up with use. You will need a torque wrench to stay within the specs for that.

When installing my hitch I called the Equal-i-zer company and was told that having the bars parallel to the trailer frame was not important.

I also use the same WDH with my Avenger 28 BHS. When I picked up the TT from the dealership, the usual setup guy was on vacation so the other guy set it up with the bars parallel to the frame of the TT. It looked like the video.This ended up not transferring enough weight forward. The truck was squatting 4 inchs after the WDH put on. I had a lot of front end issues driving.
I took it back and this time the usual setup guy adjusted it, to get enough weight on the front with my 2 inch front lift , he moved the brackets up a notch and add some washers.

Now the trucks handles the TT really good, no feeling like the front end is going washout or proposing feeling. The goal is to achieve distribution of weight, not bar position.

My unhitched and hitched front end difference is less than 1 inch.

I would not automatically trust the dealership's setup. Verify with your own measurements when you get a chance. If you don't have the setup instructions, they are available for download on the mfr website. I installed my own Equal-i-zer when I had one, and it was not difficult... it just required a modest time commitment.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Going to a level spot today to try and see if it needs to be adjusted some more.

I do have my tools so I will be doing some tinkering