Kind of a dumb question, but I'm new
Y'all were so gracious to help me with my last question, so here goes #2. The only thing I have on my truck right now is a hitch cover. Therefore, I need to get a hitch, weight distribution, sway ...
Forum Discussion
Due to the fact that the bars on a WDH are specific to ranges of tongue weight, you really need to wait until you get the trailer.
Equal-i-zer® brand hitches DO NOT have interchangable bars, they are removable but due to design differences you have to replace the entire hitch head (but not the shank) and the bars, as a unit if you need to go from one weight range to another. Other hitches have interchangeable weight bars, such as the Blue Ox Sway Pro, its available with 350 lb. 550 lb, 750 lb, 1000 lb and 1500 lb weight bars. The hitch head is the same, you just change the bars (but thats a $200 plus proposition).
Many dealers do not really know how to set up hitches. An Equal-i-zer in particular is not the easiest to set up.
Shop for a good used WDH, they are on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, you just gotta search for them, and know what you are looking at. I just bought a 7 month old, possibly used once (ball was not scratched) Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch with 1000 lb bars for my 800 lb plus tongue weight. Paid $300 for it, cheapest I can get it delivered to my door for was something over $600, plus the cost of the ball. I made a 900 mile round trip in the car to get it, but I got a bunch of other camping stuff also, the guy was cleaning out his garage. New Camco lego blocks, Zero Gravity lounge chairs, dogbone adapters, and a couple of other valuable items all thrown in. Camping was not his bag and they were moving.
One thing to pay attention to is that whoever sets up the hitch has TORQUE WRENCHES to tighten the ball and the two bolts that retain the head to the shank. Many people think "German tight" is good enough, but you are playing with fire if they come loose on you.
A ball will generally have a 1¼ inch threaded shank and (fine thread) will be torqued to 450 lb/ft (yes, you read that right) and the 3/4 cross bolts holding the hitch head to the shank are torqued to 260 lb/ft (and yes, I own the proper torque wrenches).
Charles
https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/EQA9E_MPRJm7vuzzfbUQyQ
Equal-i-zer® brand hitches DO NOT have interchangable bars, they are removable but due to design differences you have to replace the entire hitch head (but not the shank) and the bars, as a unit if you need to go from one weight range to another. Other hitches have interchangeable weight bars, such as the Blue Ox Sway Pro, its available with 350 lb. 550 lb, 750 lb, 1000 lb and 1500 lb weight bars. The hitch head is the same, you just change the bars (but thats a $200 plus proposition).
Many dealers do not really know how to set up hitches. An Equal-i-zer in particular is not the easiest to set up.
Shop for a good used WDH, they are on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace, you just gotta search for them, and know what you are looking at. I just bought a 7 month old, possibly used once (ball was not scratched) Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch with 1000 lb bars for my 800 lb plus tongue weight. Paid $300 for it, cheapest I can get it delivered to my door for was something over $600, plus the cost of the ball. I made a 900 mile round trip in the car to get it, but I got a bunch of other camping stuff also, the guy was cleaning out his garage. New Camco lego blocks, Zero Gravity lounge chairs, dogbone adapters, and a couple of other valuable items all thrown in. Camping was not his bag and they were moving.
One thing to pay attention to is that whoever sets up the hitch has TORQUE WRENCHES to tighten the ball and the two bolts that retain the head to the shank. Many people think "German tight" is good enough, but you are playing with fire if they come loose on you.
A ball will generally have a 1¼ inch threaded shank and (fine thread) will be torqued to 450 lb/ft (yes, you read that right) and the 3/4 cross bolts holding the hitch head to the shank are torqued to 260 lb/ft (and yes, I own the proper torque wrenches).
Charles
https://www.amazon.com/photos/all/gallery/EQA9E_MPRJm7vuzzfbUQyQ
