New to TT (long time pop-upper) WD hitch probs

[davpratt]

Picked up our brand new Jayco Whitehawk 27 DSRL last Thursday in Bryan TX, and drove to Kerrville to camp.The dealer sold us and completely installed an "Equal-izer"WD hitch with sway control. When we got to the campground we had a lot of trouble un-hitching. The passenger side bar had too much turn on it and it was pushing sideways on the L-bracket. We could not budge it. The drivers side bar came off without a problem. We finally did get it off, with some advice from some fellow campers. But then when we went to hitch-up and leave it took us one hour to get it hitched up. It seems that the tv must be 100% parallel to the tt in order for the hitch to be hooked up or un-hooked up.
Any advice, would be greatly appreciated.

[aftermath]

What austex said. Read the manual and it will answer your questions.

My head sockets became loose over time and the shop guy at Airstream told me to tighten them up. Those sockets along with the friction on the L bracket provide the "4 Point" sway control they talk about.

And, even though it is counter intuitive, you can "lightly" grease both areas. I have done it, my hitch does not make lots of noise and I haven't had a single problem in 30K miles of towing. I like my Equalizer hitch.

The best advice you have received is to leave you hitch connected to the ball of your trailer when you are engaging the bars AND while you are disengaging them. I have never used my pry bar either. Another reason I like the Equalizer, I let the jack do the work.

[austex]

If you didn't get a manual from dealer, go here: http://www.equalizerhitch.com/pdf/EQOwnersManual.pdf

The Equal-i-zer(TM) controls sway thru friction at 4 points - two weight-bar sockets and two L-brackets. Manual calls for specific torque on the bar socket bolts of 45-65 ft-lbs, and a bit of grease on the friction surfaces of the sockets (see Manual). You may also use Sway-Bracket-Jackets from mfr on the L-brackets to quiet the hitch.

The E2 hitch from the same mfr is a different animal - only the L-brackets provide anti-sway friction, and no lube or Sway-Bracket-Jackets are permitted.

I tow a 28-ft TT with a '06 Tundra Double-cab and Equal-i-zer hitch w/ SBJs.

[davpratt]

BillyW wrote:
I saw a response here that indicated the friction sway component was at the L brackets. That is not the case. It's at the head.

So the friction in the swivel of the square bar receiver IS how it controls sway? One fellow camper suggested (during unhitch attempt)loosening up that connection to better allow the bar to swivel away from the L bracket, but I resisted that suggestion.
One thing to note: when the tech at the dealer set up the WDH the truck was loaded with stuff, much of which we would move to the camper during the trip, as we decided what belonged in the TT and what we should put elsewhere. We had to pack carefully since we were picking up the TT then pulling it to a campground for the week.
Since the truck had no rear sag when hitched and the combo had very little sway, I assumed that the dealer had set the WDH correctly, or at worst close enough.

[TurnThePage]

I saw a response here that indicated the friction sway component was at the L brackets. That is not the case. It's at the head.

As long as my tow vehicle and trailer were on similarly level ground, it hasn't mattered how well (parallel) they were for hitching/unhitching. Mine has been at nearly right angles before. Also as previously noted, you can leave the bars off the trailer until you maneuver it into a more amenable position.

[opnspaces]

Also don't be afraid to hitch up to just the ball and pull the trailer out to a flat spot in the campground to hook up the bars.

[opnspaces]

davpratt wrote:
OP here:
On the initial campground attempt to hitch, the TV was enough out of alignment that the drivers side square bar was way off to the side, and we couldn't push it enough toward the L bracket to get it into place.

You should be able to swing the bars fairly easily. From your description it sounds like you possibly have the wrong ball and if so it can cause the bar sockets to crack and fail. Go look at the bottom of your hitch. The shank and nut of the ball has to be completely inside the hole in the bottom so the bars can swing over the hole. If the threads stick out of the hole the sockets will hit and crack on tight turns.

[camp-n-family]

If you are pulling into a tight spot on a slope or angle, you can undo the bars first then position the trailer and unhook. Same goes for hooking up at an tight angle or on slope. Hook the tt up, raise the jack and pull out onto level ground. Then hook up the bars (may need to lower jack again to help). You won't hurt anything moving the tt around a little without the WD bars tensioned.

[RedRocket204]

myredracer wrote:
Dealers are notorious for messing up WDH installs.

True that!

Additionally, rarely (probably never) does anyone have a fully loaded TT and TV when the WDH is adjusted by the dealer. Best to know your own system and how it works so you can make minor adjustments to it and not have to depend on others.

Here are two great threads explaining WDH set-ups and how it works... worth the read!

Weight Distribution (WD) Hitch --- How it Works

Travel Trailer Hitch Set-up Procedure

[myredracer]

After solving how to unhook and hook up, you might check and see if the dealer set the WDH up correctly so that you have adequate weight transferred back onto the steer axle. Also check that bolts/nuts are properly torqued and that the trailer is level to slightly nose down when fully loaded.

Dealers are notorious for messing up WDH installs. There is a great sticky in the towing forum. When we picked up our current TT, the salesman came out with a battery-powered impact driver and was about to tighten the nut on the hitch ball with it. I had taken my torque wrench and sockets with me and told him thanks but no thanks, I've got it.

Raising and lowering the coupler with the tongue jack is normal procedure to hook up & unhook.

[davpratt]

OP here:
On the initial campground attempt to hitch, the TV was enough out of alignment that the drivers side square bar was way off to the side, and we couldn't push it enough toward the L bracket to get it into place. I am not sure jacking the tongue up more would've helped. We concluded the TV had to be more aligned so we repositioned it, by pulling it forward, then re-backing up, so it was straighter. Part of the frustration was that with DW driving, she could not see the coupler on the back up camera screen,we are going to try putting some bright orange tape on the coupler to make it more visible to the backup camera. Being able to see that should help the process! Thanks again to all for your help!

[dewey02]

And don't feel bad.
All of us were new at this at one time and we've learned from experience and from others here on the forum. Once you've done the spring bars a few times, it will become very easy and not a problem.

Then the worst part about messing with those spring bars will be that it means it is time to go home and the current camping trip is over! 🙂

[scbwr]

BillyW wrote:
Raising the tongue (and consequently the rear of the tow vehicle) removes the tension. I don't even use that pry-bar that comes with the Equal-I-zer hitch.

Same here!

[Mark_and_Linda]

The others have explained how to do it...block under the tongue jack.crank it up some...then remove. Installing...reverse. Level ground no problem, with truck and trailer level. When I hook up in my drive one side of my truck is a little higher than the right...I have to really jack it up with the tongue jack. Most of the time the dealer sets the hitch up...trailer isn't loaded..truck isn't loaded...etc. It takes a while to get used to how to do it...even getting it set where you what it.

[camp-n-family]

but I am pretty sure we ended up lowering the tongue jack enough to un-hook the ball then raised it up with lynx leveler blocks (5 or 6, maybe)then got the stuck bar loose somehow

Don't unhook the ball first. Leave the coupler locked when you extend the tongue jack. You want to raise the trailer tongue and the rear of the tow vehicle with the jack together. That will remove the weight off the bars so you can just slide them off the brackets. Then lower the jack again to release the tension on the coupler so you can release the ball. You should be able to do it angled as well but sometimes it requires the tongue to be raised higher.