Nighthawk87

So I've watched many YouTube videos and think I know how to do it. I've elected to set it up myself when I pick up the trailer to save money and since I figure I need to know how to do it anyway. Because I'll be doing it myself there I'll need to bring my tools. I have everything but the torque wrench capable of 320 foot pounds. Mine only goes to 275. How critical is the torque rating on these things (shank bolts)? I can ensure I hit 275 then just make it tighter with my breaker bar. Will that work? How about the 430 foot pounds for the hitch ball? I can buy the thin wall socket but a torque wrench capable of that will cost a lot and I'll never again need it.

Also, any other tips for setting it up, things to bring, etc...?

brulaz

I was in the same place last year.

Just used my existing torque wrench for the shank bolts (think 250 ft-lbs? max).

For the hitch ball, I jammed a wrecking bar in between the nut and hitch head to hold the nut in place, then borrowed a big pipe wrench from the campground host and yanked it tight (couldn't find a crescent wrench big enough).

Mine is a 1400# Equal-I-Zer and the TW can be 1100 to 1220#, and everything is holding together just fine a year and many miles later. It looks like Ford's hitch receiver is going to wear out before the hitch has any problems.

brulaz

Also Equal-I-Zer has good instructions for how to set it up.
They are available online, so you can download them and review what needs to be done beforehand.

smokeywren

Torqueing the shank and ball to the proper spec is very important for safety. The engineers didn't come up with those torque specs out of their butt. You don't want to take a chance on the hitch coming apart at 62 MPH on the interstate while comin' down the mountain. If you don't want to invest in the proper tools to DIY, then after you have it where you think it's close, take the shank/hitch head/ball mount to an RV shop that has the proper tools and have them finalize the torque on those parts. Their labor cost would probably be a lot less than the $300 or so cost of the proper torque wrench, like this one:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...7236_200627236


You'll sleep better.

acadianbob

And continue to occasionally check over time. They can loosen up.