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Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond, all the input is much appreciated! I want to ensure that we are all on the same "Equalizer" page. When I contacted tech support, he advised me to ensure the bolts were torqued to 65 foot pounds. I loosened, greased the portions of the head where the sockets swing and re-torqued to the recommended spec....to no effect. Those babies are as tight as before. I am wondering why tech support told me one thing and someone else to keep them loose because it doesn't have any impact on anti sway performance. Flamingtaco....I'm also confused by the thinner washer comment you made. Aren't the only washers the spacers used for adjusting? What is their impact on the socket tightness?
To make sure we're referencing the same components, circled below are the bolts I loosened and re-torqued, along with a pic of the sockets that the bolts are securing:
Last edited by Mister C; Jan 15, 2020 at 04:17 PM.
I think you're underestimating your tongue weight, just to be clear. 13% of 8,000lbs is 1040lbs, but barring the scale settings, your tongue weight could be as high as 1200
As for the equalizer, I find those are just as stiff on mine also. I think this is part of the anti-sway settings. It's not the easiest to put on, nope.
I think you're underestimating your tongue weight, just to be clear. 13% of 8,000lbs is 1040lbs, but barring the scale settings, your tongue weight could be as high as 1200
As for the equalizer, I find those are just as stiff on mine also. I think this is part of the anti-sway settings. It's not the easiest to put on, nope.
I totally agree with that. I don't think I said I thought I was under 1,000. That's why I'm trying to get the 12K hitch. My manufacturer listed tongue weight is 910...based on the scale worksheets I've completed, I know I'm over 1.000.
The tongue weight listed by the manufacturer is an empty trailer with no battery included in the weight. It's pretty much worthless. My trailer lists its tongue weight as 600#.
If you loosen those bolts you lose friction that is part of the sway control of the hitch. Those pivot points are 2 of the 4 points of sway control with the contact points of the bars on the L brackets the other 2. Disassemble the the head and make sure the surfaces are flat and smooth, if not file or lightly Grind down the high spots, grease, reassemble and torque. To move the bars inserted you will need to use your body weight, this is normal.
makes sense when you think about how much the socket moves vs the bars on the L brackets if you slightly turn the truck mimicking the beginning of a swaying trailer. I can grease away now with piece of mind Thanks
The sway control comes from the angle of the hitch head. If the bars are pointed straight back, parallel with the frame of the truck, they point down farther, putting more bend in the bar. The farther they swing out to the side, the shallower of an angle they are at and the less bend they see.
The bars naturally want to swing outwards when tensioned to get to the point with least amount of angle, but as you travel straight down the road the two bars counter each other and stay centered. When the trailer starts to sway, the tension shifts in the bars and the bar which is closer to straight wants to pull the trailer back in line.
This is why these sway control hitches are better than the friction sway control bars. They actively try to pull the trailer back into line as opposed to just resisting the movement of the trailer like friction sway. Imagine you are driving down the freeway in a constant 30mph crosswind. The friction based sway control wont stop the trailer from blowing out to the side because it only resists the movement(like a shock absorber on your suspension) and the trailer can move farther out of alignment. WIth an Equalizer type setup, the trailer will blow sideways and the equalizer will try to push it back against the wind so it doesn't step out as far.
Last edited by mass-hole; Jan 16, 2020 at 11:58 AM.
mass-hole has it exactly. The bars do not swing horizontally, they move at an angle, dropping further towards the ground the further from the centerline of the vehicle. This is why head angle is important. Too little head angle, not much resistance to moving away from center. Too much angle, resists turns too much. On low-traction surfaces, too much angle can swing your truck back in line with the trailer in the middle of a turn.
On some WDH's, washers are used between the bars or bar socket and the pocket they sit in. This permits adjustment so they can get a tight fit without a crazy hard to swing bar. You will see with some one-piece heads, have never seen it with a welded head. The alternative is spending more money to ensure precision, or ending up with what you have, a bar that's a bitch to swing.
As 8100hd suggested, take a file to the mating surfaces of both your sockets and the head to remove any high spots, then grease up. Might consider removing some paint as it's not a low friction surface under high pressure.
