Propane tanks interfering with Equal-i-zer® hitch installation?

Originally Posted by grlewis1

I also own the 2006 2720SL model and had the 600 lb Equal-i-lizer hitch installed. The only problem I had with this installation was the sway bars. I mounted the trailer bracket just before the emergency brake sensor, so it would not interfere with that function. The sway bars however was one inch too long and would hit the slide out bolts on the trailer. I took the sway bars to a machine shop and had one inch trimmed off. The hitch now works perfectly. You will truly love this hitch the first time an 18 wheeler passes you at 80 miles an hour... Your rig will be rock steady on the road....

I have the exact problem. I went to adjust my Equal-i-Zer hitch properly this passed weekend and could not due to the sway bars were too long and interacted with the trailer slide-out bolts! I dropped the adjustment at the hitch one notch instead hoping to have the same effect. I have not driven it however and it is in my backyard so in an unlevel position but I am hoping the TM rides level and that is the fix. Other than that I will have to have my bars cut also.

[Bill]

This is quite a thread. It appears that the Equal-i-zer hitch interferes with the propane tanks. It interferes with the slideout mechanism. It interferes with the swing tongue. You may have to have someone hacksaw the ends off the spring bars ... I don't think you can torch them off, it would weaken the metal.

I don't want to offend anyone, but doesn't this suggest that the Equal-i-zer might not be the best choice for Trail Manors?

The Equal-i-zer appears to have two attractive things.
1. Built in friction sway control - emphasis on "friction".
2. Great advertising hype.
To get these, you have to pay twice as much as you would pay for a brand-name hitch from one of the industry leaders - Reese, Draw-Tite, or several others.

What about that sway control? Most TM owners agree that Trail Manors do not require sway control. If you insist on sway control and you like the friction technique, that's fine. Of course you can get friction sway control for very little money with a Reese bolt-on unit.

If you are really serious about sway control, you can get dual-cam sway control with your Reese or Draw Tite or other hitch, for even less than the Reese friction unit. Dual-cam sway control is superior to friction, and easier to hook up to boot. RockyMtnRay wrote a nice tutorial on various kinds of sway control. It is available in the TM Reference Library, aka TM Info You Won't Find Anywhere Else. It is worth reviewing at

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2923

I'm not knocking the performance of the Equal-i-zer. I'm sure it performs well. But I also like to see us TMers spend our limited time and money on camping goodies that we really need. And I get annoyed when advertising glitz sucks time and money out of us that we don't need to spend.

Bill

I agree Bill this was my first venture into travel trailers and the "accessories" that may or may not be required seemed all quite "relative" and even overwhelming to the newcomer but after research and emphasis on safety I figured I would load correctly following all the forums advice but also "at what price safety" go with what I understood to be the possible leader in WDH and sway control; "it couldn't hurt..."

Additionally my deal was to have the Equal-izer as part of my original price so it was not a "cost" issue for me. I do love how I do not even know the TM is behind me and the control it gives me but I would agree that this hitch was not made for the TM given the sway bars get in the way of the TM standard features on the tongue at what would be "proper adjustment" for my vehicle. They would need to come out with an option for shorter sway bars to include with a TM Equal-i-zer order. I guess I'll go get my trusty hacksaw out...

Bill, You're probably right… for 98% of the TM owners an Equil-izer could be overkill. First let’s summarize the info we have learned: As for whether they interfere with the propane tanks….? This is not a given. I read in one old thread where one person might have but from all the 2720sl owners who posted here and in older threads I read I could not find where there was a propane tank interference problems with the equalizer . I think we know that probably, if you have a swing tongue, you’ll need to shave some off the pin on the trailer tongue. And finally, whether you have a swing or not, you'll have to cut 1 " off the sway bars if you have to use the 5th hole when you adjust hitch (might be different holes if you own different hitch shanks). If you don’t have to use the 5th hole you'll have no problems as the bar will clear the pins. This is because the Equil-i-zer hitches have 34" bars and other hitches like the Reese etc. have shorter sway bars. Both of these issues don’t seem to be biggees as reported.

For the average TM owner, an Equil-i-zer might be over kill but I decided to go with the sway control because of two things that most others probably aren't going to be concerned with: 1) Very short wheel base TV and 2) Very strong winds. I have a borderline TV that I'd like to use to tow my TM (a Jeep Liberty diesel) so I can get excellent mileage. After reading problems some short wheel base TVs pulling trailers in other forums (although it's hard to tell the real reason for their sway with such others contributing factors such as uneven air pressure in TM tires, improper loading of trailer with too much weight in the back, etc.) I decided to go with sway control just to be safe. ($200 is cheap insurance policy) In subsequent research and correspondence with others, most people don't have problems with sway with TVs with such short wheel bases as 113" when not using sway control. I found some that pulled with shorter wheel bases here in the forum but couldn't find out from them if they had tried towing with and without sway control and in what kind of conditions. One thing that was clear in all my research is those who used equil-i-zer hitches have no problems what so ever and love towing with them.

Since my jeep liberty has a 104" wheel base and I have to battle 60-80 MPH wind gusts (only in two wind corridor areas which our main highways just happen to go through) that often put 18 wheelers on their sides here in Wyoming, I decided to go one the safe side and buy the Equil-i-zer. Many times just in passing 18 wheelers on the road when the wind is really up I have often almost been blown off the road just driving my Ford F150 without a trailer hooked up. If I find myself in a similar situation with my Liberty pulling a TM, I want to have best setup possible to keep me on the road. I looked and looked for other jeep liberty diesel owners who had pulled a TM and couldn't find any. I did find jeep liberty owners who towed many different trailers (boats, TTs, pop-ups, etc) and several (not all) did run into the "tail wagging the dog" sway problem that short wheel base TVs can have with some types of trailers. Although TMs are known to have less sway problems than most, I couldn’t be sure.

In all my calculations and reading RockyMntnRay's posts about TV limitations and the many factors that enter into the picture (he used to use a Jeep Cheerokee that has close to the same wheel base), the Jeep Liberty Diesel is a border line TV from the short wheel base standpoint. From a weight and power standpoint it is not (generates 295 ft-lbs torque at 1800 rpms) I also own a Ford F150 Supercab that I will be towing my TM with from time to time. If I was going to use this as my full time TV I would not have even considered sway bars and would have bought a Reese WDH. Also as you pointed out, there are other sway control hitches out there that are less expensive. I bought the Equil-i-zer because of feed back from other owners on how well they liked it, ease of use, etc. Also I read not to pick up some of those off name brands that dealers try to say work like the Equil-izer. Another thing that sold me was the number of TM owners who seemed to use Equil-i-zer hitches. Was I a victim of hype and advertising? Probably to some degree but my piece of mind is worth it.

I think since there is so many factors that come into play when you match TVs to the TM and owners tow in different type of environments, each person has too look at their individual circumstances and weigh the pros and cons of what to buy.

At any rate…. I'll be taking my Equili-izer into my local shop here and they'll chop saw 1" off the sway bar for nothing as a favor. I'll then tow my TM back with my jeep tomorrow. Although I won't be going over any major passes, there will be some short 2000 foot climbs and it'll be windy, raining, snowing and plenty of 18 wheelers to pass. I'll report how it went. Later I'll experiment with towing with and without sway control with my liberty in different road conditions and post it in this forum.

One thing for sure, as a new TM owner I sure do feel no apprehensive in going to pick up a used TM for the first time (without the benefit of a dealer who is used to selling and servicing TMs to show me the ropes) with my jeep .....all because of this excellent forum and the great contributors who go out of your way to help newbies such as myself. I know that the maiden trip with my TM will be safe and enjoyable (even with the rain and snow). I'm armed with the a wealth of info such as comprehensive user manuals, checklists, and extra hints ... all obtained from this excellent forum. In addition, many of you "experienced" members have taken extra time out of your day just to answer my many questions both on and off this forum. Even though many of you probably were thinking "oh no, here's another pain in the a__ newbie", I never did get this feeling with this forum. You all have been very cordial and polite and the moderators are excellent.
Thanks and hope to meet some of you on the road with our TM!!!!
Clarke

Clarke, do you have the swing-tongue? When I was "playing" with the adjustment I believe the swing-tongue hitch side pin (See pic) was also in the way depending upon the adjustment height of the "L" brackets. I can see grinding-off a little of the bottom of the trailer slide-out bolts and taking 1" off of the sway bars but there is not anything that can really be done for the other pin. (Swing tongue pin) For my proper adjustment I need to move the "L" bracket up one hole which put "all of the above" so-to-speak in the way!

Ron, I do not not think I have the swing hitch based upon the pictures of the trailer I bought. As far as what to do with swing hitch interference I read some old threads here in this forum that discussed this problem.

I'll tackle it again this weekend if my back is improved enough to do so. I hurt my back real bad several weeks ago and can't do anything currently under Doctor's orders. I'll grind the two trailer slide bolts and cut the sway bars back an inch each and then re-do the proper height on the "L" brackets and see what happens. I need a cheater bar though to get those 1-1/18" bolts off the hitch or I am sure I'll re-injure my back!

[fcatwo]

Having neither a swing-tongue or slide-out our 600lb Equal-i-zer went on with little fanfare. I do recall that there are washers in the Equil-i-zer hitch head that can be traded fore and aft to allow the head to be tilted up or down as necessary. Tilting the head down a little more should point the un-tensioned bars further down so they provide the same tension using hole 5 (or 6) as you now get using hole 4. They likely designed it with an adjustible head to solve such problems. It still might not work with all the extra hardware the slider/swinger-TMs have but one member here is having to loosen and move both sides of his chained WDH to clear his tanks each time he opens and closes. I don't agree that "hard-to-fit" is just an Equal-i-zer issue.

[Bill]

Clark in Wyoming wrote

<snip> I think since there is so many factors that come into play when you match TVs to the TM, and owners tow in different type of environments, each person has too look at their individual circumstances and weigh the pros and cons of what to buy. Was I a victim of hype and advertising? Probably to some degree but my piece of mind is worth it.

And that's all fine. I certainly agree that everyone should make his/her own choice. And peace of mind is worth a lot, no doubt about it.

I'm not clear on how an Equal-i-zer will help a short wheelbase vehicle, wind or no wind, since it actually does less for sway prevention than a dual-cam unit. Sometimes people confuse the Equal-i-zer with the Hensley Arrow - the breathless tone of the advertising is similar. You can see the Hensley at

http://www.hensleymfg.com/

Now THAT is a hunk of iron! It has a group of cams and linkages that lock the tow-vehicle-to-trailer connection in such a way that the tow vehicle can initiate a turn, but the trailer cannot. From the trailer point of view, the linkage is rigid, and the trailer cannot initiate a turn (which is what happens when sway begins). Assuming this works as advertised, it would eliminate sway. Good idea.

It also costs $3000.

It is not my intent to be argumentative. Every trailer owner certainly has the right (and the responsibility!) to pick a good hitch. I simply want to point out to TM'ing newcomers that Equal-i-zer sells a lot of hitches based on clever advertising. But it is not "the best there is", and it is not the "industry leader". And it is expensive.

Bill

Originally Posted by Bill

And that's all fine. I certainly agree that everyone should make his/her own choice. And peace of mind is worth a lot, no doubt about it.

I'm not clear on how an Equal-i-zer will help a short wheelbase vehicle, wind or no wind, since it actually does less for sway prevention than a dual-cam unit. Sometimes people confuse the Equal-i-zer with the Hensley Arrow - the breathless tone of the advertising is similar. You can see the Hensley at

http://www.hensleymfg.com/

Now THAT is a hunk of iron! It has a group of cams and linkages that lock the tow-vehicle-to-trailer connection in such a way that the tow vehicle can initiate a turn, but the trailer cannot. From the trailer point of view, the linkage is rigid, and the trailer cannot initiate a turn (which is what happens when sway begins). Assuming this works as advertised, it would eliminate sway. Good idea.

Bill

Bill, Good point. I don't know how or why equil-i-zer will help sway with a short wheel based TV either. I don't know enough about the mechanics etc. of course being a newbie to all this, I don't know much. I only bought based upon research from people who owned them and liked the ease of use and how well they worked. Many palces I read said not to buy types that try to pass themselves off as an equil-i-zer and people who swear by them. Seems to be a big following. Maybe the company was responsible for writing alot of this stuff. On the other hand very few, from what I can remember actually had tried different types of hitches on the same rig, so who knows? It would be interesting to borrow another WDH hitch and try it out some day after I've used the equil-i-zer for a while. It is hard to actually evaluate what to buy. I "consumers report" type of evaluation would be good to find where different types of hitches are tried out. Aslo, many posts here show where people buy anti sway capabilities and then find they don't need them with TMs in a very short time. Maybe I'll be in that category also here in the near future.

Here is some info from another forum on types of antisway recommended and differences:
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"depends on what you have and what you tow with as to what you need there are three basic good set ups.
1. Hensley Arrow. Very expensive but its the Cadillic of TT tow systems.
2. Equilizer hitch WD and sway control all in one sleek package you can get it delivered to your door for $499 from RVdirect.
3. Reese Dual Cam High Performance set up.
I’ve used the friction sway bar a WD bars for 20+ years on my 14’ Shasta and 24’ real lite TT’. Did okay but not great. For my new 31’ keystone I considered the Equal-i-zer hitch system, the new blue ox TruCenter Sway Control and Reese Dual Cam High Performance sway control system. After researching all I ordered the Reese Dual Cam High Performance sway control system paid $334. Why? Well here’s my two cents. The Equal-i-zer hitch system though sounds good and gets accolades from these forums it’s relatively new with an old theme. It my very well work great, but to me it’s just a somewhat improved friction sway bar. Yes it is two bars and yes it works with the WD hitch. But as far as I know it’s still not good for bad weather like other friction sway devices. (friction bars require you to turn them off in wet weather). The Equal-i-zer will still creak and pop. And you need to adjust them."
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"been using the equalizer on different trailers for 15 years have had no problems and it really works. I believe they have 4 different sizes. if you are in doubt which one you should buy contact the company at equalizer.com and they will help you.very good people."