# Equalizer Hitch Bolt - Losens Every Trip Pictures Added



## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Im at a loss. it seems my hitch bolts (the big sway bolts) losen every trip. im now re-torquing them to 65 every trip. usually not much but the one on the passanger side ALWAYS losens a lot. when released from thr trailer, it can freely swing forward. this weekend, we only drove 15 miles, and it was very lose again.

Any thoughts....


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

It may be time to replace your bolts it seams that one of them is fatigued (worn out) and is not holding the proper torque. James


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

GarethsDad said:


> It may be time to replace your bolts it seams that one of them is fatigued (worn out) and is not holding the proper torque. James


That hitch has 600 miles on it but replacing them may help even though i would think they should last longer than that. Any reason why i couldnt just buy replacements at the hardware store (Lowes of coarse) or should i get them from Progress?


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## fl_diesel (Feb 15, 2006)

You may want to contact equalizer tech support. They are available via phone and seem very knowledgeable. 
800-478-5578.

Let us know what you find.


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## Steelhead (Nov 14, 2005)

If you replace the bolts you must be sure that they are the same quality as originals. It is dark here so I can't check for sure ,but would guess they are At least "grade 5" bolts . Home depot may not have the stronger grade bolts. Hole misalignment or a burr on the plate where either the bolt head or nut bears could possible cause a loosening affect as you turn corners with the hitch connected. As suggested above, you may be wise to contact Equal-I-zer tech support to be safe.

Dallas


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

Sayonara said:


> Im at a loss. it seems my hitch bolts (the big sway bolts) losen every trip. im now re-torquing them to 65 every trip. usually not much but the one on the passanger side ALWAYS losens a lot. when released from thr trailer, it can freely swing forward. this weekend, we only drove 15 miles, and it was very lose again.
> 
> Any thoughts....


Man, I have to tell ya - I had the same problems with my 2 previous travel trailers, the last one being a Keystone 33' VR-1. I had Equal-i-zer hitches on both my old trailers and HATED them. Same thing. Can't keep the bolts tight and then wait till you have to make lots of turns. It just get worse. So I switched to a fiver and wish I had done it a long time ago. I now ask myself why anyone with a 3/4-1 ton pick-up would tow anything buy a fiver. The hitch up experience alone is worth it and then NO sway at all. Not what you want to here perhaps and I'm not trying to sound arrogant. Just my experience. PCM


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## ELSEWHERE (Sep 16, 2007)

Any idea what's actually loosening up? Are the bolts stretching, lock washers not working allowing nuts to back off or something wearing? While your pondering your problem how about trying locktite on the bolt threads to see if the bolts are stretching, I would think unlikely, something wearing or the nuts backing off? At least that would tell you if your nuts are holding their own.


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## sleecjr (Mar 24, 2006)

fl_diesel said:


> You may want to contact equalizer tech support. They are available via phone and seem very knowledgeable.
> 800-478-5578.
> 
> Let us know what you find.


X2


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

jdpm said:


> I now ask myself why anyone with a 3/4-1 ton pick-up would tow anything buy a fiver. The hitch up experience alone is worth it and then NO sway at all. Not what you want to here perhaps and I'm not trying to sound arrogant. Just my experience. PCM


Thanks for the suggestion of switching to a fiver but it is of no help to me







, i can tell you plenty of reasons why we chose a TT over a fiver but that is not the point here. We love our setup.

As far as trouble shooting the hitch issue, thanks for the feedback. Ill contact tech suppoort to get their take on it. Ill also loc-tite the nuts and see if there is any length changes. I had a 1000/10000 initially and used it 3 times. the bolts did not losen and the bars were very difficult to turn after releasing them from the trailer.

Stay tuned...


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I agree, call Equalizer. Give them a chance to diagnose. One never knows but they might have had a batch of bolts that were sub par.

John


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Are you greasing the top and bottom contact surfaces of the bar sockets? Without lubrication, the metal-to-metal contact will wear down both surfaces (especially the top surface, since that is where most of the friction is occuring). The result would be that the bolts appear to be losening.

Equal-i-zer recommends lubrication at these points.

Just a thought.

Mike


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Scoutr2 said:


> Are you greasing the top and bottom contact surfaces of the bar sockets? Without lubrication, the metal-to-metal contact will wear down both surfaces (especially the top surface, since that is where most of the friction is occuring). The result would be that the bolts appear to be losening.
> 
> Equal-i-zer recommends lubrication at these points.
> 
> ...


*EDIT: Mike, I hope you know im joking here!! You were right on!!*

Come on Mike, whats wrong with you? Thats completely irrelevant and not at all close to what was just recommended by Chris at Progress......









The recommendation from Progress (Equal-i-zer Manufacturer) was to apply grease to the top and bottom (mostly top) of the friction bar sockets. (hmmm, i guess that does sound familiar) what could be happening is that the wear is not even on those surfaces if there is no grease and causing groves/small burrs that will reduce the friction surface. I was under the impression that the grease should be applied after a longer period not immediately but i guess that was my misunderstanding. Ill get some grease on the way home, he recommended axle or wheel bearing grease. Any specific brand recommendations?

Thanks for the help and Ill keep everyone posted. I think ill add the grease and then go drive around in figure 8's to get it good and worn in. (this was actually recommended by Chris)
Stay tuned...


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

WOW!! i was getting ready to grease it up and found this after a closer look...... DOES NOT LOOK GOOD !!!
What do you think? Im going to send these to the manufacturer for them to see.
I assume the bar sockets should not have cracks in them like these do. ...

Passanger side:










Drivers side:










Grove in friction surface:


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

WOW!!! I've been using the same Equal-I-zer for four years and three Outbacks and have never had any problems. I noticed you torqued them to 65lbs and they loosened up. I believe mine says 45 lbs and I only check them now and then. I think you should be calling them at least they have a warranty.

John


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## fspieg (Jul 31, 2006)

I just looked at the online manual on equalizer's site and it does say 45-60. I have not had any issues with ours. Traveled over 6000 miles this summer and re-torqued them only once and they were not below 45. I do keep the sockets clean and re greased every thousand or so miles. Do you know your fully loaded tongue weight? Would suspect your bar's may be overloaded or defective socket material.

Just my .02


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Just got off the phone with Chris at Progress Mfg. (Equil-i-zer) He reviewed the pictures and here is his assesment. There are cracks in the bar sockets that have been over stressed and have failed to a point of limited to no function. (tell me about it) BUT he noticed that in the picture, looking in to the hitch head you can see that the threads of the hitch ball shank are hitting the bar sockets. there are flat spots on the shank threads and marks on the sockets. this added force is most likely what caused the over-stress and failure. Apparently in the installation manual it states that a hitch ball with no longer than 2-1/4" shank can be used. the shorter shank does not interfere with the bar sockets and they can rotate under the shank.

Resolution: They are replacing the 2 bar sockets under warrantly and have requested that i contact my dealer about the improper installation of the wrong shank-sized hitch ball. I did call General RV and they are replacing the hitch ball with one that has the correct shank length. 1 week for parts and this should be fixed....

Interesting......
Thanks!


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## Airboss (Jul 14, 2007)

I'm glad to hear you got it all sorted out, Sayonara! This post will be a great reference in the future for anyone else with the same problem.


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## fspieg (Jul 31, 2006)

Please let us know how the 2 1/4 works. Wont work on ours. About 3-4 threads short of going through the nut.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

Sayonara said:


> *EDIT: Mike, I hope you know im joking here!! You were right on!!*
> 
> Come on Mike, whats wrong with you? Thats completely irrelevant and not at all close to what was just recommended by Chris at Progress......


After I read the first sentence twice, and then the next paragraph, I LOL!

I've gotten to know my Equal-i-zer quite well, having installed and tweaked it myself. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best thing since sliced bread!

Those pics you posted look nasty! How much tongue weight have you been carrying, for cryin' out loud?!

(Just kidding.)

Seriously, it looks like a heat-treat problem, to me and to my design-engineer co-worker. He said it looks like load-stress fractures due to an improper hardening process. Whatever - the steel was too brittle to carry the forces it has endured. I certainly hope you DO NOT use that thing again until everything gets replaced.

Good luck.

Mike


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

im now wondering if the bolts could be damaged at all, stretched or ??. they did not mention sending new ones but i wonder if it would be worth asking. I just might do that tomorrow.

im completely confused. why would they recommend a 2-2/4" shank if it does not work. Funny thing is, the dealer thought i was nuts. he thought it would be too short.


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## redmonaz (Jul 24, 2006)

Be careful just buying bolts from Lowes, Home Depot, Ace etc. The grade number is the strength of the bolt, but there is also a thread class. The thread class is a tolerance of the threads. The tolerance of the threads will effect your clamping force by using some of the torque for the running the bolt down.

(Note: I do not use an equalizer, but I am familiar with them) The cracks have an interesting arc patern, from what I can tell these point to where the bolts are. This may be indicitive of the metal failing as the bar was wrapped around the shank of the ball. This could be due to over stressing, or an improper heat treatment that allowed the cracks to start. While at the Zion Rally I talked to the Equalizer reps. Their quality control seems to be top notch, so I doubt the heat treat will be the problem. My guess is the impacting with the shank caused the problem.

I would request new bolts! The bolts that were there may have been overstressed and caused a small crack that will be a stress riser leading to a fatigue failure in the future.

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## ELSEWHERE (Sep 16, 2007)

Instead of using a grease, which might catch and hold grit which would act as an abrasive, has anyone tried a drier lubricant such as silicone? Wonder how good a job it would do?


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

They are fighting me on the bolts. They want me to set this up with the new sockets and see how it works. Unless i clearly notice some damage to them. they do not feel that in 600 miles the bolts could be damaged at all.


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## redmonaz (Jul 24, 2006)

How much "play" is there between the arm and the bolt? Could the arm have contacted the bolt, is there any damage to the threads? Try using a magnifying glass, or eye loop if you have one. Put some acetone, or rubbing achohol, on the bolt around where the head and the shaft meet. If there is a crack the liquid will flow into it and the crack will briefly appear wet after the liquid on the surface evaporates off.

In order for the bolts to loose torque either the nut turned, the metal they were clamping had to shrink, or the bolt had to stretch. From your pictures I would say the bolt stretched. No one else seems to have a problem with the bolts turning on there own. There are cracks there, but not with missing metal. From what I can tell the metal cracked, transfered the load to the bolts, the bolts would stretch loosing the clamping force which is why they lost torque. The strecth may be elastic, where it would return to its original shape with no harm, or plastic, where it will remain in the stretched position. Do these bolts have threads that go all the way to the head? If so try to run the nut down by hand, you may reach a point where the bolt will not freely spin if the bolt has permantly streched.

Ask them what specific alloy the screws are made of and how the threads are formed. The threads will be cut, or rolled, rolled can withstand more abuse than cut. If you can get the specifics I can look up the strength numbers to see what kind of load they are able to take. Also ask if the bolts are coated in any way. If they are tell them you are concerned the coating may have cracked when the bolts stretched createing a stress riser that will allow the bolt to fail at a later date. If they do not replace the bolts ask how much new ones would be, it would be worth the insurance to me. You can also use a sharpie pen to mark the bolt and nut orientaion to tell if the nut begins to turn.

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Wow thats a ton of good info.

I checked my shank bolt and sockets. the socket NEVER touched the shank bolt. the area on the threads that he claimed was damaged was in fact a reflection. the sockets did not touch. the marking on the socket must be from something else. he still suggests that i replace the ball hitch with one that has the shorter shank. he actually sent me pictures of damaged sockets just to prove it to me. eventually the sockets fail and breaks apart if they are touching. i think everyone should take a quick look at theirs and be sure there is no damage.

Ill keep everyone posted.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Got the new sockets on and returned from a 700 mile trip. Very little change in the bolt torque. I checked every hundred miles or so and they seem to be holding up much better! Good News!


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

fspieg said:


> Please let us know how the 2 1/4 works. Wont work on ours. About 3-4 threads short of going through the nut.


Here is the 2-1/4" installed.


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