# Equalizer Hitch



## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

I was doing some servicing work on my Equalizer hitch this morning and I noticed that the model I have is # 90-00-1200.

Max tongue weight 1200#
Max trailer weight 12000#

We have a 23rs that I pull with an '06 Tundra DC.

Is this hitch over-kill? I didn't really know much about hitchs when we bought the OB. I sort of left it to the dealer. Brillant huh.

Not that I can change anything at this point but I'd be interested in comments on the hitch size. I've learned bigger is not always better.

Rayman (Bill)


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

In this case, bigger is better. Because you have the heavier bars, you don't need to lift the tongue as high to get the bars on and off than if the bars were lighter. The 1200# bars will exert more force against a given load over a given distance than lighter bars. The lighter the load, the less force the bars need to exert. To get less force on the bars, you can:

A: Remove a washer from the hitch head, or

B: Lower the L-Brackets on the trailer tongue.

I either case, the height at which you can slide the bars on and off the L-Brackets will be lower. This is a good thing - especially if you don't have an electric tongue jack! (BTW - experience has taught me that removing a washer from the angle adjustment for the hitch head is equal to lowering the L-Brackets by one hole.)

AND, if you upgrade to a heavier trailer some day (which most of us will do), you are all set for most larger and heavier models.

Just my opinion.

Mike


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## Eagleeyes (Aug 1, 2007)

Scoutr2 said:


> In this case, bigger is better. Because you have the heavier bars, you don't need to lift the tongue as high to get the bars on and off than if the bars were lighter. The 1200# bars will exert more force against a given load over a given distance than lighter bars. The lighter the load, the less force the bars need to exert. To get less force on the bars, you can:
> 
> A: Remove a washer from the hitch head, or
> 
> ...


Ditto.

Bob


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

Thanks guys.

I Really want to go to the 25RSS!!! I love the 23rs but having side slide in the living area would be super!!

At least the Equalizer can handle that.

Bill


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

I pulled my 25RSS just fine with the same size Equal-i-zer hitch. No worries mon!


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## Eagleeyes (Aug 1, 2007)

Rayman said:


> I was doing some servicing work on my Equalizer hitch this morning and I noticed that the model I have is # 90-00-1200.
> 
> Max tongue weight 1200#
> Max trailer weight 12000#
> ...


OK...let's expand the question.

With a 26RKS, will an equalizer 1,000/10,000 work?

Bob


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## campmg (Dec 24, 2005)

Eagleeyes said:


> I was doing some servicing work on my Equalizer hitch this morning and I noticed that the model I have is # 90-00-1200.
> 
> Max tongue weight 1200#
> Max trailer weight 12000#
> ...


OK...let's expand the question.

With a 26RKS, will an equalizer 1,000/10,000 work?

Bob
[/quote]

I think it should. I have the same one pulling the 25rss.


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## biga (Apr 17, 2006)

Rayman said:


> I was doing some servicing work on my Equalizer hitch this morning and I noticed that the model I have is # 90-00-1200.
> 
> Max tongue weight 1200#
> Max trailer weight 12000#
> ...


No, your hitch is completely oversized and possibly casuing a dangerous situation. There is only one remedy... send it to me and I will replace it with a 10000/1000 equil-i-zer free of charge.


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## Eagleeyes (Aug 1, 2007)

biga said:


> I was doing some servicing work on my Equalizer hitch this morning and I noticed that the model I have is # 90-00-1200.
> 
> Max tongue weight 1200#
> Max trailer weight 12000#
> ...


No, your hitch is completely oversized and possibly casuing a dangerous situation. There is only one remedy... send it to me and I will replace it with a 10000/1000 equil-i-zer free of charge.









[/quote]

Best answer yet!


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## FLYakman (Jan 26, 2006)

biga said:


> I was doing some servicing work on my Equalizer hitch this morning and I noticed that the model I have is # 90-00-1200.
> 
> Max tongue weight 1200#
> Max trailer weight 12000#
> ...


No, your hitch is completely oversized and possibly casuing a dangerous situation. There is only one remedy... send it to me and I will replace it with a 10000/1000 equil-i-zer free of charge.








The hitch is in the mail.Keep looking for it every day.
[/quote]


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## ronmhagen (Jul 9, 2007)

Mike and others are right on. When we bought our 26kbrs the dealer recommended the 1000 pound hitch. I asked for opinions on this forum about going with the 1200 pound hitch and got the same replies.

I bought the 1200 even though the 1000 would have worked fine. When we picked up our Outback and they pulled it out of their garage, I looked at my wife and said; "That ain't adjusted right". The dealer did not even try. I had never owned an Equalizer hitch or travel trailer, but knew enough about towing to see that they had done a hack job setting it up.

When I got home I printed the Equalizer instructions off of their website, tore the hitch down and set it up from scratch. The dealer was way off with their set up. I would recommend that anybody with this hitch take a look at the instructions and learn their hitch system. It makes a huge difference when it is properly set up. I have helped two co-workers through issues since then. They had the same problem with a dealer hitch set up not properly adjusted. The safety and comfort while towing is much improved.

After I had it set up per instructions and towed the vehicle I made a change. I lowered the 1200# bars one notch on the L bracket to reduce some pressure that was being applied to the front of the vehicle. It towed much smoother on bumpy roads after that. The heavier bars did make a difference.


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## borntorv (Apr 13, 2004)

Bill,

Your question is similar to one that I had and I thought you might find the answer I got from the Equalizer manufucturer of interest. Following is my question and their answer:

Greg,

Thank you for contacting Progress Mfg Inc. with your questions about the Equal-i-zer Hitch.

Your Question:

"I previously purchased an Equal-i-zer hitch with 1,000 lb. bars. I have
been pulling a 7,600 GVW travel trailer that has a 450 tongue weight. Your
product works great by the way!

I'm now looking at upgrading to a TT with a GVW of 9,600 lb and a tongue
weight of 805. This would put me at the upper limit of the bars I currently
use. Should I consider upgrading to the 1,200 (or even 1,400) bars and, if
so, will they work with the rest of my current hitch?

Thanks,"

Answer:

There are 2 things that you need to know in order to select the right hitch model for your trailer. You need to know your loaded tongue weight and loaded trailer weight. Are you going to be loading up to your GVWR? Is the tongue weight you gave me dry weight or loaded weight. So what you need to do is determine what your loaded weights are by loading up your trailer how you will have it when towing, and take it somewhere that you can weigh both your trailer and tongue weight.

Once you have determined your loaded trailer and tongue weights, you should select the hitch model that can handle your weights. If the weights you gave me are what your loaded weights are, then you will be fine with the 1,000 lb. hitch you currently have. However, you may find that your tongue weight is going to be over the 1,000 lb. rating of the hitch. In that case, you would want to move up to whichever model (1,200 or 1,400) can handle your tongue weight.

Once you have determined which hitch model you need, you have the option of going up one hitch size. Most of the time this is only done if you are planning on upgrading to a larger trailer in the future. Buying more hitch than you need will not provide you with any better sway control or weight distribution. We recommend that you do not go more than one size over what you need as this can lead bouncing or bumping as you do not have enough weight for the spring arms to slightly flex.

If you do upgrade your hitch, you will need to replace both the hitch head and the spring arms. The spring arms get thicker as you move up in hitch model. Because of this, the arm sockets in the hitch head that the spring arms plug into also get bigger. In turn, the hitch head also gets bigger so the larger sockets will still fit into the head. You can keep the same sway brackets and shank, as these do not change between hitch models.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks,

Chris Salway
Progress Mfg Inc.
1-800-478-5578
[email protected]

Bill, it appears your 23RS has a tongue weight of 550 pounds and GVWR of 7070. So depending on how you load the camper you could almost get by with the 600/6,000 Equalizer set up. The 1,200/12,000 may actually be overkill.

Anyway, whatever you use I hope it works well for you,

Greg


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