# 28RS-S and Equal-i-zer hitch



## Ymryl (Mar 2, 2004)

Just got a call from my dealer, looks like my new trailer will be in next week (so much for 2 months....). I need to order the new hitch ASAP so I can get it set up when the camper is ready. I know several of you are using the Equal-i-zer with the 28, what parts did you end up with?

I'm guessing I'll need the 10,000 pound adjustable hitch (complete) with either the 105B-L12 or 105BXL12 adjustable shank (I'll measure the height from the ground to the inside lip of my receiver tonight).

Does anyone know the height from the ground to the inside top of the trailer coupler? I'm assuming I need this information to order the correct shank.

Do I need any additional components?

The trailer pad was installed last Thursday:

















The area to the left (behind the shed) is swampy so they dug down approx. 18" and put down a layer of stone followed by approx. 12" of gravel with a layer of reprocessed cement and finally a thin layer of stone. He backed the dump truck onto it and the ground didn't move a bit







Should definately be solid enough for the camper.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

Wow, nice pad!









Nice place too - so, you own most of RI?

Seriously, a nice place to park the Outback! Would love to have such a place myself. Our next upgrade won't be a TV or a new Outback but a new house with a little space around it and NO COVENANT POLICE! Ahem, sorry. shy


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## Ymryl (Mar 2, 2004)

Thanks Brian. It certainly is nice having some yard space, especially with the little ones running around.

I spoke to someone over at Equal-i-zer and he said I may want to go with the 12,000 pound hitch rather than the 10,000 pound hitch due to the length of the trailer. What are you guys using on yours?

I also called my dealer and asked him to get me that dimension from the ground to the inside top of the coupler so I have the correct information when I order the hitch and ball drop. He just called back and said it is 22-1/2". The dimension from the ground to the top of the iside of the receiver is 19-1/2" on the Armada. Using the handy dandy calculator on Equal-i-zer's website, it appears that I need a 105B-T12 shank.


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## Ymryl (Mar 2, 2004)

Ok, never mind, it's all ordered. Bought it from rvwholesalers.com along with a new Prodigy controller. Amazes me that you can get the hitch for $399.00 from them but have to pay $626.40 if you buy it from Equal-i-zer direct.


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

Wow! I didn't realize the hitch was that much more. I didn't look to see the price at there website. I just bought mine from RVWholesaler as you just did. They ship pretty fast as I had less than a week to get mine for the pickup. Of course, I am in the same state, so I'm sure that helped. They give you a tracking number so that you can check out where it is in transit as well as when it leaves them.

I picked up the brake controler at the same time as well as the pigtail for the truck. Made installing the controler that much more simple.

BTW - I got the 10,000 bars. And don't forget about a ball, unless you plan to snag your old one from the other hitch. My dealer installed it free when they were going over PDI with me. The tech said he had a heck of a time getting his socket out of the hitch once he got the ball torked to the hitch. Might want to see if your dealer can do it at pickup to save you the hassel.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

HI Paul 
I bought the 10,000 lb setup with the 1000 lb bars. I also had called to get the height. I put the brackets on in Arlington's lot, the service guy had no idea what the Equal-I-zer was but when I was done he thought it was a great setup. Your old trailer must be the used outback in their inventory. You should have that hitch by the end of the week or Monday. Good luck








John


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Paul sounds like you are all set, 10k or 12k either would be fine. I trust the guys at Lindon hitch so if they say 12k it sounds good to me.

Congrats on the new pad, camper and hitch and all.


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## Ymryl (Mar 2, 2004)

Thanks guys. I went with the 10,000 pound hitch, I just figure 12,000 is overkill. Ordered the Prodigy and the ball. The sales guy over at Arlington set us up for Sat. the 20th at 1:00 PM for pickup which is when we'll sign everything and do the walkthrough. The service guy will also double check the Prodigy setup (I'm just swapping out my existing Voyager controller which I put in, shouldn't be too difficult to swap) and will also help me with the Equal-i-zer. Good to hear I will not be the first to have one installed there.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

I installed the brackets myself in their lot while the guy was re-welding the mount for the rear slide-out arm, one guys answer was to bend the pipe to match the angle







but the guy that did my pdi with me agreed to grind it off and do it right







. I think my Equal-I-zer was the first they had seen. Good luck and enjoy.


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## Ymryl (Mar 2, 2004)

Hitch, Prodigy and ball arrived today. Man, I didn't realize the hitch was that heavy... One more week to wait for the new camper, gonna be a long one.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

I think todays weather was a sign that camping season is over. Sn--







to early.I'll give you a heads up if I see a couple of new Outbacks in front of Arlington this week. I pass by a few times a week.


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## Ymryl (Mar 2, 2004)

Got the call yesterday, our new 28RS-S is at the dealer being prepped









They left the shower curtain unmounted (we're installing a folding shower door like we had in the 21RS and didn't want any holes in the ceiling). Glad we thought to ask for that when we ordered the unit.

We'll be picking up the camper on Saturday afternoon. They'll help me with the mounting of the new hitch and leveling everything.

Anything I need to know about the Prodigy controller? I'll be swapping out my existing Voyager this week one day at lunch. Haven't read the instructions yet, just looked in the box to check it out. I love the fact that you can disconnect it and store it in the bag when not using it.

Can't wait for Saturday now, looking forward to getting it home and putting all of the stuff back into it that is now in bins in my basement....


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## Parker Outbacker (Dec 17, 2004)

Looks like rvwholesalers.com is the place to go. Just a question or two for those of you that ordered the hitch from them. When I talked to the lady down there, she indicated that it comes with the 'standard' shank.

Did this seem to work for everyone?? Will install this on an F250 towing a 28rsds. Also, I keep seeing if you have an 8" frame you will need a different adapter for your trailer. Doesn't the outback have the 8" frame?? I didn't see where anyone had issues with what was sent from rvwholesalers, so I wasn't sure if I should order the extra hardware or not.

I think I am going to go with the 1200, unless anyone knows of any disadvantages, I suppose the 1000 would do just fine as well, but read somewhere that the 1200 may work better with the longer length trailer.

Less than a month away for pick-up...can't wait


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

Rtombre,

I ordered the standard hitch with the 1,000 lbs bars for my '04 28RSS. I wasn't told anything about 8" frame being a problem when I ordered it in August. I took the hitch with me when we picked up the trailer and the dealer installed it for me free. Remember to get the extra spacers from the dealer if they install it so that you have the ability to adjust the hitch later, after you tow with it a couple of times.

Remember to get a 2 7/16" ball. The hitch does not come with one.

As far as the heaver bars, the only disadvantage I could see is they will be a little harder to hook up, being a stiffer bar. Shouldn't be that much of a problem though.

Good Camping...


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

> Remember to get a 2 7/16" ball.


Not picking on Paul, just want to make sure you get the right size. It is a 2-5/16" ball. I don't think there is a 2-7/16" ball.

Tim


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

Opps! Sorry about that. My bad. 2 5/16" ball was what I ment. Thanks Tim.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Glad to help....


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## Parker Outbacker (Dec 17, 2004)

Thanks for all the input!! I love this website!!









After reading all the comments, it looks like the Equal-i-zer hitch from rvwholesalers.com is the way to go. Since I haven't heard anyone having to buy different brackets, I'm just going to order the 1,000/10,000 Hitch. From what you guys are saying it doesn't look like the 1,200/12,000 would really be needed for the 28rsds.









I'll be placing my order tonight, along with the 2-5/16" ball, and Prodigy Brake Controller. I can't think of anything else that I would need right off the bat, since the dealership is throwing in a prep kit (includes water hose, sewer drain line, etc)

Ron


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

Only other thing to concider is a pigtail for the Prodigy. I picked up one for my truck and it makes it easy to connect. Plug into the truck, plug into the controler. Easy. Otherwise, you will need to splice in the wires from the controler to the correct lines on the TV. Depends on how much work you want to do to install it. It was worth the $11.25 for the part in my eyes.

Just my $.02

Paul


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## Parker Outbacker (Dec 17, 2004)

Paul-

My truck came with a pig-tail, where it plugs right in, but I think I would still need to connect the raw wires from the controller to the raw wires of the pig-til on the truck. It sounds like the one you are talking about would remove the need for any soldiering at all...I'll have to do some shopping around to see what I can find.

Ron


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## Paul_in_Ohio (Sep 29, 2004)

Ron,
That's correct. On my Chevy it connects to the fuse panel under the dash. A bit hard to see, as I was upside down to try and install it, but once I found the correct location, it is a "No-Brainer"

Good Luck in which ever way you choose.

Paul


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## Steve03 (May 20, 2005)

New Member here, Been lurking for a while now and really learning a lot from everybody.

This is an ideal thread for me as I have a 2005 Armada LE with tow package, and after running every weight calculator I could get my hands on, i finally ordered a 2006 28RSDS.

In my month now of lurking here and other places, I've pretty much determined I wanted the Equalizer and Prodigy combo.

Just ordered the 10,000 model Equalizer and Prodigy with nissan pigtail from RVwholesaler.com, gotta love no tax and free shipping.









Of course I forgot to order a Ball shy

That said, How hard is it to install the Equalizer on my Armada, I see at least one person here has almost exactly my rig and am curious how it went and if I should be comfortable attemting to set it up themselves or if I should ask the Dealer to install it for me.


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

I would let the dealer do it at pick up time, and then recheck it later, if it does not feel right.

John


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## Central Mass Outbackers (Jun 13, 2004)

Congratulations on your new trailer!

We have an Armada pulling a 21rs and installed an equilizer hitch last week. It took me about an hour and a half using a socket wrench and channel locks. The directions that come with the equilizer hitch are clear and easy to follow, plus you will know that the hitch was installed correctly since you will have done it yourself.

Dave


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## Steve03 (May 20, 2005)

Central Mass Outbackers said:


> Congratulations on your new trailer!
> 
> We have an Armada pulling a 21rs and installed an equilizer hitch last week. It took me about an hour and a half using a socket wrench and channel locks. The directions that come with the equilizer hitch are clear and easy to follow, plus you will know that the hitch was installed correctly since you will have done it yourself.
> 
> ...


How many Spacers did you use on your equalizer and which holes in the shank?

Any chance of a picture?

Steve


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