# Equalizer Setup Advice Needed.



## OutbackBrat (Oct 13, 2009)

So we bought the trailer used and it came with the equalizer. The gent I bought it from seemed fairly knowledgeable and the difference between the receiver on his truck and my truck were 1/4 of an inch different so he said I could just use it in his position.

Ive never really been happy with how its ridden so today I went to the local scales.
I am using all 8 washers already.

No Trailer truck Height
front height 37.5 inches
Rear height 38 inches

Trailer coupler height not attached 23/4

Before adjustments:
front height 38 inches
Rear height 35 1/4 inches
front axle weight 3020 pounds
Rear axle weight 3593 pounds

I needed to move the L brackets back 2 inches as they slid forward. At the moment they are 30 inchs from center coupler. I also moved the L brackets at the back up 2 holes.

After Adjustments. 
front height 36 7/8
Rear Height 36 4/8
front axle weight 3152 pounds
Rear axle weight 3328 pounds

Trailer coupler height attached 23 7/8

At the end of all this I realized I did it with the water tank empty.

So what do you all think of these numbers?


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## jake's outback (Jul 24, 2010)

OutbackBrat said:


> So we bought the trailer used and it came with the equalizer. The gent I bought it from seemed fairly knowledgeable and the difference between the receiver on his truck and my truck were 1/4 of an inch different so he said I could just use it in his position.
> 
> Ive never really been happy with how its ridden so today I went to the local scales.
> I am using all 8 washers already.
> ...


Please remember that I have only had my TT and the same hitch as you for 30 days and this is my first time with this hitch, Im to expert and there are those on this site who will chime with valuable info. 
\\
IMO looking at the set up manual and the numbers you have listed above it appears you have loaded the front of the TV and reduced the weight the rear axle supports.
Your numbers before adjustment seem to be more in line with mine right now and the set up booklet

Quoted...
"Good adjustment:
You have most likely achieved good weight distribution adjustment
if your measurements show the following:
1.The FRONT of the tow vehicle measures the same as, or slightly higher than its uncoupled height. 
2.The REAR of the tow vehicle is slightly lower than its uncoupled height, but noticeably higher than it is when coupled without weight distribution engaged. You have yours higher than when there was no TT attached to the TV. This does not seem right to me.

As well the procedure states that the bars should be level with the TT Frame and play with the number of washers first. The top of spring arms seem to be lower than the frame at the hitch and the bottom of the arms is above the bottom of the frame past the L brackets.
Page 22 of the procedure actually describes your set up after adjustment...

If the tow vehicle raises above the unloaded height at the rear wheel well
your Equal-i-zer hitch is over adjusted. Over adjustment is a rare occurrence,
but it is a very dangerous situation where loss of control and jack-knifing is
possible, especially in wet or slick road conditions.

I would call the tech support.

Now I know thefulminator has recently set up his hitch and once he reads this will comment. But it seems to me that you have to much weight to the front of the TV, but please wait to discuss with tech support. 
I have attached the procedure.

Hope this helped, seems like you have over adjusted.
Pat.


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## jake's outback (Jul 24, 2010)

here is the manual... didn't upload last time.


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## cdnbayside (Jul 16, 2009)

I think you should move your L brackets down a hole or two, so that the bars are parallel to the frame. It appears you are transferring too much weight to the front of your truck. Your steering will be affected like this as the bars will be too tight.

Here's a picture of mine


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## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

I suggest you do a "weigh-in" at your friendly truck scales. You need, IMHO, to know what weights you are dealing with, esp. the front end weights that are applied to the TV. That will help you dial in your WDH setup.

Here's the formulas I copied from another Outbacker's messages about a year ago.

I did my weighing without any passengers or baggage in the TV, so that I had the basic data. TT had full propane tanks, 4 gallons of water w/tank juice in the black tank, an empty grey tank, and 1/2 tank of fresh water. TT equipped for "living", i.e., all our dishes, basic food, beer, .

1. TV only. 4 wheels on the scales, no trailer

2. TV with loaded hitch; four wheels on the scales, trailer hitched up. TT wheels not on the scales.

3. Full weight of TV and TT; all wheels of both the TV and TT on the scales

4. TT only, while hitched; all wheels of the TT on the scales, no wheels of the TV on scales.

2 minus 1 = traveling loaded hitch weight (HW)

4 + HW = Traveling TT weight

***Check TV and TT for GVWR

***Compare #3 to GCVWR

The weighing took maybe 10-15 minutes and so I called the scale guys and asked when the best time would be to show up so I didn't delay things. They were very cooperative and charged me $18 for all four weights. (Base rate is $9 for one weight.)

Good luck!


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

jake said:


> No Trailer truck Height
> front height 37.5 inches
> Rear height 38 inches
> 
> ...


2.The REAR of the tow vehicle is slightly lower than its uncoupled height, but noticeably higher than it is when coupled without weight distribution engaged. You have yours higher than when there was no TT attached to the TV. This does not seem right to me.

Pat.
[/quote]

I'm not seeing it that way Pat. The way I'm reading the numbers, I think the setup is in the right neighborhood now. With everything hooked up, the rear of the TV is 1 1/4" higher than without WD, and 1 1/2" lower than without the trailer attached.

The front of the TV is 1 1/8" lower than without WD, and 5/8" lower than without the trailer attached.

If I'm reading your numbers correctly, the next thing would be to see how it drives.

Doug


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## OutbackBrat (Oct 13, 2009)

duggy said:


> No Trailer truck Height
> front height 37.5 inches
> Rear height 38 inches
> 
> ...


2.The REAR of the tow vehicle is slightly lower than its uncoupled height, but noticeably higher than it is when coupled without weight distribution engaged. You have yours higher than when there was no TT attached to the TV. This does not seem right to me.

Pat.
[/quote]

I'm not seeing it that way Pat. The way I'm reading the numbers, I think the setup is in the right neighborhood now. With everything hooked up, the rear of the TV is 1 1/4" higher than without WD, and 1 1/2" lower than without the trailer attached.

The front of the TV is 1 1/8" lower than without WD, and 5/8" lower than without the trailer attached.

If I'm reading your numbers correctly, the next thing would be to see how it drives.

Doug
[/quote]

Drives darn good. but looking at it... There is a lot of pressure on the hitch. My weights fully loaded with family are.

front axle 3476
Rear Axle 3652
Trailer 5918.00

That was with all 5 people and water and everything else. Was missing kids bikes though. As well we dont get out new dog for 2 more months









But looking at my picture vs the other.... My bars do seem quite high next to the frame.

Wish I had time to measure when fully loaded. Scale was busy!


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## jake's outback (Jul 24, 2010)

duggy said:


> No Trailer truck Height
> front height 37.5 inches
> Rear height 38 inches
> 
> ...


2.The REAR of the tow vehicle is slightly lower than its uncoupled height, but noticeably higher than it is when coupled without weight distribution engaged. You have yours higher than when there was no TT attached to the TV. This does not seem right to me.

Pat.
[/quote]

I'm not seeing it that way Pat. The way I'm reading the numbers, I think the setup is in the right neighborhood now. With everything hooked up, the rear of the TV is 1 1/4" higher than without WD, and 1 1/2" lower than without the trailer attached.

The front of the TV is 1 1/8" lower than without WD, and 5/8" lower than without the trailer attached.

If I'm reading your numbers correctly, the next thing would be to see how it drives.

Doug
[/quote]

Thanks Doug, I stand corrected, It's (TV) towing well what can I say. I plan to go at my hitch this weekend and I'm starting with 4 washers right now.
Thanks Pat


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Is the trailer level? (i.e. equal height from ground to bottom of frame)

I'm betting it is slightly nose high and you shoudl flip the bar from a rise to a drop. That will allow the bars to be lower and still transfer the same wieght. Just a though as I can't see the whole rig in your picture.

As far as transferring a lot of weight, YES, they do. The tounge weights on these trailers are not trivial....


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## duggy (Mar 17, 2010)

Nathan said:


> Is the trailer level? (i.e. equal height from ground to bottom of frame)
> 
> I'm betting it is slightly nose high and you shoudl flip the bar from a rise to a drop. That will allow the bars to be lower and still transfer the same wieght. Just a though as I can't see the whole rig in your picture.
> 
> As far as transferring a lot of weight, YES, they do. The tounge weights on these trailers are not trivial....


That's a good point Nathan.

When I saw he had all eight washers, I thought that seemed like a lot, but the numbers for the truck sounded about right. The 23 7/8 ball coupler height is about the same as mine so that didn't sound out of line, but now I see his trailer is a 2007. I think they sit lower than the newer models. As you mentioned, if the trailer is nose high, the WD bars won't transfer the weight if they are parallel to the frame.

That's where extra eyes are helpful.

Doug


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## OutbackBrat (Oct 13, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Is the trailer level? (i.e. equal height from ground to bottom of frame)
> 
> I'm betting it is slightly nose high and you shoudl flip the bar from a rise to a drop. That will allow the bars to be lower and still transfer the same wieght. Just a though as I can't see the whole rig in your picture.
> 
> As far as transferring a lot of weight, YES, they do. The tounge weights on these trailers are not trivial....


Nathan can you please explain the rise to a drop flip please?

And you are right... it is probably half to a inch nose high!


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

OutbackBrat said:


> Is the trailer level? (i.e. equal height from ground to bottom of frame)
> 
> I'm betting it is slightly nose high and you shoudl flip the bar from a rise to a drop. That will allow the bars to be lower and still transfer the same wieght. Just a though as I can't see the whole rig in your picture.
> 
> As far as transferring a lot of weight, YES, they do. The tounge weights on these trailers are not trivial....


Nathan can you please explain the rise to a drop flip please?

And you are right... it is probably half to a inch nose high!
[/quote]

Sure, the draw bar (the L shaped thing that mounts in the reciever and the hitch bolts to), can be pointed up or down. If you remove teh Equalizer head from it you can flip it over like this







, and then re-install the equalizer so the head will be lower. Just measure the ball height before disassembling. Once you flip it, reset it with the ball height at least 1" lower. Then go back through readjusting the equalizer according to the instructions. This should fix your issue.

Now as to how I guessed this..... Well, let's just say I spent an entire day messing with it this spring....


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## OutbackBrat (Oct 13, 2009)

Nathan said:


> Is the trailer level? (i.e. equal height from ground to bottom of frame)
> 
> I'm betting it is slightly nose high and you shoudl flip the bar from a rise to a drop. That will allow the bars to be lower and still transfer the same wieght. Just a though as I can't see the whole rig in your picture.
> 
> As far as transferring a lot of weight, YES, they do. The tounge weights on these trailers are not trivial....


Nathan can you please explain the rise to a drop flip please?

And you are right... it is probably half to a inch nose high!
[/quote]

Sure, the draw bar (the L shaped thing that mounts in the reciever and the hitch bolts to), can be pointed up or down. If you remove teh Equalizer head from it you can flip it over like this







, and then re-install the equalizer so the head will be lower. Just measure the ball height before disassembling. Once you flip it, reset it with the ball height at least 1" lower. Then go back through readjusting the equalizer according to the instructions. This should fix your issue.

Now as to how I guessed this..... Well, let's just say I spent an entire day messing with it this spring....








[/quote]

how much clearance do I need between the bottom of the L and the ground? And thx ever so much for your help!

Also If I lower the brackets on the side of the TT wont that also lower the trailer a bit. Isnt it that ive got the side brackets so high that it is riding center high?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

I can't really answer the clearance question for sure. I'll bet you'll have more than I have with the Equalizer on our Flex, and I've only scraped it once...









You acutally will be less likely to scrape while hitched because the WDH will try to keep things level. I scraped while driving without the trailer, but the only thing I damaged was the asphalt... (yes my drawbar is also pointing down because I have a much lower frame on the TT)

As for the bracket, question, you won't drop them a lot, but I bet at least one notch. That's because right now your frame is slowly rising as it gets to your truck. Assuming the bars are parallel, they will be closer to the frame at the back than in the front. If you switch so the tounge is pointing slightly downward, the bars will be farther than the frame in the back than in the front. It might not work out exactly that way, but try it and I think you'll be happier with the results...


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## OutbackBrat (Oct 13, 2009)

Nathan said:


> I can't really answer the clearance question for sure. I'll bet you'll have more than I have with the Equalizer on our Flex, and I've only scraped it once...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well here we go Again. Ive been messing with this equalizer all summer. I cant figure out how to get it any better than I have right now.

My Measurements are Front Rear
unloaded 37.5 38.5
coupled no weight bars 38.25 35.1/4
coupled with bars 37.25 36.00

Cant figure a better way.


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

OutbackBrat said:


> I can't really answer the clearance question for sure. I'll bet you'll have more than I have with the Equalizer on our Flex, and I've only scraped it once...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well here we go Again. Ive been messing with this equalizer all summer. I cant figure out how to get it any better than I have right now.

My Measurements are Front Rear
unloaded 37.5 38.5
coupled no weight bars 38.25 35.1/4
coupled with bars 37.25 36.00

Cant figure a better way.

View attachment 1968


View attachment 1969

[/quote]

I have an equalizer too - and for 3 years mine was adjusted wrong. Have you taken your TT and TV to a weigh station? What is your tongue weight?


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