I'm in the process of moving up from a small tent trailer to a 24 foot travel trailer, so I'll be purchasing a weight distributing hitch with some form of sway control. I've seen ads for Equal-i-zer, Reese Dual Cam and others. Can anyone advise me what's best, what you like and don't like. Any advise will be helpful. Thanks
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Hitches and Sway Control
- Thread starter cap10
- Start date
Hitches and Sway Control
I pull an 23 foot Wilderness with the Equal-I-Zer system and like it. I looked into different systems and found that this one was the least expensive and easiest to hook up. The sway control is built into the pivots for the spring bars so, once you set it up, hitching up is the same as using an ordinary weight distributing hitch.
I have used it with 3 different tow vehicles ('96 Toyota 4Runner, '01 Chevy Silverado1500, '01 GMC 3500 cube van) and they all handled well. The only real down side is there is some noise (creaking) when making a sharp turn, but I have heard that from other set-ups too.
I have heard good things about the Reese system and would have gone that route if Equal-I-Zer had not been there.
I pull an 23 foot Wilderness with the Equal-I-Zer system and like it. I looked into different systems and found that this one was the least expensive and easiest to hook up. The sway control is built into the pivots for the spring bars so, once you set it up, hitching up is the same as using an ordinary weight distributing hitch.
I have used it with 3 different tow vehicles ('96 Toyota 4Runner, '01 Chevy Silverado1500, '01 GMC 3500 cube van) and they all handled well. The only real down side is there is some noise (creaking) when making a sharp turn, but I have heard that from other set-ups too.
I have heard good things about the Reese system and would have gone that route if Equal-I-Zer had not been there.
rlmurraysr59
New Member
Hitches and Sway Control
I think the hitches are all pretty much the same. Drawtite, Reese, etc. all seem to have pretty good quality. I did have one Drawtite that had little spring loaded pins on the backside of the torsion bar holes in the bumper connection that kept falling out. Had to be careful how far you pulled them out to drop the torsion bar out of the hitch.
The sway bars work good too. I think the main thing is proper alignment. The reason you use a torsion bar hitch is to evenly distribute the load. When you first hook up the trailer and let it down the front of the tow vehicle will raise up. The torsion hitch puts the front of the tow vehicle on a level plain and the combined units should be level. So you have to adjust them with the chains and hooks or whatever design the hitch uses.
I was towing a 24' Starcraft with a 1/2 ton Suburban and had to purchase a torsion hitch. Someone had stolen my 3/4 ton GMC and I didn't have to use a torsion hitch on it. Anyway, the instructions said to park it on a level surface measure the difference from the bottom of the front bumper to the ground and then do the same with the rear. Then you had to hook up the trailer and raise the rear of the Suburban up with the jack and hook up the chains. When I let the jack down I had to measure the front and rear distance again. The instructions said there should be no more than 3/4 inch difference with the trailer hooked up. Mine was at 1 1/4" so I kept working on it. I moved shims in the hitch, hooked it up another link, etc. etc. I couldn't get it within the 3/4" difference. I finally called the manufacturer for advice and the technician about laughed his head off. He couldn't believe that I got it that close.
Anyway, I pulled it for a lot of years without any trouble.
Then I bought a motorhome. That is a whole different story.
Good Luck and Happy Camping
I think the hitches are all pretty much the same. Drawtite, Reese, etc. all seem to have pretty good quality. I did have one Drawtite that had little spring loaded pins on the backside of the torsion bar holes in the bumper connection that kept falling out. Had to be careful how far you pulled them out to drop the torsion bar out of the hitch.
The sway bars work good too. I think the main thing is proper alignment. The reason you use a torsion bar hitch is to evenly distribute the load. When you first hook up the trailer and let it down the front of the tow vehicle will raise up. The torsion hitch puts the front of the tow vehicle on a level plain and the combined units should be level. So you have to adjust them with the chains and hooks or whatever design the hitch uses.
I was towing a 24' Starcraft with a 1/2 ton Suburban and had to purchase a torsion hitch. Someone had stolen my 3/4 ton GMC and I didn't have to use a torsion hitch on it. Anyway, the instructions said to park it on a level surface measure the difference from the bottom of the front bumper to the ground and then do the same with the rear. Then you had to hook up the trailer and raise the rear of the Suburban up with the jack and hook up the chains. When I let the jack down I had to measure the front and rear distance again. The instructions said there should be no more than 3/4 inch difference with the trailer hooked up. Mine was at 1 1/4" so I kept working on it. I moved shims in the hitch, hooked it up another link, etc. etc. I couldn't get it within the 3/4" difference. I finally called the manufacturer for advice and the technician about laughed his head off. He couldn't believe that I got it that close.
Anyway, I pulled it for a lot of years without any trouble.
Then I bought a motorhome. That is a whole different story.
Good Luck and Happy Camping