Have you had any problems with your equalizer hitch , I’m installing a 12000 pound on my passport that ways 8200 and tongue weight of 1000 pounds, and seeing some videos on the frames collapsed on some roads. Thanks
Great video. I’ve looked at other videos on setting up the equalizer hitch and as far as I’m concerned, yours is the best. I will use this to set mine up. Thank you for your set up.
That would be ideal but I don't think it matters much. If you look close you will see that the bracket is slightly rotated to the flat angle of the bar. This is because I loaded the bracket up before I torqued the bracket bolts. Thanks!
Yes but a portion of that weight is redistributed back to the trailer axles and onto the front axles of the truck. That is the point of the weight distribution hitch. You might end up with 600lbs on the truck and 300lbs on the trailer (I don't know the exact distribution yet as I have not weighed it ). My truck has a max cargo capacity of around 1300lbs. That includes all cargo and passengers if you subtract the trailer you only have about 700lbs left for passengers and cargo AND that is the MAX. I would not want to be at the MAX so basically we won't be carrying much weight in the truck. Use the truck bed for large and light stuff. Thanks!
I've owned a lot of trucks and a lot of trailers and set up a lot of weight distribution hitches I think you did a pretty good job and will probably work okay for you, I think personally I would have added another washer in the head of the hitch as your front axle still lost a little more weight than I would like to see. Especially by the time you add in additional weight in the trailer and toss things in the bed of the truck, kids / dogs in the back seat whatever.
Blake, I will probably revisit the setup once we get rolling (someday). I don't plan to put much in the truck. maybe some light bulky stuff in the bed. I also have added 2 heavy electric bikes and a steel bumper all the way to the back of the trailer. Combined they weigh 300lbs. I think I will be pretty close but well have to see. Thanks for your feedback. Appreciate it. :)
I installed my hitch a few weeks ago. It's easier than it looks, especially if you have the correct tools. I was able to get my front end back to It's original height. Nice vid!
for 200 ish dollars, buy air bags for the rear of your half ton pickup. you won't be disappointed. i have them on my f250 towing a 22 foot enclosed trailer. worth the money and time in my opinion.
Thank you so much. As a man, we don't read instructions much. My son threw the box and instructions away. I looked them up, your video was BETTER than the online reading. Thank you once again.
Cool Toys, My family is having an estate sale in Grand Rapids MI. I think there are a lot of cool toys in the mix including old Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Send me an email if you want to see some pictures. Thanks!
Dean, I have only towed it twice and so far it works really well. Straight down the road even when passing a large truck. It is pretty noisy going through parking lots in sharp turns as the bars move. Thanks!
Looks great!!! Hope you have as much fun RVing as my wife and I have had since we started (1992) Already planning our michigan to Florida trip for next year. Have a Jesus filled day everyone Greg in Michigan
Hello Greg, I hope so too. I guess you just know how much you might like something until you try it so well see. We are headed back to MI in a few months. Thanks!
Do you use the leverage tool to release the bars as well when done towing? As in the video, I raised my L brackets up one hole and used the tool to attach the bars on the brackets. When we were done camping, I could barely get the bars off the brackets because of the tension. Looks like we had about the same amount of force going on but haven't found any videos showing the bars coming off the brackets with that type of tension applied.
What was the reason for moving the L bracket back 2"? Great video BTW! I'm new to the RV world and this video was exactly what I was looking for. I have the same E4 hitch but more sag than I would like. This video gave me a much better grasp on mitigation of my sagging issue! Thank you sir!
My camper is too big for this truck. Yes, It will pull it down the road under ideal conditions but not really meant for this size load. I don't think camper dealers want folks to know that they need to purchase a bigger truck as it would hurt sales. Just my opinion. Thanks!
940lbs of weight on the hitch plus the hitch and a tank of fuel, you are probably close to if not exceeding the payload of your truck bud. But this video was done nicely. Thank you.
940lbs is the total but yah its not looking good. I plan to carry a bike rack and 140lbs of bikes on the back of the trailer so that will take some weight off the hitch. I also plan to carry only very light and bulky stuff in the truck and only 2 people. That said, I bigger truck would be nice.
@@HomesteadEngineering I was in the same position as you. My camper is pretty light but it is 31ft hitch to bumper. By the time I added the weight of my dogs and my wife with fuel we were pushing most half ton pay loads. Not to mention. I bring a folding grill with and extra tank, fire wood, and we are expecting our first child. So there will be even more stuff in the truck and camper. That is why I elected to go with an f250 from the start just for braking and suspension alone. I went with a 6.2 gasser because it isnt power I was worried about. It was towing comfort and the more comfortable you are the more confident you will become.
@@chadmiller8019 I think your going to be very happy with the F250 choice. I pulled a 28' trailer weighing in at 12,000lbs all over America with a F250 super Duty (Diesel). Never had a problem with it. :)
@@HomesteadEngineering I was happy with my choice when we took it to Pigeon Forge for our honeymoon in october. I live in PA so it was about 700 down there and had no real issue other than some truck suck while I was stuck doing 65ish and got passed by big rigs going much faster on I81
Thanks for the video. Equalizer says the spring arm bars should be parallel with the trailer tongue. Might be the camera angle but looks like yours are not quite parallel. Think this could be an issue?
Jerry, I believe they should be relatively parallel so that the sliding action is flat against the L brackets. I could have done a better job on that aspect I suppose... Thanks!
This video helped me a lot since I've never dealt with a W-D hitch. Made my install and adjustments pretty easy. Do you happen to remember the size of washers to use as spacers? I grabbed the only thing I could find in my garage, and it's just a bit too big. I'd like to get the proper size, but don't have easy access to the hitch assembly to go measure.
Is this something you need to do every time you have a different amount of stuff in the trailer? Like a 1 week camping trip compared to a 2 week? ( more stuff in trailer)
I suppose the answer would be yes but in practice your probably going to figure out how to pack so as to maintain the balance on the trailer. So basically you just move a few things from front to back or back to front to rebalance the load. If you made a major change like adding 200lbs of electric bikes hanging off the back then you would probably need to make an adjustment. Thanks!
Great info. Going to put mine on tomorrow. My old hitch just wasn’t doing the job. With a little help from a friend of mine we should be able to get it done, thanks again.
Great tutorial on how to setup this hitch. I have the exact same model and year truck as you. I don't know if you are aware or not, but you are exceeding the GVWR by 365 lbs., and possibly the GCWR of this truck. The sticker on my truck says the truck should never weigh more then 6700 lbs, and combined with a trailer never exceed 13,000 lbs. I don't know how much your trailer weighs, but if it is more than 6880 lbs. you are also over the GCWR rating of 13,000 lbs.
I think we are pretty close to the limits. The truck is showing signs of its age and we don't plan to go any further than a few hundred miles from home. Also, its pretty flat here in Florida so that helps. Thanks!
Great video ! Was that socket you used for the ball a thin wall? Just curious if that is actually mandatory or if you could sneak a regular one in there.
Well I would not say its underpowered with the 5.7L Hemi but I would agree that it is very close to overloaded. I really can't haul anything in the truck but very light bulky stuff. I am in the market for a new truck. :)
Nice video...question though. When I got my hitch, I was told that the bars to be parallel to the frame of the camper. Which is more important...parallel bars or more even ride (would assume more even ride)? Thanks!
Dave, I agree with Derek and I think you should attempt to get them as parallel as possible but also get the ride right. If you have to compromise then I would compromise more on the parallel factor. Thanks!
Great job. You explained very well. I am not sure your math on the 450 pounds of torque is correct. It seems that it would only be 150 pounds. But I am no expert.
Good video. Looks like you swapped the nuts on the trailer brackets. They nylock nuts should be used on the studs for the L-brackets. The regular nuts (non-locking) go with the longer frame bracket bolts. Love my Equalizer hitch!
Note: The two bolts that look like they are coming through the TT are actually just countersunk into the back of the bracket. They do not go through the TT.
THAT 900 LB TRIPLES WHEN YOU TORQUE THAT LEVLER DOWN,WHEN YOU GO INTO A LO SPOT THE PRESSURE GOES UP DRASTICLY,IT HAS TO BUCKLE OR BREAK THE TRUCK FRAME
interesting you didn't show removing the bars because its practically impossible to remove them easily I usually just drive it off with a hung bang sound. Whoever engineered this thing didnt bother to plan removal...
Had me laughing... "Alright step one done.. now I just need to go buy a camper.."
Finally I made someone laugh! :) Thanks!
Better video than the factory. Thanks for explaining how you can change the force the two different ways more in depth than the factory. Great Vid!!!
Glad you liked it!
Have you had any problems with your equalizer hitch , I’m installing a 12000 pound on my passport that ways 8200 and tongue weight of 1000 pounds, and seeing some videos on the frames collapsed on some roads. Thanks
I have not had any problems but I do not have enough miles on it to really give you a good answer. Thanks!
Dealers need to start giving actual tongue weight or close to so customers will know what they actually need.
Great video. I’ve looked at other videos on setting up the equalizer hitch and as far as I’m concerned, yours is the best. I will use this to set mine up. Thank you for your set up.
Thanks Richard, I really appreciate that comment! :)
With a clqass 8 HDT do yo really need a distribution hitch
Shouldn't the bars be parallel with the trailer frame so it rubs flat on the L bars? It looks off to me.
That would be ideal but I don't think it matters much. If you look close you will see that the bracket is slightly rotated to the flat angle of the bar. This is because I loaded the bracket up before I torqued the bracket bolts. Thanks!
ok so your tongue weight is over 900, doesnt that go against your payload? What is the payload of that truck?
Yes but a portion of that weight is redistributed back to the trailer axles and onto the front axles of the truck. That is the point of the weight distribution hitch. You might end up with 600lbs on the truck and 300lbs on the trailer (I don't know the exact distribution yet as I have not weighed it ). My truck has a max cargo capacity of around 1300lbs. That includes all cargo and passengers if you subtract the trailer you only have about 700lbs left for passengers and cargo AND that is the MAX. I would not want to be at the MAX so basically we won't be carrying much weight in the truck. Use the truck bed for large and light stuff. Thanks!
Torqued that ball nut to about 900lbs lol.
Very good Tutorial
Glad you liked it
How does that truck do pulling that camper, does it struggle at all?
It has plenty of power but overall I would say that a bigger truck is needed. Actually, If I had it to do over I would just get a smaller camper.
I've owned a lot of trucks and a lot of trailers and set up a lot of weight distribution hitches I think you did a pretty good job and will probably work okay for you, I think personally I would have added another washer in the head of the hitch as your front axle still lost a little more weight than I would like to see. Especially by the time you add in additional weight in the trailer and toss things in the bed of the truck, kids / dogs in the back seat whatever.
Blake, I will probably revisit the setup once we get rolling (someday). I don't plan to put much in the truck. maybe some light bulky stuff in the bed. I also have added 2 heavy electric bikes and a steel bumper all the way to the back of the trailer. Combined they weigh 300lbs. I think I will be pretty close but well have to see. Thanks for your feedback. Appreciate it. :)
E-Bike Bumper: ruclips.net/video/XLz9SLRfarw/видео.html
I installed my hitch a few weeks ago. It's easier than it looks, especially if you have the correct tools. I was able to get my front end back to It's original height. Nice vid!
for 200 ish dollars, buy air bags for the rear of your half ton pickup. you won't be disappointed. i have them on my f250 towing a 22 foot enclosed trailer. worth the money and time in my opinion.
Thanks for the tip!
I let the experts do my TT hitch. Congrats on the camper!!! - Rick
Thanks!
Thank you so much. As a man, we don't read instructions much. My son threw the box and instructions away. I looked them up, your video was BETTER than the online reading. Thank you once again.
Looks like you had one more bolt hole to go up on the main shank, wouldn't that correct the problem easier?
I think its a bit of a balance between the two adjustments. One additional factor to consider is to attempt to keep the bars level.
😎 Congratulations on the new camper. 👍
Cool Toys, My family is having an estate sale in Grand Rapids MI. I think there are a lot of cool toys in the mix including old Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. Send me an email if you want to see some pictures. Thanks!
@@HomesteadEngineering Thanks for the info.
Very good video...how does it tow?
Dean, I have only towed it twice and so far it works really well. Straight down the road even when passing a large truck. It is pretty noisy going through parking lots in sharp turns as the bars move. Thanks!
Looks great!!!
Hope you have as much fun RVing as my wife and I have had since we started
(1992)
Already planning our michigan to Florida trip for next year.
Have a Jesus filled day everyone
Greg in Michigan
Hello Greg, I hope so too. I guess you just know how much you might like something until you try it so well see. We are headed back to MI in a few months. Thanks!
@@HomesteadEngineering
a few months???
Remember... It's August 22nd today. It will be snowing here in a few weeks🤪🤔😲.
Greg in Michigan
Do you use the leverage tool to release the bars as well when done towing? As in the video, I raised my L brackets up one hole and used the tool to attach the bars on the brackets. When we were done camping, I could barely get the bars off the brackets because of the tension. Looks like we had about the same amount of force going on but haven't found any videos showing the bars coming off the brackets with that type of tension applied.
Ken, I use my trailer jack to get all the weight off, maybe even lift the back of the truck up just a bit and then they come right off.
What was the reason for moving the L bracket back 2"? Great video BTW! I'm new to the RV world and this video was exactly what I was looking for. I have the same E4 hitch but more sag than I would like. This video gave me a much better grasp on mitigation of my sagging issue! Thank you sir!
I moved it back to gain a bit more leverage. You can't go back too far or it may come out in a tight corner. Thanks!
Bryan the range from Equalizer is listed from 27-32”. I would have done the same as the OP.
What was the reason for moving the bracket on the trailer frame.
Increased the leverage a bit
What is the weight of your camper and how well does your dodge handle it. I have the same truck and looking and a unit the same size.
My camper is too big for this truck. Yes, It will pull it down the road under ideal conditions but not really meant for this size load. I don't think camper dealers want folks to know that they need to purchase a bigger truck as it would hurt sales. Just my opinion. Thanks!
Thank you for your feedback.
940lbs of weight on the hitch plus the hitch and a tank of fuel, you are probably close to if not exceeding the payload of your truck bud. But this video was done nicely. Thank you.
940lbs is the total but yah its not looking good. I plan to carry a bike rack and 140lbs of bikes on the back of the trailer so that will take some weight off the hitch. I also plan to carry only very light and bulky stuff in the truck and only 2 people. That said, I bigger truck would be nice.
@@HomesteadEngineering I was in the same position as you. My camper is pretty light but it is 31ft hitch to bumper. By the time I added the weight of my dogs and my wife with fuel we were pushing most half ton pay loads. Not to mention. I bring a folding grill with and extra tank, fire wood, and we are expecting our first child. So there will be even more stuff in the truck and camper. That is why I elected to go with an f250 from the start just for braking and suspension alone. I went with a 6.2 gasser because it isnt power I was worried about. It was towing comfort and the more comfortable you are the more confident you will become.
@@chadmiller8019 I think your going to be very happy with the F250 choice. I pulled a 28' trailer weighing in at 12,000lbs all over America with a F250 super Duty (Diesel). Never had a problem with it. :)
@@HomesteadEngineering I was happy with my choice when we took it to Pigeon Forge for our honeymoon in october. I live in PA so it was about 700 down there and had no real issue other than some truck suck while I was stuck doing 65ish and got passed by big rigs going much faster on I81
16:00 I dont see the pinned comment about loaded weights ??
Sorry but I have not weighed it yet. Slacking...
Thank you, this helped a lot.
Thanks for the video. Equalizer says the spring arm bars should be parallel with the trailer tongue. Might be the camera angle but looks like yours are not quite parallel. Think this could be an issue?
Jerry, I believe they should be relatively parallel so that the sliding action is flat against the L brackets. I could have done a better job on that aspect I suppose... Thanks!
Thank you, this helped a lot.. Congratulations on the new camper. .
Glad it was helpful. Thanks!
What that number on your trailer, weight and length? Just curious due to I’m in the market for one and I also have a 1/2ton.
Radiance R-25RB: cruiserrv.com/rv-model/radiance-ultra-lite-r-25rb/
This video helped me a lot since I've never dealt with a W-D hitch. Made my install and adjustments pretty easy. Do you happen to remember the size of washers to use as spacers? I grabbed the only thing I could find in my garage, and it's just a bit too big. I'd like to get the proper size, but don't have easy access to the hitch assembly to go measure.
Sorry but I don't recall the size of the washers.
1/2" fender washers@@HomesteadEngineering
excellent video....easy to understand and just what I was lookng for...THANK YOU !!!!!
Glad it helped!
Lol my tt said 750lbs tongue weight spec got it home weight was 1140. Why manufacturers spec them wrong is scary.
Your going to have to move some of that gold to the back of the trailer. :)
@@HomesteadEngineering shhhh now everyone knows where I store it.
@@Metal_Stacking LOL!
Is this something you need to do every time you have a different amount of stuff in the trailer? Like a 1 week camping trip compared to a 2 week? ( more stuff in trailer)
I suppose the answer would be yes but in practice your probably going to figure out how to pack so as to maintain the balance on the trailer. So basically you just move a few things from front to back or back to front to rebalance the load. If you made a major change like adding 200lbs of electric bikes hanging off the back then you would probably need to make an adjustment. Thanks!
Great video, thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Great info. Going to put mine on tomorrow. My old hitch just wasn’t doing the job. With a little help from a friend of mine we should be able to get it done, thanks again.
Glad it helped
Great tutorial on how to setup this hitch. I have the exact same model and year truck as you. I don't know if you are aware or not, but you are exceeding the GVWR by 365 lbs., and possibly the GCWR of this truck. The sticker on my truck says the truck should never weigh more then 6700 lbs, and combined with a trailer never exceed 13,000 lbs. I don't know how much your trailer weighs, but if it is more than 6880 lbs. you are also over the GCWR rating of 13,000 lbs.
I’m curious as to how close you are to your trucks limits. Seems like way to big of a trailer for that age of truck.
I think we are pretty close to the limits. The truck is showing signs of its age and we don't plan to go any further than a few hundred miles from home. Also, its pretty flat here in Florida so that helps. Thanks!
This has been the best tutorial on this hitch,thanks
Thanks!
Great video !
Was that socket you used for the ball a thin wall?
Just curious if that is actually mandatory or if you could sneak a regular one in there.
Kevin, It was not a thin walled socket. It is about 4mm on the thin part and 7mm on the thick part. I think I got it at Tracker Supply. Thanks!
Your first mistake is having an underpowered and overloaded vehicle.
Well I would not say its underpowered with the 5.7L Hemi but I would agree that it is very close to overloaded. I really can't haul anything in the truck but very light bulky stuff. I am in the market for a new truck. :)
@@HomesteadEngineering yes, the hemi is awsome. Get yourself a 1 ton truck so that you have some margin.
No animals or humans were harmed
Mack, not this time... :)
Need a bigger truck…..
Yes, I would have to agree. A 1 ton would be nice but the prices are just staggering.
Did it tow better vs when you brought it home?
I think it did but I have not towed it enough to say for sure. Well see...
Nice video...question though. When I got my hitch, I was told that the bars to be parallel to the frame of the camper. Which is more important...parallel bars or more even ride (would assume more even ride)? Thanks!
I think that is just in order to keep the bars riding evenly on the L brackets so there isn't an uneven friction surface.
Dave, I agree with Derek and I think you should attempt to get them as parallel as possible but also get the ride right. If you have to compromise then I would compromise more on the parallel factor. Thanks!
Great job. You explained very well. I am not sure your math on the 450 pounds of torque is correct. It seems that it would only be 150 pounds. But I am no expert.
Ernest, I must admit that I have not done the math myself but got that off RUclips somewhere. I am pretty sure its not coming off. :) Thanks!
Applying 150lbs to a 3 foot bar = 450ft-lbs.
Thanks awesome video 💪
Thanks!
Excellent video. Thank you.
Glad you liked it!
Any update on the hitch, how ya like it?
Unfortunately I have not been able to use it much so nothing to report as of yet. Thanks!
Good video. Looks like you swapped the nuts on the trailer brackets. They nylock nuts should be used on the studs for the L-brackets. The regular nuts (non-locking) go with the longer frame bracket bolts. Love my Equalizer hitch!
OK, Thanks for pointing that out.
Can you back up without disconnecting the bars?
Should not be a problem
@@HomesteadEngineering thank you!
WHEN YOU BUCKLE THE TRAILER FRAME,DONT COMPLAIN.FRAMES ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR THAT TYPE STRESS LOADS.RECYCLED METALS ARE 50% WORKING LOAD CAPABILITY.
Did you have a failure? I bought a equalizer I seen the videos on tongue frame failure has this happened to you before
Did I miss the step where you drilled the TT frame to run those 2 bolts through it?
No, you do not drill the TT. The bolts are on the top and bottom.
Note: The two bolts that look like they are coming through the TT are actually just countersunk into the back of the bracket. They do not go through the TT.
@@HomesteadEngineering got it, thanks for the reply
They help keep the brackets from moving.
THAT 900 LB TRIPLES WHEN YOU TORQUE THAT LEVLER DOWN,WHEN YOU GO INTO A LO SPOT THE PRESSURE GOES UP DRASTICLY,IT HAS TO BUCKLE OR BREAK THE TRUCK FRAME
interesting you didn't show removing the bars because its practically impossible to remove them easily I usually just drive it off with a hung bang sound. Whoever engineered this thing didnt bother to plan removal...
I jack it up pretty high and they come off pretty easily.
@@HomesteadEngineering doesnt work for me
@@Baka_Oppaithen put more blocks under your jack and raise the trailer as high as possible
That’s not how those silver L-brackets work! You’re gonna lose them. The pin goes underneath.
Great vid!! Thank you!!