Equalizer (EQ) Hitch

[yrock87]

just curious, is anybody using an Equalizer / EQ / weight distobution hitch with their smaller car and a trailer with more tongue weight than they would like? or maybe for another reason?

The hitches are often used with large RVs at the upper end of a 1/4 ton or 1/2 ton pickups range and recently they have become popular to be able to hit the max tow rating for larger crossovers.
http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Curt/C17051.html


but there are a few options for smaller trailers such as this one:

STEADi-FLEX® Light Weight Distributing Kit w/Shank, Built In Friction Sway Control & Hardware, 4,000 lbs. (GTW), 250 to 400 lbs. (TW)
http://www.reeseprod.com/products/weigh ... 0m2XWmdIti


you can see from the below ad from the 70s, it significantly reduces weight on the rear tires. to the point where in this case they took off the rear tires for this photo ad.


I have one hooked up on the 21ft enclosed car hauler and it makes a world of difference when pulling with a 2013 F150. I would imagin there are a few trailers out there that would benefit from this setup on a tnttt scale.

Thoughts?

[Socal Tom]

Those usually recommend that the mfg of the TV allow use of wd hitch. They put stress on the TV to distribute the weight. Unless approved by the TV mfg I wouldn't do it. I used on when towing a 20ft car hauler behind an rv. It had over 500 lbs on tongue weight. Air shocks or air bags would be better for something as light as A Td.
Tom

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[yrock87]

! didn't realize that some vehicle manufacturers would not allow use of a EQ/WD hitch. I would have thought that the type of stress added by the hitch would be within the capability of the hitch/frame to handle and would be worth it in order to lesson the stress on the rear axle and running gear. I'm not planning on using/needing one with my TD, but i'll have to see if Subaru allows their use.

I just drove that 21 ft trailer about 300 miles loaded up with our Outback, and it really was a night and day difference. it wasn't just the weight on the tongue/sag that it helped with, the ride was MUCH smoother.

[Socal Tom]

Generally speaking vehicles with larger payloads and actual frames can use them. Small vehicles with uni body construction would probably be at risk.
Tom

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[Florida Native]

Not an Equalizer brand, but I used a WDH with a 1999 Toyota Camry. I only had a Class II receiver on it, but found a custom made WDH head with 1-1/4" shank. Towed an 8' box 1800 pound pop-up (200 or so pounds on the tongue) all over the Rocky Mountains with that setup. That was the proverbial "didn't even know it was back there".

We later moved up to a 16' full-height/full-sized stick built travel trailer. Around 3000 pounds with 320 or so on the tongue. Switched hitch over to a Reese Mini-350 for the built-in sway control with WDH. Same car, same Class II 1-1/4" receiver. Towed it many miles through the Rockies and windy western plains without problems. Could definitely tell it was back there, though. After a cross-country move with car and trailer loaded to the gills, the receiver did deform the rear "frame" rails of the the Camry a little (maybe 3/16"). Towed it many miles after that with no further deformation.

If I had it to do over again, I would have either reinforced the existing receiver to spread the load along more of the car "frame" or had somebody build a Class III receiver (with additional mounting points) for the car. Or, have ordered the Australian 50mm receiver for the car...

FYI, Toyota USA said WDH was not allowed and limited to 2000 pounds towing, but the exact same car (with minor suspension calibration differences) in Australia was REQUIRED by Toyota to have WDH to get to its max, which was significantly higher than the US rating.

Many unibody vehicles allow WDH, especially these days where they are quickly outnumbering BOF vehicles (at least outside the full-sized truck arena).

yrock87,
I agree with your assessment, even our little pop-up towed so much better with WDH than without, even though it didn't "need" it.

-Mike

[yrock87]

so reading up a little on WDH on unibody construction, it appears that the manufactures are in two camps. the "no-tow camp" that appears to be mostly due to legal reasons, and the "must use lots of stuff to achive max tow rating" camp. Mazda for example says that my old 2007 Mazda 3 has a tow rating of 0 in the US. however in Eruope it can tow 550kg (1200lbs) or up to 900kg (1800lbs) if braked. I believe the Canada manual (same car as US) says it can tow 900 lbs... then there is my Subaru that warns against use of a WDH because it has not been tested for that.

then there is the other side of the EQuation (see what I did right there) Ford REQUIRES use of a WDH to reach the max tow rating on the FLEX. the FLEX is limited to 2000 lbs (200 tongue) without but a significant 4500 (450 tongue) with a weight distribution hitch. the 2000 limit without a WDH is there even with the tow package and the correct sized engine. the WDH allows the front axle to take part of the load and smooth's out the hard hits that the hitch can take as the trailer bounces. instead of a downward thrust on the tail of the vehicle, that thrust is distributed across the whole vehicle. this is more in line with what I have seen in practice.

[Florida Native]

Here are a couple of pics of the Camry/not-so-tiny-but-still-small TT...

Camry and small Travel Trailer

Car_Trailer.jpg (167.12 KiB) Viewed 2029 times

Closeup of WDH on Camry

Hitch_Closeup.jpg (106.86 KiB) Viewed 2029 times