I just recently bought a used travel trailer, and I was just wondering some
pros and cons about equalizer hitches.
My truck is a 2000 Chevy 1500 Z71.
Trailer weight is around 4500-5000 lbs.
My uncle told me that when you pass or are being passed by a semi,
the wind pushes you all over the road if you dont have one of these
type of hitches.

Any help appreciated.

 

I can remember my dad having one on his truck growing up. He said it did make a big difference. Helped keep it from swaying.

 

Equalizer is a brand name. The Equalizer hitch has the spring bars hooked directly on friction plates to take care of sway and load leveling all in one. Reese and other brands use separate spring bars and friction brakes. They all perform about the same, if they are set up correctly. And, yes you do need one to be safe on the road. It is possible for you to set up your rig so that it will not sway much even without one of these hitches, but there are lots of things to learn. It's not as simple as it seems. My advice is to get one of these hitches and learn all you can about how to set it up right.

If you have questions on the setup when you get it, I can help you.

 

I don't think I could say it better than it has already been said. Get one. I found out the hard way about the advantages of a good WD hitch. I also, via the ahard way, found out how not to load a trailer. To much weight behind the axle is a sure fire way to make problems for yourself. The trailer becomes a lever picking up the tail of the truck. You ned up with an up and down or side to side (sway) that is a bear to stop.

Brent

 

Another little tidbit is that if the hitch is set up right you won't need any helper springs or air bags. Measure the distance from both of your truck bumpers to the ground. When you hook up the trailer and tension the springbars, the front bumper height should sink the same distance as the rear. In other words the toung weight should be evenly distributed to all four truck wheels.

This is the key because most people don't realize how tight the springbars need to be to do this. If you have trouble tightening the springbars that much, you can lift the trailer toung, a small amount, with the trailer jack while it is hooked up to the trailer. This will relieve some of the tension allowing you to snap the springbars into place.

With this configuration, you should only see the truck go down about 1/2 to 3/4 inch on both bumpers. This will, not only reduce the stress on your rear springs and tires, but will eliminate most of the sway if all other adjustments are in. Make sure to adjust it so that the truck and trailer are both level. And as Bartlett Racing has said the toung weight should be at least 12% of the total trailer weight. At this point the trailer should not sway and the sway break is only needed as an added safety measure.

 

Wow guys, thanks for all the help! You seem to know more than my uncle does even.
He is going to let me borrow one this wknd.
Thanks again!!