Anti sway or Equalizer hitch ?? |
Post Reply | Page <12345 17> |
Author | ||
Seanl
Senior Member Joined: 19 Sep 2011 Location: Fredericton NB Online Status: Offline Posts: 633 |
Topic: Anti sway or Equalizer hitch ?? Posted: 23 Jul 2012 at 11:48pm |
|
There is a lot !!! of debate on other forums about the Anderson hitch. A lot of it way over my head. Interesting to see in a few years how they hold up.
|
||
Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
|
||
rickwxi
Newbie Joined: 24 May 2012 Location: Salem, OR Online Status: Offline Posts: 3 |
Posted: 30 Jul 2012 at 1:59pm | |
HI, well, we have the r-pod 177 and am pulling it with a 2001 Ford Ranger XLT four wheel drive witht the 4.0C V-6 engine. I do have Air bag overloads installed and run about 35 lb of air in them. I pull the r-pod without the sway bar, just the hitch. seems to pull just fine, sometimes I don't even know I am pulling it, except when I look in the mirrors.
Oregon has a lot of mountains to pull and it does a good job. We love the r-pod 177. Note: Our r-pod is 18 feet long and weighs 2450 lbs empty. Rick and Barb |
||
Footslogger03
Senior Member Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Location: Laramie, WY Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
Posted: 30 Jul 2012 at 6:08pm | |
======================= Hope your experience remains positive. After several "sway" epidodes we decided to get an Equalizer hitch. Have about 600 miles under our belt so far and NO sway. We like that !! 'Slogger |
||
Livin' the Dream ...'Slogger
|
||
techntrek
Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 30 Jul 2012 at 9:10pm | |
I towed mine for a year and a half without sway control, but as Footslogger said, it only took one bad incident to make me rethink that strategy. The popup I had before was suicide to tow without a sway bar so when I saw how well the pod pulled without it I was happy to not deal with it. I'm glad I have it now.
|
||
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
|
||
burge16
Newbie Joined: 31 Jul 2012 Location: Kamloops bc Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
Posted: 02 Aug 2012 at 11:33pm | |
I'm brand new at RV'ing and towing, and just bought a 177. I'm towing it with a V6 Ford Escape, and had equalizer bars installed. My first trip down the highway my trailer was swaying side to side, so I pulled over and tightened the equalizer bars, and that made all the difference. Now it's much more stable, and I only notice a bit of movement when it's really windy (which I gather is normal). Lots to learn though, so I'm really happy this forum is available for new people like me!
|
||
Footslogger03
Senior Member Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Location: Laramie, WY Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
Posted: 02 Aug 2012 at 11:41pm | |
======================= When you say you tightened the Equalizer bars ...are you talking about torquing down the bolts located at the hitch head that control the side-to-side friction of the stabilizer bars ?? If so, what level of torque did you put on them. There is a spec in the installation guide. 'Slogger |
||
Livin' the Dream ...'Slogger
|
||
burge16
Newbie Joined: 31 Jul 2012 Location: Kamloops bc Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 1:41am | |
My whole setup came from the dealer, so everything was set up for me by them. The adjustment I made only related to how tight I had the chains, I had them much too loose. So it was essentially like not having anything until I tightened them up. Scarey lesson to learn, now I know.
|
||
Seanl
Senior Member Joined: 19 Sep 2011 Location: Fredericton NB Online Status: Offline Posts: 633 |
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 6:52am | |
Okay you have a chain type of Weight Distribution Hitch. Most of them don't have built in sway control. Equalizer is a brand name that does not use chains and has built it sway control. The picture below is of an E2 Hitch which has solid brackets on the frame of the trailer for the spring bars of the Weight Distribution hitch to sit on. (This is the same on the Equalizer) This provides 2 points of friction for sway control. The Equalizer has another two points of friction at the hitch head which dampens side to side motion. Some chain type WDHs have a cam system for sway control that you can add. You can also add a sway bar. The down side to sway bars is they have to be removed when you are backing up the trailer. I hope that helps a little is explaining the different types of hitches. This is a Reese Cam active Sway control system. |
||
Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition
|
||
this_is_nascar
Senior Member Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Location: NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 466 |
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 9:32am | |
I can't tell from the pic, but is that the Trunnion style or Round Bar style E2? Why did you choose the one you did, considering there's a $100 difference between styles? I want to get an E2, but not sure which style to get.
|
||
"Ray & Connie"
- 2017 R-Pod RP-180 - 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road |
||
burge16
Newbie Joined: 31 Jul 2012 Location: Kamloops bc Online Status: Offline Posts: 14 |
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 11:04am | |
Yes, the top picture is what I have. Because I've never towed anything before I'm still trying to figure out what's normal and what isn't. I've been told I can add a sway bar to this set up if I want to, but I'm going to persist and just try to get comfortable with what I have. It's probably just my inexperience, and truthfully it's not too bad. I find it depends more on how windy it is as to how much movement I feel, and my speed too.
|
||
Post Reply | Page <12345 17> |
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum |