Hi everyone, I am pulling my 31' travel trailer, 8600# empty, with my 2004 2wd Ex, and I need to get a little more sway control than my little wimpy friction control can offer. I am going to buy one of these two hitches but I would really like to get a little input from someone with some experience with them. If any of you have one of them and could let me know how well they work I would greatly appreciate it.





Phil Marilyn Matt Andy and Billydog
2004 Excursion 6.0 2wd
2006 Pilgrim RBDS

 

Phil,
I used to tow with a Dual Cam (straight line) and it worked out very well.

The principles between the Equal-i-zer brand and straight line are pretty much the same. FRICTION based to control sway. It is a more effective means of sway control over your friction bar for sure though!

I have never used the Equal-i-zer but have read enough on line posts from owners. I can speak of the straight line. IMO you can't make a wrong decision between either of these fine hitches.

Costs are pretty close between the two hitches. So where ever you can get the best deal...go with.

Although an 8600# DRY TT likely nears 10,000#'s loaded...you are IMO pushing the limits of a conventional friction based hitch. I know most don't like to think about the costs associated with a high end hitch like a Hensley or ProPride (I'll ignore PullRite due tothe horrible IMO mounting solution on our Ex's)...but I look at it this way...most have approx $40,000 or more rolling down the road between TV and TT and the cargo inside the TV is priceless...a ProPride can be had for ~$2500 shipped to your door...and provides a higher level of margin for those really bad days that we all may encounter while towing...on the good days or medium challenging days...the other hitches are more than sufficient...i'm talking the things that are very unexpected...those are the days I carry my Hensley around for...simply an insurance policy...that's all.

Anyway...you didn't ask for anything other than the DC or Equal-i-zer...both fine hitches...I towed about 8000 miles with my DC when I had my 27' 7500# loaded TT and it performed flawlessly...

RVWholesalers.com , Towing , Equal-i-zer Hitches and Accessories , Equal-i-zer Hitch Looks like they just raised their prices $50 on this hitch but it gives you an idea of where to get one...Since our receivers only have a 1250# tongue rating in WD mode...you will only need 1200# bars but you will have to work to balance your load to get down to 1200#'s...

I know I had to shuffle stuff around on mine as it started at over 1400#'s!

Hope this helps.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck,
joe.

 

Like Joe said, both are fine hitches. The Straight-line is basically a Reese Trunnion bar WD hitch, with a Dual Cam HP sway control, all in one box. If you are already running a Reese/Draw-Tite WD setup, you might be able to just add the DC sway control. This would be a tremendous savings in $$, as I think you can get the DC for around $200.

I'm towing my TT (35' ball to bumper, and around 9100#) with a Straight-line, and the most important part is the set-up.

Tim

 

I use the DC just like joe did. I like it over the EQ for the fact that the Reese has the detents in the bars (cams) that tend to want to keep the trailer centered behind the X, the EQ will just want to hold it wherever it goes.


You do have a heavy TT. mine is 7200lbs dry and I have a V-10 with 4.30`s!, but you have the diesel so it shouldn`t be to much of a problem.

 

Trying to understand what you mean about the EQ wanting to hold wherever it goes. I've been towing with the EQ for years now and have never had that problem. Sounds like the hitch was improperly set-up, or one of the vehicles was out of alignment.

 

What I meant was the EQ doesn`t have the "return to center" feature, (my term) like the DC has. I know the EQ is a good hitch, I just think the DC goes a step further.

 

I have towed with both. The EQ and Reese are both fine hitches. I agree with 1 excursion that the EQ without the centering features of the cams on the reese make it a little less desirable.

What I experienced was after making a sharp turn my truck had a tendency to pull because the hitch was loaded a little more on one side. I know it was the hitch because a slight tug at the wheel in the opposite direction would make my truck track straight again. Also, the side of the pull would depend if I made a left or a right turn.

With that said if I was to buy a new hitch I would probably buy an EQ. It was easier to hitch and with my current Reese I have had a few issues that I never had with the EQ.