Has anyone used this hitch with a surge brake equipped trailer? Or any trailer for that matter?

[a href="http://www.equalizerhitch.com/boat.html" /a]
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/boat.html


Robert

 

I bought the Equalizer hitch last spring and pulled travel trailer with it all last summer. For me it worked a lot better than a standard weight distribution hitch and friction sway bar.

I hadn't thought about using it on a trailer with surge brakes but after you bring it up I can't see why it wouldn't work. The spring bars are allowed to slide in a front to rear movement in the brackets that they rest on, which would allow the surge brake to actuate. The only thing I can see is it may take a little more 'push' from the trailer but is should work.


'02 F-350 XLT 4X2 CC SRW V-10 6sp 4.30 Az. Beige Advance bed cover

 

I don't think the "more push" will be a problem, as long as it will slide it will push. I hated the chainers myself, and they are not compatible with surge brakes. Do you feel this is a high quality product?
My additional/other plan would be to replace the momentum driven hydraulic actuator with and electric one. From the trucks point of view it would have electric brakes. I was going to reserve this for "step 2" if I'm not happy with the stabilizer alone. I just don't want to buy this hitch and not only find out I want to do step 2, but that I also have a crappy hitch.

Has anyone done the elec/hydr hybrid? If so, who/what did you use? Comments?

Thanks,
Robert

 

I don't have any concerns with the quality of the Equalizer hitch. It appears to be very well built. It's fairly easy to intall. I spent a couple hours putting it all together and getting it setup. Hardest thing about using it is packing it from the storage box on the back of the camper to the back of the truck to use it as it is heavy. I'm going to have the camper hooked up this weekend to pull it out to clean it. If you like I can take some pics and email them to you.

Ron


'02 F-350 XLT 4X2 CC SRW V-10 6sp 4.30 Az. Beige Advance bed cover

 

Robert:
I've used both types of WD hitches and a dead weight hitch with our boat. Here's "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" of the whole story.

When we got our new deckboat it was on a steel tandem axle trailer with surge brakes. We bought an Excursion to pull the boat, and the boat dealer actually said the truck wasn't strong enough as the trailer put the rear end of the Ex almost on the ground. (The dealers truck had a bow tie) I told him the trailer didn't fit the boat and that it was toooo tongue heavy. That's when I took both to a scale at the quarry. The boat/trailer GVW was 7240 lbs and the tongue weight was 840 lbs or 12%. He wanted to hang the boat off the back end of the bunks. I said no way. I thought you could actually see the frame of the trailer bow, but it may have been an optical illusion.

We first bought a regular WD hitch and a "pole tongue adapter" to spread the bars when hitching to the boat trailer. When one of the chain brackets fell off (at an intersection so no damage to the boat) I removed both spring bars to drive 1 mile back to the dry slip. All of a sudden I had way more braking power than I had ever had before.

Before the next road trip, I bought an Equalizer Hitch. I got rid of the chains, and "pole tongue adapter" and was able to mount both brackets for the slides on the tongue right next to each other. At first everything was great, the brakes worked and the Ex was no longer sagging. About the 3rd or 4th trip I noticed that the actuator was no longer paralell with the trailer frame. When I took it off the trailer, I found 1/2" bolts going through 5/8" holes in the trailer frame. I got 5/8" bolts, drilled out the hole in the actuator and remounted everything. 20 miles down the road, the brakes were locked on again and "smoking". Ironically I was towing the boat and trailer to FL to buy/trade for an alluminum triple axle trailer with Electric over Hydraulic disc brakes. Since it was all highway, I decided to take the bars off the Equalizer and drive. We moved all the loose stuff in the boat as far back as possible and even moved some luggage from the Ex into the boat behind the axles.

Now with the aluminum trailer, my towed wt is down to below 6400 lbs and my tongue wt is between 350 and 400. I'm now using a 10,000 lb dead wt hitch and don't have a problem with the rear end sagging. Since my Tongue wt is below 500 lbs and the "pull" on the hitch pin is no different using Weight Dist. vs Dead Weight I feel very comfortable with this setup.

Did the Equalizer work as advertised? Yes
Was I happy with the way that it worked and fit? Yes
Would it work with a properly balanced and manufactured trailer? I think so.
Is it sitting in my garage? Yes
Could you get one cheap if you sent me an email? Probably.

My trailer was the problem, but now I don't need the WD hitch anymore.

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 03-May-02 AT 09:39 AM (EST)]First, what model is your hitch? I'd have to have Model 2332B / 1,200 lbs. / 12,000 lbs.

Do you like the electric over hyd setup, and do you know the brand?

My boat weighs in at over 12,000 lbs wet with gear and I run 1100lbs tongue weight. The trailer is proper with brakes on all 3 axles. I don't have a problem towing, and the primary purpose of the WDH is only to control periodic sway or bounce. I plan on applying as little pressure as possible and still be effective. I don't have a problem with sway unless I cross one of these bridges with the seams at an angle with the road way ( like crossing a speed bump at an angle ) The 4 or 5 oscillations after that are not comfortable, not scary, but not comfortable.

I've pulled with the chained WDH's before, they do fine on standard trailers. With Surge Brakes, no way in @#$@ I'm running with a chain WDH. I buy extra clamps and weld them to each frame.

Since it tows so well 98% of the time, I'm going to try just a WDH first, if I have to get agressive on the hitch I'll add the elec/hyd combo.

Sorry to hear you had so much trouble, it really sucks to get a boat with a cheap/wrong/bad trailer, been there done that. With an 8000# boat trailer combo, I'd shoot for about 600# tongue weight, more if I could handle it. You might also add helpers to your Excursion if needed. If you don't have weight on the rear end, you don't have control of the load. Surge brakes don't work when the force raises the rear end of the tow vehicle off the ground, as it does the brakes begin to release, then jackknifing ensues... not fun. With electric you're in better shape to run slightly lower tongue weight, but only to a point. When things get scary, reach down and brake the trailer, let it drag you down from the rear rather than trying to stop from the front. But you probably know all that :-)

Me, In 1987 I lost a 25,000lb equipment trailer on a State Hwy, Hwy 20 here in Henry County. It was a faulty hitch, substandard safety chains, failed break-away... nothing went right except no one got hurt. I can't even begin to tell you what if felt like, but time expanded, it seemed like it all took an hour, it was all over in about 60 seconds.

Towing is now like a religion with me, it takes me no less than an hour to get the boat ready to roll when beginning a trip, I check EVERYTHING twice. I have a creeper, I scoot up under everything, check for cracks/bends/rust anything. I check grease, brakes, truck and trailer, all oils... you get the idea. And you know what? I've found things too. I've found a hitch weld broken, a brake line dragging, a bearing failing, wheel cracked... perhaps the most sobering, missing bolts, NEVER trust ANYONE to do a job right, I expect it when I find it wrong, and am surprised to find it right... better than the other way round.

We love our boat, when we're pumping out or at the fuel dock a natural question is often "where do you keep her?" I love the look on their faces when I say, "oh, I tow her" :-) Most often I get back a shocked "With WHAT?!?"

Happy towing, if you're ever on a lake in GA or the Gulf/East coast let me know and look for us, her name is "Latitude Adjuster".

Oh, here's my ride--

http://www.bentfork.com/BoatingFun/Latitude-Adjuster/p0002385.jpg

Robert

 

 

Wow, thats quite a rig you have there, very nice!

 

That picture needs to be framed and hang on a wall in your house, and in my too. That is a grat looking truck and boat.

Chris