1 – Position Tow Vehicle & Trailer

When installing or adjusting the hitch, the tow vehicle and trailer should be loaded just as they will be while traveling. This includes full propane and freshwater tanks, and any other cargo (passengers & gear) the tow vehicle or trailer will carry. If fully-loaded is not possible, set the hitch up for the trailer “as-is,” and make adjustments later if needed.

Tow vehicle “auto-level” systems should also be disabled or turned off temporarily. Suspension airbags should be inflated to their desired towing psi before hitch setup. Inflating rear axle airbags after setup will most likely decrease the amount of weight distribution provided by the hitch.

Park the trailer and tow vehicle on level ground and in line with each other. Chock and uncouple the trailer. Pull the tow vehicle ahead about 5 feet to allow for a work area and set the parking brake.

2 – Install The Hitch Ball

INSTALLING

Never exceed the specified weight ratings for the trailer, tow vehicle, hitch, hitch ball, or any other towing equipment.

WARRANTY

Using a hitch ball with a shank longer than 2-3/8” may damage hitch and could void your warranty.

INSTALLATION DETAILS

Select a ball with a 1-1/4” diameter threaded shank no longer than 2‑3/8”. Hitch balls with a longer shank may damage the hitch. If your hitch ball has a smaller shank you must use an appropriate bushing. Make sure that the ball has a weight rating equal to or greater than your trailer’s gross vehicle weight (GVW). Always use a lock washer against the nut, unless otherwise specified by the ball’s manufacturer. Torque nut to the ball manufacturer’s specifications.

Hitch balls require a 1‑7/8” socket and a torque wrench capable of approximately 430 ft‑lbs torque for installation. Your nearest Equal‑i‑zer dealership will have the tools needed and will usually install the hitch ball for a reasonable fee.

3 – Sway Bracket Assembly

Sway Bracket Location:

Measure from the center of the coupler along the outside of the trailer frame, and place a mark at 32” on both sides. This is the center mark for the sway bracket assembly.

Check around the trailer frame and make sure that there are no gas lines, brake lines, or electrical wiring that could be affected by the installation of the link plates. If there are, make sure these are re-routed or avoided and will not be disrupted or damaged by the link plate installation.

Placing the sway brackets centered at 32” back puts the least amount of stress on the trailer and hitch components, and provides the most comfortable ride. Sway brackets should be placed at 32” whenever possible.

In some cases where there is an obstruction at 32” that cannot be avoided, the link plates may be moved forward up to a minimum distance of 25” from the center of the coupler. See Figure 6.

Do not use an impact wrench to tighten link plate or L-bracket bolts

Assemble Link Plates:

Insert two 7/16” x 1-1/4” bolts through each outside link plate from the backside. The slot in the back should keep the head of the bolt from rotating.

Thread a 3/8” x 3-1/4” bolt through the single hole of the outside and inside link plates from the outside in. The head of the bolt should be against the outside link plate with the bolt pointing inward. Put a split washer on the bolt and thread a nut onto the end of the bolt a few turns. See Figure 7.

Identify your coupler style. See Figure 8.

Top-mount: If your coupler is a top-mount coupler, place your link plates so that the single hole is above the frame, and the L-bracket studs are toward the top of the frame on the outside. See Figure 9a.

Bottom-mount: If your coupler is a bottom-mount coupler, or is a “V-nose” trailer, install your link plates ‘upside-down’ by placing your link plates so that the single hole is below the frame, the L-bracket studs are toward the bottom of the frame, and the bolt is held tightly against the bottom of the frame. See Figure 9b.

Thread the second bolt through the link plate hole closest to the trailer frame with the head on the outside. See Figure 10. Put a split washer on the bolt and thread the nut onto it from the backside. Refer to Figure 11 for bolt placement based on your trailer frame height.

Pinch the link plates tight to the sides of the frame and hand tighten the nuts on the inside. See Figure 12a.

Tightening only one nut without first pinching the link plates to the frame may cause the inside link plate to bend when torqued completely. See Figure 12b.

After both nuts are finger tight, use a torque wrench to tighten all link plate bolts to 25-30 ft-lbs torque.

L-Bracket Installation:

Slide the L-brackets onto the link plate studs with the spring arm plate facing away from the trailer. For the initial setup, leave 2 holes showing at the top above the studs and two below. See Figure 13. They may need to be adjusted up or down later to get good weight distribution. Thread on the nyloc nuts and tighten them. When weight distribution is complete, these nuts should be torqued to 45 ft-lbs.

4 – Spring Arm Setup

TOWING

Never tow with loose socket bolts. Tighten socket bolts to a minimum of 60 ft-lbs torque before each towing session.

INSTALLATION

Do not pound directly on the sockets to move them. Pounding may cause the sockets to crack or break. Use only the lever force of the spring arm to move tight sockets. Loosen the socket bolt if required. Re-tighten them once the socket has been moved.

Insert spring arms into the sockets in the hitch head. Insert the socket pin through the hole in the socket and spring arm, and secure it with the socket pin clip. You may need to use the spring arm as a lever to spread the sockets open. This is to allow the spring arms to be lifted and placed onto the L-bracket.

5 – Attach Hitch Head to Shank

Level the Trailer:

Measure to the ground at the FRONT and BACK of the trailer frame, and adjust the trailer to be parallel to the ground (both front and back measurements should be the same).

With the trailer parallel to the ground, measure from the ground to the top of the trailer coupler. The hitch ball should initially be placed as close to this height as possible. See Figure 1.

Attach Head to Shank:

Insert the adjustable shank into the receiver on the tow vehicle and secure it with the hitch pin and clip.

Insert the spacer rivet with washers into the back of the hitch head to pre-load the angle of the hitch head. Start with 5 spacer washers for most setups. If your actual tongue weight is higher than 90% of the hitch’s max tongue weight rating, (i.e. TW > 360 lbs.), you may want to start with 6 spacer washers. Some setups with lighter tongue weights may only need 4 washers.

Slide the bolt channel around the shank and hold the hitch head so that the top of the hitch ball measures from the ground as closely as possible to the coupler height.

In some cases, the shank may need to be turned upward, or a specialty length shank may be needed so that the ball can be placed at the correct height. See Figure 2.

Observe where the top slot in the bolt channel aligns with the holes in the shank. See Figures 3a – 3b. If you can see any part of the shank hole that is lower than the bolt channel slot, drop the head down to align these holes for the initial setup. See Figure 3a.

If you cannot see the lower hole in the shank, raise the hitch head so that the top slot aligns with the shank hole slightly above it, and use this hole for the initial setup. See Figure 3b.

Insert a 5/8” shank bolt with a flat washer through the top slot in the bolt channel and shank hole to hold the head at the correct height. Slide the flat washer, split (lock) washer, and nut onto the other side of the bolt, then hand tighten them. Then repeat this process for the bottom shank bolt. See Figure 4.

Use a wrench to tighten the angle set bolt until it comes into contact with the shank and lifts the head to where the spacer rivet also comes into solid contact with the shank. Tighten the angle set bolt an additional 1/2 turn. The hitch head should be angled down slightly. See Figure 5.

NOTE: The shank bolts will be fully tightened at the end of the setup and adjustment process.

6 – Trailer Pitch Adjustment

After achieving a good weight distribution setup you may need to adjust the pitch (angle or attitude) of the trailer. Step back and look at the trailer to see if the front appears to be tipped up or down excessively.

Measure the FRONT and REAR of the trailer again at the same points you did when setting the trailer parallel to the ground in Step 3. Record these measurements on the Trailer Pitch Adjustment chart below.

Find the difference between the highest and lowest heights.

If the difference between the highest and lowest measurement is 1-1/4” or more, you should try adjusting the hitch ball height. If it is less than 1-1/4” different, complete Step 9 and tow a short distance with this setup to see how it handles before making any adjustments.

If the higher measurement is the front of the trailer, move the hitch head down 1 hole position on the shank. If the lower measurement is the front of the trailer, move the hitch head up 1 hole position on the shank.

Adjustments made to ball height directly affect how weight is distributed. Moving it up slightly decreases the amount of weight distribution you get from a particular setup. Moving it down slightly increases the weight distribution from that same setup.

After making an adjustment to the ball height, return to Step 6 and check the weight distribution measurements again. Re-adjust the weight distribution if necessary until it falls within the guidelines. Re-check the trailer pitch again to see what difference has been made. You may need to try several setups before you get one that has a good combination of weight distribution and trailer pitch.

7 – Weight Distribution Setup

Use the following guidelines to set up and adjust your Equal-i-zer hitch for weight distribution. Good weight distribution is a critical component of the Equal-i-zer hitch setup. A hitch that is set up poorly for weight distribution will not perform like one that is set up well. Every tow vehicle and trailer combination will react differently to weight distribution.

To correctly set up weight distribution you must take 3 sets of measurements on your tow vehicle. First, measure without the trailer coupled. Next, measure with the trailer coupled, but with no weight distribution. Third, measure with the trailer coupled and the weight distribution bars tensioned.

Start by measuring the distance from the ground to the wheel well directly above the front axle with the trailer uncoupled. See Figure 14. Ideally, measure both driver and passenger sides, and use the average of these two.

Record this on Line A of the weight distribution setup table.

Back the tow vehicle to the trailer and lower the coupler onto the ball. Lock the coupler and retract the tongue jack until it raises off the ground about 1” so that the full tongue weight of the trailer is resting on the hitch.

Measure the tow vehicle height again exactly above the front axle, to the same point that you measured to earlier when uncoupled. Record this on Line B of the weight distribution setup table on page 16.

With the tow vehicle still coupled to the trailer, use the tongue jack to lift both vehicles until you can swing the spring arms into place over the L‑brackets. See Figure 15. Then retract the jack.

Assemble the snap-up lever. See Figure 16. Do not try to lift the spring arms into place with only the hook part of the lever.

If you reach the top of the jack before the spring arms will swing into position, you can use the Snap-up Lever to lift the spring arms up and onto the L-brackets. Use the L-pins and clips to secure the spring arms on the L-brackets. See Figure 17-18.

With the spring arms resting on the L-bracket and the trailer and tow vehicle in line with each other, check to make sure that there is a minimum of 3” from the end of the spring arms to the center of the link plates. See Figure 19. If necessary, unload the spring arms, then move and re-tighten the sway bracket assembly.

NOTE: Refer to Appendix B, “Weight Distribution Adjustments” on page 28 for a more detailed description of factors that influence weight distribution setup and adjustment.

With the trailer coupled and weight distribution engaged (spring arms in place and jack retracted), re-measure the front wheel well height exactly as done before for lines A and B. Record this new measurement on Line C of the weight distribution setup table on page 16.

8 – Final Tightening

WARNING

Do not tow your trailer until all bolts and nuts have been checked and properly tightened, and all pins and clips are securely in place.

Towing with loose bolts for an extended period of time can cause abnormal stress on the hitch resulting in accident, severe injury, and property damage.

THE PROCESS

After you have made proper adjustments to the hitch to give your setup good weight distribution and trailer pitch, all bolts on the hitch must be tightened completely.

Use your tongue jack to lift the trailer and tow vehicle, and disconnect the spring arms. Lower the tongue jack and uncouple the trailer from the tow vehicle. Pull the tow vehicle forward a few feet to give yourself working room to tighten the hitch bolts.

Remove the pins and clips from the spring arms, and remove the spring arms from the hitch head. Remove the hitch pin and clip. Slide the hitch head and shank from the receiver, turn the assembly upside-down, and place it back into the receiver tube. Replace the hitch pin to secure it temporarily.

Use the torque wrench to tighten both 5/8” shank bolts to 180 ft-lbs.

Snug the angle set bolt to the shank again if needed. Do not over-tighten the angle set bolt.

Check that all link plate bolts are tightened to between 25 and 30 ft-lbs. Check the nuts holding the L-brackets to make sure they are torqued to 45 ft-lbs.

Remove the hitch pin, and return the head and shank to the upright position. Replace the spring arms, and secure them with the socket pins and clips. Couple the trailer again to the tow vehicle, and put the spring arms back in place on the L-brackets. Secure each with an L-pin and clip.

You are now ready to take the trailer out for a tow. Remember to connect the breakaway cable, safety chains, and electrical cables. Make sure your trailer brake control is correctly adjusted. Retract the jack completely. Tow carefully at first and pay attention to how it feels. Follow the Troubleshooting Guide in Appendix A which suggests ways that can help improve your towing experience if needed.