Equalizer Hitch

[Ron]

I figured that it would be better to start a new thread on the recommended hitch for towing anything this big or heavy. I've use it for years and it's what PCI recommends in the owners manual. It's an Equalizer hitch, pictured below mounted on my Avalanche. It's one of the only weight distributing hitches made that work with surge brakes, and it will also eliminate the sway problems between the truck and trailer without having to buy other components. I selected the 1,000 pound tongue weight model, which is what most of you should do as well. Going any higher with a tonge weight of about 450 to 500 pounds will cause other issues. What this means is that the two lever bars are rated to move 1,000 pounds around the 4 truck wheels. When the hitch tries to go down, the two arms act as a lever and transfer some of the force to the front of the trucks frame and front axle. But the bars will slide back and forth at the trailer to allow the surge brakes to work. The sway control is thru a friction coupling where the bars attach to the hitch. You can adjust the amount of weight transfer and sway control, by changing the mounting hole on the trailer and tightening the clamping bolt on the hitch body. There are other good weight distributing hitches on the market, but this has got to be the best thing around for any trailer with surge brakes.

[BoarX]

Hello, sorry for bumping such an old thread, but as a (finally) new proud owner of the 2009 Telstar 28 I hope I could be forgiven While the boat is in winter storage, I am slowly getting prepared for the season. As far as trailer hitches go, I have independently converged onto exact same model Ron is describing here. I definitely would like to invest in the one since currently I can tow at 45mph max, anything above that results in trailer sway. Now that could also be the result of too little tongue weight, so a trip to the scale is clearly a must.

Now I discovered that E-trailer sells "pole tongue adapter" for this hitch,

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-an ... -5950.html

This is essentially a cross-member that mounts onto the tongue. It allows the lever bars of the hitch to be spread and angled as on a trailer with more conventional A-frame tongue. However in Ron's setup pictured above, the bars are mounted directly to the tongue and essentially parallel to it and each other. Question: is it known if this pole tongue adapter is really necessary? I guess this is not only about the angle between the lever bars (in all likelihood it is not critical), but also about the vertical position of the bars attachment points.

Thanks in advance!
Alex

[Cruissser]

Hi Alex,

Not sure what you mean by the pole tongue adapter, but mine is set up like Ron's. The only difference it mine is not set as tight. Mine is one hole further down on the back support brackets that bolt to the trailer tongue and further ahead. This reduces the amount of weight moved to the front tires of the truck. Ron's set up transfers more weight to the front of the truck and less on the back. Due to the fact I am reaching the maximum weight for the trailer tires I do put most of the boat contents in the back of my truck so that is probably why my set up is different than Ron's.

I would try to reset mine just to test it out, but everything is working perfect so I will leave it alone. I just drove my truck and trailer on the 2000 mile trip back home with no issues at speeds as high as 85 MPH (yes that’s our speed limit here in South Dakota). The "sweet spot" for mileage and handling for my set up is around 63 MPH. I have to add I have over a million miles on safely driving a semi truck and trailer, so someone with less experience may want to travel at a slower speed. After all the trailer is heavier than your truck and there is no getting around the fact it will push the truck around if your swerve to much in an emergency situation.

I have pulled the trailer short distances without the equalizer hitch and its not that bad as long as you have good tongue weight, but there it no way I would trailer without it on a long haul. Its just much much safer using it because of the transfer of weight to the truck. Remember that anything you do to put more weight in the truck and less on the trailer will significantly improve handling and safety.

Randy

[BoarX]

Thanks so much Randy! For a towing rookie like myself it is reassuring to hear from someone with such an extensive experience. You just saved me a hundred bucks (that's how much is that adapter), I owe you a beer
Cheers,
Alex

[BoarX]

If any of you guys have a minute, how do you combine weight distribution hitch with the trailer jack and the need to shift the winch pole back and forth by a foot during the boat retrieval?

Thanks in advance,
Alex

[Ron]

Alex -

The weight distribution hitch and moving the winch pole forward and back have nothing to do with each other.

The purpose of the weight distributing hitch is to get some weight off of the trucks rear tires (and move it to to the front tires) making the tow much safer. Use an anti-sway kit if available. I'd also think about moving the trailers axles back maybe 6 to 10 inches - to balance the load and get some weight off of the trailer tires as well (moving it to the trailer tongue which should be approx 10 to 15 percent of the total weight of the load). Distributing this amount of weight is a requirement for nearly all tow vehicles. I do it even with my HD diesel pickup which has a class 5 hitch. You'll wind up with a much safer towing setup. Note that the total weight of an empty 20 hp Telstar28 and trailer is over 6500 pounds, and as a general rule, if your trailer weighs 50% or more of what your tow vehicle weighs, you need one.

The only reason to move the winch assembly up (about a foot as I recall) is to get the boat properly on the trailer. Because there is a significant angle between of the floating boat and the trailer resting on the ramp bottom, it would be nearly impossible to position the boat in the correct location on the trailer when the winch post is normally located. The boat will be back a little too far, and it's too heavy to pull forward with the winch when dry. The stainless tubing near the back of the boat under the deck near the folded amas should be centered over the trailers rear outside bunks when you pull it out of the water. I use this as a guide when retrieving the boat. As you start to pull the boat out, make sure the metal supports are positioned right. If you're moving the boat more than a mile or two, move the winch back so the rubber wheels are touching the boat and tighten the winch strap.

Ron

[BoarX]

Thanks Ron!

My apologies for the poorly formulated question! At the time of my posting I found a good deal on a weight distribution hitch, very similar to yours pictured above. However not having a trailer in front of me (it is in winter storage with the boat) I got worried that the winch post, when moved one foot forward from the usual position during the boat retrieval may end up interfering with L-brackets of weight distribution hitch and/or the trailer jack. I later found out that the trailer tongue was in fact long enough and all that was needed for the hitch hardware installation was to reposition my electrical breakout box - no big deal. I should have responded to my own question, forgot to do it, holiday rush, my bad. And yes, following your previously posted advice, last summer I have shifted my trailer axles back by 6". Actually, first thing I did after getting delivery of the boat was to put it onto the truck scale. The total weight of the trailer with the boat turned out to be 6,800lb - pretty close to your number since mine is 50hp. However the tongue weight was meager 260lb! No wonder I was unable to exceed 45mph while towing because of the onset of the trailer sway. It got a little bit better after shifting the trailer axles back - now I can reach almost 55mph. Waiting the spring for the next trip to scale, might need to shift axles back even further - almost a piece of cake now that I already did it once . I am also planning to adjust my WD hitch while on a truck scale, will report my observations.

Merry Christmas everyone!
Alex

[Ron]

Alex -

Post a photo (or link) of your similar Weight Distributing hitch. The nice thing about the Equalizer is that the two bars can slide, thereby allowing the surge brakes to work. But there is enough friction to help eliminate sway. If yours is different, this could create a problem for the brakes. The extra weight of the 50hp motor mounted at the back will probably need the axles moved back another 4 inches or so.

With the boat permanently in Florida, I haven't towed it for the last 8 years. I don't miss it. It's been sitting on my boat lift when I'm not using it. And the ablative bottom paint that i put on 10 years ago is still in good shape. Don't miss that either.

Ron

[BoarX]

Hi Ron,

Here is my WD hitch:

https://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distrib ... -0800.html

It is apparently a copy cat of the Equalizer, albeit with two friction points instead of four. Given the deal on it (less than half of genuine Equalizer) cheapo me couldn't resist. Will test it and report. If found inadequate it could be easily swapped to a genuine one. As for shifting the axles further back, let us see what I get on a scale and even if tongue is still too light, then I would rather swap 50hp to 20hp - it is in the plan anyways.

Happy New Year all,
Alex

[Ron]

Slightly different design, but it looks like it should work. The head looks like my hitch for towing heavier trailers with electric brakes, but the slides on your trailer end will work with surge brakes.

Ron