How To Fix Over or Under-adjusted Weight Distribution 

+brendanclark81, Thank you for watching! Glad it was helpful.

brendanclark81 it to

Glad it helped!

You're welcome +Chris Dutton, glad it helped you out.

Glad it was helpful!

+Bob C, You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

***** Interesting idea. Where do you put the tape?

Above center of axel. Just makes it easier to measure to the same place each time rather than to a curve or body line. Nice sharp line. Just don't move between changes. The height is irrelevant, the change in height is all that is important.

***** Great idea! Thanks for the tip.

+thunderslide do you mean center axel of trailer

No, that does not change, the tow vehicles axles for baseline and changes for set up.

+bcobrag, Using a combination of air bags and weight distribution is a great setup. The one thing you must be careful with is inflating the airbags after the hitch has been set up for weight distribution. When you do this, you effectively change what the baseline would have been, and end up taking away weight distribution and sway control. Here is a video that describes the differences between airbags and weight distribution. fstwy.co/thedifferencevideo We recommend that you inflate the air bags first using your desired psi, then go through the process of setting up the weight distribution on the hitch to be correct. Hope that's helpful. Let us know if there's anything else we can do for you.

+1205firefighter, Thanks for the question. Yes, you can use an Equal-i-zer hitch with a lifted truck, and with air bags. Air bags and weight distribution are different tools for different jobs. They are not interchangeable, but can compliment each other. Air bags give you a quick and easy way to stiffen or soften the suspension of the vehicle, depending on the ride you desire for the load you are carrying. Weight distribution changes the way the tow vehicle carries the addition of trailer tongue weight. With an Equal-i-zer hitch, you also get the added advantage of Integrated Sway Control, which you don't get from air bags. Here are a couple of good videos to watch on this: - Equal-i-zer hitch: eqhit.ch/eqvideo - Air bags vs. weight distribution: fstwy.co/thedifferencevideo For your setup, you will probably have to look into a specialty shank with a longer drop to get the hitch head low enough for your trailer, and setup correctly. We recommend using the calculator on the Equal-i-zer hitch website ( eqhit.ch/findshanksize ) to find the shank you need. If that is not the standard shank, we recommend purchasing a no-shank model hitch, and the correct specialty shank. That will save you some money, and you won't end up with and extra shank you don't need. We recommend that you inflate the air bags to the level you like to use, then set up the hitch. Adjustments to the air bags after that will change the amount of weight distribution you are getting from the hitch. You will likely have some trial-and-error set up time to get the air and weight distribution working together well. If you get into it and need some help, get in touch with our customer support team at 800-478-5578 or Support@EqualizerHitch.com. Good luck!

Oh shoot! Feel free to call our customer service team at support@equalizerhitch.com or call them at (800) 478-5578 and they can assist you in your set-up if needed!

Adjusting the weight distribution on an Equal-i-zer hitch can be done two different ways. You can add or remove spacer washers in the hitch head assembly to change the preload angle of the head and weight distribution bars, or you can change the position of the L-brackets on the trailer frame to raise or lower the position where the weight distribution bars are held. The addition or removal of one washer is equivalent to raising or lowering the L-brackets one hole. If you are making a permanent change, we recommend making the change with the spacer washers in the head. This allows you to keep the L-brackets set in a position where the arms are more parallel to the frame of the trailer which reduces some wear and noise potential, and allows the widest possibility of adjustment at the L-brackets if needed in special situations. If you are making a temporary change, for example, towing your trailer in for service without any cargo, or towing without a toy loaded into a toy-hauler trailer for a single trip, we recommend that you make the adjustment with the L-brackets which can easily be moved and then repositioned again for your typical towing situation. Refer to the Equal-i-zer hitch instructions here [www.equalizerhitch.com/manuals-and-guides] for details about how to make these adjustments correctly. As far as the washer stack, having the spacer rivet and angle set bolt tight to the shank is more important than the angle at which they come into contact with the shank. Excess stress on the bolts happens when there is a space between one or both of these. Having them tight transfers the forces from the head to the shank directly instead of putting a shear force on the bolts. Use this video as a guide: [ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7q0ZDeijHZ4.html.] Tighten the shank bolts with a large torque wrench. Most impact wrenches will not reach the required 320 ft-lb needed unless they are very large, like those designed for the heavy truck repair industry. There are a number of manufacturers that make adequately sized torque wrenches. All have a 3/4" drive and are probably larger than you would expect - most about 3’ long. A search online for “3/4" drive torque wrench” will find what you’re looking for.

No need to adjust anything. If you are concerned about the wear on the L-brackets, remember that the Equal-i-zer hitch has a limited lifetime warranty. Get in touch with our Customer Support department at 800-478-5578 or support@equalizerhitch.com. They can evaluate the wear, and send you a replacement set if necessary.

We recommend that you leave it as-is until you have your tow vehicle and camper loaded, and then go through the setup measurements again to see where it is. You definitely don’t want to tow with it over adjusted, so if the measurements are still showing that the loaded w/ weight distribution measurement is lower than the baseline measurement, you will need to make an adjustment. You can do this either by removing a washer, or by lowering the L-brackets one hole. [eqhit.ch/manuals]

No. 250 ft-lb is not close enough to 320. There is not a range. If 320 ft-lb is specified, they need to be set to 320 ft-lb. You need to find a torque wrench that will effectively reach the recommended torque so that the hitch head and shank are pinched together and act as one unit while you’re towing. This reduces the shear stress put on the bolts and protects the hitch from wear or damage. Improper torque may also void your warranty.

I would take your A B and C measurements to see if you are in fact overdistributing too much weight, and if that is the case, I would remove a washer from the hitch head, or lower the L-brackets down a single hole on each side.

Thanks for watching!

My thoughts exactly. Winding that manual jack up and down for these videos has to get old quickly.

Scott Seese, Yes, adding more washers = more weight distribution. To get some, give our customer support guys a call, or send them an email: 800-478-5578 or Support@EqualizerHitch.com You may also be able to find some at a local hardware, fastener, or automotive supply store. You are looking for a "through hardened" washer with a 1/2" hole and 1" outside diameter.

It does not. If you do need to use both, we always recommend setting up the air bags first (preferably at a lower level) and then configuring your WD hitch. Setting it up in reverse will cause the air bags to take tension off the WD hitch, which will give less sway control to your setup.

It would be a good idea. Usually if tongue weight increases then the setup may need adjustment. I don't think it would be anything crazy dramatic, but you may need to get more weight distribution by adding a washer or raising the L-brackets. But your measurements will show you exactly what is needed!

+armstronglance, thanks for the question. If your weight distribution setup is good and it tows well, we would not be too concerned about the trailer pointing down a little bit, that is a very normal situation. If it is more than a couple of inches and not towing well, you may be able to add a little weight distribution to take that out, or you may need to raise the hitch head to better match the trailer coupler height before setting up the weight distribution. A simple test would be to check the current weight distribution set up by taking the three front wheel well measurements (baseline, coupled no WD, coupled with WD), and then trailer measurements (front/back frame to ground), and then raising the L-brackets one hole, measuring again, and comparing the two. You can find the detailed process in the Equal-i-zer hitch owner's manual here: www.equalizerhitch.com/manuals-and-guides As always, you're welcome to reach out to our customer support staff for help and advice. 800-478-5578 or Support@EqualizerHitch.com

It is best to tow with the nose down just a tad. If it is noticeable at a glance, then chances are it is too much. An inch or two is best. Never nose high! This will induce sway.

Thanks for the comment +Charlie Odom, Our recommendation is to get the trailer as close to level as you reasonably can while having the proper amount of tongue weight and weight distribution. This should be within about 1.5" difference front to back. Many different factors can contribute to sway, and having the trailer too far out of level is one. Others include exceeding equipment ratings, improper loading, under inflated tires, speed, road grade, weather and road conditions, evasive maneuvers, etc.

You are correct. The washers should never be loose. After you remove a washer, you need to tighten the bolt.

Thanks for the comment +mark mathews.

No way! The tongue only lifted the front 1/2". That trailer is nowhere near too heavy.

Thanks for the comment +Charlie Odom. Remember, the front end raising is only an indicator that allows you to approximate what is happening with the weight on the vehicles. The only way to know for sure is to weigh the vehicles. This video was to give a general overview and help people understand some of the principles behind adjusting their hitch. We recommend that when first setting up the hitch, and occasionally thereafter, you have the rig weighed at a proper scale facility to make sure that all weight ratings for tow vehicle, trailer, axles, hitch equipment, etc. are within their limits.

Equal-i-zer Hitch you are specifically telling people to setup their hitch so that it removes weight from the front of the vehicle. This is incorrect! You should never have less weight on the front of the vehicle than when the vehicle is by itself. Pulling weight off the front induces understeer and control issues at higher speed. Why do you think a 5th wheel and gooseneck hitch is mounted in front of the axle centerline? It is specifically to ADD weight to the front of the vehicle. A bumper pull WD setup is no different. A proper statement would say to add enough distributing weight to return the front to its unloaded height.

+Charlie Odom, In some cases it is better to be closer to 50%. In other cases 100% is best. For example, a long bed HD truck that is towing a heavy trailer should be closer to 50% WD. The truck is built to handle the loads and trailer weight better. It will not sag as much. Plus, it needs more weight and traction on the rear tires to prevent loss of traction while towing the heavier trailer. Also, because of the long bed it has a greater overhang distance (from rear axle to hitch). What that does is load the hitch more when distributing weight. In other words, the weight distribution takes more weight off the rear axle with a long bed vehicle than with a vehicle that has a short overhang distance (SUV, or short bed truck). So, 100% distribution in this case takes too much weight off the rear axle and creates a dangerous situation. Also refer to the vehicle owner’s manual. For the three HD truck makers (GM, Ford, Ram), their manuals instruct users to set WD at 50%. On the other hand, an SUV typically needs closer to 100% weight distribution. These vehicles will have softer suspensions requiring more help from the hitch. Also, the short overhang (as mentioned previously) won’t load the hitch as much as long overhang vehicles therefore causing the rear axle to retain a larger majority of the trailer tongue weight. This means there is still sufficient weight on the rear axle to prevent loss of traction even at 100% WD. And if less than 100% WD is achieved, the rear axle may be overloaded and/or the rear of the vehicle may sag too much. Summary - our recommended 50-100% WD is right on. Some situations are better with less - closer to 50%. Some situations are better when closer to 100%. Yes, that might mean that the front axle has slightly less weight than originally. But, there are a lot of other and sometimes competing factors that also need to be considered. And yes, 5th wheel and gooseneck hitches do mount at or slightly in front of the rear axle to not take weight from the front axle and to increase stability. That is why truck ratings for 5th wheel and gooseneck trailers are higher. This effect is taken into consideration with the reduced bumper pull tow ratings. So, stay within the vehicles ratings/recommendations, follow instructions in owner’s manuals, set the WD hitches properly (between 50-100%), and use a good sway control hitch to minimize the dangers and risks associated with towing a trailer.

Yes, that is the best practice. Of course, there are always exceptions. If, for example, you set up the hitch with the bike in first, then adjust the weight distribution, but when you weigh the rig your rear axle weight is very close to or over the axle weight rating, you can use the leverage of the hitch to take some of the weight off the rear axle and force it back to the front axle of the tow vehicle, and the trailer axle(s). This would be done by taking the initial measurements (see the Equal-i-zer owner’s manual here [www.equalizerhitch.com/manuals-guides/manuals/6k-14k-model-owners-manual]) without the bike, then loading the bike before the second measurement with the trailer coupled and no weight distribution, and keeping it there while you make adjustments for good weight distribution on the third measurement. However, if you do this you must make sure that your hitch is rated to carry enough to cover the tongue weight plus the added weight of the bike. You must also make sure that you do not create a situation where the front axle or trailer axles are over their weight ratings. Great question! Thanks for asking.

We recommend checking your bolts every 100 miles, just to make sure they are up to the right ft lbs.! So yes!

+Lone Ranger, Thanks! Great question. When setting up the hitch, we talk about "leveling" the trailer. What this really means is putting the trailer parallel to the ground, because that's the attitude we want in the trailer when towing - parallel to the ground. Level is a little bit deceiving, because it's true if the ground you're working on is perfectly flat, with no slope. But, if the ground is sloped slightly, you want to match that slope with the trailer. Short answer, a small torpedo level would be great and an easy solution, as long as the ground you're working on is pretty flat, with no slope.

Hi there! The best way to get an answer to your question would be to contact our customer service team at support@equalizerhitch.com or call them at (800) 478-5578!

@@EqualizerHitch Thanks for your reply. I did in fact contact them a few weeks ago and they graciously replied and I am good to go!

Great question! I would adjust after your trailer is fully loaded. That way you get the most accurate numbers, but if you aren't adding too much weight after, one washer should also work.

+Pal Palich, Of the two, the proper weight distribution is the more important to have set up correctly, and, if the trailer attitude is off, it is generally better to have it lower in the front. If it is currently towing well, there may not be a need to adjust the attitude of the trailer. If not, making a minor adjustment so that it rides more parallel to the ground while still giving you good weight distribution may make it tow a little better, save some wear on the tires, and get you a little better gas mileage. From what you describe, it sounds like you could improve the attitude of the trailer by raising the hitch head one hole on the shank. If you do that, make sure you check the weight distribution again. Raising the head will reduce the weight distribution slightly, given the same number of spacer washers and L-bracket position. Double check yours before tightening everything back down again, as you may want to add a spacer washer. Remember that optimal weight distribution is all the way back to the baseline measurement, but acceptable weight distribution is halfway back to that point. You may still have a good setup (fall within that range) without the need to add a washer after moving the head up.

+Chris Dutton, The proper height is whatever height they need to be to get good weight distribution. The optimal position is in the center, so that the spring arms are close to parallel with the trailer frame, but this is not an absolute. They will work fine in any position. Follow the setup instructions in the Equal-i-zer owner's manual for a detailed explanation of how to properly set up and adjust the hitch: eqhit.ch/manuals You will use the L-bracket position and adjust the number of spacer washers between the hitch head and shank to get good weight distribution.

Parallel Arms to Frame - ah Thats It.... thank you! Can’t wait to drag out the trailer.... ✌️❤️😁

+Chris Dutton, you're welcome.

+armstronglance, the sticker is correct. Lubricate the friction points in the Equal-i-zer head as directed in the instructions. Lubricating these points does slightly reduce the friction at the points, but the overall effect on total sway control provided by the hitch is negligible, and usually not even noticeable.

The torque wrench is available from a number of different online and retail suppliers. An Internet search for “3/4" drive torque wrench” will bring up a number of different options. If you are talking about a 1-1/8” socket for the 3/4" shank bolts, they are also readily available online and in retail locations that specialize in tools. If you are talking about the 1-7/8” thin-wall socket for the hitch ball nut, you can get those from us on our website [link to store www.equalizerhitch.com/store/hitch-accessories/1-7-8-thin-walled-socket], or by contacting our customer support team at 800-478-5578 or support@equalizerhitch.com.

Yes, it is completely normal for it to require some effort to move the spring arm (weight distribution bars) on an Equal-i-zer hitch side-to-side. This is because of the friction resistance that is integrated into the Equal-i-zer hitch head. The more friction you have resisting the movement of the arms, the better sway control you will have. The bolts holding the square sockets in the hitch head should be torqued to between 60 ft-lb and 100 ft-lb. Most come from the factory torqued higher than this, so they are very stiff when new. If you find that yours are too difficult to move, you may want to reduce the torque on these bolts and find a happy medium where they are torqued as high as you can have them, while still being able to comfortably hitch and unhitch. Thanks for towing with an Equal-i-zer hitch!

@@EqualizerHitch thank you

You're welcome!

If your front fender is ending up high in the front after the whole system is connected, this is a good indicator that your hitch may be under-adjusted. For an under-adjusted hitch, you simply need to add more weight distribution by either adding additional spacer washers behind the hitch head or by raising up the L-brackets on the trailer frame a hole or two. This will help transfer more weight to the front of the tow vehicle and lower it back down to its original height. If you need further assistance with hitch adjustments, feel free to contact our customer support team during our regular business hours at 800-478-5578 or by sending an email to support@equalizerhitch.com.

Could you clarify what you mean by, “Not what happens…” please? Yes, it is ideal to have the cargo and passengers in the tow vehicle when setting up the weight distribution. This will get the most accurate setup. If that is not possible, get it as close as you can, and then make minor adjustments when it is loaded as needed.

That poor guy is Dave, our content manager/technical writer. He said not to worry, he needs the exercise. Thanks for watching!

This is a great observation. Something we had not noticed before. Thanks for the feedback. We can only assume that, in some cases, the exact measurement falls on or between the 1/16” marks of the tape (1/32”-ish). In those cases, it is easier to say, “about thirty-three and five-eighths inches” instead of, “thirty-three and twenty-one thirty-seconds inches.” We will try to be more exact in the future as we produce technical videos like this. Thanks for watching, we’re glad you found it helpful!

Hi Myrtle! We have dealers throughout the entire country, any one of them will be able to help you get your hitch and trailer aligned! Here is a link to find a dealer near you: www.equalizerhitch.com/find-a-dealer If you don't see a dealer near you, contact our customer service team at (800) 478-5578.

The tools are listed in your hitch manual. If you don't have yours anymore, locate your hitch model size, and find the manual on our website. Thanks!

All tools are listed in your hitch manual! Find your hitch model size, and locate the manual, or find it online to see which size tools you will need. Thanks!

If you are making changes to the initial setup of the hitch, or adjusting to a new position expecting that it will be there for a long period of time, it is better to make the adjustments by adding or removing washers. This is easier to do before the shank bolts are tightened, and it allows you to set the L-bracket position in the center, which gives you more adjustability later for temporary situations if needed. If you are making temporary adjustments because of a change in trailer loading, it is much easier to raise or lower the L-bracket position temporarily, and then return it to the center when loading returns to normal.

Equal-i-zer Hitch So. Help me here. How do you adjust the L Bracket with load change? When is the L to be move down VS up? Also, what is to be considered temporary?

Details about adjusting the L-bracket can be found in the Equal-i-zer hitch owner’s manuals here: [www.equalizerhitch.com/manuals-and-guides]. To adjust the bracket, disengage the weight distribution and move the spring arms (weight distribution bars) out of the way. Do not try to adjust an L-bracket while it is still loaded. Remove the nuts that hold the L-bracket in place, and move it up or down, then replace the nuts and retighten them. Moving the L-bracket up will increase the amount of weight distribution you are getting from the hitch. Moving them down will reduce the weight distribution. Temporary is any time you are towing a load that is different than the load the hitch is set up to carry. For example, a rear-load toy hauler that is usually loaded with a 4-wheeler for your camping trips, now being towed empty to the dealership for service. The absence of the 4-wheeler will make the tongue weight of the trailer much heavier, so the L-brackets would be raised temporarily to compensate for this and give you more weight distribution.

Thanks for the suggestion!