I've used the EZ lift weight distributing hitch system on our 28' RV trailer when towing for years.
I've always incorporated the sway control system with it to help when in a high wind area or with the passing of Semi-trucks passing me on the freeways and was quite pleased with the way that the trailer handled when hooked up.
I never gave the system much thought when hooked up to our GMC 3500 Dually pickup as it was never near the towing capacity of the truck. I thought that because we were planning on hauling down a 1/2 ton of hay in the front of the trailer and filling 2 55 gaalon drums with water once we arrived in Arizona; I should give them some thought.
For those of you that don't know what their intended purpose is, I'll try to explain and tell you some thing s that I learned along the way. The spring bars are connected to a control head which becomes your hitch. Their main purpose is to level your trailer and tow rig to equalize the load to all of the tires. Without them the trialer will have a tendancy to "push down" on the hitch which raises the steering axle on the tow rig which can lead to reduced steering and braking function to the front axles.
It can also cause a reduced level of braking ability on the rear axles of the trailer because they're riding lighter than the front axles of the trailer. So actually they are a good idea to have on if your load is not level.
So here are some drawbacks. You can actually set the lift bars too tight on the trailer. This can be a hazard if you are hauling an aluminum trailer like our 4 horse Cicle J. This trailer has an Aluminum Tongue which is a 3"x4" tubing. When you are traveling down the road and going through those dips in the road the bars spring and attempt to stabilize the truck and trailer so that it moves as a single unit. This also puts stresses on the trailer tongue at the same time. The other time that you are stressing the trailer tongue is when you are pulling in and out of things like ramped gas station entrances and supermarkets.
The bars typically come in different weight ranges which are 500#, 750#, 1000# & 1400#. All that means its that the heavier the rating , the harder it is to spring the bar and the heavier the tongue weight can be. One word of Caution on all of this is that you should NEVER exceed what the manufacturer recommends what the towing capacity of your tow rig should be. The other thing is (something that I didn't know) is that ALL of the spring bars for any weight distributing hitch are 30" typically. You should not cut any bar; they are rated at the end of the bar where the chain is attached or where they connect to the Spring bar latching mechanism.
So here is what I learned. The trailer tongue on the Circle J horse trailer is shorter than the one on our RV. Why does this matter? When I hooked up the chains on the lift bar to the latching mechanisms they were back at a 45 degree angle and the brackets were as far rearward as they could go. the brackets were tight up against the crossmember of the trailer which is welded aluminum channel. This was all while the trailer was straight with the tow rig. If I were to make a left or right turn with it like this, it could have cracked the weld on the crossbeam of the tongue or bent and caused damage to the overall tongue of the trailer. This was not a good situation.
I called Bickford Ford in Snohomish where we bought the trailer and talked to Maggi Clarke about it. Maggie has sold trailers all over the Northwest and really knows her stuff when it comes to trailers. She had heard of this situation before and knew of a solution. She directed me to a company called 6 Roblee's that specialize in trailer parts. The Draw- Tite hitch company made a part that is now discontinued. It is a bracket that bolts on the end of your spring bar and moves the chain from 30" toeither 28" or 26" from the hitch ball. Now the lift chain hangs straight down from the latching mechanism , the bracket is way away from the crossbeam on the tongue, I have full range of the turning radius of the truck and I can back without fear of breaking something. I still have to watch how tight I cinch up the chain using the 1000# spring bars but, I think I've got that figured pretty good. Especially when we took it out for the test ride we did yesterday. The good part is that the chain is now hanging straight down as it should be. When the rig turns to the Left the bar on the drivers side moves towards the rear of the trailer so this movement is criticle. When the rig turns to the right, the passenger bar moves to the rear of the trailer so it is really important that the chain hangs straight down when the rig is pointed straight.
The other thing is that the truck and trailer are both level now which is exactly what the weight distributing system is suppose to accomplish; which is a good thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment