Equal-i-zer 12k hitch and steep back-in / pull-out angles?

[wordsmyth]

So yesterday my wife and I were able to take a side trip to look at a site we have reserved over Labor Day weekend. It’s nice, but the width is tight and the grade angles are steep.

I used to drive a big rig so the tight margins are not an issue. However, I’m still new to this hitch and the wanes/sway bars that keep the load tight.

My gut says just pull the sway bars before starting the back-in approach so the tensions are not a problem. And likewise, just leave them off (initially) when departing on the Monday (Labor Day).

But I’m still curious, “How steep of an angle can these things tolerate?”

Thanks in advance!

Rick

[Old and soft]

Listen to your gut.

[JFlightRisk]

A call to Equalizer would probably get you a definitive answer, but if in doubt, pull the bars. Better safe than sorry, and no damage to your hitch.

1 (800) 478-5578, M-F 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain time.

[dxrobertson]

I generally pulled the distribution hitch bars before backing into anything with any sort of extreme angles; left/right (jacked) or up/down. Much more articulation without them.

Yes- and pulling out to leave as well.


“How steep of an angle can these things tolerate?”
Dont know and didint want to find out!

[wordsmyth]

Thanks to all for the feedback. You’ve confirmed my gut on the answer to the question.

I’m going to go ahead and contact support on the hitch and see what they say about approach and departure angles and the hitch bars.

And the Titan is equipped with incline-meters so while there over Labor Day weekend I’ll make some notes on the experience.

It will all become useful information.

Thanks again, and best of the Lord’s day to all.

[spoon059]

I've got a steep driveway, so I don't hook up the bars until I'm out on the street. When I get home, I unhook them before backing in.

At those low speeds I don't need them anyways, the lower tongue gives me greater clearance for the steep angle, and I don't have to worry about breaking or bending a bar.

[NewBlackDak]

I always unhooked them for any back in maneuver. The trouble was always lifting the tongue enough in the road to get them on/off.

[Jagiven]

Looks like I'm the odd duck. I never disconnect my equalizer system. What I read in my oem manual, there is no need to disconnect. I have backed in, pulled into all kinds of crazy angles. Never have experienced any issues.

Sometimes backing in on gravel, I have put my tt, into 4 low for more traction.

[TWP723]

Better to err on the side of safety and remove the bars. I always do before I back up. Not sure what angles they can handle and not sure there's an actual degree number. Once you're at the site, you don't need them. The steeper the angle, the greater the risk of bending the bars or bending the L brackets or both. When you're backing up a steep hill, there's more pressure for the bars to bend or bend the brackets. Of course backing down a hill isn't good either. Could pop the L pins. Use your own judgement as far as angle degree. But like I said, I don't worry about it because the bars are removed before backing up.

[wordsmyth]

So I pulled the stabilizer bars and backed in no problem. Thanks again to all for the feedback.

[Marcm157]

For those of you who remove the Equalizer bars before backing, how do you raise the tongue enough to remove the bars? Most times I'm preparing to back someplace including my driveway I'm blocking traffic to some degree...

[wordsmyth]

We store our TT about a mile from our house, but I tow it to the house the day before we leave on a trip so we can load up at leisure. I don’t install the sway bars for that short distance. We have a 33x12’ extra apron on our driveway so I park it there.

The angle at the curb is enough that installing the sway bars while parked on the driveway would be a chore - maybe impossible. So when I’m leaving the house I pull out onto the street parallel to the curb and install the bars.

This is our first trip to a campsite site with such a steep approach, so to keep from blocking traffic at the campsites, I stopped just inside the park and pulled the bars.

[wordsmyth]

A couple more of the grade. The incline gauge on the dash reads 9 degrees. For the one with a sway bar inserted, it is resting on the concrete. There would be no way to navigate this grade with the bars installed without breaking something.