Looking at blue ox and equalizer

[Camper76]

What is better way to go? My dealer sells blue ox. But I'm looking at equalizer to. Can I trust dealer to setup the equalizer right if they sell blue ox?

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by Camper76

What is better way to go? My dealer sells blue ox. But I'm looking at equalizer to. Can I trust dealer to setup the equalizer right if they sell blue ox?

Frankly, you can't trust many dealers with setting up a hitch correctly even if they sell it there. Buy the hitch you want, have them install it if you don't want to do it yourself, and learn to make the proper adjustments yourself.

[bondo303]

I 100% agree with midnightmoon. I bought a new hitch at the start of this season and like you, I was deciding between the same hitches as you. I went with blue ox. It is easy to set up and has worked great for me. The deciding factor for me was that I had a $500 visa gift card. Unfortunately this gift card could only be used at select retailers and the only store that sold hitches was a private retailer that sold through sears.com. That is where I got it with free shipping as well. I feel that they are both great hitches and you will be happy with either one. Also, keep in mind that if the dealer sets it up for you, you will need to adjust it after it is loaded for camping unless you are taking it there loaded already.

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[Atlee]

If I had it to do over, I would have insisted that my Equal-i-zer be used, even if they had to order a part to do so.

I have tried to like the Blue Ox Sway Pro, but I can't.

[Marcm157]

I am an equalizer fan. For me it works perfectly however if you have it installed at a dealer it WILL need to be tweaked by you after you are fully loaded for camping. Problem is dealer usually sets it up with an empty truck and trailer.

When you are trying to get proper weight distribution by measurement am inch or 2 makes a difference. I confirmed this by going to a Cat Scale after I thought I was good to go.

Install and setup is a fairly straight forward process with the Equalizer ad can be done with some basic hand tools.

[SouthCo]

I am very happy with my Blue OX WDH. It’s very easy to setup and works great.

[Camper76]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

I am an equalizer fan. For me it works perfectly however if you have it installed at a dealer it WILL need to be tweaked by you after you are fully loaded for camping. Problem is dealer usually sets it up with an empty truck and trailer.

When you are trying to get proper weight distribution by measurement am inch or 2 makes a difference. I confirmed this by going to a Cat Scale after I thought I was good to go.

Install and setup is a fairly straight forward process with the Equalizer ad can be done with some basic hand tools.

When it's fully loaded what tweaking need to be done to the equalizer?

[TWP723]

Equal-I-Zer fan as well.

[Marcm157]

Originally Posted by Camper76

When it's fully loaded what tweaking need to be done to the equalizer?

I had to change the number of spacers / washers that angled the hitch head to transfer more weight forward and I had to move the brackets that the bars sit in up one notch. Very easy to do but it was a considerable difference between empty and loaded weight.

Try and have your truck and trailer loaded as close to how you will be wen heading out on a trip. Include passengers, gear, fire wood etc.

[SouthCo]

That’s whats about the Blue OX WDH.... no spacers / washers or moving of brackets. But there is someone on here that likes each kind of hitch out there for one reason or another, so I’m sure you’ll be fine with whatever WDH u go with....

[Camper76]

Originally Posted by Marcm157

I had to change the number of spacers / washers that angled the hitch head to transfer more weight forward and I had to move the brackets that the bars sit in up one notch. Very easy to do but it was a considerable difference between empty and loaded weight.

Try and have your truck and trailer loaded as close to how you will be wen heading out on a trip. Include passengers, gear, fire wood etc.

Wish I could load up the camper. But I'm picking it up at the dealer Saturday and they are setting up the equalizer for me to.

[SkyBound]

You will probably have to start from scratch and set the hitch up yourself once you get it home. Not a bad thing either. It familiarizes you with how the hitch works, how to adjust and maintain it. I can bet my bottom dollar that the service guys "setting it up" didn't do it right in the first place, not to mention all the added weight of your personal gear which will change things too. Bring it home, load it up, and set the hitch up as per the instructions using fender height measurements. That will get you close. Then, go to the scales and see how you did. For me, I set up my Equalizer myself using this method and when I verified it on the CAT scales I was bang on.

[RogerR]

I specifically wanted the Andersen as I disliked the bar type hitches. But I should have known better than to buy and have installed one at a dealer who did not regularly sell them

Needless to say I had to stop several times during the first 100 miles to adjust the tension to get the best weight distribution and sway control.

Later on I had to take them off and drill a pilot hole to prevent slippage of the hitch brackets.

So my suggestion is if your dealer does not sell the hitch you want on a regular basis just buy it yourself and install it yourself. Then you will have the knowledge to keep it correctly working.

PS love my Andersen but some posts indicate it is better for small and medium loads. Mine is about 3500 lbs fully loaded.

[Camper76]

Originally Posted by SkyBound

You will probably have to start from scratch and set the hitch up yourself once you get it home. Not a bad thing either. It familiarizes you with how the hitch works, how to adjust and maintain it. I can bet my bottom dollar that the service guys "setting it up" didn't do it right in the first place, not to mention all the added weight of your personal gear which will change things too. Bring it home, load it up, and set the hitch up as per the instructions using fender height measurements. That will get you close. Then, go to the scales and see how you did. For me, I set up my Equalizer myself using this method and when I verified it on the CAT scales I was bang on.

What do you do if you go away and your camper isn't fully load? If I go away for a week my camper is pack definitely then if I'm going away for a weekend

[Midnightmoon]

Originally Posted by Camper76

What do you do if you go away and your camper isn't fully load? If I go away for a week my camper is pack definitely then if I'm going away for a weekend

The simple answer is that most people set their hitch the way they normally travel and don't make fine adjustments to it when the weights are different for whatever reason. I'd also be willing to bet that the vast majority of owners never make any adjustments on their hitch from how it was set at the dealer.

Not intending to take the conversation a different direction, but this is one of the beautiful things about the Anderson hitch that many of us are using. You can make adjustments to it in a matter of seconds if your weight changes or you are pulling with a different tow vehicle. For example, I know that my base setup for towing my trailer with my Ram 2500 is 5 turns on the tension adjustment. With my wife's 1/2 ton, it is 9. I've also found that taking a turn out helps when my black and grey tanks are full as compared to when they are empty. Im not saying that any other brand of hitch isn't as adjustable, it is just that the Anderson is so much easier than the Reese that I used before. It really becomes just getting to know your trailer/hitch/tow vehicle combination and what makes the best balance for you.

[MccBob]

Not to though a monkey wrench in the conversation but don't forget about Andersen Hitches.
https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/...ion-hitch.aspx

[Camper76]

Originally Posted by MccBob

Not to though a monkey wrench in the conversation but don't forget about Andersen Hitches.
https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/...ion-hitch.aspx

I'm getting the equalizer tomorrow