Equalizer vs Blue Ox

[Eagle One]

Has anyone switched from a Equalizer to Blue Ox WDH? Recently had hernia surgery and the Equalizer hitch is a bear to hook up and unhook with all the pulling and tugging. Blue Ox looks to be much easier on the hooking and unhooking plus with our TW being 1,600# I’m already exceeding the rated limit on the Equalizer by 200#. I’m looking at the SwayPro reviews seem pretty positive. Overall weight of trailer is roughly 10,600 loaded/w empty fresh water tank.

[cekkk]

I went the other direction. Started out with a blue ox and it was fine. Then unfortunately I bought a propride. And I could not jack high enough due to my Eagles convex front end. I could’ve switched to chains but, hey, that’s why I got rid of the blue ox. So I have a perfectly good pro pride that I paid nearly $2000 for sitting in a barn in a ranch in California. I bought the equalizer and prefer it over the other two. Although I understand the difficulty you some people have with it.

[TWP723]

I've had nothing but an Equalizer with no desire or reason to switch. Very happy with its performance.

[Eagle One]

I’ve had no problem with the equalizer hitch other than it being a bear to hookup and unhook plus the constant creaky and cracking but the 2 biggest problems is my TW is 1600# and equalizer only makes one that goes to 1,400# and the constant tugging and pulling is just too much

[herewego]

we have had our blueox for a while it works great !
it can be a bear to pull the chains up

[danvanvb]

We use the Blue Ox with the 2000# torsion bars. It also has the 2.5" shank. I do not have much trouble connecting the bars however I pretty much use the tongue to lift the truck high enough to make the bar connection easy. If not the bars are a real bear to connect.

[mini4mw]

When I had a trailer and equalizer I always lifted the truck with the tongue jack so the bars would easily pull into position. Never even used the lever they provide. Do you use the jack to lift the truck and make it easier to put the bars on? If not, try it out as that could fix the issue with them being difficult to put on.

Sounds like you will still may want a new WDH due to weight anyway though.

[Quantum]

Originally Posted by Eagle One

I’ve had no problem with the equalizer hitch other than it being a bear to hookup and unhook plus the constant creaky and cracking but the 2 biggest problems is my TW is 1600# and equalizer only makes one that goes to 1,400# and the constant tugging and pulling is just too much

I assume you are raising the tongue and truck using the tongue jack? If I do that, the bars slip right into place, without the tool.

[Wxman]

Originally Posted by Eagle One

I’ve had no problem with the equalizer hitch other than it being a bear to hookup and unhook plus the constant creaky and cracking but the 2 biggest problems is my TW is 1600# and equalizer only makes one that goes to 1,400# and the constant tugging and pulling is just too much

I have an Equalizer 16k/1.6K. They do now have a 1600lb TW model.

[ttavasc]

I've been running the Blue Ox 15K/1500 for 3 seasons now and the hitch has done very well for us. The first thing I did was get a good quality 24" breaker bar to use in fastening/unfastening the chains. As others have suggested once the trailer and truck are coupled using the tongue jack to raise the tongue up a bit before fastening the chains does help a lot. However, there have been times when I've had to unhook with things out of level or the TV off angle and it can still be a bear even with the breaker bar.

Therefore, one of my purchases in the near future will likely be the Lippert Strap-Tek. I've had conversations with others who are using this with the Blue Ox and they tell me that it has eliminated the need to raise the tongue as well as the potentially dangerous unload if there is still a bit of tension on the bars. As I understand it this works with most chain-type WDH. It does not work with Equalizer hitches. It is a little pricey but as someone else who has had a hernia surgery in the past I find the benefits it seems to provide well worth the $$.

[lalbright]

Have you looked at the Hensley hitch? Pricey, but worth it in my humble opinion.

[steve.jurnigan]

I have E2-Trunnion hitch. Hooks up pretty easy. Pulling 29RLDS, about 7500 lbs. Put heavy grease on hitch ball and swivel joint of sway bars. No popping and cracking noise. Hitch is rated 12,000 tongue weight.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by mini4mw

When I had a trailer and equalizer I always lifted the truck with the tongue jack so the bars would easily pull into position. Never even used the lever they provide. Do you use the jack to lift the truck and make it easier to put the bars on? If not, try it out as that could fix the issue with them being difficult to put on.

Sounds like you will still may want a new WDH due to weight anyway though.

We have the Husky Centerline Line TS hitch and like you we use the tongue jack to facilitate getting the spring bars in place, I don't even take the spring bar tool with me. I bought some 1/8" PTFE and I use it on the spring bar perches to eliminate the creaking and groaning issues.

[steve.jurnigan]

I use trailer jack also to lift truck for placement of spring arms on L brackets. My L brackets have a plastic cover for the spring arm to slide on. It's not metal to metal.

[Bugzilla46310]

Originally Posted by mini4mw

When I had a trailer and equalizer I always lifted the truck with the tongue jack so the bars would easily pull into position. Never even used the lever they provide. Do you use the jack to lift the truck and make it easier to put the bars on? If not, try it out as that could fix the issue with them being difficult to put on.

Sounds like you will still may want a new WDH due to weight anyway though.

I thought this is the proper procedure for hooking up the bars. This is how I do it also.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by steve.jurnigan

I use trailer jack also to lift truck for placement of spring arms on L brackets. My L brackets have a plastic cover for the spring arm to slide on. It's not metal to metal.

I as well have a bracket that clamps on the receiver and hitch head which eliminates the play there.

[Jayco Journey]

Went from EQ to Blue OX and prefer the latter. Lighter and easier to use. Adjust it once and forget about it. Purchased a long breaker bar socket that I highly recommend using for setting the system.

[joe w]

Originally Posted by Jayco Journey

Went from EQ to Blue OX and prefer the latter. Lighter and easier to use. Adjust it once and forget about it. Purchased a long breaker bar socket that I highly recommend using for setting the system.

I carry a torque wrench as after so many miles of twists and turns the spring bar pivot bolts lose about 10-15 lbs foot so I re-torque when stopping for fuel or a coffee break.

[ensign]

My 2013 32bhds, which was stolen, had the Reese Dual Cam. Verry good anti-sway. My newer 32 Bhds trailer(2016) came with the Blue Ox. I find there is way more sway, no matter how many links I try. Miss my Reese.

[Jml54]

We have had a Blue Ox Sway Pro for the past 4 years. We hated it when we got it. Then we found out we had the wrong hitch head. Our trailer, a 2018 Jayco Jayflight, has an underslung hitch and we had the overslung head. Attaching and removing the chains was downright scary they were so tightly tensioned. Changing the head made a ton of difference. We didn’t have to raise the trailer as far and it was much easier to attach the chains. The biggest surprise was that our dealer did not know the difference between overslung and underslung hitches.