Adjusting torque on hitch

[Smiletwice]

I got a new Equal-i-zer WDH with the four point sway recently installed. The dealer nailed the set up as confirmed by trip to CAT scales. In reading the owner's manual, it talks about re-torquing all the bolts periodically, especially during break in. I have a 50-250 ft-lb torque wrench so that's all well and good for the brackets, socket bolts and tire lug nuts. I see that the hitch ball requires 430 ft-lbs and the shank bolts 320 ft-lbs. Any suggestions on how to have those checked.....and is it really necessary to do so frequently? Thanks.

[lbrjet]

If those were installed correctly they will be good for life. Focus on the L bracket bolts, the socket bolts and keeping the tilt adjustment screw tight.

[mj0528]

Originally Posted by Smiletwice

I got a new Equal-i-zer WDH with the four point sway recently installed. The dealer nailed the set up as confirmed by trip to CAT scales. In reading the owner's manual, it talks about re-torquing all the bolts periodically, especially during break in. I have a 50-250 ft-lb torque wrench so that's all well and good for the brackets, socket bolts and tire lug nuts. I see that the hitch ball requires 430 ft-lbs and the shank bolts 320 ft-lbs. Any suggestions on how to have those checked.....and is it really necessary to do so frequently? Thanks.

I just adjusted mine but had to use a breaker bar to loosen and tighten. I didn't torque to spec but they are tight as ever

[AZ Pete]

Originally Posted by Smiletwice

I got a new Equal-i-zer WDH with the four point sway recently installed. The dealer nailed the set up as confirmed by trip to CAT scales. In reading the owner's manual, it talks about re-torquing all the bolts periodically, especially during break in. I have a 50-250 ft-lb torque wrench so that's all well and good for the brackets, socket bolts and tire lug nuts. I see that the hitch ball requires 430 ft-lbs and the shank bolts 320 ft-lbs. Any suggestions on how to have those checked.....and is it really necessary to do so frequently? Thanks.

on mine, I never had to retorque the ball. The shank bolts, I just got them as tight as my breaker bar would alow, never had a problem in about 100,000 miles, over 14 years. I did adjust the shank angle a couple of times to fine tune it, and also when changing trailers and tow vehicles.

[jimmoore13]

430 ft. lb. is less of a "torque" and more like RFT - really fricken tight!

You'll need big muscles and a long pipe on the handle of the torque wrench, and a super-duty torque wrench - or a substantial air impact wrench.

For your purposes, a good 12" "Cresent" wrench and about a 2' length of pipe over the wrench handle for extra leverage will allow you to CHECK the torque and make sure the nut hasn't loosened. If it's loose, snug it up if you're in the field, then get it fixed when you're home.

If you're home, bring the hitch to a nearby auto shop that handles light trucks, too, and have them use a high quality impact wrench (with torque adjustment) to snug the nuts. This won't be your garden variety air tool to remove and replace lug nuts. That tool MIGHT be up to the job, but chances are they won't mess with the torque settings on a wheel changer. Most will dig out a big boy...3/4" or 1" drive.

Just my opinion of course. Worth every penny you paid for it.

[Poper]

There is a formula you can find on line. My ball was loose on my equalizer 12.K. I got the proper socket in 3/4 drive, used a breaker bar and 5’ pipe. In my case the formula called for my 205 lbs to stand on the pipe I think 22” from socket and it tightened nicely to spec torque. If I come across formula I’ll post it. Really simple. Place in your receiver hitch sideways with ball going horizontal vs vertical.

[dalford]

On the ball I took a permanent black marker and drew a line across the nut, lock washer to the bolt. Just checked it periodically to ensure the bolt had not moved...

[Lins]

Thankfully we have large torque wrenches at work. The one I used is about 3 or 4' long and calibrated yearly. I doubt they'll ever loosen off and I'm sure most are never properly torqued, but if you want piece of mind, bring it to a local shop just to see if it moves while torquing. If it doesn't, you're probably good to go, if it does move, have it retorqued again in a little bit.

On a side note, how many washers are most people ending up with on the Equalizers and what percent is your tongue weight to the hitch rating? We still have a few weeks till we can pick up our trailer, and I want to ballpark the hitch setup as best I can in the meantime. Are the instructions fairly close to how most end up? Thanks,

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by Poper

There is a formula you can find on line. My ball was loose on my equalizer 12.K. I got the proper socket in 3/4 drive, used a breaker bar and 5’ pipe. In my case the formula called for my 205 lbs to stand on the pipe I think 22” from socket and it tightened nicely to spec torque. If I come across formula I’ll post it. Really simple. Place in your receiver hitch sideways with ball going horizontal vs vertical.

Clever!

[jimmoore13]

Originally Posted by dalford

On the ball I took a permanent black marker and drew a line across the nut, lock washer to the bolt. Just checked it periodically to ensure the bolt had not moved...

Also clever!
Any more toasts, and I'm not gonna be fit to drive!

[CedarCreekWoody]

You need to check the swing arm bolts often (60 ft lbs) as they control trailer sway. Mounting bolts are usually ok once settled in.

[thebrakeman]

Formula is easy. Torque = Force x distance
1 lb-ft = 1 lb applied to the end of a 1ft bar
250 lb-ft = 250 lbs on a 1ft bar, 125 lbs on a 2ft bar, 50 lbs on a 5ft pipe, etc


Unless you have a large enough socket, and are really concerned, I would not worry about the ball. For the 320ft-lb, stand on a breaker-bar at the appropriate distance, based on your own weight:
320ft-lb divided by your weight (in lbs) = distance you should stand (in ft) from the bolt-head. Multiply by 12 to get that distance in inches.

PS - Do not do this with your 250ft-lb torque wrench!! You will damage it by exceeding it's rating. Use a breaker bar.

PPS - If the nuts are on the wrong side, just turn the hitch upside down in the receiver.

[18CrewDually]

Originally Posted by Poper

There is a formula you can find on line. My ball was loose on my equalizer 12.K. I got the proper socket in 3/4 drive, used a breaker bar and 5’ pipe. In my case the formula called for my 205 lbs to stand on the pipe I think 22” from socket and it tightened nicely to spec torque. If I come across formula I’ll post it. Really simple. Place in your receiver hitch sideways with ball going horizontal vs vertical.

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

Clever!

If you know the torque is for example 450 lbft. then at 1 foot from the center of the fastener with the wrench on a flat horizontal plane you would put 450#s of weight and it would stop moving when the torque is reached.
Hopefully you're not 450 pounds, so what you would do is go to the 2 foot mark on the wrench (breaker bar) and it then would require 225 pounds.
Now if you only weight 150 pounds you would stand on the wrench at the 3 feet mark to reach 450 lbft.
For every foot of wrench from the fastener you devide into the desired torque. So at 5 feet of wrench it would only require 90 pounds of weight to reach the 450 desired torque. 450/5=90.
Probably easier to understand with pictures but it's a simple lever principle and can get you in the ball park.

[Rivnut]

Originally Posted by dalford

On the ball I took a permanent black marker and drew a line across the nut, lock washer to the bolt. Just checked it periodically to ensure the bolt had not moved...

replace the black marker with red finger nail polish, good for life.

[DavidBo]

There are items known as "torque multipliers" that use planetary gears to increase the input torque 2 to 3 times, but I'm not sure if the cost would be worth it. It would likely be cheaper just to find a shop with a big enough wrench and throw them a few bucks to check the torques.
As far as marking the nuts to see if they moved, that's a good idea but has a limitation. The problem is that bolts can lose torque over time not due to the hardware actually turning, but instead from the bolt stretching over time and load. That's rarely the case for really large or lightly torqued hardware, but could be something to consider for the bolts used on a typical WDH.
Just my $.02 of course.

[Bluepill]

Center of ball to point of contact on trailer coupler = 12"

450 Lbs total tongue weight (350 plus 100 lb. DW)

450 pound feet!!

[DavidBo]

Originally Posted by Bluepill

Center of ball to point of contact on trailer coupler = 12"

450 Lbs total tongue weight (350 plus 100 lb. DW)

450 pound feet!!

Physics is your friend!

[CedarCreekWoody]

Originally Posted by DavidBo

Physics is your friend!

And so is a big ol' cheater pipe!

[NJKris]

I just gotta say how impressed with you guys I am. I will be installing my hitch soon, and noted the nut for the ball calls for 450 ft.lbs of torque. As my previous experience in the aviation field made me a big believer in proper torques, I started asking around with my mechanic buddies if they had a torque wrench that big. They all had wrenches that topped out at 250 ft.lbs. Now I know the torque formula from my statics course I took a long time ago, but I couldn't figure out how I could use my weight on a breaker bar that is moving in a plane parallel to the ground. I didn't even think about turning the hitch 90 degrees in the receiver to be able to do this!!!! So all I have to do is stand on the breaker bar 1.75 feet from the center of the nut. Calculate how much I weigh for 450 ft.lbs of torque! First correct answer gets a smiley face! Kudos to all you smarty pants on the forum!