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Old 02-02-2016, 09:32 PM   #21
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My dealer only carries Husky products so they actually had to outsource this hitch. They stated that it's the only one that has recommended mounting dimensions that will fit with the Vibe's front Fiberglass.


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Old 02-02-2016, 09:32 PM   #22
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I mostly distrust vehicle and RV dealerships. I know they are out to make a profit and a likely to say just about anything to make the sale. But I find more often, they just don't know what they are talking about. It is so easy to find information on the Internet, but they seem to not try.

If they only sell Husky, they probably only looked up the one . . .
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Old 02-02-2016, 09:35 PM   #23
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Originally Posted by getsum View Post
My dealer only carries Husky products so they actually had to outsource this hitch. They stated that it's the only one that has recommended mounting dimensions that will fit with the Vibe's front Fiberglass.


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If the Husky hitch is anything like the Equalizer that might be true. All my online research brought me to the Equalizer fitting and not having issues with the front cap.


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Old 02-02-2016, 09:39 PM   #24
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Took me all of 2 minutes:
Equal-i-zer 27" - 32"
E2 27" - 30"

PS That is a good looking TT!! Congrats to you both.
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Old 02-02-2016, 09:51 PM   #25
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Fireman, I don't have any experience with the E2. However, I had very, absolutely minimal sway when a big gust of wind hit the side of the TT. And that's the big Oklahoma winds were used to getting. Other parts of the country it probably feels like a tornado.

I'd upgrade to the E4. Piece of mind and not later on wishing you would have is worth the $80-$90 difference in my book.

Good luck!


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Old 02-02-2016, 09:53 PM   #26
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I agree and will be getting the E4 when we pick up the trailer. I always tend to lean towards overkill when it cones to towing.


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Old 02-02-2016, 10:01 PM   #27
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So I have experience with both hitches. I purchased a 2016 Vibe 308BHS that just traded in for a Chaparral 360IBL fifth wheel.

When I purchased my vibe I had the dealer include the Fastway E2 hitch in the price. It was the L bar type rated at 1000lbs. I hated it! Those bars causes and over exacerbated the bouncy feeling because they acted like springs when going over bumps. About 3 months later I upgraded to the 12000lb Equal-I-zer 4 point hitch. Soooo much better and more stable while towing. You MUST ensure it is installed correctly and dialed in perfectly for it to be effective against sway. Here is a picture of my old setup dialed in perfectly.
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:01 PM   #28
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I don't know why the dealer put such a higher rated hitch on (14k vs ~10k) but it worked out regardless. I didn't specify which one I wanted and they do it for a living so I guess they had a good reason. Your 315BHK is listed at 5882 lbs empty and my 308BHS is listed at 7334 lbs. Very similar hitch weights of 719 vs 786.

So, based on my very limited experience, I'd go with either the 10k/1000 or the 12k/1200.

I digress though, seek others input as well as I've said that I'm no expert.


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Old 02-02-2016, 10:03 PM   #29
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Equalizer E2 or E4

IronCobra, how many washers did you have installed? Can you remember?

And did you save those fancy LED tail lights or did they go with the rig when you traded it in? [emoji48]

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Old 02-02-2016, 10:03 PM   #30
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Did the hitch head crush your tow chains? Look like they are mounted where mine are and they get smushed once and a while.
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:03 PM   #31
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If you anywhere near Texas, I'll sell you the entire complete setup for $400 if interested as I don't need it any longer.

Oh, here is a picture of the Fastway E2 hitch I originally got with the Vibe. The E2 does not fit properly on the Vibe because the cross brace on the A-frame is exactly where the L bracket needs to clamp on. You end up having to position them slightly too far forward (as you can see in the picture). There should only be about 2" of spring bar last the L bracket. I repositioned them several times and this is the only way you can get the spring bar resting flat on the L bracket without risking them sliding off (that would be bad)
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:07 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IronCobra View Post
So I have experience with both hitches. I purchased a 2016 Vibe 308BHS that just traded in for a Chaparral 360IBL fifth wheel.



When I purchased my vibe I had the dealer include the Fastway E2 hitch in the price. It was the L bar type rated at 1000lbs. I hated it! Those bars causes and over exacerbated the bouncy feeling because they acted like springs when going over bumps. About 3 months later I upgraded to the 12000lb Equal-I-zer 4 point hitch. Soooo much better and more stable while towing. You MUST ensure it is installed correctly and dialed in perfectly for it to be effective against sway. Here is a picture of my old setup dialed in perfectly.

Thanks for the real world input and for the pic. That will help a lot when making sure everything is installed correctly.

On another, off the subject note, I notice you have a battery disconnect on your battery box. Was that the best place for it, in your experience? I believe the 2016's have the battery inside the fiberglass cap cover.


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Old 02-02-2016, 10:14 PM   #33
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IronCobra, how many washers did you have installed? Can you remember?

And did you save those fancy LED tail lights or did they go with the rig when you traded it in? [emoji48]

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I used 5 of the 7 washers. Remember that the washers increase downward pressure on the L brackets, thus increasing weight distribution AND friction for anti sway. Problem is that if you have them angled down too much, you'll have a hard time lifting the trailer coupler high enough to remove the bars from he brackets (since there isn't a helper bar to help you take them off).

Yes, I removed the lights and installed them on my new fiver
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:16 PM   #34
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Thanks for the real world input and for the pic. That will help a lot when making sure everything is installed correctly.

On another, off the subject note, I notice you have a battery disconnect on your battery box. Was that the best place for it, in your experience? I believe the 2016's have the battery inside the fiberglass cap cover.


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Mine didn't have the battery there. Though it was a 2016, it was that interum period where they had removed the battery from the front storage and placed it in the Aframe rails. So it was the best place for me to install the battery disconnect switch.
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:18 PM   #35
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Did the hitch head crush your tow chains? Look like they are mounted where mine are and they get smushed once and a while.
I only used the Equalizer hitch 3 times before trading in the trailer, so in those three trips I didn't experience any chain smashing.
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:21 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by fireman1317 View Post
Thanks for the real world input and for the pic. That will help a lot when making sure everything is installed correctly.

On another, off the subject note, I notice you have a battery disconnect on your battery box. Was that the best place for it, in your experience? I believe the 2016's have the battery inside the fiberglass cap cover.


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Just remember that when you use any Hitch with sway control that uses L brackets on the Aframe, they REQUIRE the trunion bars to be almost exactly parallel to the trailer frame so they sit FLAT on the L brackets. If you don't, then your getting almost zero sway control and they would pretty much be for weight distribution only.

This picture is how the dealer setup my E2 hitch L brackets originally...the wrong way! So don't trust the dealer. They not only used too few washers (4), they had the L brackets positioned too far back on the trailer and too high. I had to remove the L brackets, flip the mounting brackets, add a washer, and drop the L brackets down a level. And after all that, still hated it. Bad investment.
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Old 02-02-2016, 10:22 PM   #37
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If you anywhere near Texas, I'll sell you the entire complete setup for $400 if interested as I don't need it any longer.

Oh, here is a picture of the Fastway E2 hitch I originally got with the Vibe. The E2 does not fit properly on the Vibe because the cross brace on the A-frame is exactly where the L bracket needs to clamp on. You end up having to position them slightly too far forward (as you can see in the picture). There should only be about 2" of spring bar last the L bracket. I repositioned them several times and this is the only way you can get the spring bar resting flat on the L bracket without risking them sliding off (that would be bad)
I totally forgot about that. There are two different E2 hitches. The trunnion bar model is much more E4 like. Either way, anyone with an Equal-i-zer wins for the reason I stated at the beginning of the thread.

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Old 02-02-2016, 10:27 PM   #38
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I totally forgot about that. There are two different E2 hitches. The trunnion bar model is much more E4 like. Either way, anyone with an Equal-i-zer wins for the reason I stated at the beginning of the thread.

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Yes sir. E2 trunion and E2 Round bar (what I had originally). The Trunion E2 looks similar to the Equalizer but only applies the downward pressure to the L brackets for sway control. The Equalizer applies "pinched" pressure to the hitch head when the weight is transferred down on the L brackets, where the other friction occures (thus 2 points at the head and 2 points at the L brackets). The trunion system is better compare to the round bar E2 though.
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Old 02-04-2016, 07:39 PM   #39
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The E4 is rock solid. Good choice!


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Old 02-05-2016, 01:03 AM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by getsum View Post
I don't know why the dealer put such a higher rated hitch on (14k vs ~10k) but it worked out regardless. I didn't specify which one I wanted and they do it for a living so I guess they had a good reason. Your 315BHK is listed at 5882 lbs empty and my 308BHS is listed at 7334 lbs. Very similar hitch weights of 719 vs 786.

So, based on my very limited experience, I'd go with either the 10k/1000 or the 12k/1200.

I digress though, seek others input as well as I've said that I'm no expert.


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In my research, equalizer recommends that you purchase the hitch that you need in the future....so I have the 1400lbs hitch. I don't necessarily need that much weight transfer right now, but I may in the future. Equalizer said that there was no problem running the heavier hitch for lower tongue weight.

This made sense to me as you can't just get new bars to upgrade your E4 if you get higher tongue weight, you actually need to buy a whole new hitch.

So I bought the biggest and baddest.

Hope that helps,
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