E2 by Equalizer

skmchugh · 04-20-2011, 03:08 PM

My dealer sells the E2 for much less than the original ($399 installed). I am towing a shamrock 233 with a Ford F-150. Trailer gvwr is about 5000 and tongue weight is listed as 450lb. Are these any good or should I look at other WDhitches

miatared · 04-20-2011, 03:16 PM

I wanted to buy a 233 and its GVRW was like 6000# - so be be careful with your measurements, confirm the weight.

I would recommend the 'real' Equal-i-zer, the 4-way control one, for a bit more money. It is time proven and has a well earned reputation.

The E2 was brought to market to compete with the inexpensive competition I think.

**bikendan** · 04-20-2011, 03:20 PM

well, it's not going to be as good as the real Equal-i-zer, since it has 4-point sway control and the E2 has 2-point sway control.
and you can get the real 4-point Equalizer for $429 w/free shipping from RVW. and it's not hard to install.
you might want to also check their E2 prices.

but, i do like Equalizer's products and i think you'll be fine with the E2. IMHO, for the extra money, i would go with the 4-point one.

by the way, never go by fictional "dry" tongue weights or "dry" trailer weights.
with water, propane, battery and cargo, the tongue weight will be closer to 600lbs.
and the trailer will weigh about 400lbs. more than its "dry" weight, before water, propane and cargo.

popik · 04-20-2011, 05:11 PM

I got the E2 hitch. wont use it till next month when the trailer is ready but after looking in the box its a very well built and robust unit. The 2 points of sway control your missing are in the hitch head and i would say they are negligible at best. My best "GUESS" is you will end up with 70-80% of the sway control offered in the 4-point system.

baldy · 04-20-2011, 05:35 PM

Mine seems to work fine (E2) and I don't see the "engineering" differences.

lbrjet · 04-20-2011, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by popik

I got the E2 hitch. wont use it till next month when the trailer is ready but after looking in the box its a very well built and robust unit. The 2 points of sway control your missing are in the hitch head and i would say they are negligible at best. My best "GUESS" is you will end up with 70-80% of the sway control offered in the 4-point system.

You actually have that backwards. The hitch head provides most of the sway control in the E4.

popik · 04-20-2011, 07:10 PM

From what I saw on the display model there were some rubber like bumpers in the head. I couldn't see them providing as much friction as steel on steel with a few hundred pounds of pressure.

lbrjet · 04-20-2011, 07:24 PM

There is no rubber on an E4 anywhere. Steel socket on the steel hitch head torqued from 45-60 lbs, so the sway control is also adjustable. They provide the rotational (left to right - right to left) friction to control sway. The L brackets provide linear sway control and are the marginal component. The vast majority of the sway control comes from the hitch head sockets.

lbrjet · 04-20-2011, 07:39 PM

From the equalizer web site:

2 Rotational Friction Sway Controls

Rotational friction works to stop side to side sway before it starts. The rotational friction sway control is activated by downward pressure from the trailer tongue and upward pressure on the spring arms. The spring arms link the rotational sway control to the sway control brackets and distribute trailer tongue weight. The rigidity of the sway control brackets allow the dual rotational friction sway control to safely and effectively hold the trailer in line behind the tow vehicle and combat sway before it starts.

2 Sway Control Brackets

Innovative rigid trailer attachments serve two purposes. First, they work in conjunction with the rotational friction sway controls to reduce trailer sway. Second, the forward and back friction of the hitch arm on the bracket serves as a secondary sway control system. The sway control brackets work much like 2 “add-on” sway bars, but with more sway stopping pressure and less hassle.

popik · 04-20-2011, 07:55 PM

Fair enough...Must have been a bad display then. So the 2 point is similar to having "2 add-on sway bars" but less hassle. Sounds like it would compete with any WDH out there with add-on sway control and would out preform them...what im getting at is in my market the E-4 was more than double the cost of an E-2. For a non-paranoid hauler it is more then adequate, for someone looking for the best of the best and possibly some overkill the E-4 is the way to go.

lbrjet · 04-21-2011, 08:17 AM

There is no such thing as over kill when it comes to sway control. The E4 is not the best of the best, but actually just the bare minimum for a 34ft trailer like mine. The best of the best are the Hensley and Pro Pride hitches which cost upwards of 2-3K.

If a trailer is set up correctly it should not sway at all in normal driving. Sway control is there mainly to help in emergency situations like you have to swerve to avoid hitting something in the road.

popik · 04-21-2011, 10:25 AM

But there is such a thing as being paranoid when towing...and your version of overkill probably helps you with your fear of towing.

But just my opinion

lbrjet · 04-21-2011, 10:37 AM

You obviously still have a lot to learn.

popik · 04-21-2011, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbrjet

You obviously still have a lot to learn.

I'm sure we all do..yourself included!

carr880 · 04-24-2011, 09:37 PM

For what its worth, I have a 1200/12000k Equalizer hitch. I used it with my 07 30ft Timberlodge and Ford Expedition. While I'll admit I had way too much camper for not enough car (weighed in at around 8600lbs), I only had two small occurances of sway that concerned me out of 6k miles of towing, but even then it was nothing too serious and I pulled out of it pretty quick. I have to concur with the previous posts. While I don't know anything about the E2, I think the standard E4 hitch is well worth the money. I've heard horror sories about sway. Fortunately, as a fairly still novice camper (only going on 5yrs), I haven't had any real problems yet due to using this hitch.

gktsuda1956 · 04-25-2011, 01:46 AM

I have the E2 and it's been great. I bought a tongue scale and used it last week while setting up the E2 on my new truck. I also wanted to know what affect filling the fresh water tank had on my tongue weight. Once again Forest River came thru on TT design because with the fresh water tank 3/4 full it didn't change my tongue wt. But baack to the E2. It is a 800 # rated and my tongue wt was 700#. Following the E2 instructions and measuring the different spots was VERY easy to set up and has worked flawlessly since first buying w/ the TT and towing from OK.

BigRed · 04-25-2011, 07:28 AM

Ok.........The E-4 is not over kill, if anything the E-2 is under kill. For an added $175-$210, you get a proven set-up for sway control. In the relm of costs that is very little to get better sway control. And the best of the best is the Hensley-Arrow or the Pro-Pride P3 hitches.(as Ibrjet-noted)They arent anti sway, they eliminate sway period! The E-2 is a good hitch for a short TT or a Pop-up. Remember it only takes one time.

lablover · 06-10-2015, 09:11 AM

We just had a sway bar on our 18ft KZ hybrid and there was still sway. On our new camper we went with the Equalizer E2 and DH said that this was the best decision we made. He feels NO sway and says he hardly knows that the camper is there. He is retiring at the end of this year so we plan on doing a lot of long distance camping including mountain driving. Peace of mind-Priceless!

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