Equalizer Round Bar interferes with Swing Hitch

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

Mike, I used 800 lb. bars on my Trailmanor, and they seemed to be sized just right for my 500+ lb. tongue weight, so I wouldn't think that Barry's 750 lb. bars should be a problem. 1000 lb. bars might be a tad too stiff, and make the ride really bouncy.

I'll politely disagree. I use 1000lb bars on my 2619, sometimes on fairly on rough roads, with no bouncing problems ever. My feeling is, excessive "trailer bounce" is not caused at, or solved by, worrying about relatively small motions happening at the hitch mount. Instead, it happens at the tires and the Torflex suspension (where TM meets the ground). And so, I think that the right way to deal with it is to lower your tire PSI per the actual axle loading, per the Goodyear table.

On my 3124-like upgraded suspension, the recommended PSI value for 50 MPH and lower (avoiding the "plus 10 PSI if you drive faster than rated" rule) is a bit below 35 PSI at TM's official "maximum load", for my model year. I actually use about 45 PSI, because I load a little bit heavier than suggested ; But the sidewall max PSI on the D-rated Marathon is 65 PSI, running with my tires stuffed that full would shake my TM almost like running on the naked rims. I think that creating the proper level of "flex" in the sidewalls and tread, by tuning the PSI properly, is important for both ride quality AND safety, and that leads me to make a nasty follow-up statement:

Originally Posted by for emphasis

People who say "crank your tire PSI up to the sidewall max, ALWAYS", without even asking about your axle loading don't know #$%^#@ about the Marathons, even if they've been working as tire professionals for 30 years. ST tires such as the Marathon are different than regular truck tires. They either never learned this, or they forgot, or they're following legal advice to avoid responsibility for catastrophic under-inflation-- shaking your trailer to a young death isn't their problem, not compared to the legal risk of telling you the truth about how it really works.

AFAIK, TM recommends max sidewall PSI all the time, just like these other people. If you care to do it right, however, follow Goodyear's table (and not the sentence in TM's manual.) I don't know if they've changed that advice in the new models, where even the small trailers (2619 and 2720) come with 15" tires. But excessive shaking of an in-alignment TM with balanced tires on rough roads is usually a tire pressure issue. The Toflex can't make up for rock-hard tires all by itself, they need to work TOGETHER.
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Back on topic: The stronger WDH bars, of course, also help to solve the exact problem he's having: the more flexible bars he uses now need to be pulled up by (probably) one more link of distance towards hitting than the 1000 lb. bars would need. The final position, at rest, can be adjusted to wherever he likes-- But in motion, the 800 lb bars will flex more (both up AND down) from this initial rest position when the trailer hits a pothole. More risk of "whack" or "bang" both ways-- against the swing hitch A-frame, AND against the ground. Like everyone else with a swing hitch, I've got a pretty big angle on my head-- 4 washers in my washer-adjusted "Robin" head, instead of the often typical 2 washers. Maybe there will be enough play in both directions after adjusting the head angle, without buying new bars. But after a lot of experience with the near-clone "Robin", equipped with 1000 lb bars, I think that this is the best size to use with 2619/2720 TMs.

In the end, I ended up cutting off the swing hitch attachments and re-welding the A-frame to the swing hitch with two plates on each side of the A-frame and bought two new snap brackets to replace the damaged ones. This cost $350 which was less than buying a new weight distributing hitch that still might not have worked. The moral to this story is "If your garage is long enough and you do not need the swing hitch, don't buy it, as it is a detriment rather than an good option, if you don't need it.

Originally Posted by Barry C Anderson

In the end, I ended up cutting off the swing hitch attachments and re-welding the A-frame to the swing hitch with two plates on each side of the A-frame and bought two new snap brackets to replace the damaged ones. This cost $350 which was less than buying a new weight distributing hitch that still might not have worked. The moral to this story is "If your garage is long enough and you do not need the swing hitch, don't buy it, as it is a detriment rather than an good option, if you don't need it.

Another option is a tow vehicle that would not require a WD hitch, but that likely would cost even more.

[Bill]

Wow! That's a pretty drastic solution, Barry, and I'm sorry it came to that. According to your pictures, you never did get the springbar tips down low enough, and that is because the ballmount head is still tilted forward. According to the video that MtnGuy linked, the ballmount head can lean back quite a bit, and it shouod have been pretty easy to get it there.This would have lowered the springbar tips. The video goes on to say that after you lift the springbars, they should still be level or point down a bit at the tips.

Your moral is "If you don't need a swing hitch, don't buy it." That might be good advice, since it is not a cheap option. But once you have a swing hitch, I would never weld it up. A swing hitch makes it a lot easier to sell a TM, as you can see in the "TM Wanted" ads on this site. Other than first cost, I would never consider a swing hitch to be a detriment.

But I'm glad you reached a solution that will get you out of the road. Happy camping!

Bill

[Bill]

Barry -

One other thought. Has your tow vehicle ever been rear-ended?

Several years ago, a kid in a small sporty Nissan slammed into the back of my Explorer at a stop light. It completely demolished his car, right back to the windshield. The Explorer sustained little damage, partly because it took most of the impact on the trailer hitch receiver. After the crash, the receiver was no longer level - the impact forced the rear end of the receiver upward. The body shop that fixed the damage had to bend the whole assembly back to level.

If the body shop hadn't re-levelled the receiver, then when I slid the hitch into place, the shank of the hitch would not have been level. And then, even with maximum backward lean on the ballmount, it might not have been possible to get the springbar tips down.

It's hard to be sure, but that is what your pictures appear to show - the shank of the hitch isn't level.

Just a thought ...

Bill

Someplace on this forum is posted a several page info sheet on adjusting the WDH yourself. Maybe you can find it or someone can point you to it. I found it to be extremely useful...no one can set up your vehicle as good as you can, and there are several variables to consider and measurements to take that the dealer will not likely take the time to do. If you can't find it maybe I can scan mine and send it to you. It is not rocket science but there are logical steps to follow to get it right.

One thing I did not mention was the swing hitch plate was actually bent out about 3/4 inch causing the front of the swing hitch to bend upward a couple of inches which was one of the considerations in getting rid of it and welding it up as it could have perhaps been a safety hazard by breaking some day. Thanks for the advice

Looks like you did the right thing. That swing hitch looks scary.

Your last photo mentions that the swing part tilts up.

Mine is dead level with the main part of the frame. When the TM has the four corner jacks down and I take the weight off of the tongue wheel, there is no wiggle of any kind in the swing tongue assembly. It does not move up/down at all. It is just as rigid as it would be if it were welded in place.

It is difficult to slide the pin into the hole, because it fits so snugly. Sometimes I tap it gently with a hammer to get it to go down.