Trailer Sway with Equal-I-Zer

Jeepin-family

Member
Joined
May 28, 2013
Messages
18
Location
Arkansas
Hey guys. We picked up our 2013 214WSD Saturday. The dealer installed our Equalizer wt/sway hitch. I believe it is the 10K pound. I noticed the sway bars were at a slight down angle. Does this sound right? It looked to me that it would have been level had they raised it a notch, but I trusted their judgment. On the way home, we got quite a bit of trailer sway as we were about to be passed by 18-wheelers on the interstate. Is that to be expected? I thought it would be more steady. Our tow vehicle is a 2011 Jeep Grand, 5.7L, V8 HEMI, tow rated for 7,400 lbs. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
Hi Jeepin-family,
You asked for thoughts and that’s all I can give as I am no expert. I suppose the first question is how bad is the sway? I expect a little bit of buffeting under certain conditions may be normal especially on a shorter wheelbase tow vehicle with a fairly long trailer, but you will want to try and eliminate most of it. There is a lot of information in previous posts that seem to address problems similar to yours that might be of help to you to review. The Equalizer hitch is generally very well regarded by those that use it. I would be more concerned that the tow vehicle and trailer are level than if the Equalizer hitch is level. It is possible that a little fine tuning on tire pressure, loading of both vehicles, and tuning on the hitch may improve your handling.

Hopefully someone else will comment on your issues also.
M&M
 
I haven't experienced any sway with mind in high winds, cross winds or meet/passing semi tractor trailer rigs. Can't say if the bars are dead level or not as dealer set it up but they are fairly level with the trailer hitch or would have been noticeable I'd think.
 
We have the same tow vehicle ('11 limited 4x4 5.7L), but are towing a smaller rig (189FDR, 2,600 # dry, 19' long). I use a 12k equalizer. I tow around 65-70mph, and on all our trips i can rarely ever tell the trailer is there. On the interstate occasionally i get passed by a big rig going 80mph or so (much too fast) and my whole rig will move a bit, but not much. Certainly not enough movement to cause any concern.

Now, i think the important thing here is my rid is several feet shorter and weighs some 1,000 pounds less than yours, so take that into account. I'd still expect your setup to be similarly worry free.
 

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