MountainTop
Active Member
Our Pilot is a 4WD, so can carry the heavier weight.
Scary end to first big trip
- Thread starter MountainTop
- Start date
Is your hitch an original Equal-I-Zer or is it the E2? The original Equal-I-Zer has 4 point sway control and the E2 has two point. Not sure if your hitch was damaged in the incident, but if it was, may I suggest the original 4 point Equal-I-Zer over the E2? There are a few websites that sell the original for a little over $400, sometimes with free shipping. I would also suggest that after you purchase a new trailer, load it up, and get it on the scales to see if you have a weight distribution problem. So sorry to hear of your incident, but glad you are safe. Best of luck on a replacement unit.
westxsrt10
Perfict Senior Member
OK....I didn't see he had posted he had a 2012 4x4 ?. That's still odd because a 2 wd Honda the same year with the same engine can tow only 2000 lbs. Normally a 4x4 can tow less weight.
http://automobiles.honda.com/pilot/specifications.aspx
jnbhobe
Well-known member
This situation usually happens from not enough weight on the ball and the trailer weighing as much or more than the tow vehicle. Dropping a wheel off the edge of the road isn't as bad as trying to bring it back on, thats usually what starts the sway, although wind can also do it. Best way to straighten it back out is to apply the TRAILER BRAKES ONLY till you can get it straight and slowed down. If the trailer brakes don't straighten it out the only thing left to do is hold the manual trailer on all the way and accelerate wide open, steer to the center of the road, and hope the H%LL it works. This has only happened to me once and I saved it, the next year I owned a fifth wheel !!
I don't believe that they posted what year their Pilot was...I was simply using the 2012 ratings from the Honda website, but was just trying to point out that the Pilot, like you stated, for some strange reason has a higher 4WD tow rating than the 2WD. My only guess is that the Pilot has heavier rated axles for 4WD applications than for 2WD.
Had 2 bad sway incidents with my 181. After the first (on an interstate outside Denver, hit a bump in a curve that set it off) I added a 2nd Marine battery to the front to add weight and added a sway bar. That seemed to do the trick, but it happened again recently. This time on a long downhill in NY. Was going too fast (hadn't realized how much speed I gained on the hill). Used my brake controller and got it back in line. I also tow a commercial trailer and had a Jayco Baja pop up. NEVER had any sway issues with either. Seems the 181 is not as well balanced. Especially with the water tank in the rear. I want to use my bike rack, but now I'm very reluctant. I tow all my trailers with a Jeep Liberty Diesel. It has a 5000 lb tow capacity, so I figured it would be fine with the MPG, but perhaps not :-(
I'm confused. I also have an Equal-i-zer weight distributing hitch, and it is supposed to have an anti sway bar. I have the ball assembly that slides into the receiver on the Mercury, and two ~1" square steel bars that slide into the ball assembly at one end and sit on an L-bracket on the trailer tongue on the other end. There are also a few pins that hold things together, but that's all there is to my setup. Am I supposed to have more?
GOTTOYS
Well-known member
If what you have is an Equal-I-Zer brand hitch that's all there is. The weight bars when properly setup, serve as anti-sway bars as well. It takes a bit to set one up properly but they really work well. I might suggest looking at their website for info on setting it up...Don
GOTTOYS
Well-known member
That Liberty might be rated for 5,000# but with that short wheelbase stability would be a real concern for me. I would try and keep as much weight to the front as possible...Don
Ray LeTourneau
Senior Member - Past Moderator
David, Do your equalizer bars "slide" in the L brackets on the trailer frame? If so, there should be a way to tension them. Some add an individual anti sway device as needed.
Bigmaho with the Liberty has an extremely short wheelbase TV which adds to the potential sway issue. With your Mountaineer, it's a little heavier and longer but tongue weight is still an important factor. It might be a good idea to have your rig and TV weighed if you're having sway problems.
Tumblebug
Well-known member
David has the same hitch set up that I have. They were set up by the dealer and appear to be in line with the instructions on the web.
The MPG is an easy trailer to miss load. You can get more weight in her that it's built for. and esspecially in the rear making a lower that the 10% normal
hitch weight. The single axle with poor weight distribution leads to problems. I Pulled my MPG over 8,000 miles and had a blow out without any loss of control.
The MPG is an easy trailer to miss load. You can get more weight in her that it's built for. and esspecially in the rear making a lower that the 10% normal
hitch weight. The single axle with poor weight distribution leads to problems. I Pulled my MPG over 8,000 miles and had a blow out without any loss of control.
I haven't had ours weighed, but I doubt that we have more than a couple of hundred pounds of "stuff" in it. We've been thinking of it as a much more civilized tent, and pack accordingly.
No, I've NOT had any sway problems. I was told that the hitch included sway control, and since I've not had any sway problems, I assumed that everything was working properly. Once we learned how to get the trailer level when hitching/unhitching the bars simply slide on and off (just like they did for the dealer when he demonstrated it). It would be nice to know for sure, though, so that we can tell the next owner the correct information.
No, I've NOT had any sway problems. I was told that the hitch included sway control, and since I've not had any sway problems, I assumed that everything was working properly. Once we learned how to get the trailer level when hitching/unhitching the bars simply slide on and off (just like they did for the dealer when he demonstrated it). It would be nice to know for sure, though, so that we can tell the next owner the correct information.
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
Here is the equal-i-lizer hitch mfg web site.
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/
They have detailed information on how the equal-i-zer works to prevent sway, etc.
http://www.equalizerhitch.com/
They have detailed information on how the equal-i-zer works to prevent sway, etc.
