Equal-i-zer setup on a Ram 1500, washers, drop numbers and real tongue weight

you do not need the tongue scale, you need 20 bucks and a CAT scale. three passes, same load, same people in the truck.

pass one, truck only, no trailer. you get steer axle and drive axle. pass two, hooked up, bars on, the way you tow. steer, drive, trailer axles. pass three, hooked up, bars off or the chains dropped, so the trailer is just hanging on the ball. steer, drive, trailer. first weigh is 13.50, reweighs are 3.50 each within 24 hours so do it in one trip.

then. tongue weight is the truck total in pass three minus the truck total in pass one. the trailer total is the pass three trailer axle number plus the tongue weight. front axle load restoration is how much of the steer axle weight you lost in pass three got put back in pass two. Ram wants the front axle returned to within 50 percent of what you lost for that year, some years say 100 percent, check the towing section of your manual. most of us shoot for 75 to 100.

post the six numbers and we will do the rest.

while you wait for the scale, the shop way to set an Equal-i-zer. the washers set the tilt of the head. more washers tilts the ball back toward the trailer, which puts more preload on the bars when you lift them onto the brackets, which moves more weight forward onto the front axle. 6 is a middle number. if the front is still dropping over an inch with 6, try 7, and use the next link down on the bars if you run out of washers. 1.1 inches is too much, you want the front to come back to within a half inch of unhooked, and on a lot of trucks you can get it to a quarter.

sway brackets, the L brackets on the trailer frame, the manual wants them 27 to 32 inches back from the center of the coupler. measure yours. if the dealer kid put them at 24 the bars ride the ends of the brackets and you get that wandering you are describing. the brackets also need the top link plate tight or they rattle and walk.

grease. the ball and the top of the L brackets get a little, the bar sockets in the head stay dry on a 4 point, they are supposed to rub, that is the sway control. people grease them and then wonder why the trailer sways.

1,000 bars are correct for a 2670MK if your tongue is under a thousand loaded, which it should be. 1,200s on a half ton will beat the receiver up. do not go up.

on the tongue scale question, i borrowed a Sherline from a guy at church for a weekend and it read within 30 pounds of my CAT scale math, so the scale trip works. what the Sherline is good for is checking after you rearrange the trailer, like when i moved my generator forward into the pass through and gained 90 on the tongue without going anywhere.

and dale is right about the brackets rattling. mine were loose for a season and i blamed the road. two bolts.

your math is right. 890 on the tongue is a healthy number for a 2670MK, 12.9 percent is right where you want it for sway. 53 percent front axle restoration is on the low side, that is the wandering. that is a washer or a link, not a different hitch. go to 7 washers, re-measure the fenders, you will probably land near 80 percent and the nose will feel planted.

the number i would watch is 180 under GVWR with two people and a dog. add two kids and a cooler and you are at the line. the door jamb placard is the honest number for that, and nhtsa.gov has the plain english on what the tire and loading placard means if anyone wants it from somebody other than a forum.

and move the brackets to 29 or 30 inches while you are under there, 25 is why the bars are riding the bracket ends. one more thing nobody does: check the bar tension and the bracket bolts again after the first 500 miles on a new setup. the brackets settle into the frame paint and everything loosens a quarter turn. then it is set and you can forget it until spring.