Air Equalizer Shocker Hitch Installation & Videos Showing How It Works (My Personal Review)

[@treadlightlyservicesllc.1930]

I have this exact hitch, if you lower the pin height where it mounts to your receiver on the one side you can raise the hitch head height by one bolt hole which will approximately lower the entire airbag by 2 inches thereby allowing you to get into the tailgate

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Awesome how do you like how the hitch performs? How long have you had it? I tried your suggestion and had to lower it a lot in order to lower it so I could open the tailgate, problem is the ball lowered so much that the trailer was no longer level (really lower in the front) so I could not do it. Any more suggestions? Thanks so much for watching and your suggestion. www.youtube.com/@thetraveltrailerguy/videos

[@alvindorris4373]

Tk u so much. Iam looking at Shocker. Just waiting on new Brinkley z295 air.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

You're welcome Alvin. We are on a around 10,000 +/- mile cross country trip with 43 camping stops with the Shocker hitch and are around 6,000 miles into the trip. As part of my comparison I reinstalled our old hitch set up with just the Equalizer 4 Point Hitch 600 miles ago to compare the difference in the ride. I must say we are getting a much smoother ride with the Shocker and can really feel the improved difference in the ride with it. We've been on some rough freeway and country roads with both and it out performs using it. I'm going to keep traveling without the Shocker for another 1,000 miles to see how the ride goes (even though my wife and I want to put the Shocker back on now). Keep an eye out for my follow up video on how it performed on our trip that I hope to put out in May 2024 sometime. Enjoy your new trailer :) www.youtube.com/@thetraveltrailerguy/videos

[@pauls7751]

The only suspension mod on my F150 are a set of rear Bilstein shocks Series: B8 5100. They totally removed the rebound in the rear you experience on uneven surfaces such as interstate overpasses. My latest 1200 mile round trip to Florida was silky smooth compared to prior trips. Plus I had upgraded from an older Curt WDH to a Husky Centerline TS. It looks just like your hitch.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

That's good to know, I'll have to check these shocks out. I currently have air bags in the rear that I air up according to the load I'm carrying. I wonder if these shocks will work with the airbags I have, I'm thinking they will?

[@pauls7751]

​@@thetraveltrailerguythey should work fine. They are the same dimensions as the factory shocks. They are the silver ones

[@jmcasteel7310]

Really enjoyed this video Mike. Pretty comprehensive illustration on all aspects of this hitch. Not sure this would work for my needs but you do have me considering the possibility. Safe travels my friend.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Good to hear from you again :) I was really impressed with how this smoothed out the ride. Getting ready to go on the cross country trip and looking forward to see how the hitch performs on the trip. I hope you and the family are doing well

[@jmcasteel7310]

@@thetraveltrailerguy I thought of a question after browsing their web site. How do you determine which hitch is best suited for your TV & TT?

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

I know what you mean, they have lots of hitches to choose from. The best thing to do is give them a call and let them know what hitch you have now, the head you have might just bolt on their Air Equalizer Shocker Hitch or they may have a complete set up to buy from them. This is the Shocker Hitch I have shockerhitch.com/product/air-equalizer/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAzc2tBhA6EiwArv-i6QMXeaB9HLuwF35aJ8sevHryt-Ox4tJwoDM3UL2pWnd-ReLRK79hpRoC9yUQAvD_BwE and I installed my Equalizer Head to it (This head is not made by Shocker).

[@allan6021]

Michael, it looks like a nice add on to smooth out the ride but it’s not for me. Two reasons. If it adds more weight to the hitch head that’s a big negative for my bad back. And not being able to open the tailgate is another negative for me. But if those two things are not an issue for someone then it would definitely be an option to look into.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Thanks so much for watching Allan and the feedback. It sure made the ride much more enjoyable than before. Yep its a little heavier so having a bad back could be a problem unless you have someone around to put it on and take it off. On our truck it does block the the tailgate from coming down but I've see that with some set ups you can lower the tailgate. Thanks again for watching and your comment :)

[@allan6021]

@@thetraveltrailerguy With our current travel trailer I opted to buy the Weigh Safe WDH. The hitch head is easily separated into two parts so it’s easier to lift and handle. It also has a longer (horizontally) hitch head so it allows you to open the tailgate no problem. However, my experience with the Weigh Safe and the Equal-i-zer WDH is that the Equal-i-zer did a better job at sway control.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it. I have a friend that just bought the Weigh Safe WDH and he's on a long trip with it now. I'll see how he likes it when becomes back (I forgot what hitch he had before). As you saw in the video I have the Equalizer 4-point Hitch and I really like it for sway control.

[@scottschweikert8534]

Do you have to remove hitch to open tailgate 8:13 it looks like it interferes. I bought the 18” extended shank for my equalizer so I can open tailgate fully. Otherwise it hits jack if trailer. I like the air hitch but don’t want to not be able to open tailgate with tt hooked up

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Yes I do need to remove the hitch to open the tailgate. Some people may not have to with their set ups. With me as I mention in the video we remove the hitch and bars every time we get to a camp site and when we get home so it is not bothersome for us. I have read that several states do not allow you to leave your trailer hitch on without being connected to a trailer and if someone hits your hitch you can be held responsible for damage. Check this video out - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYG0e3adaK5snqcsi=8ze_CdEKf5CJNWj0 Here's a link to all my other videos - www.youtube.com/@thetraveltrailerguy/videos

[@jasonb9913]

Are you going to scale it to do a final adjustment on the head angle? With the "floating" of the ball mount itself between the stops in this hitch, does it matter?

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Thanks for watching, It feels all dialed in and is working great how it is. Every thing seems solid to me and and the trailer and truck are level with the hitch setting I have it at. Great question Jason.

[@haldyer3145]

Interesting setup. Curious though, do you have any other ride modifications? Personally, I added airbags to my F150 to lessen the truck squat which also helped the ride. Additionally, I added SumoSprings & Lippert Equa-Flex equalizers to my trailers suspension which helped the jolting to the trailer contents from rough roads.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Good question Hal, I do have air bags on the truck with a remote control onboard air compressor. When not hooked up to the trailer and no load in the bed of the truck I have 5 PSI in the bags. When towing and nothing in the back of the truck the bags have 20 PSI in them, and when towing and and having two Ebikes in the bed of the truck I put 28 psi in the air bags. The trailer has 2 Dexter Torflex axles that seem to work well. I like your set up, it would be cool to feel the ride it gives compared to what I have. What trailer and model do you have?

[@haldyer3145]

@@thetraveltrailerguy Thanks for the response. I’ve never experienced torflex axles. I’d love to be able to compare them. As far as my rig. It’s a 2019 Freedom Express 248RBS which has a widespread spring over setup. The new equalizers made a difference in chucking when going over bumps. Which didn’t appear to happen in your video. The SumoSprings definitely reduced the jarring & bouncing. I run 50lbs in the bags when towing because of bed weight and a noticeable difference in bed bounce and sway in the wind. Normal PSI is 5 lbs but pump it up to 100 lbs when installing my weight distribution bars. Not nearly as well built as a Lance which I originally considered since they’re manufactured near to where I live. They just didn’t have an optimal floorplan for me and the clincher was that the time I was looking at rigs there headroom was only 74”s and I’m 73”s tall.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

I live up in Sonoma County, CA and have lived here all my life. I love the camping weather in California and am able to camp year round because of it. The Lance has a lower ceiling height like you mentioned, I'm 6' 3" tall and am able to walk normally without without hitting my head :) I had to remove a pocket door header in order to do this but its okay we never used the pocket door anyway. We used to own a Rockwood Mini Lite as you can see in many of my videos and I have found that the quality of the lance build is great and it works great for us. We camp around 120 days through each year.

[@kenj.8897]

Looks like a nice set up . 7k trip , wow , coast to coast?

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Thanks for watching Ken. With this Hitch set up I'm really impressed with the improved ride, I'm happy we have this hitch set up. Its going to make the long trips a lot more enjoyable. Yep we are heading out for 3 months on a coast to coast trip :)

[@kenj.8897]

@@thetraveltrailerguy👍 did it with my parents when I was a kid , 5 kids . Lol wish I had my dad's patience.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

@@kenj.8897 LOL

[@pauls7751]

If you are in the Smoky Mountains hit me up.

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

I definitely will Paul, what area do you live in?

[@Gearswapper]

Yup if you forget and drop that tailgate..🤦 it’s a bad day !! It will ruin the back side and that is an expensive learning Mistake!!

[@thetraveltrailerguy]

Yep it would be a really bad day for sure. We just got back from a 10,000 mile 3 month trip with 43 stops and never forgot it was there when we left it on. I will be doing a follow up video on the hitch when I get a chance. We sure did notice a lot better towing experience using this hitch on rough roads. I would buy it again.