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Old 07-08-2017, 10:17 PM   #1
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Hand-me-down towing parts, what is here?

So, the in-laws gave us some parts and pieces. I have no idea what I'm looking at, no way to know whether these are usable for an Escape 21', and what we will need in addition to this.

Those towing accessories are so pricey, so I really appreciate any help figuring out if these are some of what we need!

EDIT: OK well I know this is a hitch, a sway bar, and equalizer bars, right? I just don't know what kind they are, if they are what we need, and what else we need that's not pictured.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:34 PM   #2
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Adrienne, you will need a hitch ball, so you might be able to use that. Since you're towing with a Tundra Crew Max, I'm not sure if the weight distribution hitch is needed.

You have the bars for the weight distribution hitch, and the receiver they attach to, but I don't see the brackets that go on the trailer frame that the chains attach to. Again though, you may not need a weight distribution hitch at all.

I would probably try towing with just a ball and see how it goes. If the ball on the stinger in your photo is a 2", just pick up a 2" stinger to attach the ball to and you're done. They have different "drops" depending on the hitch ball height you need based on your tow.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:36 PM   #3
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It is a WDH that you may or may not be able to use. What is your tow vehicle? I would not want to use that ball mount unless I could use the WDH with it. Too heavy to bother with it.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:37 PM   #4
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It is a WDH that you may or may not be able to use. What is your tow vehicle?
2013 tundra crew Max.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:40 PM   #5
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Adrienne, you will need a hitch ball, so you might be able to use that. Since you're towing with a Tundra Crew Max, I'm not sure if the weight distribution hitch is needed.

You have the bars for the weight distribution hitch, and the receiver they attach to, but I don't see the brackets that go on the trailer frame that the chains attach to. Again though, you may not need a weight distribution hitch at all.
If a weight distribution hitch isn't necessary, can it still be beneficial to use? If it's just totally extra we'll just get a simple hitch. If we can still benefit from weight distribution I guess we'll figure out what kind of brackets we need for the trailer?

What about the sway bar?
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:45 PM   #6
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If a weight distribution hitch isn't necessary, can it still be beneficial to use? If it's just totally extra we'll just get a different hitch without the weight distribution. If we can still benefit from weight distribution I guess we'll figure out what kind of breakers we need for the trailer?

What about the sway bar?
I wouldn't worry about the sway bar.

A WDH is beneficial in that it distributes weight from the back to the front of your truck. If that's not needed, there isn't much benefit. It's lugging around a very heavy bunch of steel. If it is needed because your tongue weight is too high or you experience handling problems without it, then by all means use one.

Note that there are different ratings for a WDH in terms of the weight of trailer they're designed to tow. The one in the photo looks to be more than enough - maybe too much. But again, you're missing the frame brackets.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:45 PM   #7
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Look for a label that tells you the WDH's capacity. You don't want one that is over-rated for the application. Those bars look substantial.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:48 PM   #8
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If a weight distribution hitch isn't necessary, can it still be beneficial to use? If it's just totally extra we'll just get a simple hitch. If we can still benefit from weight distribution I guess we'll figure out what kind of brackets we need for the trailer?

What about the sway bar?
Yes, you may want a WDH. We knew people who used one to tow their 19' with a Tundra and I don't think they would tow without it. Don't know about the brackets for that. Ours is different. The bars, however, look like what we have although others are saying that they look too substantial. I can't tell for sure from the photo.
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Old 07-08-2017, 10:58 PM   #9
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Right, OK. I'll look for the label tomorrow. More than likely, we'll wind up getting something else. I posted these in case the response was "absolutely! Those are perfect!"

Now we'll have to decide if we want to get something from ETI in CDN ahead of time, or find something on our own online as needed, and potentially spend more...
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:04 PM   #10
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They might be perfect but we cannot tell. You can take them to a shop and ask about the brackets. Or maybe find the label or stamp.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:05 PM   #11
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If you buy from ETI, it's Canadian dollars and they install it for you. Hard to beat that.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:15 PM   #12
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If you buy from ETI, it's Canadian dollars and they install it for you. Hard to beat that.
Yep, hard to beat, and installed properly.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:29 PM   #13
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If you buy from ETI, it's Canadian dollars and they install it for you. Hard to beat that.
Will they install it even if we have it shipped? Tina said they won't install our Springfield pedestal since we're having the camper shipped and they normally do that at orientation. We can't even ship it out during production and have them install it..

If we buy from ETI, which should we buy? We want max safety, so we don't want to punch pennies here.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:36 PM   #14
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Will they install it even if we have it shipped? Tina said they won't install our Springfield pedestal since we're having the camper shipped and they normally do that at orientation. We can't even ship it out during production and have them install it..

If we buy from ETI, which should we buy? We want max safety, so we don't want to punch pennies here.
I would not pass up these parts If you can use them. No sense in spending several hundred dollars for basically the same thing if these are suitable for your tow. Need to look into that more.

Since you are having the Escape shipped, you would have to have a local shop set up things after receiving the Escape, or arrival home, although the shipper may give you some help initially. You may not be able to get completely set up right on the spot when the trailer is delivered. Delivered to your house or to a pick-up point?

If to your house, this is a good time to go shopping shops and see what you think of them when asking questions about these parts.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:40 PM   #15
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If you are having the trailer shipped, I'd just get a 2" bar and ball and try that for a while. If I didn't have to have WDH on my RAV, I wouldn't.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:42 PM   #16
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I would not pass up these parts If you can use them. No sense in spending several hundred dollars for basically the same thing if these are suitable for your tow. Need to look into that more.

Since you are having the Escape shipped, you would have to have a local shop set up things after arrival home although the shipper may give you some help initially. You may not be able to get completely set up right on the spot when the trailer is delivered. Delivered to your house or to a pick-up point?

If to your house, this is a good time to go shopping shops and see what you think of them when asking questions about these parts.
OK I'll investigate these things further before ruling them out. We plan on meeting the camper at a pick-up point, 99%. We live in South Louisiana and have a two year old, so Washington is pretty far.
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Old 07-08-2017, 11:46 PM   #17
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OK I'll investigate these things further before ruling them out. We plan on meeting the camper at a pick-up point, 99%. We live in South Louisiana and have a two year old, so Washington is pretty far.
Well, since a pick-up point, I would ask Escape if the driver can get you set up right if there is a WDH. At this point, no sense in asking since you do not know about these parts yet.

Sometimes there are other owners at the pick-up points at the same delivery who know how to do such things. You will know if you are meeting others there and can find out what they can help with. You will need it done right to go home!
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Old 07-09-2017, 01:43 AM   #18
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This looks like the sway bar.



Here's one on the Eaz-lift, it's pretty close to the WDH part of what you have. As you'll see you are missing the brackets, kind of useless without.



If you end up not using what you have, hang onto the shank and the ball. When I bought an "Equal-i-zer" for a previous trailer I needed to buy both separately from the WDH.

I would think ETI wouldn't install the hitch on your trailer as you need both the trailer and vehicle to do so.

When I did mine I found the instructions pretty clear. If you are somewhat handy you can install one yourself when you get the trailer or find an friend or RV shop around that can do it for you, they are all pretty similar. Took me an hour or so, someone who knows what they are doing is a lot faster.

You need to know what the expected tongue weight of the trailer is to buy a properly size WDH.

Someone here that's had a bumper pull trailer delivered, should be able to tell you if you need a ball mount and ball on hand when the trailer is delivered. They dropped my 5th wheel in the street and I needed to have my hitch in place so I could get it off the street.

The ball mounts can be fixed or adjustable, ETI should be able to tell you what the receiver height is so you can get close to the right height of ball mount for your truck.

You can see they come in all flavors here. https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mount
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Old 07-09-2017, 06:17 AM   #19
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If you want to travel to Pennsylvania and pick it up in York, Pa, I would be glad to help you. There was another owner here who had their 19 Escape shipped with mine to York and after delivery I took them camping at Gettysburg to give him an "orientation" of the features. He was a novice and really needed some pointers. Worked out fine.
Dave, the delivery man would not be able to install your hitch and set it up I'm sure, that would take too much of his time, since he is on a tight schedule.
You may just need an adjustable height hitch with a 2" ball with your tow vehicle. I'd try towing it with just that before buying a whole new set up. The one in the picture looks well used.
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Old 07-09-2017, 06:21 AM   #20
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Dave, the delivery man would not be able to install your hitch and set it up I'm sure, that would take too much of his time, since he is on a tight schedule.
I'm sure that's correct.

I would try towing with just a ball. If you have issues doing that, and you aren't comfortable installing a WDH, find a reliable RV shop. It's a quick and easy job.
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