I am fairly new to the whole toyhauler / truck world and have never done this, much less knew it was recommended. What is the reason behind it? Thanks,

Jim

I think the main reason they tell you to disconnect them is that the force of the spring bars could bend the trailer tongue if the angle between the truck and trailer becomes too great. Another thing to consider is the hitch rating, which is normally half the weight capacity without the bars attached. So, with bars, it will handle 1200 lb tongue weight, and without bars it is only rated for 600. So, it boils down to bending the hitch or bending the tongue. Pick one. Hitch is probably cheaper to fix, unless of course like Rivermobsters truck shows, the frame on the truck has also bent, which is probably fairly likely. Come to think of it, you could probably bend the truck frame as well with the bars attached, but it seems less likely given the direction of the forces on the truck ....

hold on there cowboy, that aint MY truck!!! it does belong to a board memeber here, and it is (of course) a chevy truck!!!

he learned his lesson, and allowed me to share the pic. he pulls his bars every time now, and it hasnt happend again.

they say a picture says a thousand words...

When I go off road at Ocotillo Wells, I remove the spring arms on my toyhauler as soon as get off the paved road. I have the 12k lbs. Equalizer hitch. I have to stop, jack up the tongue, remove the spring arms, lower tongue and continue off road.

Buddy I go camping with does this as well since I told him it was recommended by trailer mfg. I don't think I have seen anybody else doing this and I look for it when I see someone drive offroad.

Does anybody do this? If not, why not? Just curious about this

Thanks,
Sal

You dont have to jack it up to pull the bars off.........just stay to the side when you release the binders. The pipe flips down real fast so stay out of the way.

I think the main reason they tell you to disconnect them is that the force of the spring bars could bend the trailer tongue if the angle between the truck and trailer becomes too great. Another thing to consider is the hitch rating, which is normally half the weight capacity without the bars attached. So, with bars, it will handle 1200 lb tongue weight, and without bars it is only rated for 600. So, it boils down to bending the hitch or bending the tongue. Pick one. Hitch is probably cheaper to fix, unless of course like Rivermobsters truck shows, the frame on the truck has also bent, which is probably fairly likely. Come to think of it, you could probably bend the truck frame as well with the bars attached, but it seems less likely given the direction of the forces on the truck ....

I think the extra 30 seconds to jack the thing up 6 inches is worth not risking a broken femur.









I guess its like everything else........if your smart enough not to put your femur in front of the bar when you release it. And you can save the broken bones for later out in the sand. He acted like it was a lot of work to take them off. I was just pointing out that it doesnt have to be.

I think the extra 30 seconds to jack the thing up 6 inches is worth not risking a broken femur.

You dont have to jack it up to pull the bars off.........just stay to the side when you release the binders. The pipe flips down real fast so stay out of the way.


I never thought of taking mine off. I do have a real long bumper pull triple axle, so not as much movement. And I dont (wont) tow it with my chevy!

Not sure what you mean by "binders" or "pipe flips down real fast" On the Equa-li-zer I don't think you can release the bars without jacking the trailer up to release the weight on 'em.

Maybe you are referring to the other types of weight dist. setups. Never have used them so I am not familiar.

By "binders" I mean the place where you hook the chain back to the frame (tounge) of the trailer. You usualy use a pipe to pull up to put tension on the chains. And the pipe flips down real fast is if you release the binder with that same pipe. And yes you can take them off without getting the blocks of wood out, jacking the trailer up, unhooking them, raising the jack back up and puting the blocks back away (and the bars). I guess some of you do that in 30 sec, if I do it that way it takes me a little longer than 30 sec.

I leave mine on but tow slow down wash road and the washes. Does anyone else have the problem with the hitch leaning back without the bars on? I have tightened up the bolts for the hitch but when I moved my trailer without the spring bars it pushed the hitch down/angled back. I am worried about breaking the bolts without the spring bars, is this normal or am I just having problems that need to be looked at/fixed? I hope I am explaining this right.