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Requested an Equalizer got a Reese

1K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  Y-Guy 
#1 ·
Made the deal for the Outback and told them to include the Equalizer in the price. On the Due Bill that they completed they listed the hitch as EQ. Not 'wd' or Reese anywhere on any form. Did the walk through & noticed the bars say Reese, I asked if this was an Equalizer & they said "yep great wd hitch, you won't need any sway bar."

Now, I'm a stone cold newbie. I told them I wanted an Equalizer hitch based on my research here & a couple other places. I've never even seen one until looking at the catalog they sent me today.

I've had the trailer 5 days, taking it back in on the 7th day to have some minor things fixed & I want my Equalizer. I signed off on everything at the PDI however the due bill definately listed the hitch as 'EQ'. When I spoke with the sales manager when the deal was closed he showed me the price of the Equalizer at $800.

I think I should be able to demand my Equalizer at no additional $$. I believe I paid for it. Any strategies? Where do I take the fight? Service or Sales? And, who defines 'EQ' hitch on the due bill. Could some knucklehead have messed up when they did the hitchwork? What would you do?

Can you help a brotha out?
 
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#2 · (Edited by Moderator)
Been there myself. Back when I bought our Kiwi the dealer included an Equalizer hitch, but as we neared the pick up date it was clear it wasn't an Equal-i-zer brand, but a generic. I has specified an Equal-i-zer in my sales contract so I held them to it. I ended up paying a bit of the difference but felt it was a fair deal. I know the dealer ended up eating a bit more since I had the best price at the time from the net and told them I wouldn't pay anything higher, further they had to FedEx ship it so we would pick up the trailer the next day.

The arrangement was with your sales person, if you were clear go back to him and make him make it right. The Reese is a good hitch, but I wouldn't take it without sway control. The Equalizer can be had for $399, heck even buying it straight from Lindon hitch in UT won't cost you $800. Your dealer is adding some massive overhead on the hitch.

I'd stand by your guns and tell them you had a deal for an Equalizer and hold them to it. How much would they knock off if you got your own hitch? Maybe order one for $399 and have them install it for free.

I know your in CA, don't suppose you bought it from Manteca RV did you?
 
#3 ·
Hey Y-Guy,

Bought it from Paul Everts in Fresno. They have the Equalizer in their own catalog for $520. Wouldn't you read EQ to mean Equalizer & not Reese Trunnion WD? That's what we talked about. Now to get the sway control I need it will cost another $140.

How about this: I keep the Reese & have them comp me the sway control. How does that compare to having an Equalizer on this 28 footer?

I'm going in Monday, got a leaky pressure release valve on the hot water heater. We'll take it up with them at that time.

Thanks in advance for your input.

dp
 
#4 ·
The Reese is good enough that if they will comp the sway control I'd probably do it. but don't accept them giving you a friction sway bar. I still prefer the Equalizer, but that's my personal preference, realistically both do a good job at WD and Sway control.
 
#5 ·
Sounds like the sales rep wrote it down and the service tech did not pay attention.

Personally we would hold them to the deal. Fortunately we had no probs and even asked the dealer to throw it into the deal since we were driving 4 hours to them (kind of make it worth our drive) and he said no prob and deal! We too wanted the EQ .... and it will say on the bars "Equl-i-zer."

Good luck sunny
 
#6 ·
Hey Twins Make 4,

You know, Everts's kind of did the same thing to me. I've got a 21RS and I'm fine with the Reese EQ Hitch that I got but I had told the salesman that I wanted sway control also. I did'nt get it in writing.
When I picked it up it wasn't on it and they said that I would never need it with that size trailer.
After I left Evert's with the trailer I drove it around for a while out on Golden State. It was windy and the fresh water tank was full. To make a long story short, I went back and bought one Rese friction bar and put it on. It was less than $100 and took about 1/2 hour to put on. It seems to work great. I had no sway issues on a trip to Morro Bay and it was quite windy on the way home. Of course, I had no water in the fresh water tankeither.
 
#7 ·
Thanks Walt,

I guess the question is...what does 'EQ Hitch' mean on the Due Bill? He actually quoted me a price for the Equalizer during our conversation yet the term EQ hitch was on the work order. I'm confident that I've paid for it already. I'm thinking that I would call it even if they would comp me the dual cam sway control & put it on the reese in place now. From all I've been able to find here & other places, they both rate very high.

We'll see what happens tomorrow & I'll let you know.
 
#8 ·
Ok,

I wish I had been explicit in what I wanted. I assumed that sway control was part of any standard installation. Like, who wouln't want it??? I have talked to several of my friends who have trailers and they have the same set-up I do and they are happy with it. I guess if I had a really big trailer and wanted to tow it at 65mph and wanted to load it up anyway I felt like then yeah I might want the Equalizer Brand Hitch. But only because I've read lots about it. on rv.net. I really wish Consumer Reports would get into evaluating products in the RV industry. That might help. I used to subscribe to Trailer Life magizine, but they never reviewed a product they didn't like! It seems like there are alot of overrated high priced, unnecessary products out there that folks get convinced they need.... me included. I don't have an unlimited amount of money to spent on the trailer although my wife might disagree because of what she sees me bringing home for it every couple of days! OK, so much for my editorializing! Just my humble opinion everyone!
 
#9 ·
Twins,

If you are going to try for a comp'd sway, I'd settle for the Dual Cam HP only! With 29+' of trailer, your going to want all the sway control you can get.

However, if you asked for the Equal-i-zer, and was quoted a price for same, and the same was marked on the invoice, I would stick to my guns, and get what you paid for. The only argument for the dealer is that WD hitches are also known as equalizing hitches. If the dealership sells the Equal-i-zer in their own cataloge, they should know the difference though.

Mention the better business bureau, the chamber of commerce, and your willingness to write lots and lots of letters, and to be a royal PITA to every manager in the building until you get what you want. Contrary to what many business people think now a days, I still feel the customer is ALWAYS RIGHT! I will say this, I would be hard pressed to do business with this dealership, their store, or their service department again. Even if it meant driving a little farther for warranty service. Any Keystone dealer, whether Outback, or another line, can service the vehicle under warranty.

Call around, and explain your disatisfaction with the current dealer, and ask if they would perform the service, or tell them you just moved into the area. I'm sure they would be happy to have the opportunity to earn your customer loyalty in the future.

Just MHO.

Tim
 
#10 ·
I would not settle for anything less than was stated in the original deal.
Equal-i-zer is a brand name. If it says EQ, that's short for "Equal-i-zer". Not WD as in weight distributing hitch.

The Equal-i-zer has built in anti-sway...and it's a heck of a good hitch. If it were me...I'd be heading in there demanding the Equal-i-zer! (the checkbook would not be involved!)

Maybe I'm a little spiteful, but I'd rather spend the $500-$800 on a lawyer to go get the hitch!


Good luck!
 
#12 ·
I too pull with the Reese HP Daul Cam setup and it will handle your TT just fine. I am not going to get into a debat over Equal-i-zer vs. Reese HP Dual Cam because they are both good choices. Foks here speak very highly on either of the hitches. However, if you wanted the EQ, and the EQ was on the paper work, and the EQ is what you expected to get then you should stand your ground and demand the EQ.

On the other hand, Jim has a good point, if all the holes are drilled for the Reese setup it may be a better choice.

Good Luck
 
#14 ·
Okay here's how the deal shook out. I had the salesman pull out the form where he quoted me the cost of the Equalizer. It stated "#750 Equalizer Hitch"....$580.00 This is not a reference to the Equal-i-zer brand product but a weight 'equalizing' hitch. Hence the term 'EQ Hitch' on the due bill. I spoke with the service manager as well who I have known for some years & he said they use the term EQ for a basic weight distribution hitch.

Bottom Line: I didn't get an Equal-i-zer, but neither did I pay for one.

After some discussion about how I had done the research & my request had been specific to that brand of hitch. The sales guy went to the manager & then the service dept. to find out how much the Dual Cam HP sway would cost to purchase & install. They don't even carry the Equal-i-zer brand & I didn't want to tear down the hitch system if I could get the Dual Cam on the Reese already installed. (I told him that I could settle for the Dual Cam if they would not install the Equal-i-zer)

The deal: I payed for 1/2 of the Dual Cam HP, $87.00 out of my pocket & the sales dept. is paying the other half of the part + all of the installation. (1.5 hours @ $92.00/hour. )

I'm real happy with the deal on 2 counts:

1. I didn't get ripped off by the dealer. That restores a little of my faith in them & a lot of faith in myself.

2. I got a smoking deal on one of the best sway control systems out there.

I don't want to start that debate again now, but reading here it is clear that you can't go wrong with either system. Thanks for your advice & willingness to share your knowledge. It really paid off in some $$$ today.
 
#15 ·
Twins glad things worked out for you and that your happy - that's really all that matters now.

As for #2... well for the best you'll need to drop about $3,000 on a Hensley or $2,500 on a Pullrite.
 
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