The 2970rl is the Imagine equavalent of my Reflection 297RSTS. I use 1500 lb bars. Per Reese my 1500 lb bars will work from 1200 lbs to 1500 lbs. My hitch weight is 1300 lbs. I would expect yours to be slightly lower but depending on how you pack could be there as well since some 297RSTS owners are near or over 1500 lbs. As for the hitch size I would go 12K as your trailer GVWR is 8995 lbs. That gives you some margin. Just my opinion on all of this. I would recommend calling the Equalizer manufacturer's tech support and ask. That is what I did when I got the 297RSTS, I called Reese tech support.

Rob

I use the e4 10,000 on my setup. Info in aig block. I'll be doing the cat scales in a couple weeks before our next trip.

I use an Equal-I-Zer 1400/14000 for my 2970RL Here are my weights from the last time I weighed on the CAT scale.

With Trailer attached (and WDH installed):
Steer Axle - 4460 lbs
Drive Axle - 4720 lbs
Trailer Axles - 7180 lbs
GCVW - 16360 lbs

Without Trailer attached:
Steer Axle - 4760 lbs
Drive Axle - 3320 lbs
GVW TV - 8080 lbs

Load added to TV with WDH installed = (4460 + 4720) - 8080 = 1100 lbs.
I DID NOT weigh without the WDH so can't tell you what that number was. Also, this weight was with empty fresh and waste water tanks and nothing in the Fridge or pantry. Everything else pretty much in ready to camp configuration.

Let me say one thing about WD hitches and why you should go with a higher rated hitch. Installing a WD hitch is the equivalent of turning your TV into a wheelbarrow where the steer axle is the front wheel, the drive axle is the load in the wheelbarrow and the spring bars are the handles. The trailer tongue weight is placed onto the TV and becomes more "load in the wheelbarrow". AND... any weight added to the TV in the form of cargo and passengers, is also added to the "load in the wheelbarrow". Then the handles of the wheelbarrow, (i.e. spring bars) are placed onto and supported by the trailer frame. This added weight to the trailer frame is distributed just as if you had placed the equivalent load on the trailer frame with the trailer detached. That is, some of the load goes to the tongue, and some goes to the axles. So some of your TV load is added to the downward force on the trailer ball, and that is opposed by an equal force upward which is distributed across all of the axles as a downward force. The bottom line is, weight comes off of the drive axle, and is added to the steer and trailer axles. But the important thing out of all this is to understand that the load on the hitch is not just the load from the trailer tongue, but the combined weight of the trailer tongue and the weight of the TV that is being borne by the spring bars and hitch. So if you buy a hitch that is rated only for the weight of the trailer tongue, you will end up with a hitch that is very likely underrated and overloaded. When I contacted Equal-I-Zer for their recommendation, they recommended I go with the 1600/16000. After a lot of consideration I went with the 1400/14000 as I felt it most closely matched my set up.

I hope this helps...

Bob

RJAPCOK How does you setup handle? Do you notice that the steering when towing feels a bit light? The only reason that I ask is that loaded your front axle losses 300 lbs. I have always fine tuned my WDH to return all of the unloaded weight back to the front axle per instructions from Reese who made my Straightline hitch system. I have found that this gives me the best handling.

Just curious how you are finding your setup with less weight on the front axle when hooked up.

Rob

Calbar I have not noticed any problem. In fact, my original setup took almost 600 lbs of weight off the steer axle and I didn't really notice it. Part of that is because the weights as shown are with nobody in the cab and when we go, some of our weight (i.e. passengers) goes back to the steer axle. I have been going to try to fine tune and see if I can get closer to neutral on the steer axle, but so far I have not done it.

Just another afterthought, when I pull my trailer home from the storage facility about 5 miles away, I don't even hook up the spring bars. It feels a little light on the steer axle then, but not bad.

Thank Bob. Good to know. You might find after you fine tune it things tow better but maybe not.

Rob

Hey Bob, New here, and will be buying a 2970 rl in the coming months. Seems you have a lot of experience with these trailers, so may I ask a few questions? Based in So Cal, tow vehicle is a Ram 2500 Cummins, sounds like the consensus is the EQ 1400/14000 WDH, I’m going to add a twist. We bring a Club Car Cart in the bed when we tow our current Forest River trailer,, about 800#s. Assuming I got some airbags to keep everything level, and the heavier tounge weight with the 2970, do you still think the 1400/14000 is still the right WDH for this set up? Thanks to you or anyone else s input. Bill

Short answer: I don't know.

Longer answer: By design, the WDH has to support the tongue weight of the trailer and a portion of the weight of the truck and cargo. So, it is entirely possible to overload the hitch by adding additional weight in the truck bed. I cannot tell you how much and I have no experience with air bags, so I cannot tell you if they will help the situation or not. When I was deciding which hitch to buy, I contacted Equal-i-zer and asked for their recommendation. They recommend that I use at least a 14K and I might want to go with a 16K. I chose the 14K over the 16K for two reasons. Reason number 1 was that I could get it with the hitch ball pre-installed. Reason number 2 was because the receiver on my truck was only rated at 1500 lbs. load carrying capacity. I don't recall the actual numbers off the top of my head, but my loaded trailer tongue weight usually comes in at around 1100 lb. I put about 200 - 300 lbs of "stuff" in the truck bed and with my current adjustments, the weight distribution numbers look good. The trailer tows well and I am happy with the set up.

As for WD hitches, you will find a plethora of opinions and experiences. There are only two things I don't like about my Equal-i-zer. The first is that the hitch head and shank are installed in the receiver as one assembly and it weighs about 75 lbs. (hard on an old guy like me. LOL). The second is that to make adjustments to the weight distribution, you either raise or lower the L brackets, one hole at a time, or you add or subtract washers in the hitch head. Adding and subtracting washers is a very inconvenient way to make the adjustment. You have to remove the shank bolts, add or subtract the washers, and re-assemble it. The shank bolts have to be torqued to 320 ft/lbs. Again, that is hard on an old guy like me.

If you are looking to buy a WD hitch, I would suggest you do a lot of research, and try to get info and recommendations directly from the manufacturers. These htiches are not cheap so you want to make a good decision from the start.

I hope this is helpful!

Bob

Very, Thank you!