Electus Distribution RAPID BAR 800 User manual

RTE044

RAPID BAR 800
WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION KIT - 365KG BA

2

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

3
1.Lineupthetowvehicleandtraileronlevelpavement,inthestraight-
aheadposition,uncoupled.
2.Levelthetrailerandmeasureandrecordthedistancefromthegroundto
thetopofthecoupler.(Fig.1).
3.Selectahitchballwithadiameterthatmatchesthetrailercouplersize.
Thethreemostcommonsizesare1-7/8”,2”,and2-5/16”.Selectballwith
1-1/4”or1“threadedshankthatisV-5ratedequaltoorgreaterthanthe
trailer’sgrossvehicleweightrating(GVWR).


1.RefertotheprovidedConsumerInformationtoweighloadedtrailer
tonguetodeterminethepropersystemsize.
2.Chooseasystemwithatongueratingatorabovetheactualtrailertongue
weight.
3.Thetongueratingofthetrailerhitchmustmeetorexceedthemeasured
tongueweightofthetrailer.TheOEMhitchesmaynotberigidenough
fortongueweightandmayneedtobereplaced(toomuchflexandwon’t
carryload).
4.Thetotaltrailergrossweightratingmustneverexceedthetowvehicle’s
ratedgrosstowrating.


Figure1

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4.Attachhitchtheballtotheballmount(A).Standardheighthitchballs
with1-1/4”shanksaresuppliedwithlockwashersandnuts(Ifyoumust
usea1”shankball,usetheprovided58184bushing(B)toreducethe
holesizeintheballmount(A)to1”).Alwaysusealockwasherplaced
betweentheballmountandthenut.Unlessotherwisespecifiedbytheball
manufacturer,torquetheballnutto450ft/lbsforthe1-1/4”nut,250ft/lbs
forthe1”nut.
5.Someinstallationsmayrequirealongerdrawbar(C).Extendedbumper
guards,pickuptruck“caps”,orrearmountedsparetyrescanlimitturn
anglesunlessalongerbarisused.Individualdrawbars(C)areavailablein
varioussizes.
6.Insertthedrawbar(C)intothehitchboxandinstallapullpin(D)and
springclip(E).Adrawbarmaybeusedineithertheupordownposition
(seeFig.2).Theballheightshouldbegreaterthanthecoupler
heightbyapproximately3/4to1”(measuredinstep2)tocompensatefor
vehiclesquat.Forvehicleswithairsprings,airshocksoranautomatic
levellingsystem,checkthevehicleowner’smanual.Unlessotherwise
specified,levelthetrailerwiththevehicleloadedasitwillbewhentowing
beforesettingballheightandattachingthetrailer.
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Highest Position Lowest Position
7.  Positiontheballmountonthedrawbarsothattheballwillbe
approximately3/4”higherthanthecouplerwheninthecenterofits
tiltadjustment.Insert3/4X41/2”bolt(F)throughthelowerholeinthe
ballmountandinstalla3/4”lockwasher(G)anda3/4”nut(H).Rotatethe
ballmountuptoapproximatelythecenterofthetiltadjustmentandinstall
oneadjustmentwasher(J)ona3/4x51/2“bolt(K)andinsertthebolt
intotheupperslotintheballmount.Theadjustmentwasherhole
isnotcenterandcanberotated180°formaximumheadadjustmentor
halfadjustmentsteps(seebelow).Installthesecondadjustmentwasher
(orientedthesameasthefirst),lockwasher,andthenutontheotherside.
Torquethe3/4nuts(K)to300ft-lbs(Ifalargeenoughtorquewrenchis
notavailable,torquenutsto150ft-lbs,thenturnnutsanadditional1/4turn
-DONOTlubricatethethreads).

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Adjustmentwasherholeorientedvehicle
forward:Maxheadtiltrearward
Adjustmentwasherholeorientedvehicle
rearward:Maxheadtiltforward


UsetheshimprovidedwhenneededtofillanygapbetweentheWeight
DistributingHeadshownbelowandthehitchbarusedintheparticular
application.Itiseasiertoinstalltheshimfromthetopdownasshownbelow.
Indoingso,youwillencounteroneofthreescenarios:
1.Theshimwillgoallthewaydowntolineupwiththebottomhole.Ifthis
isthecase,usetheentireshiminthegap.Itisconceivablethatin
somerarecombinations,twoshimscouldbeused.Inthesecases,contact
CustomerServiceforafreeadditionalshimservicekit#58207.
2.Theshimwillnotbegintofit
betweentheheadandthehitch
bar.Ifthisisthecase,discardthe
shimandcontinueinstallation.The
existinggapisacceptable.
3.Theshimwillnotgoinfarenough
toreachthebottomhole.Ifthisis
thecase,cuttheshiminhalfand
useonlythetophalfforthetopbolt.
Discardbottomhalfofshim.

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StandardSpringBar



1.Pickareferencepointonthefrontwheelwell.
Measureandrecordthedistancetothepavement.
Fromthefrontwheelwelltothepavement.
2.AttachchainstospringbarsusingU-bolts,flat
washers,andlocknuts.Let2-3threadsprotrude
belowltheocknut.Thechainmustnotbind.
3.Lowerthecouplerontotheballwithatonguejackandclosethecouplerlatch.
4.Inserttheroundendofthespringbarintothelowersocketofthe
ballmountandpushupward.Lineupthenotchinthespringbarwiththe
tabintheuppersocket,andpushupuntilseated.Rotatethespringbarso
thatitisinlinewiththetrailerframetolockitintoplace(thespringbars
willfitoneitherside,astheyarenotmaderightorlefthanded).Repeatthe
procedurefortheotherbar.Toreleasethespringbar,liftuponthe
barandrotatesothatthenotchinthespringbarandthetabintheupper
socketareinline,thenallowthebartodropoutoftheballmount.
5.Positionthesnapupbracketsonthetrailer“A”framesothatthechain
attheendofthespringbarisapproximatelyvertical.Turnthe1/2x3-1/2
boltuntilitcontactstheframe.Then,withthewrench,tighten1/4turn.DO
NOTOVERTIGHTEN.
6.Raisethetrailertongueandrearofthevehiclewiththetonguejack.Lower
theyokeofthesnapupbracketuntilitisparallelwiththeground,andslip
theclosestlinkoverthehook.(Iftherearelessthan4linksbetweenthe
hookandtheu-boltadjusttheballmountanglerearward,andrepeatthe
procedure-SeeFig.3&4below).Withthesnapupbrackethandleover
theyoke,raiseuntiltheyokehaspassed“overcenter”.Slidethesafetypin
throughthesmallholetolocktheyokeinplace.Repeatontheotherside.
Fig. 3
SNAP UP HANDLE
PLACE CLOSEST
LINK ON HOOK
Fig. 4

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



7.  Lowerjack.Re-measurethefrontwheelwellreferencepoint.The
frontwheelwellheightshouldbeequaltoorlowerthantheoriginal
measurement.Ifthefrontwheelwellheightishigherthanoriginally
measured,reducethenumberoflinksbetweentheyokehookandspring
bar(4linksmin.)andrecheckthewheelwellmeasurement.Ifthefront
wheelwellislowerthanoriginallymeasured,increasethenumberof
chainlinksbetweentheyokehookandspringbarandrecheckthewheel
wellmeasurement.Iftheoriginalwheelwellheightisnotachievable,it
ispreferredthatthewheelwellheightbelowerafterthespringbarsare
loaded.Iftherearenomorechainlinksforadjustment,theheadassembly
mustbetiltedforward.Thetrailermustbeuncoupledandtheupper
boltremovedfromtheheadassembly.Theheadisthenpivotedupas
appropriate.Reassembleandrecheckthewheelwellheight.
Placeseveraldropsofoilatspringbar/ballmountcontactpointseachday
ofuse.Excessoil,dirt,andgritshouldbewipedoutwheneveratraileris
uncoupled.
Somesurgebrakeswillnotworkwithweightdistributinghitches.


Donotuseswaycontrolwithsurgebrakes.

Frontwheeloverloadandlossofrearwheel
tractioncanresult,andcanleadtounstablehandling,reducedbraking
ability,andatendencyto“jackknife”whenturningandbrakingatthesame
time.IFLOADEDBALLHEIGHTISGREATERTHANUNCOUPLEDHEIGHT,
reducethetake-uponthespringbarchainsandre-measureuntilproper
heightisobtained.


8


Goodhabitsfornormaldrivingneedextraemphasiswhen
towing.Theadditionalweightaectsaccelerationandbraking,andextra
timeshouldbeallowedforpassing,stopping,andchanginglanes.Signal
wellinadvanceofamanoeuvretoletotherdriversknowyourintentions.
Severebumpsandbadlyundulatingroadscandamageyourtowing
vehicle,hitch,andtrailer,andshouldbenegotiatedataslowsteadyspeed.


Donotattempttotowanytypeof
trailerbehindanothertrailer.Towingmultipletrailersmaycausesevere
instability,lossofcontroland/orstructuralfailure,andmayresultinvehicle
accidents,propertydamageandpersonalinjury.Towingmultipletrailersis
illegalinmanyjurisdictions.

.Severe
structuraldamagetotowingvehicle,hitch,andtrailermayresult.Atowing
vehicle/trailercombinationcannotbecontrolledadequatelyunlessthe
towingvehicle’srearwheelsarecarryingtheirshareoftheload.
Keepthetrunnionsandsocketsintheheadassemblyfreeofdirtandwell
lubricated.Excessivewearinthisareamayindicateoverloadorinadequate
lubrication.Someelongationofsocketopenings“seatin”isnormal.
Keeptheheadassemblyexteriorclean,especiallythetrunnionsockets.Do
notallowdirtorstonestolodgebetweenthetrunnionsandthehead.
Keepthehitchpaintedtopreventrustandmaintainagoodappearance.(Do
notpaintoverlabels)

•Addadropofoilatthetrunnioncontactareaswithballmount.
•Cleantheballandcouplersocketandcoattheballlightlywithgrease.
•CheckspringbarchainsandU-boltsforwear.Replacethembeforethey
becomewornhalfwaythrough.
•Checktoseethatallboltsareproperlytightenedandthatthehitchpinand
cliparesecurelyinplace.
•Checktoseethatelectricalhookupsareinworkingorder,andthatsafety
chainsareconnected.

9


Periodicallychecktheconditionofallyour
towingequipmentandkeepitintopcondition.
Propertrailerloadingisimportant.Heavyitems
shouldbeplacedclosetothefloornearthetraileraxle.Theloadshould
bebalancedside-to-sideandfirmlysecuredtopreventshifting.Formost
trailers,thetongueweightshouldbearound10–15percentofthegross
trailerweight..Toolowapercentageoftongueweightwilloftenproducea
tendencytosway.Excessweightonthetonguecanalsoleadtoswayand
damagethehitchand/ortowvehicle.
Aswaycontrolcanhelpminimisetheeectsofsudden
maneuvers,windgusts,andbuetingcausedbyothervehicles.Theuseof
aswaycontrolisrecommendedfortrailerswithlargesurfaceareas,suchas
traveltrailers.
Unlessspecifiedotherwisebythetowingvehicle
ortrailermanufacturer,tiresshouldbeinflatedtotheirmaximum
recommendedpressure.

Reviewtheowners’manualsforyourtowing
vehicleandtrailerforspecificrecommendations,capacities,and
requirements.
Ifyourtrailerhasastraighttongue(insteadof
anA-frametongue),itwillbenecessarytouseapoletongueadapter.This
adapterattachestothetrailertongue,providingaplacetoattachthesnap
upbrackets.
TrailersshouldNOTbeoccupiedwhilebeing
towed,underanycircumstances.
Always
hookuptrailerlights,turnsignals,electricbrakesandbreak-awayswitch
connection(ifsoequipped)evenforshorttrips.
Removehitchfromtowingvehicle
receiverwhennottowing,topreventcontaminationofheadsockets,reduce
chanceofstrikinghitchondrivewayrampsorotherobjects,andminimize
damageintheeventofarear-endcollision.


10

RoadTechMarinewillreplaceanypartwhichproves
defectiveinmaterialorworkmanshipwhenpresentedtoanyRoadTech
Marinestoreorreturnedtothefactory.
,attheaddressbelow.




Somestatesdonotallowtheexclusionorlimitationofincidentalor
consequentialdamages,sotheabovelimitationorexclusionmaynotapply
toyou.
AnydamagetotheRapidBar800WeightDistributingsystemasaresultof
misuse,abuse,neglect,accident,improperinstallation,oranyuseviolative
ofinstructionsfurnishedbyus,
Thiswarrantygivesyouspecificlegalrights,andyoumayalsohaveother
rightsthatvaryfromstatetostate.Intheeventofaproblemwithwarranty
serviceorperformance,youmaybeabletogotoasmallclaimscourt,ora
federaldistrictcourt.

11

12
Distributedby:
ElectusDistributionPty.Ltd.
320VictoriaRd,Rydalmere
NSW2116Australia

www.electusdistribution.com.au

MadeinChina