Hey All,

So I traded my Tundra with a 2" lift in the back for a 2020 F350. I tow a small travel trailer roughly 6k pounds in the warm months. I was using an Equilizer WDH. Obviously it was a 2" receiver shank an I'm pretty sure the F350 is still taller stock then my Tundra was lifted. I guess I have 2 concerns. 1 can I still use my current hitch system ( maybe add sleeves to bring the 3" receiver back down to 2" ) but I read alot of guys saying it's loud an causes issues with the pins ect.. but Also I'm not sure I have enough drop as I'm pretty sure my hitch is already on the lowest setting...

What are guys with travel trailers seeing for necessary drop on their hitch to get close to level?

Should I just bite the bullet an buy a whole new WDH system built for the 3" receiver?

What are guys using out there?

Thanks!

 

I don't think your F350 will even know your 6K TT is behind it. You could easily pull that without any WDH.

However, I have a '19 F350 gasser with factory 2.5" receiver. I used a Blue Ox 2.5" to 2" reducer and towed a 8900lb TT cross country this summer without issue, using my 12K Equal-i-zer 4 point. Your vehicle will not even breathe hard pulling 6K. so I would think using either a reducer, or towing w/o WDH altogether would be fine.

As a side note....the gasser in 2019 came with a 2.5" receiver. The 3" was only available on the PSD. Has that changed for 2020 or do you have the diesel?

 

Shoot your right it is only 2.5" I hadn't thrown a tape measure up to it yet but I though I had read it was 3".. well that helps a little .. I agree I debated maybe I could get away without it.. I'd be more concerned with the sway I guess.. I wouldn't know untill I try it I guess . How much drop on your hitch?

 

I used this setup on my previous F150 and a hitch shop made slight tweaks for my F350. However, it's not quite tweaked to my liking.....below is a pic of how the shank is set now:



With this setup, I have about 8.5" from the bottom of the shank to the ground...which I think is too low. My trailer also looks slightly nose down (not necessarily a bad thing), but I think I'd like to raise it more level. I plan on doing this by raising the L-brackets and seeing how it tows. Trailer is currently at the dealer for warranty work so that will be an upcoming project.

At 6K, you have almost 3K less weight than me, so I think you won't have the need to tweak much.

As a reference, here is current nose attitude of our TT with the Equal-i-zer pictured as above:



Even like this (which I think looks lower in the pic than it is) I had zero legit issues in 5K+ towing miles this summer.

By the way, this was how the rig was set by a professional shop. No measuring, no nothing! I have yet to see anyone follow the instructions in the Equal-i-zer manual....lol. This is why I've purchased the necessary sockets, torque wrench etc. to do it myself before next season.

So, in summary, the only thing I noticed with this current setup is that I could 'feel' an approaching semi. I wouldn't sway, move, or otherwise lose control in any way. I would just sense a slight 'feeliing' when a large truck approached. This feeling would occur before it was even beside me. I'd get the 'feel', look in the mirror, and sure enough, here was the approaching truck. It was definitely not a safety issue though. We towed some mountains (live in Arizona) with this rig and never felt out of sorts. Fully expect that once I dial this hitch in it will be fantastic. You, with 3K weight to tow, will likely be in great shape as is.

 

Mount your receiver as high up as possible. Keep ground clearance in mind. Adjust your ball height with the ball mount. With a F350 and that light of a trailer, there won't be any towing issues.

Example:
https://www.etrailer.com/s.aspx?qry=...f-Fixed_Height

Hobo

 

I’m running about 6” of drop towing my trailer but every trailer is different, you’ll have to do your own measurements. Instead of using the 2” hitch from my half ton and a reducer sleeve, I retired the old hitch and bought one with a 2.5” shank to avoid having to use reducers. My trailer is about 7k lbs and I can pull it without W/D and sway control just fine, the Super Duty is heavy enough to not be pushed around by that light of a trailer. I mention this because anything you do at this point is overkill. The Super Duty will toy with your trailer compared to your old Tundra.

 

Thanks all for the replies

 

I'm one of those that always recommend a WDH but you may be the exception with that combination.

I've had my Reese DC WDH on 4 different trailers and everytime I buy a new truck I simply start over with the setup until truck and trailer are nearly level.
What I've found best with this particular hitch is start with ball 1" higher than trailers coupler on level ground.
By the time weight has been transferred to front of truck via trunnion bars, everything ends up level.

 

I also went from a Tundra to a F-250 PSD using an Equal-i-zer WDH. I did purchase a 2 1/2" shank because my 2" shank was loose in the receiver using the Ford suppled reducer. My Tundra was stock height. I had to lower my hitch ball on the shank to keep the trailer level with my F-250. Trailer weighs 8500 loaded, 1K tongue weight. I think you will just need to hook up the trailer and do measurements. Whether you upgrade to a 2 1/2" shank will depend on how your reducer fits and if the fit is too loose. (subjective) I have my spring bars adjusted, just enough for sway control.

 

I went through the same thing when I bought my old Prowler with the "PROFESIONAL SHOP" doing the first setup. Found out that it was always squirrely going down the road till I found the right set up. First issue I had was the 6 inch lift and level on my F 350 had a really bad case of squat almost 4 inches just hooking up the trailer causing the steer axle to get real light, I resolved that with a set of air bags then adjusted the hitch height so the trailer set level on level ground. Then I set my bars so I can almost snap them up when the ball just touches in the hitch coupler, 3 links, and for me she tows real good, I found this gets me about 980 lbs on the rear axle and drop 70 off the front before adding blocks for leveling, firewood, tools, spare propane bottles, filling my transfer tank with diesel, groceries, 1/4 tank of water in case, wife, me, and any of my miscellaneous materials I haul with me. I do stay within the design weight restrictions. Now these weights are with my Denali not the prowler but it's pretty much the same set up.

Some guys will say my setup is wrong but it works for me and I've had no issues. Yes I still feel the bigger vehicles when they go by but not near as badly as before. I've had some somewhat rude responses because some don't agree but everyone is allowed their opinions.

What it all comes down to is it's your truck and your setup. If you feel safe and are comfortable driving it that's what matters go for it. I very highly suggest that you stay within your weight limits for your truck as a safety factor.

Enjoy the road.

 

I had an 8" drop extended hitch setup that worked with all my trailers but was really big, heavy and ugly. I was lucky to find a clean weigh safe 8" drop hitch online that I gave a fresh coat of paint and npw have a much cleaner setup. It has a second pin hole on the shank so I can extend it out a little for my rock tamers still. I have a stock height 2017 F350 with 35" tall tires and it's 15" from the ground to the top side of the ball mount.

 

I would try to maintain a "level" ride of the trailer. My F350 drops considerably when I hitch my 5th wheel but the trailer rides level. If I add air shocks, I would have a nose high trailer.

 

I recently went through this when I moved to an F250 from the F150. Initially, I stayed with the 2" shank, and used spacers, but I got a lot of noise and jerking, so I got a 2 1/2" shank with the correct drop and it works much better. Equalizer's website has a section where you can fill in your information and it will tell you what shank you need. There is no need to buy a whole new hitch.
Equalizer Sizer