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Hey all I recently upgraded from a 2020 F150 with the 3.5 Ecoboost to a 2024 F250 with the 7.3 and am debating if I need a new hitch shank for my Equalizer 4PT hitch or if I'm okay using the 2.5 adapter sleeve.
Enjoy your new truck, you will find towing with it much nicer than with the F150.
I have used the sleeve in the past when I rented F250's to tow my trailer and when I replaced my F150 last year with an F250 I decided to upgrade the shank on my Blue OX to a 2 1/2" one. I did this for 2 reasons, 1 to reduce the slop on the receiver, yes I know you can use a clamp to reduce/eliminate it, and 2 eliminate the annoyance of getting the holes to line up first time. It also eliminates the chance of losing the sleeve. YMMV
While you are at it do not use the standard bent hitch pin, get a straight pin. The bent hitch pins are notorious for elongating the hole on the truck receiver.
I had a travel trailer style triple axle toy hauler at one point, bought a $1k load distribution hitch with it. Shank on said hitch was 2 inches. Later upgraded to an f350 with a 2.5 inch receiver.
Towed that heavy azz toy hauler all over the place (my main hobby at the time was motorcycle racing, so it was getting used at least once a month often twice a month) with an adapter sleeve in the receiver. Worked fine for years and I never really thought twice about it.
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The adaptors are fine although they can be noisy as they rattle around on rough roads. I think the biggest thing as mentioned is to ditch the curved pins if you use those. I have been using the factory pin towing our travel trailer since I don't leave the WD hitch in once the trailer is parked. In maybe 5K of towing, the holes are already elongated. I need to switch to a straight pin if I can find something that has an equivalent rating. Tractor pins seem to be what I need but can't find a rating in the little bit I've looked.
Here is what I use from B&W, there is no info on B&W's website on their specs other than it will pull a serious load. It is also made in the USA out of stainless steel.
I like the Bolt Lock hitch pins that use the trucks ignition key, but they're curved shank. To remedy the possibility of elongating the hole in the trucks receiver hitch I use the very high tech method of a small piece of 5/8 fuel line. May be a little on the redneck side of things, but it works. Have five vehicles setup this way, works great and I always have the hitch pin key available.
I use a little OEM type spring tension hose clamp on my angled end hitch pins.
My new F-450 has the 3” receiver and I hate adapter slop and rattle, so my plan is to carry both a 3” to 2.5” sleeve and a 3” to 2.5” and 2.5” to 2” sleeve set which I intend to weld together to cover my future drawbar needs. Both adapters will get some weld buildup added to snug them up in the 3” receiver.
Enjoy your new truck, you will find towing with it much nicer than with the F150.
I have used the sleeve in the past when I rented F250's to tow my trailer and when I replaced my F150 last year with an F250 I decided to upgrade the shank on my Blue OX to a 2 1/2" one. I did this for 2 reasons, 1 to reduce the slop on the receiver, yes I know you can use a clamp to reduce/eliminate it, and 2 eliminate the annoyance of getting the holes to line up first time. It also eliminates the chance of losing the sleeve. YMMV
While you are at it do not use the standard bent hitch pin, get a straight pin. The bent hitch pins are notorious for elongating the hole on the truck receiver.
On my first camping trip with the new truck and the towing experience is much more relaxed. I think I am going to invest in the larger shank before my next big trip next summer. The sleeve works just okay.
The two sleeves I used had more slop than I cared for so I opted for a new shank. I still use my sleeve if I am towing my small utility trailer but much prefer the 2.5 in shank over the sleeve. More important than the sleeve though is get a straight hitch pin, the J pin will elongate your hole in your hitch pretty quickly.
On my first camping trip with the new truck and the towing experience is much more relaxed. I think I am going to invest in the larger shank before my next big trip next summer. The sleeve works just okay.
Looks good the trailer looks nice and level. Check out etrailer for a price on a new shank since they have free shipping on orders over $99.
I like the Bolt Lock hitch pins that use the trucks ignition key, but they're curved shank. To remedy the possibility of elongating the hole in the trucks receiver hitch I use the very high tech method of a small piece of 5/8 fuel line. May be a little on the redneck side of things, but it works. Have five vehicles setup this way, works great and I always have the hitch pin key available.
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I didn't know about this type of locking pin!
I'll be looking for a few now, I'm sick of proprietary keys and iffy lock cylinders!
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