Ford Expedition and towing

[m.hony]

CanoeU70's tow vehicle looks like my neighbor's tow vehicle (silver Expedition) with my hitch on it (Equal-I-Zer).
The drop shank on my Tundra does drag when driving through a dip.
Looks like a fellow Mississippian, maybe from the coast (Butch Oustalet Ford)?

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by CanoeU70

OBTW, that darn shank drags whenever I cross a dip and makes a dreadful noise. I need to either cut it shorter or install caster wheels.

Hi, I had the same problem with my shank; I cut the last hole off.

[kscherzi]

Originally Posted by CanoeU70

When level, the top of the wheel wells of the Expedition are 35 1/2" both forward and aft and the clearance below the Equalizer hitch is ~ 8" (this height depends upon loading).

Once I lower the trailer and secure the ball, clearance drops to barely 3" and the rear wheel well drops to 32 1/2".

I have essentially the same rig as you, but I have the standard Equalizer shank. It gives 12 inches of clearance when unloaded. Both front and rear wheel wells are 35.5 like yours. When loaded the rear well drops 2 inches to 33.5. The front drops almost 1 inch.

My hitch has the 1200 pound bars. These are what Equalizer advised based upon estimated hitch weight and an allowance for some gear in the truck. The bars are loaded pretty aggressively. To hitch I need to extend the jack to its maximum height with trailer hitched to the Expedition. Only at that point can the bars barely slide onto the L brackets. As the hitch settles I can see the whole vehicle take up the load, not just the rear end.

I been told this heavy hitch will destroy my trailer, but I come to believe this applies to stiffly sprung tow vehicles like a F250. The Expedition is more softly sprung. I've not popped any rivets or had things fly from closets or come loose inside.

My advise is to adjust your hitch by adding more washers to get rear well drop down to 2 inches or so. At 3 inches drop you may be overloading your rear axle.

[jack9443]

I have a harbor fright wd hitch came with 5 hole drop the bumper on as drags the ground added a 7 hole drop shank now in lowest, the curved bars are 5"off ground still 1 1/2 to high in front with chain loaded heavy link 3 and too high with no bars the,head is 10 " from top ball to bottom of bars and tail swaying ordered a blue ox from e trailer the head is alot shorter will be in 34 days we'll
see how this works