New Tow Vehicle Hitch Set Up

[RileyTillman]

Hello

I recently bought a new truck (Ram 2500) replacing a Nissan Armada. Armada was great with a 22 Caravel - but we recently upgraded that to a 27 Flying Cloud FBQ and it was at or beyond its limits. I also really wanted a touch bed/real tow mirrors and so on.

The hitch height of the Ram is about 2 inches higher than the Armada (also a 2.5 vs a 2) - and wondering the best approach to adjust my WD Hitch (Equalizer). My dealer is about 80 miles away so not as easy as just letting them do it.

I was generally planning on taking the hitch into them and having them drop it two inches (also get a 2.5 shank so I dont have to use the insert), driving back, hooking it up, then towing it back to them to set it up.

Wondering if there is other advice. I have towed for 4 years now - but have no tech exp with hitches. I am not dumb so could figure it out, but have just let the dealer do it so far.

Thanks all for any advice.
Chris

[OrangeCrush]

There is more to setting up the equalizer hitch than ball height. You also have to have the right number of washers on the button to help set the angle for proper WD which can take some experimentation. One option would be to do the setup yourself using Equalizers excellent instruction videos. The hardest part to this is having adequate size wrenches to take the old hitch apart and re-assembling with the correct torque. Another option is to just tow it on the ball the 80 miles to your dealer without WD. The thought here is that your new truck should be more than capable of towing on the ball and without WD maybe it will sag 2 inches or so (experimentation needed here). Good luck.

[RileyTillman]

Thanks so much. A buddy w a basecamp and I are going to buy the wrenches and make the adjustments and learn to use scales to do this right.

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by RileyTillman

Thanks so much. A buddy w a basecamp and I are going to buy the wrenches and make the adjustments and learn to use scales to do this right.

Wise choice. When you put the hitch together you will need to test the torque on your bolts after a few tows.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

By far the best way to set up a WD hitch is by weighing things on a CAT scale. There are a number of threads here on the forum. Search topic "three pass method" will find far more than you would ever want to read.

Quick summary without the details:

You weigh the truck fully loaded just as you would tow with it. That gives you a front and rear axle weight number.

You weigh the truck and trailer with no WD applied. This (with some math) gives you the weight on the receiver ( = tongue weight) to be sure it's not overloaded.

You weigh the entire setup with WD applied. This gives you front axle weight on the TV, rear axle weight on the TV and trailer axle weight. You can confirm that none of them are over limit and that the front axle has at least as much on it as in the first step.

Again, the cliff notes version .... there are much better / more detailed explanations in the numerous threads.

Bob

[jeffmc306]

RileyTillman, we have a 2019 RAM 2500 (moved up from a 1500) and had to compensate for the taller vehicle. We got a Curt 2.5” - 8” drop shank from eTrailer. I cut about 1.5” off the bottom once I got our Blue Ox SwayPro leveled.

From what OrangeCrush said, Equalizer has good videos on how to set up your hitch. I did ours and it’s worth going through the exercise to familiarize yourself with how it works.

Good luck!

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Don't go to crazy on a the drop shank. You can indeed bottom the thing out if it's to long. I have data ( a nice notch in the driveway) to prove this .....

One very confusing part of this:

When you first put the trailer on the ball, the rear end of the truck is as far down as it ever will be. As you crank in the WD, the ball comes up a bit. Until you are done with the CAT scale readings, you really don't know just how it's all going to fit. Changing the shank out after doing a WD pass is very rare. However getting a half inch or more is not at all uncommon.

Bob

[JJTX]

Originally Posted by RileyTillman

Hello

I recently bought a new truck (Ram 2500) replacing a Nissan Armada. Armada was great with a 22 Caravel - but we recently upgraded that to a 27 Flying Cloud FBQ and it was at or beyond its limits. I also really wanted a touch bed/real tow mirrors and so on.

The hitch height of the Ram is about 2 inches higher than the Armada (also a 2.5 vs a 2) - and wondering the best approach to adjust my WD Hitch (Equalizer). My dealer is about 80 miles away so not as easy as just letting them do it.

I was generally planning on taking the hitch into them and having them drop it two inches (also get a 2.5 shank so I dont have to use the insert), driving back, hooking it up, then towing it back to them to set it up.

Wondering if there is other advice. I have towed for 4 years now - but have no tech exp with hitches. I am not dumb so could figure it out, but have just let the dealer do it so far.

Thanks all for any advice.
Chris

You will need to adjust it yourself eventually. It's best to read the directions and learn how to do it on your own. Plus have a torque wrench that'll torque the bolts and or nuts.

Your goal is to have it ride loaded close to what you would normally do. Full LP tanks, batteries, water tank full. Plus a typical load for a couple days. Set that to ride as level as the trailer is. Around 18 inches I believe when you head down the road.

If you are going to set up with the camper dry and empty you probably should allow for an inch or two of settling when loaded and the springbars are attached.

Most of the time even loaded the springbars will change the height on a level surface.

It should be level, or even slightly low in the front. Never high.

A decent dealer can set it up for basic get it home use but they likely don't or wont do much else. When my dealer set up my hitch for me they installed the frame brackets upside down.....

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Don't go to crazy on a the drop shank. You can indeed bottom the thing out if it's to long. I have data ( a nice notch in the driveway) to prove this .....

One very confusing part of this:

When you first put the trailer on the ball, the rear end of the truck is as far down as it ever will be. As you crank in the WD, the ball comes up a bit. Until you are done with the CAT scale readings, you really don't know just how it's all going to fit. Changing the shank out after doing a WD pass is very rare. However getting a half inch or more is not at all uncommon.

Bob

Bob, I thought the purpose of a longer drop shank was to level the trailer when it’s on the ball. Did I miss something?

The OP is coming from a Nisan Armada to a RAM 2500. That’s probably 2-3” difference. When we moved from a 1500 to our 2500, the original shank wouldn’t go low enough to level the trailer so I took the opportunity to move up to a 2.5” and eliminated the reducer. You can always cut off the bottom of the shank like I did once you get it dialed in.

[RileyTillman]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

Bob, I thought the purpose of a longer drop shank was to level the trailer when it’s on the ball. Did I miss something?

The OP is coming from a Nisan Armada to a RAM 2500. That’s probably 2-3” difference. When we moved from a 1500 to our 2500, the original shank wouldn’t go low enough to level the trailer so I took the opportunity to move up to a 2.5” and eliminated the reducer. You can always cut off the bottom of the shank like I did once you get it dialed in.

Interestingly the difference is only an inch after I measured both. The Armada hitched was in the bumper not below it like on the RAM 2500. Of course the RAM is much taller.

Regardless, still needs an adjustment! Any suggestions on where to buy a torque wrench that can get to the numbers needed. Seems like those at Lowes or Ace top out at 250

[Aironius]

You don't really need to buy a big expensive torque wrench. Just get it as tight as you can with the wrenches you have, then go to an auto repair shop and have them hit it with their big air wrench.

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by RileyTillman

Interestingly the difference is only an inch after I measured both. The Armada hitched was in the bumper not below it like on the RAM 2500. Of course the RAM is much taller.

Regardless, still needs an adjustment! Any suggestions on where to buy a torque wrench that can get to the numbers needed. Seems like those at Lowes or Ace top out at 250

Forgot they put the hitch in the bumper - that makes a big difference. Up to you if you want to take advantage of the 2.5” receiver but it’s nice not to have the reducer.

Here’s what our setup looks like: 22 1/2” to the top of the ball. Shank does not extend below the Blue Ox hitch.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

Bob, I thought the purpose of a longer drop shank was to level the trailer when it’s on the ball. Did I miss something?

The OP is coming from a Nisan Armada to a RAM 2500. That’s probably 2-3” difference. When we moved from a 1500 to our 2500, the original shank wouldn’t go low enough to level the trailer so I took the opportunity to move up to a 2.5” and eliminated the reducer. You can always cut off the bottom of the shank like I did once you get it dialed in.

Hi

Shanks tend to come in finite size steps. If you go with an 8" drop, that will put the bottom of the shank 8" below the receiver on the truck. It will be at that height *regardless* of where the ball on the trailer ends up.

If the top of the receiver is at (say) 20" off the ground, the bottom of the shank will be at about 12" right? Nope.

Look at the details on:

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...RoCHZ4QAvD_BwE

It's an 8" drop, but the height is 14.5". The bottom of that beast will be at 5.5" off the ground as the truck rumbles along. If the measure is to top of receiver, than things like 3" to 2.5" or 2.5 to 2'" adapters add another bit of trouble. Go over a curb / bump / incline and ... yikes ... As I said, I found this out the hard way....


Bob

[jeffmc306]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Shanks tend to come in finite size steps. If you go with an 8" drop, that will put the bottom of the shank 8" below the receiver on the truck. It will be at that height *regardless* of where the ball on the trailer ends up.

If the top of the receiver is at (say) 20" off the ground, the bottom of the shank will be at about 12" right? Nope.

Look at the details on:

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...RoCHZ4QAvD_BwE

It's an 8" drop, but the height is 14.5". The bottom of that beast will be at 5.5" off the ground as the truck rumbles along. If the measure is to top of receiver, than things like 3" to 2.5" or 2.5 to 2'" adapters add another bit of trouble. Go over a curb / bump / incline and ... yikes ... As I said, I found this out the hard way....


Bob

Hi Bob, I understand what you’re saying and did my research on eTrailer before purchasing the one you sent a link to. I needed to level my trailer so a longer drop shank was the answer. I figured I’d cut it off once I got the setup dialed in.

I searched eTrailer for other 2.5” drop shanks and this Curt was the only one I found that I knew would be long enough with room to spare. A metal blade and a sawzall trimmed it to fit. Mine is flush with the bottom of the Blue Ox hitch so it’s not a problem.