Shank length/ball distance from TV

[PB_NB]

T-Reg = VW Touareg or Porsche's copy - Cayenne.

Two very capable SUV's in my opinion!

[BayouBiker]

Ah thanks! Indeed quite capable. Yeah so the 3 inches will make a modest difference. Worth considering. I would also switch out the Equalizer. Too stiff for that vehicle, risk of damage is not worth it, since there are others with equal or better sway damping.

[pcskier]

As a long-term update, shortening the shank around 5 inches made a dramatic improvement. Have probably 10k miles of towing and it's extremely stable now, even in high cross winds. With a standard w/d setup, highly recommended to bring the ball in as close as you can...and tilt it back a few degrees.

[PB_NB]

I am going to look into shortening mine as well. It looks like I can take out about 3". I like the idea of shimming the drawbar connection in the receiver as well. There is a lot of slop in the connection.

With the really long WDH head, I can see that the amount of torque applied to the receiver is significant. I can only expect to see advantages in better sway control as well.

[BayouBiker]

PB_NB if you're worried about torque on the receiver, you should look at getting a stronger one. If your receiver penetrates and is welded on all four sides to two or more plates it is plenty stiff. The shorter shank is going to help with sway damping and over steer in equal measure. The degree of help is based on the relative distance of the ball vs. rear axle to the vehicle center of gravity so it is not as significant one might think, still it can increase the stability limits by several mph.

Likewise removing slop in the receiver and ball will make a similar improvement.

[PB_NB]

Hi Brian,

I am going to make sure that all the welds are good with the factory receiver and add some that may be missing, I am not too sure if I can swap it out entirely as the receiver appears to be part of the bumper.

The slop has bothered me since day 1, it seems like Honda didn't finish it very well as the receiver tube appears to be angled down a few degrees and I am sure I could stick 1/4" of shims under the drawbar.

[BayouBiker]

Yikes 1/4 inch is a lot. I have about 1/8" and I have shimmed it for some time now. Recently I added an anti rattle brace as well but it loosened up a bit first time out so I'm still fiddling with it. The downward slope works in your favor so don't worry about that.

[PB_NB]

I put a brace on as well but it only pulls the drawbar down and moves the gap to the top of the receiver tube. I tried to install the brace the other way but the bolts hit the bumper.

[waninae39]

you need to have the ball as close as possible to the TV rear axle centre line.

the farther it is, the worse the handling
that is why all 5th wheel and trucks have the king pin directly over the rear axle.

the further it is, the longer the arm of momentum and can cause more swinging and instability.

give andy at CANAMRV a call
check out his towing videos

https://www.canamrv.ca/towing-expertise/

[BayouBiker]

Down is better anyway, it would take one heck of a bump to put negative torque on the hitch, and your rear axle would have to go airborne. You gave me a good idea though, I'm going to install mine upside down next time so mine is pulling down. Going out to try it now. The geek in me won't let this wait.....

Edit: Oh my bad, my brace pulls it down also. I should have figured.... Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.