educ8tedguess
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- Thread starter
- #1
Good afternoon all,
As the title says, my trailer is a little higher in front than in the rear with a difference of an inch between front and rear. I tend to overthink things and go down several "rabbit holes" only to learn that there is a simple solution that I'm not seeing. So, based on the information below, do any of you have recommendations?
TL : DR:
Should I drive with the the trailer nose a little higher and stop worrying so much or cut the excess length (about 2 inches) from the bottom of the new shank so I can have the trailer be level or a little lower in the front? Or, is there better way?
I'll start with the details that may be helpful.
Truck: 2023 F150 XLT, CCSB, 3.5 EB, 3:55 gears. GVWR 7050. Payload is 1880 (Per sticker inside door) Payload after accessories and me is 1550. (truck weighed at 5500 lbs) The truck sits about 3 inches higher in the rear than in the front.
Trailer: SureTrac Steel Deck car hauler. (7 x 16+4) Advertised coupler height is 18 inches. Actual height is 17 3/4 unloaded Advertised weight is 2300 lbs
Weight Distribution System: Equalizer 4 pt with 1000lb tongue weight/10,000 lb trailer weight bars. Shank is 7 inch rise/3 inch drop.
Tongue weight is and will be at around 11%. (using a TW scale)
Trailer Weight with Jeep and luggage: 7100 (at most)
Full setup taken to scales and I have the weight distributed appropriately.
My family and I drive from Illinois to North Carolina for our family vacation and take my wife's Jeep with us. (about 1,000 miles each way) In previous years, I had a 2012 F250 which didn't require a WD system; I just adjusted for appropriate tongue weight, set the ball at the appropriate height and off we went.
When I hooked the WD system up to the F150 and trailer, I couldn't get the ball low enough for the low coupler height of the car hauler. (equalizer directions state the ball should be 0-1 inches higher than coupler) So, I ordered a new shank with a 9 inch drop and 13 inch rise. With this, I was able to get the ball low enough but now, the bottom of the new shank was about 3.5 inches from the ground. This WILL scrape and it will scrape often. From there, I put the original shank back on and hooked up to the loaded trailer. After getting the proper weight distribution etc.... the final result is that the trailer is sitting 1 inch higher in the front than it is in the rear. The directions say that the difference between front and rear should be within 1 inch but I've always been taught not to tow "nose high"
Options I have considered:
Drive it with the nose a little higher and stop worrying
Cut the excess length from the bottom of the shank (about 2 inches) which will give me about 5.5 inches of clearance and will allow the nose to be level or a little lower than level?
Or, am I missing something simple? (Besides leaving the jeep at home)
Thanks for reading and for any recommendations.
As the title says, my trailer is a little higher in front than in the rear with a difference of an inch between front and rear. I tend to overthink things and go down several "rabbit holes" only to learn that there is a simple solution that I'm not seeing. So, based on the information below, do any of you have recommendations?
TL : DR:
Should I drive with the the trailer nose a little higher and stop worrying so much or cut the excess length (about 2 inches) from the bottom of the new shank so I can have the trailer be level or a little lower in the front? Or, is there better way?
I'll start with the details that may be helpful.
Truck: 2023 F150 XLT, CCSB, 3.5 EB, 3:55 gears. GVWR 7050. Payload is 1880 (Per sticker inside door) Payload after accessories and me is 1550. (truck weighed at 5500 lbs) The truck sits about 3 inches higher in the rear than in the front.
Trailer: SureTrac Steel Deck car hauler. (7 x 16+4) Advertised coupler height is 18 inches. Actual height is 17 3/4 unloaded Advertised weight is 2300 lbs
Weight Distribution System: Equalizer 4 pt with 1000lb tongue weight/10,000 lb trailer weight bars. Shank is 7 inch rise/3 inch drop.
Tongue weight is and will be at around 11%. (using a TW scale)
Trailer Weight with Jeep and luggage: 7100 (at most)
Full setup taken to scales and I have the weight distributed appropriately.
My family and I drive from Illinois to North Carolina for our family vacation and take my wife's Jeep with us. (about 1,000 miles each way) In previous years, I had a 2012 F250 which didn't require a WD system; I just adjusted for appropriate tongue weight, set the ball at the appropriate height and off we went.
When I hooked the WD system up to the F150 and trailer, I couldn't get the ball low enough for the low coupler height of the car hauler. (equalizer directions state the ball should be 0-1 inches higher than coupler) So, I ordered a new shank with a 9 inch drop and 13 inch rise. With this, I was able to get the ball low enough but now, the bottom of the new shank was about 3.5 inches from the ground. This WILL scrape and it will scrape often. From there, I put the original shank back on and hooked up to the loaded trailer. After getting the proper weight distribution etc.... the final result is that the trailer is sitting 1 inch higher in the front than it is in the rear. The directions say that the difference between front and rear should be within 1 inch but I've always been taught not to tow "nose high"
Options I have considered:
Drive it with the nose a little higher and stop worrying
Cut the excess length from the bottom of the shank (about 2 inches) which will give me about 5.5 inches of clearance and will allow the nose to be level or a little lower than level?
Or, am I missing something simple? (Besides leaving the jeep at home)
Thanks for reading and for any recommendations.
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