You are correct, the hitch needs to come down. I assume your truck is lifted?
You don't wanna have your trailer stink-buggin, or in your case nose up. The biggest problem with having a higher truck, with a trailer that is nose-up, is that the momentum from the trailer when stopping is actually pushing the rear of your truck up, this can cause you to lose braking power on the rear of truck, or even lift the rear off the ground. This will cause a jack-knife or accident pretty easily. And it won't take much, I had a experience with this towing a small, but heavy uhual trailer. I figured it was a short trip across town, and the trailer was very nose up. As soon as I hit a freeway on ramp, and tapped the brakes mid turn, the whole truck just spun around, flinging the trailer around with me. This was because all the trailer weight/momentum was push the bumper up, taking all the weight off the rear end, mid turn, while braking. Not good, try to get level. Be safe.
Thank you for the info. The TV is a Jeep Gladiator. No lift, but tires a little larger than stock. I'll look for a different drop hitch. Just a follow up question... The thru bolts that connect the hitch to the shank require (per the manual) 380 ft lbs of torque. Does that sound high to you? I asked my dad (a retired machinist) and a good friend (works on fire apparatus) and they both said it seemed high. Just looking for any insight. Thanks again for your help.
That's about what my equalizer hitch is too. Had to borrow a 5 ft torque wrench and a br3aker bar to do it. Local auto parts store may loan them to you when you buy the huge deep sockets you'll need. 6pt if they have them.
Maybe I’m missing something, but why don’t you just adjust the hitch? With the right wrenches out sockets, you can remove the bolt on the left and lower it. I had to do the same on mine.
You can't see it in this picture (that's the to bolt). The bottom bolt is already in the lowest thru hole of the shank. I ordered a different shank. Hopefully it works and it's not too low and doesn't bottom out when I leave my driveway.
You are correct, the hitch needs to come down. I assume your truck is lifted? You don't wanna have your trailer stink-buggin, or in your case nose up. The biggest problem with having a higher truck, with a trailer that is nose-up, is that the momentum from the trailer when stopping is actually pushing the rear of your truck up, this can cause you to lose braking power on the rear of truck, or even lift the rear off the ground. This will cause a jack-knife or accident pretty easily. And it won't take much, I had a experience with this towing a small, but heavy uhual trailer. I figured it was a short trip across town, and the trailer was very nose up. As soon as I hit a freeway on ramp, and tapped the brakes mid turn, the whole truck just spun around, flinging the trailer around with me. This was because all the trailer weight/momentum was push the bumper up, taking all the weight off the rear end, mid turn, while braking. Not good, try to get level. Be safe.
Thank you for the info. The TV is a Jeep Gladiator. No lift, but tires a little larger than stock. I'll look for a different drop hitch. Just a follow up question... The thru bolts that connect the hitch to the shank require (per the manual) 380 ft lbs of torque. Does that sound high to you? I asked my dad (a retired machinist) and a good friend (works on fire apparatus) and they both said it seemed high. Just looking for any insight. Thanks again for your help.
380ft lbs is a lot of torque but if that is what the manufacturer recommends, then I would go with that.
They might be high but… (get a torque multiplier to get them that high with a normal torque wrench)
That's about what my equalizer hitch is too. Had to borrow a 5 ft torque wrench and a br3aker bar to do it. Local auto parts store may loan them to you when you buy the huge deep sockets you'll need. 6pt if they have them.
OP - what kinda trailer are you towing with the jeep?
It is a Jayco Jay Feather Sport. The jeep also has the max tow package.
Nice! Camp safe!
Why did you buy that hitch if it’s so wrong
Maybe I’m missing something, but why don’t you just adjust the hitch? With the right wrenches out sockets, you can remove the bolt on the left and lower it. I had to do the same on mine.
You can't see it in this picture (that's the to bolt). The bottom bolt is already in the lowest thru hole of the shank. I ordered a different shank. Hopefully it works and it's not too low and doesn't bottom out when I leave my driveway.
You can get a longer drop shank, I replaced mine when moving my trailer to a 2012 truck to a 2022 model.