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TNrob's avatar
TNrob
Explorer
May 19, 2016

Drop shank for new truck.

I had everything set up for my Dodge 1500 and it was perfect. Had two holes left in the shank and was going to cut off the excess just before I traded trucks. Now with the 3/4 Ram the hitch is taller and even using the full 9.5" of drop I'm about 3" too tall in front. I have a front living, mid kitchen, rear bath and bunk TT, so we have a hard time getting the load up toward the tongue like I would like it. I guess with the tongue too tall it'll compound that issue and make it even worse.

I found a longer drop that will work, but ONLY one from Curt. I would like to fin a 12-15" drop shank that fits the 2.5" receiver instead of using the sleeve, but the few of those that I've found don't drop enough.

Any ideas?
  • LIKE2BUILD wrote:
    TNrob wrote:
    Looks like we'll just use the sleeve. I did call etrailer and nope, the 2.5" is limited because there's little demand. Thought about contacting Curt or Reese directly, but who knows what it might cost to get one custom. Maybe they'd say "Sure!" but I sort of doubt it.

    I upgraded from a 2004 Chevy 2500HD to a 2014 Ram 2500 4x4 and had the same issue. I first bought a 2" drop shank and was going to use the adapter sleeve. As I was assembling the hitch head I gave everything a good wiggle to make sure I was secure. When I did that my hitch head traveled almost 1 1/4" vertically. I was not comfortable with that much slop in the hitch.

    I went over to Etrailer.com and bought a 2.5" drop shank (I don't remember the length) which eliminated all of the excess slop. If you can find the right height shank I'd suggest doing that instead of the adapter sleeve. If all else fails the sleeve is okay, but not preferable in my opinion.

    KJ


    X2
    I had a crazy amount of slop in mine on my new truck, also bent my pin I had for years. Bought this monster and resolved all my isses. I quickly found that I'm not a fan of adapter sleeves.
  • Look at the curt 45900 adjustable hitch. I run one on my 2015 ram 2500 4x4 and it works great for me.
  • I have seen some custom 2.5" shanks on eBay from a shop in the south, maybe R&P Carriages if I remember correctly. Maybe they have something that will work or can make you the correct drop shank.
  • No, I don't like it, but I did find a blue ox immobilizer (part number BX88312) that is supposed to lock it down real tight and greatly reduce the wiggle, if not exactly the slop. We'll see.
  • TNrob wrote:
    Looks like we'll just use the sleeve. I did call etrailer and nope, the 2.5" is limited because there's little demand. Thought about contacting Curt or Reese directly, but who knows what it might cost to get one custom. Maybe they'd say "Sure!" but I sort of doubt it.

    I upgraded from a 2004 Chevy 2500HD to a 2014 Ram 2500 4x4 and had the same issue. I first bought a 2" drop shank and was going to use the adapter sleeve. As I was assembling the hitch head I gave everything a good wiggle to make sure I was secure. When I did that my hitch head traveled almost 1 1/4" vertically. I was not comfortable with that much slop in the hitch.

    I went over to Etrailer.com and bought a 2.5" drop shank (I don't remember the length) which eliminated all of the excess slop. If you can find the right height shank I'd suggest doing that instead of the adapter sleeve. If all else fails the sleeve is okay, but not preferable in my opinion.

    KJ
  • Looks like we'll just use the sleeve. I did call etrailer and nope, the 2.5" is limited because there's little demand. Thought about contacting Curt or Reese directly, but who knows what it might cost to get one custom. Maybe they'd say "Sure!" but I sort of doubt it.

    I haven't lifted the truck. It's a stock Ram 2500 4x4 CCSB. The top of hitch to ground is 26" and the top of our TT hitch is 17" when level. At it's lowest position, a 9.5" drop from a shank that's 13" overall tall, the top of the ball is still a little over 20.5". I ordered the new drop last night. Once I get it set up I'll have to cut off some excess to keep from scraping the road.
  • TNrob wrote:
    I would like to fin a 12-15" drop shank that fits the 2.5" receiver instead of using the sleeve, but the few of those that I've found don't drop enough.

    Any ideas?


    You must have raised the ride height of your truck. I have a 3500 and use a 10 inch drop for towing my between-the-wheels flatbed. Anything longer and I would likely be scraping the drop hitch on the ground from time to time.
  • I always use the sleeve and it works fine. that's what its for.

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