I replaced my Equal-i-zer 12" shank with a 14" shank for tailgate clearance. I wanted to see what difference it made in the weight transfer. I measured both setups and the results are below. My F150 has the HD payload package with 2,592# yellow sticker. My tongue weight is measured at 1,050# on my 8,000# scale weight loaded for camping. This test was done on an empty truck and trailer.I would appear that the longer shank actually transferred a little more weight to the front and less load at the rear.

Make sense since there's more leverage.

Subscribed... and thanks for posting. I'm considering having a shank made that would add 5 inches, so I could turn sharper. Did you notice the axle weights with one shank versus another?Keep us posted after you take out for a drive.Thanks

Makes perfect sense. The longer shank has more leverage which would cause more squat in the rear before applying the WD bars, and more weight transfer to the front after applying the WD bars.You should have a little more weight on the truck front axle, a little less on the rear axle, and a little more on the trailer axles with the slightly longer shank.A 5" longer shank will scale somewhat exponentially.

It also puts the ball farther back from the axle, which could cause problems with tracking.

Bob/Olallawa wrote:It also puts the ball farther back from the axle, which could cause problems with tracking.So you're saying that if I had bought a truck with a long bed that moves the ball considerably further back from the axle that it would be poor tracking? Hmmm...

Changed shank length | Good Sam Community

18 Replies

Bob_Olallawa
Explorer
Sep 29, 2016
joshuajim wrote:
Bob/Olallawa wrote:
It also puts the ball farther back from the axle, which could cause problems with tracking.

So you're saying that if I had bought a truck with a long bed that moves the ball considerably further back from the axle that it would be poor tracking? Hmmm...

Hmmm, If you bought a truck with a long box I believe the axles would be further apart than a short/regular box, making the wheelbase longer not making the ball considerably further back from the rear axle.
Huntindog
Explorer
Sep 29, 2016
So it will change the tracking... Big deal.
Virtually every TT/TV matchup will track differently than another one... You just get used to it.
Even the Hensly hitch will cause tracking to be different than a standard WD system. They tell you that right up front.
It is NOT a big deal at all.

As for the OPs observations.
We had an extensive thread on this awhile back. It's focus was on whether a longer drawbar necessitized a hitch capacity rating reduction.
The mod. contacted some manufacturers for input. An engineer weighed in. The consensus was that it DID not for the very reason the OP measured.
I wrote about my experience in going to a longer drawbar, making my ride bouncy when lightly loaded. And surmised that the WD bars may have been adjusted too tight with the new bar. I never got around to readjusting them, as I got a new truck, but I am glad to see the OPs before and after observations which corrosponds with what I felt back then, as well as the opinions of many in that thread.
Good info and good work.
Thank you
greenrvgreen
Explorer
Sep 28, 2016
I agree with Bob--at the fulcrum inches matter. If the OP can find a difference in WD based on a two inch extension, problematic tracking will have been enhanced by an equal amount.
joshuajim
Explorer II
Sep 28, 2016
Bob/Olallawa wrote:
It also puts the ball farther back from the axle, which could cause problems with tracking.

So you're saying that if I had bought a truck with a long bed that moves the ball considerably further back from the axle that it would be poor tracking? Hmmm...
Bob_Olallawa
Explorer
Sep 22, 2016
It also puts the ball farther back from the axle, which could cause problems with tracking.
mkirsch
Nomad II
Sep 22, 2016
Makes perfect sense. The longer shank has more leverage which would cause more squat in the rear before applying the WD bars, and more weight transfer to the front after applying the WD bars.

You should have a little more weight on the truck front axle, a little less on the rear axle, and a little more on the trailer axles with the slightly longer shank.

A 5" longer shank will scale somewhat exponentially.
path1
Explorer
Sep 22, 2016
Subscribed... and thanks for posting.

I'm considering having a shank made that would add 5 inches, so I could turn sharper. Did you notice the axle weights with one shank versus another?

Keep us posted after you take out for a drive.

Thanks
ScottG
Nomad
Sep 22, 2016
Make sense since there's more leverage.

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Changed shank length

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