Tailgate to jack clearance

[iagary]

I have an F150 and a Rockwood Mimi Lite 2109S. Currently I have a manual jack and the tailgate does not clear the jack. My question is what are the issues involved in using a longer hitch shank? I have a Husky Round Bar WD hitch. I am seeing 10", 12" and 14" shanks. I have the 10" so I could gain either two or four inches for the needed clearance. Would this make a significant difference in towing and/or would I need to re-adjust my WD setup? It would seem to me if the WD setup were re-adjusted correctly there would be no significant difference? Any help and advice would be appreciated.

[coolbreeze01]

I knew you would like it. Can't understand why anyone would put up with a gate not fully opening.

[iagary]

I said I would report back after towing with a my new 14" hitch. After approximately 1200 miles to the north shore of Lake Superior, I could tell absolutely no difference from towing with my old 10" hitch. I appreciated it every time I got the stroller or drinks or anything else out of the back of the pickup with the camper hooked up. It now misses my manual jack stem by maybe 3 inches. Now ready to figure out which electric jack to go with.

[coolbreeze01]

STANG23L wrote:
I have the same problem. First time I hooked my new truck up to the camper I got a ding in the tailgate!

And found this jack to be the solution to the problem.

Although I have yet to purchase one.

I wouldn't purchase one either.

Buy an electric jack and a long enough hitch to clear the gate

[97chevor]

Wouldn't a step stool be a better option? You lose stability the farther back the hitch sits off the rear wheels.

[martipr]

Has no one ever thought of contacting the hitch manufacturer?

[Muddydogs]

I would have to add over a foot to my hitch shank to get my tailgate to open, its never been a problem for me to reach over the tailgate or sides of the bed to reach anything but then again I'm far from height challenged.

[STANG23L]

I have the same problem. First time I hooked my new truck up to the camper I got a ding in the tailgate!

And found this jack to be the solution to the problem.

Although I have yet to purchase one.

[iagary]

I hooked to my TT for the first time yesterday with the 4" longer shank hitch. I could not detect any difference in the measurements as related to my WDH from the shorter shank. I am making no adjustments to the WDH at this point. I only moved the TT out of my garage. I will be towing with the longer shank in about 10 days. I will give another update at that time.

[iagary]

My new 14" shank should be delivered tomorrow. I will install it in place of my current 10" shank, adding 4 inches. I will let you all know how it works out.

When I read the Ford 2014 F150 towing guide, I find nothing that indicates the length of the shank and it's effect on the tow rating. It seems that the general consensus is that a longer shank will reduce the tow rating. Who knows how the tow rating was determined? Perhaps it was determined using a longer shank and anything shorter than what they used would RAISE the towing ability of the receiver?

I will post after I have towed with the 4" longer shank. I will re adjust my WD hitch if needed and will be towing over 1,000 in mid/late august.

[iagary]

Yamadooed, I may have to do both. My tailgate was hitting the top of the jack, not just the handle. longer shank first then will do some measuring to see which jack will work.

[braindead0]

You may need to lengthen your safety chain, may not.. The chain may be bolted to the trailer, should be possible to replace with longer chains. You can also use shackles or quick repair links (make sure they are rated similar to the safety chain, and I'd recommend blue lock-tite) to add chain to it.

If you decide to buy new chain, should be available at your local hardware store.

[YamaDooed]

For my tailgate to clear I added the Barker 24" it will give you more clearance by moving the jack head out of the radius swing of the tailgate end zone... This will work only if your tailgate is hitting on the jack handle not the stem of the jack...

[iagary]

Update on this subject - first step is to gain some of the needed clearance by using a 14" shank rather than my current 10" model. I will go through the WD adjustment procedure again to make sure it is still correct. One additional question on this - since I will be adding 4" distance from TT to TV, I will need longer safety chains. Can anyone guide me on how to do that? Can my existing chains be lengthened, or do I need to buy all new chains somewhere?

Thanks for all the help.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Yes, that's the way it works.