F250 upgrade

[jwamiller]

Hi all! We just upgraded to a diesel f-250 from a 150. The truck receiver hitch is 3" taller on the 250. Wondering if all I have to do to my reese w.d.s is raise it that 3"? Thanks!

[crunchman12001]

LOWER the ball on the hitch shank. The end result is the trailer is level, slightly nose low. Congrats on your new TV.

[grhodes50]

Congrats on your new truck. I got mine a couple of years ago and love it.
I have the Equalizer hitch and only had to make some minor adjustments. I'm not familiar with the Reese, but I'll bet your adjustments will be minor as well.
Enjoy that new truck!!!

[jwamiller]

Thank you both for your quick responses!

[Teamfour]

Make sure you have an adequate torque wrench when lowering the ball on the shank. The fasteners need to be torqued to a level most home mechanics can't obtain. Take it to a mechanic if necessary.

[goduc]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

Make sure you have an adequate torque wrench when lowering the ball on the shank. The fasteners need to be torqued to a level most home mechanics can't obtain. Take it to a mechanic if necessary.

All one needs is a 1/2" breaker bar with a 2' cheater pipe on the end. Crank on it until you can't. Been doing it that way for years.

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by goduc

All one needs is a 1/2" breaker bar with a 2' cheater pipe on the end. Crank on it until you can't. Been doing it that way for years.

Glad you don't work on my vehicles.

[goduc]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

Glad you don't work on my vehicles.

It ain't a cylinder head.
A 2' bar at the end will add 200lbs of force. The 3/4" bolt needs 260ftlbs of TQ. Most people can torque to 80lbs with a 1/2" breaker bar. Add 2' to it and you've got 280ftlbs of TQ. It ain't rocket science.
If you can change a flat tire on your trailer then you can torque to 100lbs as most lugs are between 90-120lbs. Add a 2' extension and it's way easier.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

Glad you don't work on my vehicles.

How do you think the mechanic you are paying does it?

[goduc]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

How do you think the mechanic you are paying does it?

LOL. As they say a "Fool and his money are soon parted".

[SeaDog]

regardless of the method the end result is to get it torqued to spec. the 2' cheater bar will apply force (maybe too much) depending on the strength and weight of the person using it. The dial in torque wrench doesn't care how strong you are or if you are using a cheater it clicks at proper torque. I have used both methods with good results

[SeaDog]

Forgot congrats on the new tow vehicle, just adjust the WD hitch like others have said to get proper height of the ball aprox 1" above the trailer coupler measured with the trailer level and not attached to the TV.

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

How do you think the mechanic you are paying does it?

I don't pay mechanics. I have a full race shop with a 400 ft/lb torque wrench.

[goduc]

Originally Posted by Teamfour

I don't pay mechanics. I have a full race shop with a 400 ft/lb torque wrench.

So you're the guy others pay. Nice plug for some work.
Or is your shop a hobby?

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by goduc

So you're the guy others pay. Nice plug for some work.
Or is your shop a hobby?

Hobby only.

[Ken K.]

I had a similar experience when I upgraded from a toyota. I had to lower the hitch on my shank 2 notches. My F250 is 4X4 so it sat up a good bit higher than the toyota. I also had to add some washers on the back of my WDH to make it so that the trunnions had the appropriate pressure. What I found after lowering the hitch was that the front fender measured almost 3 inches higher than the unloaded position. The trailer was level but I was not getting the weight evenly distributed between all the axles. driving before and after my adjustment in washers was significantly improved after adjustments were added. I was getting a good bit more sway, even with Ford's anti sway built in. I added a total of 3 washers (1 at a time) until my front fender was within 1/2" of where I started before any load was added. I feel like I need to point out that I did go to the scales and make sure my tongue weight wasn't to high. It was not, payload was also OK. Everything is level now and it tows pretty effortlessly, hardly know it's back there. Love my F250!

[thebrakeman]

Guys, quit comparing...ummm...wrenches.


To OP, all things being equal, you need to drop the ball/head by 3". But since all things are not equal (F250 will not squat as much as F150 under load), you may actually need to drop it more than 3" to end up with a level trailer, assuming you were level before.


Standard hole-spacing on any WDH shank is 1¼". So 2 holes down is 2.5"; 3 holes down is 3.75". If you were a bit tongue-high before, go down 3 holes. If a bit tongue-low before, try 2 holes down.


Either way, that's a starting point. You need to do a complete re-check on the F250, measuring the front wheel well height before and after attaching trailer and engaging WDH. You want that height to be back to stock for best handling.