Weight Distribution System with 5 Inch Drop Shank for a Trailer with 900 Pounds Tongue Weight

Question:

I have a 2006 Toyota Tacoma Prerunner four door crew cab with a long bed. The top of the underside of the hitch box is 19 inches and the bottom of the trailer hitch is 15 inches, which gives me a 5 inch drop. I went through the filters on your website and came up with this model of weight distribution hitch. but I see that the drop is only a little over an inch. So what is the appropriate model to choose? The hitch weight is about 900 pounds trailer and back of truck.

asked by: Dennis S

Expert Reply:

For a total tongue weight of 900 pounds you have some options for weight distribution. We need to look at models that do not come with a shank so you can add one with the appropriate drop or close to it.

Trunnion bar Reese system, # RP66022, is rated for 600 to 1200 pounds tongue weight and does not come with a shank or ball. For a shank that has 4-3/4 inches of drop when used with trunnion bars go with # RP63971. That 1/4 inch of difference will be taken up by the tongue weight pushing down on the hitch so the trailer will be level.

For a 2-5/16 inch ball use # 19286.

The other option is to use the Reese system you selected, # 49570, and then add shank # RP63971 instead of using the one it comes with. Shanks cannot be swapped out for different shanks.