towing 23' travel trailer w/ f150 - equalizer hitch?

[RogersMN]

I just bought an older 23' travel trailer and it came with an equalizer hitch and anti-sway bar. my problem is it sits way too high and i would need to lower it 6" to level out the camper. i plan on having a welder lower the hitch but then the bottom part of the equilizer hitch will only be 8" off the ground. It wouldn't be that big of deal but where I park my camper I have to back up an incline so I'm afraid the hitch will dig into the ground (right now, the back of my camper will).

so...do you think i could just go with a regular hitch w/ a 6" drop? i have a 2004 f150 w/ the 5.4, 6 1/2 foot bed and crew cab. I looked up the camper and nada says it only weighs 3600 pounds. i thought it would be more like 5000.

thanks.

[fishing tech]

What is the tongue weight? That is where the equalizer comes in. You probably can tow it but bouncing and swaying could get dangerous at freeway speeds. Take the hitch to a local camper dealer and see if they will trade or give you a trade in toward a new one. I had an 87 24ft travel trailer and it was close to 5000lbs. not loaded. I now have an 05 30ft that ways 5000. Get the right hitch for safety reasons.

[Valv]

What is your tire size ? If you can replace tires with a 1" diameter size higher it will help too, but be sure they won't rub on fenders etc.

If you go from 14" to 15" it will give you approx 2" raise or more.

[solbes]

It might be 3600 lbs dry, but if you carry water you're adding potentially 500 lbs. Anything you carry inside the camper will add to the weight. All this adds to your tongue weight. I'm assuming you also will be towing with your truck bed full, which also will weigh down the back of the truck.

I would try to stick with an equilizer. I have one on a 28 footer (4600 dry) and even my V8 Dakota can handle it pretty decent.

I've parked mine up north now for 3 years so no worries for me. But before that I also parked ours in our driveway. The rear end would also scrape slightly, so I would actually leave the equlizer chains off until I got off the driveway, thereby raising the rear of the camper.

The hitch may not drop low enough to scrape anyway. Have you tried it? Since the hitch is much closer to your truck wheels than the camper wheels are to the rear, it may not scrape.