I'm going to be putting a bike rack on my KZ Spree LX travel trailer. The LX models have a faring on the front that completely covers the propane tanks and looks nice, but has the effect of giving a fairly short A frame on the front of the TT. I've just measured it and I have 32 inches from the front of the TT to the center of the hitch.
I'm also right at or very close to the tongue weight of the TV, a Ford Expedition.
As the A frame is very small and as the bike rack will sit on it, I'm afraid that during sharp turns, the bike rack with strike the TV.
So I'm considering buying a longer shank from the company that manufacturers the Equalizer. That would add nearly 6 inches between the RV and the car (the shank length would go from 12 inches to 18 inches).
Would a longer shank have any impact on the tongue weight? Would it impart any more or less stresses on the TV hitch?
mikeb9550 wrote: It wouldnt change the tongue weight. Think of the shank as part of the truck and not the trailer. If you extended your trailer tongue, then it would.
The bad thing about the EQ shanks is that they are darn near as expensive as the complete hitch.
Another option would be to see if you could get a hitch for the front of your Expedition and put the bike rack there.
But would it offload some of the weight being transfered to the front wheels? By moving the ball of the hitch further from the back wheels of the tow vehicle wouldn't that system now act as a lever?
This is causing me to think wayyy too much for a Friday. Go with the front hitch and a bike rack up there and your problems are solved.
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