We are finally on the move, having sold the house and purchased a 2014 Ford Ranger XLT 3.2L with 3500kg towing capacity to tow our 25ft 6" Caravan.
The ford towbar supplied has the capacity to tow the above weight. I'm not sure if I need a Weight Distribution Hitch?
The problem being that the Hayman Reese's tongue is too long for the ford towbar. The receptacle for the tongue on the ford towbar is only about 70mm long and therefore will not accommodate the tongue of the HR WDH.
Has anyone else had to deal with this problem and is there a solution?
Regards,
Graeme & Angie
Dougwe said
06:09 PM Oct 4, 2014
How,
You must have a Uncle Al living with you too, like me cos ya asked this same question on 2/10/14 in "Techies" mate
Join the club mate
Dougwe said
06:10 PM Oct 4, 2014
How again,
Just thought. Wombat might be up to his old tricks again and moving things around
Phil C said
11:50 AM Oct 5, 2014
Ive got exactly the same issue, I said on another post that I had phoned Hayman Reese and they confirmed if I can get the first hole engaged it will be OK. Looks a bit long but its never let go.
Safe travels
walwal said
03:14 PM Oct 5, 2014
doug i see u have a colorado do u get any shake in the seats and body
03_troopy said
04:51 PM Oct 5, 2014
Can't you just cut it down and redrill it to suit the shorter receiver?
ken thomas said
05:01 PM Oct 5, 2014
Hello
I have a ranger and had the same problem
Talking to HR they say you cannot cut it down but to buy a HR towbar ???what the
local HR agent said they cut them all the time with no worries
Take it to an engineering works and get them to cut it down and redrill the hole
It is very hard steel and harder still to cut it with a drop down saw
Should not be that expensive
Ken
Blue said
05:43 PM Oct 5, 2014
they have enough holes ..you just can't push the damn things in due to that huge unnecessary length... just cut it back.. whats an inch off it going to do?
nothing...
always use stabilisers, levellers, what every you want to call them..
nothing worse than seeing an unlevelled van heading down the road half out of control...
Dougwe said
06:28 PM Oct 5, 2014
walwal wrote:
doug i see u have a colorado do u get any shake in the seats and body
Nope, no problems, so far anyway. Towing or not towing. I have it fully loaded at the moment and no difference, wouldn't even know it was loaded the way it is. Will have the Den in tow tomorrow but don't expect any problems.
old bob said
10:44 AM Dec 29, 2015
look at fiting 800 series H M WDH to our 2015 silver line , its 3.2 T and 300kg on the ball with 3 tanks of water ,we tow with a 2015 ford ranger wildtrack with 150kg in the tub
the ball drops 60mm when the van is attched ,but whole rig sets dead level mesureing from road to under the guards ,as rear of the truck is higher then the front with out the van on (suspention is OEM ) what im asking is if i put level riders on wont the van sit high in the front and truck high in the rear when the bars are tenshioned up we have done 7,000k with out the bars , but the truck tends to hobyhorse a fair bit on uneven roads
revemike said
02:54 PM Dec 29, 2015
I had an engineer friend cut my WDH shank to fit into the towbar. To date I have not had any issue. I did not n ed to drill new holes.
PeterD said
05:26 PM Dec 29, 2015
Blue wrote:
they have enough holes ..you just can't push the damn things in due to that huge unnecessary length... just cut it back.. whats an inch off it going to do?
If you are getting confused with answers like this I think it will be because there are two different styles of hitches for HR WDH. The one being referred to here is the newer standard shank like this one.
Most of the others are referring to original shank like this one that only has one hole for the pin.
I suggest you make it clear as to which shank you are referring to when you reply.
-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 29th of December 2015 05:27:51 PM
I had the same problem with my 2017 Wildtrak. I cut about 90mm off the hitch to accommodate. Been towing 2 1/2 T vans for 7 years no problem. ( Still sticks out quite a bit.)
Only thing is there is play up and down and sideways. I have put shimmies in for up and down haven't worried about sideways.
Now trying a single lighter hitch but movement still there.
Usually 50mm tongue on most hitches but the Ford opening around 60mm. Don't know if Ford hitches are bigger than 50mm.
If anybody has further info I would be interested to hear, thanks.
Dick.
-- Edited by littledick on Saturday 8th of March 2025 12:12:05 PM
StewG said
06:22 PM Mar 10, 2025
I drilled a new hole in the shank and cut off the excess to reduce the over-hang in the hitch of my Land Rover D4. To reduce (eliminate) the rattles I bought and slightly modified a HR "Silent Hitch" - it was too short for the LR cast-iron receiver so took a few millimetres off the head of the pin. I also made a couple of angle iron packing pieces connected by a stainless steel threaded rod and Nyloc nuts to hold everything in place. The hitch is as solid as a rock now. and has been for the past 20,000km.
There's not the vehicle made that will not benefit in some way and
some will hugely benefit by the correct fitment and adjustment of a WDH!!
Not many retailers game to tread on HR toes by stocking the best hitch
around IMHO and extensive experience.
Yep, it's the ANDERSON. You can buy direct from importer in QLD.
B
Greg 1 said
12:48 PM Mar 20, 2025
I have been towing a 3 tonne van with a Ranger for 9 years now and am a fan of WDH's.
The short receiver on the Ford towbar is an issue but I just cut the tongue down and redrilled the pin hole.
Fairly simple job.
But there again I have a well equipped workshop with a metal bandsaw and a milling machine.
That tongue has now done over 100,000 ks without an issue.
Are We Lost said
12:57 PM Mar 20, 2025
The short receiver is a pain. I took the shank to an engineering shop. It took more time to measure and mark than it did to cut it. $20 cash and the job was done.
Some are not solid. I imagine this would be easy enough with a hacksaw.
littledick said
08:46 AM Mar 28, 2025
Gemangi wrote:
We are finally on the move, having sold the house and purchased a 2014 Ford Ranger XLT 3.2L with 3500kg towing capacity to tow our 25ft 6" Caravan.
The ford towbar supplied has the capacity to tow the above weight. I'm not sure if I need a Weight Distribution Hitch?
The problem being that the Hayman Reese's tongue is too long for the ford towbar. The receptacle for the tongue on the ford towbar is only about 70mm long and therefore will not accommodate the tongue of the HR WDH.
Has anyone else had to deal with this problem and is there a solution?
Regards,
Graeme & Angie
Mine also was too long, I cut 90mm off 7 years ago and no problem. 2017 Wildtrak. Not using WDH but I added air bags to give a hopefully softer ride, wife not long had back op.
Greg 1 said
03:55 PM Mar 31, 2025
Be careful of the airbags on a leaf sprung vehicle.
Plenty of evidence to show they are a major contributor of fractured Ute chassis.
littledick said
02:33 PM Apr 9, 2025
Greg 1 wrote:
Be careful of the airbags on a leaf sprung vehicle. Plenty of evidence to show they are a major contributor of fractured Ute chassis.
Talk to Pedders, that problem due to excessive pressure.
Dick.
Peter_n_Margaret said
03:46 PM Apr 9, 2025
littledick wrote:
Talk to Pedders, that problem due to excessive pressure.
That problem stems from applying loads to areas of the chassis that was never designed for them.
Cheers,
Peter
Are We Lost said
05:22 PM Apr 9, 2025
I would not expect unbiased advice from Pedders. They sell airbags and their sales people have no doubt been indoctrinated by marketing spiel, whether fact or fiction.
Brodie Allen said
11:23 AM Apr 10, 2025
Air bags are not the answer to anything.
Do not distribute weight - in fact can make problems worse.
Applies to towing vehicles, not utes etc carrying loads.
B
-- Edited by Brodie Allen on Thursday 10th of April 2025 11:24:15 AM
Greg 1 said
08:10 PM Apr 11, 2025
Just cut another HR tongue down and redrilled the pin hole for a mate with a Pajero Sport which also has a very short receiver..
Set up his rig as he is a new chum to caravanning and so have been giving him a hand.
We are finally on the move, having sold the house and purchased a 2014 Ford Ranger XLT 3.2L with 3500kg towing capacity to tow our 25ft 6" Caravan.
The ford towbar supplied has the capacity to tow the above weight. I'm not sure if I need a Weight Distribution Hitch?
The problem being that the Hayman Reese's tongue is too long for the ford towbar. The receptacle for the tongue on the ford towbar is only about 70mm long and therefore will not accommodate the tongue of the HR WDH.
Has anyone else had to deal with this problem and is there a solution?
Regards,
Graeme & Angie
How,
cos ya asked this same question on 2/10/14 in "Techies" mate 
You must have a Uncle Al living with you too, like me
Join the club mate
How again,
Just thought. Wombat might be up to his old tricks again and moving things around
Safe travels
doug i see u have a colorado do u get any shake in the seats and body
I have a ranger and had the same problem
Talking to HR they say you cannot cut it down but to buy a HR towbar ???what the
local HR agent said they cut them all the time with no worries
Take it to an engineering works and get them to cut it down and redrill the hole
It is very hard steel and harder still to cut it with a drop down saw
Should not be that expensive
Ken
nothing...
always use stabilisers, levellers, what every you want to call them..
nothing worse than seeing an unlevelled van heading down the road half out of control...
Nope, no problems, so far anyway. Towing or not towing. I have it fully loaded at the moment and no difference, wouldn't even know it was loaded the way it is. Will have the Den in tow tomorrow but don't expect any problems.
the ball drops 60mm when the van is attched ,but whole rig sets dead level mesureing from road to under the guards ,as rear of the truck is higher then the front with out the van on (suspention is OEM ) what im asking is if i put level riders on wont the van sit high in the front and truck high in the rear when the bars are tenshioned up we have done 7,000k with out the bars , but the truck tends to hobyhorse a fair bit on uneven roads
I had an engineer friend cut my WDH shank to fit into the towbar. To date I have not had any issue. I did not n ed to drill new holes.
If you are getting confused with answers like this I think it will be because there are two different styles of hitches for HR WDH. The one being referred to here is the newer standard shank like this one.
Most of the others are referring to original shank like this one that only has one hole for the pin.![HR-50025m[1].jpg](/download.spark?ID=1827175&aBID=51933 "HR-50025m[1].jpg")
I suggest you make it clear as to which shank you are referring to when you reply.
-- Edited by PeterD on Tuesday 29th of December 2015 05:27:51 PM
I had the same problem with my 2017 Wildtrak. I cut about 90mm off the hitch to accommodate. Been towing 2 1/2 T vans for 7 years no problem. ( Still sticks out quite a bit.)
Only thing is there is play up and down and sideways. I have put shimmies in for up and down haven't worried about sideways.
Now trying a single lighter hitch but movement still there.
Usually 50mm tongue on most hitches but the Ford opening around 60mm. Don't know if Ford hitches are bigger than 50mm.
If anybody has further info I would be interested to hear, thanks.
Dick.
-- Edited by littledick on Saturday 8th of March 2025 12:12:05 PM
I drilled a new hole in the shank and cut off the excess to reduce the over-hang in the hitch of my Land Rover D4. To reduce (eliminate) the rattles I bought and slightly modified a HR "Silent Hitch" - it was too short for the LR cast-iron receiver so took a few millimetres off the head of the pin. I also made a couple of angle iron packing pieces connected by a stainless steel threaded rod and Nyloc nuts to hold everything in place. The hitch is as solid as a rock now. and has been for the past 20,000km.
some will hugely benefit by the correct fitment and adjustment of a WDH!!
Not many retailers game to tread on HR toes by stocking the best hitch
around IMHO and extensive experience.
Yep, it's the ANDERSON. You can buy direct from importer in QLD.
B
Some are not solid. I imagine this would be easy enough with a hacksaw.
Talk to Pedders, that problem due to excessive pressure.
Dick.
That problem stems from applying loads to areas of the chassis that was never designed for them.
Cheers,
Peter
Air bags are not the answer to anything.
Do not distribute weight - in fact can make problems worse.
Applies to towing vehicles, not utes etc carrying loads.
B
-- Edited by Brodie Allen on Thursday 10th of April 2025 11:24:15 AM