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When my trailer is hooked up to the tow vehicle the tongue is 13 inches off the ground while the stern end of the trailer is 19 inches up.....what are my options for raise the height of the tow ball 6 inches without having t remount the whole hitch?
What kind of vehicle do you have? Whats the weight of the boat, trailer, etc? Remember anything over about 5000 pounds and you need to use a weight distributing hitch....
When my trailer is hooked up to the tow vehicle the tongue is 13 inches off the ground while the stern end of the trailer is 19 inches up.....what are my options for raise the height of the tow ball 6 inches without having t remount the whole hitch?
Go to your favorite auto parts retailer and look at the ball mounts. They are available in two inch increments and can be reversed to raise or lower the trailer.
And you don't want to raise the tongue six inches, that will lower the rear too much. You want the trailer to ride level when loaded and connected to the tow vehicle.
If you already have a drop mount, reversing it may give you the correct height.
Are you sure you need 6" of lift? It seems like if the tongue is at 13" then when you raise it to say 17" that the transom end of the trailer will be dropping a couple of inches as you raise the tongue.
You cannot use a weight carrying hitch like everyone is talking about here, if you are towing 6500 lbs... YOU HAVE to have a weight distributing hitch if you are carrying over 5000 pounds... Just look at page 4-70 of your owners manual. Under the section "Weight distributing hitches and weight carrying hitches"
Here is the direct quote from the Owners Manual:
"If you will be pulling a trailer that, when loaded, will
weigh more than 5,000 lbs (2 270 kg) be sure to use a
properly mounted weight-distributing hitch and sway
control of the proper size. This equipment is very
important for proper vehicle loading and good handling
when driving. Always use a sway control if the trailer
will weigh more than these limits. You can ask a
hitch dealer about sway controls. "
Try this. On a level spot park the boat and truck, disconnected. Level the trailer to where you want it to ride with the tongue jack. Measure the hitch height and the ball height on the truck. If the truck is lower than the trailer you need to adjust the ball height (as shown above). You can add to this to allow for squat If your truck is squatting too much with the tongue load, you may need to adjust some things. First what is the tongue load? Take it to the scales at a truck stop and find out. The tongue load should be about 10 % of you total load. There is some adjustment of this with the placement of the boat on the trailer. You may be able to move the boat aft to lessen the tongue weight. You may also be able to move the axle/s to shift the weight. You may be able to move some of the stuff in the boat (coolers, bait tanks, batteries, etc.) Air shocks or air bags are another way to raise the rear of the tow vehicle if you are not exceeding max. load. It is important to have enough weight on the tongue for easy towing, but not so much that you overload the rear of the tow vehicle.
A WD hitch only reduces tongue weight. The statement in the owners manual assumes the tongue weight is at 10% of the total tow weight. Most boat tows can tow at 5 to 7% tongue weight. You have to keep adjusting the load position until there is no trailer sway. Then measure the weight. If it is under 500lbs there is no need for a WD hitch setup. If over then you need a WD hitch per the owners manual Even with a WD setup, the overall pull weight remains the same.
The 10% rule is an RV rule. The 10% rule does not apply to boat tows. If you do some research you will find what I wrote is pretty much factual! There even was a an article in tow magazine ( Boat US) which validates < 10% rule for boat tow.
stingerhook - your tongue weight may be over exaggerated and needs to be adjusted. You can do this by moving the winch post towards the back of the trailer. This will allow the boat to sit back further, relieving tongue weight. Adjust at small increments to get the lowest tongue weight with no sway and a safe tow.
If necessary be careful on the type of WD hitch and if you buy sway control. Some will disable your surge brakes.
I tow 7K plus pounds with about 350lbs of tongue weight with my F150, no WD or sway control, its a perfect balance. It takes a little time to dial it in, but when you do, for the most part your tongue weight may come up lighter!
A WD hitch only reduces tongue weight. The statement in the owners manual assumes the tongue weight is at 10% of the total tow weight. Most boat tows can tow at 5 to 7% tongue weight. You have to keep adjusting the load position until there is no trailer sway. Then measure the weight. If it is under 500lbs there is no need for a WD hitch setup. If over then you need a WD hitch per the owners manual Even with a WD setup, the overall pull weight remains the same.
The 10% rule is an RV rule.
stingerhook - your tongue weight may be over exaggerated and needs to be adjusted. You can do this by moving the winch post towards the back of the trailer. This will allow the boat to sit back further, relieving tongue weight. Adjust at small increments to get the lowest tongue weight with no sway and a safe tow.
If necessary be careful on the type of WD hitch and if you buy sway control. Some will disable your surge brakes.
I tow 7K plus pounds with about 350lbs of tongue weight with my F150, no WD or sway control, its a perfect balance. It takes a little time to dial it in, but when you do, for the most part your tongue weight may come up lighter!
Kevin
I seriously disgaree, the owners manual says nothing about tongue weight... it clearly states that if you are towing over 5000 lbs you need a WD hitch... If it was only a tongue hitch issue, then it would say that, but it doesnt even mention tongue weight it only mentions towing weight.
As far as WD hitches disabling surge brakes, yes you are correct, however there are some out there, like the equalizer hitch, that are WD and also DO NOT disable surge brakes.
What benefit would the WD hitch provide Kevin if his tongue weight is only 350 lbs?
All I can say is that the owners manual only talks about towing weight for determining the need for a WD hitch. If the only factor was tongue weight than wouldnt the manual say if you have a tongue weight more than XXX lbs you need to use a WD hitch?
Everything for towing is all based on the weight of what you are towing, hitch ball, tongue, etc... not tongue weight. Besides why risk it you cannot hurt anything by having a WD hitch, and I would be awfully PO'd to have an accident and ruin a boat just because I didnt want to go through the added expense and time for a WD hitch.
Hey when I was going through this on my Ford, both my dealer and Ford directly said it all has to do with towing weight...
Trailer hitch 6 inches too low
