New Tow Vehicle - Trailer Hitch Height

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Well, I finally got a big tow vehicle. Bought an O2 Sequoia today. It already had a tow package but looked like it never towed anything before. I went and bought the tow bar and ball just as the trailer store was closing so now I'm not sure if I did the right thing in my rush.

The trailer shop guy wanted to put what he called a 2 inch drop on it which is pretty much a straight bar. This put the top of the ball up around 21 inches off the ground. Since I had read many posts here recommending 17 inches, I asked for more drop. They were closing and rushing me out so they put on what I think is a 5 inch drop hitch on it. That puts the top of the ball around 17 inches high with no trailer and no load in the vehicle. I got home and hitched up the trailer (no boat) and that drops the top of the ball down to around 15.5 which means the bottom of the frame is about 12.5 inches off the road in the front. But the rear of the frame is around 17 inches up so there is a definite incline downward with this hitch type. In fact, seems very similar to my low minivan hitch height. The trailer shop guy was saying that if it wasn't high enough, a boat would collect water in the bow and be too heavy for the tow vehicle. I told him that wouldn't be a problem with a closed sailboat. But he also said the trailer would be more squirly if it was oriented nose down than nose up.

So, my question is am I better off with the nose being down lower or should I try to get a tow bar which is in between the two I looked at which would make the trailer more level? Anyone have any real experience with this, having tried different sizes? And for that matter, do they make a drop between 2 and 5 inches (like 3 or 4)?

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

i think that you're too low at the tongue.

i've always tried to keep the bottom of the tongue at 15-16" (17-18" at the top of the ball) and 14.5-13.5" to the bottom of the rear of the trailer.

it's interesting because i have 3 tow vehicles and all three require a different bar/ball configuration in order to get the height to 15" at the tongue.

17" to top of ball

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90 TLDI

[Chip Hindes]

But he also said the trailer would be more squirly if it was oriented nose down than nose up.

I've heard exactly the opposite, but it really doesn't matter because what you need is for it to be level. 17" is the number I use but that's for my trailer, and I have a two axle trailer which tends to sit an inch or so higher than the stock single axle. You need to determine the number for your trailer, and you can't do it with the boat not on the trailer. Just as a hint, if the ball drops 1 1/2 with the bare trailer, no boat, with the boat you're probably talking 3-4'.

Once you've got yhe boat on the trailer and the correct height determined, take the ball mount back and get the right one. If they don't have it, somebody else does. If you really can't find one, you can get an infinitely adjustable one.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

I might have thought that the rear end would drop a lot more with the boat on too, except that I stood on the trailer and jumped up and down and the suspension hardly compressed at all any further. Granted, with 3 people in the 3rd row of the SUV, its gonna drop more. My trailer has a spare tire bolted to the ladder so I wouldn't be surprised if the tongue weight is already at least 75 lbs without the boat. With me standing on it too, it probably starts getting real close to 300 lbs.

Anyway, I'll put the boat on later today and see exactly how it sits with accurate measurements so that I can try to get slightly less drop on the ball. But obviously, loading of the vehicle is important too so now I wonder whether I should put people in the back of the SUV before measuring. I went with what I had heard on this board about nose down as well as the fact that I never had worse sway with my minivan than most reported here and that was definitely nose down too. I guess if the trailer shop dude says nose up is better, then I can shoot for dead level and I should be covered. I didn't realize the adjustable ones were so inexpensive or else I may have bought one but now I guess I'll just have to ask for an exchange. Thanks for the responses.

[Chip Hindes]

I don't want to get into yet another pi$$ context on this particular subject, but if your tongue weight is 300 pounds or less with the loaded boat on it, it's probably inadequate.