Help Quickly

mhockey9090 · #1 08-19-2008, 10:24 PM

need help with deciding with what ball mount size to go with. my truck has an 8 inch lift on it with 35inch tires and will prob be towing a uhaul trailer with a couple things in it to texas from florida. My question is what size drop will i need and was wondering if this one would work? if not suggestion are open and willing to take ne of them bc i need to purchase by tonight if possible thanks alot guys

http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/prod...l_Mounts,80248

RedFord150 · #2 08-19-2008, 11:45 PM

U-Haul sells hitch accessories including the ball mounts. You might be better off going to the rental place and matching up the trailer to the hitch to determine correct drop.
I think U-Haul says that hitch cannot be higher than 25" off the ground.
Otherwise, measure from ground to top of receiver opening and subtract 25" from total height. This will give you minimum drop.
Personally, I would want the hitch much lower than 25" to keep the trailer closer to level.
Good luck on your trip.

madcat6183 · #3 08-20-2008, 10:52 AM

I have a ? about this as well.

I was looking at an F250 Powerstroke with a 9in lift and 37's and it looks like the back bumper is about 35in off the ground.
I tow a 6200lb travel trailer but the hitch is low, probably no more then 14inches off the ground to be level.

From what Ive read that would be like 18-22inches drop hitch. However I find it hard to believe that would even be possible? the largest drop Ive seen is 10 and then the tounge weight was like 400lbs, this would be way more then that.

I think this would be something I would have to get custom made? If anyone has any insight please let me know.

APT · #4 08-20-2008, 11:04 AM

11" sounds good. That will still probably be a little too high for a Uhaul trailer ,but I don't know of any much longer that are cheap.

Raoul · #5 08-20-2008, 11:06 AM

9 inch drop for $60
http://www.jcwhitney.com/HIDDEN-HITC...2319_10101.jcw

14 inch drop for $269 (ouch!)
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/I...D:100000440739

(six inch shown but they do have the zero to 14 drop in that style.)

MitchF150 · #6 08-20-2008, 11:39 AM

madcat, I think you are going to be asking for trouble with a of drop of that much, for a trailer that heavy and the stock hitch.... Think of that drop as a lever on your hitch and the longer it is, the more stress it's going to apply to the hitch.

A #6500 TT is going to have at least a #700 tongue weight, but probably more. That will usually require a WD hitch setup, even for a F250..

Add even a 10" drop and that #700 tongue weight is going to exert a lot more leverage on the hitch, then say a standard 4" drop would... I'm sorry, I don't have the math background to determine the exact #'s in either case, but I know I can break loose stubborn bolts with a cheater bar a lot easier then without one!

My TT hitch is about 18" off the ground when level. Here is a pic of my WD hitch setup on my stock height F150 4x4. The top of my hitch is about 19" off the ground. I think this WD setup is considered a 6" drop! Well, that's where the lower bolt is at any rate...

But, notice that the ball is just a tad lower then the top of where my hitch is. This makes for a level rig, with it actually being about an inch low in front when the WD bars are in place.

For your case, you will need at least a class 5 receiver that has a 2.5" square receiver and maybe even one of those 'double' receiver setups that you see trucks needing to extend their hitch because they are hauling a huge cab over camper and want to tow their boat or toys with...

Probably still going to have to go 'custom' on it at any rate!

Mitch

madcat6183 · #7 08-20-2008, 12:58 PM

Thanks for your help. Thats kinda what I thought and as much as I love the truck I was looking at I think for the hassle and stuff just keeping what I have in the 5.4L 04 F150 is a better bet. Or just getting a newer model. Gotta see what my repair today is gonna cost and decide if I should trade it off before I start spending even more cash, or if the fix is worth it.

Thank you very much tho, that really helped put it into perspective. As you might have noticed Ive only towed the trailer twice and have about 2-3 more times this season and then next season will be 10-15 times so I wanna make it easy. Even with just a set of 35s and 2 inch level kit it still makes it way unlevel. I need to get a small drop about 4 inches Im gonna measure this all up next time Im home and check it all out.

APT · #8 08-20-2008, 01:56 PM

I don't think UHaul cargo trailers are rated for 6k pounds. Okay, I just checked. Both the 6x12' open and enclosed cargo trailers are rated for about 4500 pounds GVW, 2000-2600# payload

Mitch, you effectively had about 2" drop in that picture. My stock 4WD F-150 requires about 4" for my landscape trailer, although I also have an and justable height ball mount.

MitchF150 · #9 08-20-2008, 03:15 PM

APT, Yeah, if I were to just hitch up the trailer to a ball, I could use my 2" drop setup. I think they just 'classify' that adjustable drop shank as a longer drop #, even thou when you attach a WD head to it, it brings the ball back up again.

I actually had to lower it to the lowest hole after it was setup by the dealer when I first got the trailer... It just tows better with it just a tad 'nose low'.

Mitch