Extra rise needed on the ball mount?

[TxCowboy]

I have questions about receiver ball mount rise and drop for a bumper pull travel trailer.

My tow vehicle hitch receiver sits 18 inches off the ground (measured at the bottom of the receiver). This trailer, sitting level, measures 21 inches to the bottom of the trailer's ball hitch mechanism.

(1) Does this mean I need a three inch rise or do I really need a four inch rise to accommodate the ball itself?

(2) I assume there may be a bit of squatting so do I need to add another inch or two to this rise? (TV does have a class 4 hitch and towing package.)

Thanks!

 

[iowaone]

Yes and yes. Sounds like you need 4 or 5 inch rise.

 

[TxCowboy]

Thanks!!

- - - Updated - - -

Is that much rise, 4 to 5 inches, too high to tow it safely (with everything else well within safety margins)?

 

[iowaone]

Whatever hitch you put into the receiver should have a capacity rating so go by that. I think they do vary so you might need to look around. Your receiver also will have a rating so that will give you guidance

 

[TxCowboy]

I'm looking at towing this trailer with a good old Class IV Reese receiver and a Class III/IV 2x2 inch ball mount with a 10K Class IV 2 5/16 inch ball.

It looks like I'll need a five inch rise on that Class III/IV ball mount.

The trailer should be about 8,000 pounds max but it's GVT can go up to 9,500 pounds.

Do you see any issues with that combination?

And I apologize for any confusion my initial posts might have created. I do realize now that I should have stated the information in THIS post as part of the OP.

 

[Bohemian]

Etrailer.Com has lots of good information, reviews, and videos.

 

[pegmikef]

Assuming the squat factor is a constant then the height would be the same regardless of the hitch type to keep both the truck and trailer level. The instructions with my EAZ-lift hitch were that the ball should be 1/8th inch per hundred pounds of tongue weight above the trailer ball cup. In other words, if the tongue weight is 700 pounds, then the trailer ball should be 7/8th of an inch above the ball cup.

 

[TxCowboy]

Thanks for the insights, everybody.

 

[hoefler]

You need to use an equalizing hitch to use those capacity numbers.