Towing Level?

The dealer installed my hitch on my vehicle when I picked up my TM. I questioned the height of the hitch being so high and he said the trailer should tow higher in front than back. I seem to remember it should be level, but I am not sure. Should it be level?

The tongue is 19 and 1/2 inches high when it is leveled and not hooked up to TV. When it is hooked up to TV, it is 20 and 7/8 inches high.

Thanks

Walt

Thanks for the quick response Leon. I do have the shank, and it has one more hole below the one being used now. The dealer is about 60 miles away. Maybe I can adjust it down myself.

Thanks again.

[CAmark]

My initial setup was a bit "front-high" as well. I towed home without incident but imagined that somewhere in the future I would drag the back end. Wiith an hour, tape measure, sockets, and torque wrench I found a level towing option.
Mark

You also need to look at it After you have the T.V. loaded for camping. You mention that tongue is about an inch higher setting on the ball versus level off of it. You really need to check it after you have the trailer and tow vehicle packed for camping. As an example. I have a Tundra Dbl Cab for my T.V. after loading firewood and all else we put in the back of the truck for camping my camper actually sits a little low (it's perfectly level sitting on the truck before loading).
I would say that if you cannot get it perfectly level when it is sitting on the ball, that low is better than high. 20% of your trailer weight should be on the ball. Having less will increase trailer sway.
Those are just my feeble minded thoughts!

>>If you've got a couple of holes left on your shank, some good heavy wrenches and lots of muscle power, you can do it yourself....

Or try your local gas station. When I changed the height on mine they were huge bolts and had some pretty high torque numbers listed.

Originally Posted by Killman

You also need to look at it After you have the T.V. loaded for camping. You mention that tongue is about an inch higher setting on the ball versus level off of it. You really need to check it after you have the trailer and tow vehicle packed for camping. As an example. I have a Tundra Dbl Cab for my T.V. after loading firewood and all else we put in the back of the truck for camping my camper actually sits a little low (it's perfectly level sitting on the truck before loading).
I would say that if you cannot get it perfectly level when it is sitting on the ball, that low is better than high. 20% of your trailer weight should be on the ball. Having less will increase trailer sway.
Those are just my feeble minded thoughts!

The measurements were made after everything was loaded. We were camping 2 nights and came back Wednesday. Before I hooked up the TM, I measured the tongue. Then when we were ready to roll out of the camp site, I measured again. TV was loaded with everything except wife and I. Of coarse this was not a long trip and I am sure we would have more stored in TV on longer trips.

Thanks for the response....

[fcatwo]

Walt

You didn't mention whether you are using a WDH. Consumers Report shows the weight distribution on the Armada axles as 50%-front and 50%-rear sitting empty. You'll likely get some rear sag if you drop the 400lb+ tongue of your TM on the hitch without a WDH. A Titan is 55/45 (600lbs heavier on the front) so a sans-WDH hitchup could be less of a problem with a Titan.

I run one inch too low. I have a 2 inch drop bar. I have never been able to locate a 1 inch drop bar. I don't believe that they exist.

There is a tow ball that is an inch taller than normal, but I don't like the idea of increasing the leverage that the TM puts on the bolt. So I just drive a little low.

I did try flipping the drop bar over, to make it too tall. That was worse. I came closer to scraping the rear at gas stations.

Originally Posted by fcatwo

Walt

You didn't mention whether you are using a WDH.

Sorry, Yes I am using a WDH. I may try dropping down 1 hole on the shank. I need to research and find torque values for the hitch. I don't want to lower the hitch and have it come apart later.

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

I run one inch too low. I have a 2 inch drop bar. I have never been able to locate a 1 inch drop bar. I don't believe that they exist.

There is a tow ball that is an inch taller than normal, but I don't like the idea of increasing the leverage that the TM puts on the bolt. So I just drive a little low.

I did try flipping the drop bar over, to make it too tall. That was worse. I came closer to scraping the rear at gas stations.

What is a drop bar?