Do I drop my ball and how far?

Hey,

I frequently use my trusty master tow dolly to pull around old cars and was wondering if I need a receiver that drops the ball height any?

I used it with my old 98 pathfinder at stock height and didn't need any drop, towed wonderfully.
I now have an 05 and 07 automatic DC Sport(s) with factory hitches on each truck.

I haven't towed with either yet since I got them both only 3 weeks ago but they seem to be higher at stock height than the Pathfinder.

Advise? Experience with dollys and Tacos?

Thanks in advance.

 

There is a reduction in capacity for each inch of drop or rise but I do not remember the exact ratio. If your load is sifnificantly less than the rated capacity of the hitch and truck I wouldn't worry about it. If it is close to the ratings I would not drop it much if at all.

 

Nothing to see here, moving along...

 

What drops in capacity, the truck's rated capacity, the receiver or the hitch mount? Never heard that before so now I'm curious.

OP, you should get the correct rise/drop for what you intend to tow. It will make a huge difference in how well the whole set-up feels when going down the road. There's a towing bible in one of these threads that I'm sure explains the reasoning behind it.

 

Go deep for the win...

Keep it the trailer tounge level

 

Well its pretty easy. How does the trailer sit when it is hooked up? Is the front end way up in the air? Then you need a drop

 

mine dropped many years ago, lol

 

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-ballmount.aspx

 

This is way to easy to comment on. I always ask this question before I hit a mud whole. Is it balls deep??

 

*Depends on how hot the girl is

 

I figured I would get your attention with that one...

Thanks, this is pretty helpful. The problem is that it is a tow dolly and I can't really tell what the "coupler height" is since it kind of pivots to where ever you want it (not sitting on two axles, just one)

Time to hit up Google for the correct "coupler height" for a Master Tow dolly....

my old set ups...

 

The rating for the entire rig drops. THe truck rating is established with the trailer coupler at the heighth of the receiver.

 

That's bullshit. Show me something that says a drop hitch reduces the capacity of a receiver. You won't find it on any manufacturers website, that's for damn sure. A drop hitch doesn't change the forces on a hitch in any way, so how would it affect the load capacity? An extender does, but a drop is not the same as a hitch extension. A hitch extension increases the leverage on a receiver and affects its capacity, but a drop just changes where it is being hooked up. There is no change in the forces being applied to the receiver, therefore no change in capacity.

 

X2 on this, the ball mount is rated for what ever capacity it is rated for regardless of its rise or drop. It is hitch extenders that reduce total hitch capacity and the extender will/should have the reduction rate on it.

Load 'er up and drag it down the road

 

I have two hitch set ups. One is the WD for my RV the other is an adjustable height ball mount that is rated at 5000# and I put the Reece quick Interchangeable Hitch Balls on it which covers all three sizes. Works well for me as long as I'm under 5000#

Click on blue links

Hope this helps

Paul

 

Go as low as you can without it being painful. Its a fine line between pleasure and pain, so keep a pre-determined threshold in mind and try not to exceed it in the heat of the moment.

 

thank you!!!

and to answer the ops question

the deeped the better just watch for inherent hazards

 

My left one drops lower than the right.

With a tow dolly I don't think you have to be too concerned with it, since the tongue weight is minimal. I've got 3 different setups for mine depending on what I'm towing. I like for my trailer to be level. My boat gets a 2" raised ball. Car trailer gets a 2" drop, and the travel trailer is straight.

 

one time i tried to drop them in her ass...

=EPIC-FAIL.

 

Thanks all. I didn't do the research like I meant to do, but took a trip with it today as-is anyways...I went from DC to VaBeach, like 170 miles with the dolly unloaded and came back with a Corolla loaded about 120 miles and then 50 more unloaded to get home...

-Much quieter than with my old Pathfinder due to a better receiver on this Tacoma maybe?
-Much easier to pull than with the crappy 3.3L Nissan.
----Drove smoooooth! Hardly knew it was there and I was pushing 80mph most of the time...(lets not talk gas mileage...wonk wonk wonk)

SO, now to a new question...I just got this truck and the leaf spring TSB has not been done(still 3 springs)...I plan on towing with it at least 3-4 times a month, generally not longer than 50 miles...and probably nothing heavier than a Passat or a Camry...

How urgent is the leaf TSB?
How does it affect towing?
I don't wanna do it cause I am cheap...and it causes harsher ride when unloaded...and so forth.