Hitch questions

[anniem]

Hi, we will need to get the ball thing for our truck. Is there a good brand we should look for? Are there sizes we need to have? I know that would depend on the trailer part, but we need something should we find one to go get. Not sure how this works. Thanks!

[Shane826]

Andersen! Andersen!
It’s the best hitch!
Buy one, you’ll love it!
I promise you won’t… complain!

https://help.andersenhitches.com/faq...ion-hitch-work

Edit: Sorry I totally misread your post. Thought you were asking about weight distribution hitches.

[anniem]

Excellent, thank you

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by anniem

Hi, we will need to get the ball thing for our truck. Is there a good brand we should look for? Are there sizes we need to have? I know that would depend on the trailer part, but we need something should we find one to go get. Not sure how this works. Thanks!

The "Ball thing" for your truck is called the "Ball mount". You will need a 2" ball and a "Class III". The tricky part is that you will need to wait to purchase one until you actually have your trailer. You will need to level your trailer front to rear and measure the distance from the ground to the top of the coupler (the part of the trailer that slips over the hitch ball). Then you need to determine the distance from the ground to the top of the trailer hitch ball on your truck. I highly recommend that you purchase a ball mount with the ball already installed to the desired height. Try to stay away from adjustable height ball mounts. They just add additional failure points.

Walmart has a good selection of quality ball mounts. You could take a tape measure with you. Go in and buy a mount that looks good and slide it in your trailer hitch. Measure the distance from the ground to the top of the ball. If it is within an inch of your requirement, you're good. If it's too high or too low, measure the difference. Return the one that you bought and buy the correct one.

https://www.curtmfg.com/towing-acces...C%20the%20drop.



https://www.walmart.com/search?q=trailer+ball+mount

[anniem]

Originally Posted by Wavery

The "Ball thing" for your truck is called the "Ball mount". You will need a 2" ball and a "Class III". The tricky part is that you will need to wait to purchase one until you actually have your trailer. You will need to level your trailer front to rear and measure the distance from the ground to the top of the coupler (the part of the trailer that slips over the hitch ball). Then you need to determine the distance from the ground to the top of the trailer hitch ball on your truck. I highly recommend that you purchase a ball mount with the ball already installed to the desired height. Try to stay away from adjustable height ball mounts. They just add additional failure points.

Walmart has a good selection of quality ball mounts. You could take a tape measure with you. Go in and buy a mount that looks good and slide it in your trailer hitch. Measure the distance from the ground to the top of the ball. If it is within an inch of your requirement, you're good. If it's too high or too low, measure the difference. Return the one that you bought and buy the correct one.

https://www.curtmfg.com/towing-acces...C%20the%20drop.



https://www.walmart.com/search?q=trailer+ball+mount

Thank you, this is great info. We will be able to do that, buy one and check it etc.

[Wavery]

Another few notes:

Once you determine the correct rise or drop for your new ball mount, now you have to consider what will happen when you actually put your 300+ pounds of trailer tongue weight (plus weight of passengers and cargo in your truck) on your new trailer hitch ball. This will cause the ball height to drop even farther. How much farther depends on how YOUR truck reacts to that weight.

It didn't make a lot of difference on my truck but every vehicle is different. That being said, you may want to make about a 1" correction to your ball mount height.

When figuring the level of your TM, it's best to put your level on a flat area of your trailer tongue. Do NOT put your level on the roof. Your trailer tongue is an extension of the trailer frame and the trailer frame is what you want to be level.

[Wavery]

You might want to post a side view picture of your truck. Someone may have a similar model and give you an idea for a starter ball mount. Give the seller a call and ask them for the height from the ground to the top of the trailer coupler.

My truck is lifted a bit. If it weren't the ball mount would have "0" lift or drop.

[anniem]

Originally Posted by Wavery

Another few notes:

Once you determine the correct rise or drop for your new ball mount, now you have to consider what will happen when you actually put your 300+ pounds of trailer tongue weight (plus weight of passengers and cargo in your truck) on your new trailer hitch ball. This will cause the ball height to drop even farther. How much farther depends on how YOUR truck reacts to that weight.

It didn't make a lot of difference on my truck but every vehicle is different. That being said, you may want to make about a 1" correction to your ball mount height.

When figuring the level of your TM, it's best to put your level on a flat area of your trailer tongue. Do NOT put your level on the roof. Your trailer tongue is an extension of the trailer frame and the trailer frame is what you want to be level.

Got it! Thank you again. I'm going to print this info and keep it in a notebook until we are familiar with the processes.

[anniem]

Originally Posted by Wavery

You might want to post a side view picture of your truck. Someone may have a similar model and give you an idea for a starter ball mount. Give the seller a call and ask them for the height from the ground to the top of the trailer coupler.

My truck is lifted a bit. If it weren't the ball mount would have "0" lift or drop.

Gotcha. I will get a photo next time we have it out. This was what the seller said: The half ton trucks will typically drop about 1-2 inches, so I would
recommend getting the ball height set at around 25 inches.

We won't have the TM for another couple of weeks. Snow is coming and we want to wait until that is done.

[Shane826]

Just raising or lowering the ball to level the trailer isn’t solving a bunch of other problems…