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Old 05-07-2014, 01:41 PM   #1
RWS
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ball hitch size

I had to send my former mount and ball with my sold pop up due to the anti sway ball mounted to it. I'm picking up a 21 in Sept . Folks out there with 3/4 ton pick ups , will a 2in drop with a 2in ball work? Or a straight ball mount? I have a gmc sierra 3/4 ton 4x4. Thanks.....
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Old 05-07-2014, 01:49 PM   #2
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Best to talk to Reace as he has a similar vehicle. He will know what drop you will need.

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Old 05-07-2014, 04:02 PM   #3
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It's a 2" diameter ball, for all Escapes as far as I know.

The height, and therefore the ball mount drop dimension, is an entirely different matter. Hitch receiver height varies greatly between trucks, even within stock trucks of the same brand and model due to different suspension packages. Even the trailers vary in height, between models and sometimes within a model due to tire options.

How far off the ground is the top of the 2" square receiver opening of your truck?
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Old 05-07-2014, 04:56 PM   #4
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Right now I'm with a 2" drop with a 2" ball on a Dodge Ram. Mh hitch is 16" from ground to bottom of receiver, it is 20" from ground to the ball top. I'm installing the Andersen and will report it's dimensions.
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Old 05-07-2014, 05:51 PM   #5
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Choosing the Correct Ball Mount | etrailer.com
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Old 05-07-2014, 06:42 PM   #6
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Bob,
While looking at that Etrailer link, I notice that the hitch height is measured to the top line and the coupler height to the bottom line? Should they not be the same, i.e. hitch height to the bottom to keep things on an even keel? I'm assuming the ball fits inside does not impact the measurement? Otherwise the opening distance is ignored?
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Old 05-07-2014, 08:06 PM   #7
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Many posted guides to hitch and ball height are nonsensical.

The reference point for receiver height is the top of the receiver box. It doesn't really matter whether the top or bottom is used, as long as everyone uses the same reference, and that's the top. You can confirm this by looking at any ball mount and its "drop" or "rise" spec: that dimension is the distance from the top of the receiver opening to the ball mounting surface.

The reference point for trailer height is the top of the ball, which means the top of the coupler cup (not the bottom of the coupler as shown in some diagrams). This only makes sense, because the top of the ball is where the trailer and the hitch meet.

Some diagrams use the bottom of the coupler because they are cheating: they ignore the height of the ball itself (always more than the ball diameter, close to 3" for a typical 2" diameter ball) and ignore the depth of the coupler, so two wrongs are not too far off of right. It's not a bad approximation, especially since the tug comes down a bit under load which roughly fixes the error in the calculation resulting from the ball being taller than the coupler.

Quote:
Originally Posted by cpaharley2008 View Post
Right now I'm with a 2" drop with a 2" ball on a Dodge Ram. Mh hitch is 16" from ground to bottom of receiver, it is 20" from ground to the ball top. I'm installing the Andersen and will report it's dimensions.
If the bottom of the 2" square receiver opening is 16" off the ground, the top is 18" off the ground - there's your receiver height.
With a 2" drop, the top of the ball mount platform is then 16" off the ground.
With a typical ball, the top of the ball is then close to 19" off the ground before the trailer weight pushes the back of the tug down lower than this - Jim, you must be using an unusually tall ball, or your 16" measurement is to something other than the bottom of the 2" square receiver opening.

The top of the ball 20" of the ground is a common travel trailer height, but with every Escape model a little different, I don't know if that's exactly right for a 19' (and Jim's current trailer is a 21').
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Old 05-07-2014, 10:10 PM   #8
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The top of the ball on my Traverse was set at 20-21" to level my 19...and that was without significant "sag" when connected to the trailer (no WDH).
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Old 05-08-2014, 07:51 AM   #9
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I guess I'll stick with the 2in drop. I hate to bother Reece about it. It should get my trailer back the 500 mile trip home and then I'll adjust if needed. It seems the 2in would work either one way or another.
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Old 05-08-2014, 10:19 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RWS View Post
I guess I'll stick with the 2in drop. I hate to bother Reece about it.
No need to bother Reace. You can just take about 20" as the likely needed top-of-ball height, and work out your required drop - other people's trucks don't matter.

Just measure the distance from ground to the top of the hitch opening eith a tape measure (or yardstick) and we can work out the required drop.

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It should get my trailer back the 500 mile trip home and then I'll adjust if needed. It seems the 2in would work either one way or another.
Only a couple of inches high significantly increases load on the hitch; only a couple of inches low significantly reduces the stability of the trailer. It's easy to work out the right drop, and if you don't do that it's easy to buy a different ball mount (in any city, even at Walmart) to fix the height if it turns out to be wrong.
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Old 05-08-2014, 01:17 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
....


Only a couple of inches high significantly increases load on the hitch; only a couple of inches low significantly reduces the stability of the trailer.
I think this is backwards. Hitch high reduces the load on the hitch and can induce sway, hitch low would be preferable... if you have to choose.
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Old 05-08-2014, 02:21 PM   #12
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I think this is backwards. Hitch high reduces the load on the hitch and can induce sway, hitch low would be preferable... if you have to choose.
I think that only works for single axles Donna.
Reace stressed that tongue down was a bad condition on a double axle - He said it would mess with your tongue weight as you went down the road.
You're looking for level.
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Old 05-08-2014, 02:47 PM   #13
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I think that only works for single axles Donna.
Head slap smilie, i should have read that the OP was shopping a 21'
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