Hitch height?

[HerronScott]

OK, towing newbie here. I've brought cars home with towing dollies and borrowed trucks in the past and my parents had a trailer and a Jeep Scrambler that I borrowed a time or two, but we've never owned a vehicle ourselves that could tow. Is there a standard or recommended hitch height? And is that measured from the ground to the surface where the ball mounts?

Scott

 

[sota]

as a general rule, you want the trailer to be level. so working from that point you'd want to spec a draw bar that keeps that height. now keep in mind that varies depending on load and capacity of the trailer, plus how much tongue weight you have (10% of your load is recommended usually.) finally you need to factor in suspension sag on your towing vehicle, which also varies based on your tongue weight.

if all of that has your head swimming, you can take the easy route: measure the height to the bottom of the towing coupler with the trailer level, subtract that distance from the height of the hitch pin hole on your vehicle to the ground, and find the closest draw bar that is LESS than that number. That should give you an unladen trailer that's tilted up at the nose, and close to level when loaded.

 

[jeeplib05]

Before I was lifted, I used/still use a 2 1/4" drop hitch I believe
It made it sit level then and I'm sure it wouldn't look too bad now but I'd stick with around 2" drop depending on your hitch mount because some sit higher/lower

 

[tommudd]

Need to know more about your rig and how high or low it is, then also what you are going to be towing and its hitch height to give a good answer.
While what sota stated is true , the other factors I mentioned come into play as well to determine what height etc

 

[HerronScott]

Thanks for the replies! I was hoping there might be some kind of standard height used for the normal things that might be towed by a Jeep Liberty (trailers, tow dollies etc), but apparently not so I'll just hold off buying anything until I actually have a need to tow something. FWIW, it looks like our Liberty with 157,000 miles has the factory springs as it measures 18.5" at the rear and 17.5" at the front (center of the wheel to the bottom of the wheel arch) based on what I've read here.

I did find some information on U-Haul's site that indicated that their trailers etc are supposed to be standardized on 18".

https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/5227/How-To-Select-The-Correct-Ball-Mount-For-Your-Hitch/

If that's right, then I'd need a 1" lift for U-Haul trailers at least currently as the top of our receiver tube is 17" (the inside portion).

Scott

 

[tommudd]

Thanks for the replies! I was hoping there might be some kind of standard height used for the normal things that might be towed by a Jeep Liberty (trailers, tow dollies etc), but apparently not so I'll just hold off buying anything until I actually have a need to tow something. FWIW, it looks like our Liberty with 157,000 miles has the factory springs as it measures 18.5" at the rear and 17.5" at the front (center of the wheel to the bottom of the wheel arch) based on what I've read here.

I did find some information on U-Haul's site that indicated that their trailers etc are supposed to be standardized on 18".

https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/5227/How-To-Select-The-Correct-Ball-Mount-For-Your-Hitch/


If that's right, then I'd need a 1" lift for U-Haul trailers at least currently as the top of our receiver tube is 17" (the inside portion).

Scott

Yes you are sagged and surprised not more than that at 157,000! Most are more than that by 75,000 miles.
But getting back to your question, you can get a hitch that you can mount the ball so it would be at 18 inches so that wouldn't be a real issue.
The bigger problem is if you are going to tow anything very heavy at all , well say over 75-1000 lbs the weak springs and shocks are not going to fare very well

 

[profdlp]

Get one of these and then level it out like the others guys told you:

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-1-adjustable-ball-mount-hitch-95991.html

 

[sota]

Gotta tell ya, on that adjustable one, I have one, but I only ever use it on my little 1100# (HF, ironically) trailer. all those pins and what not make the mount rattle and shake like crazy; lots of points of clearance make the fit really loose. I bought it because I knew the jeep's height was going to change (and might yet again, who knows) and that little trailer gets used a lot more than the big one. Plus I have a couple friends who borrow it and it makes it easy to get them hitch up. The point is, I wouldn't use it for any serious towing.

 

[dude1116]

I've had a 6" drop since lifted (3.5 in, now 4 in). Works great for my waverunner! Would imagine a 2" drop would have been perfect when not lifted.

It all depends on what you're towing. The waverunner is fairly light and doesn't way down the back at all.

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I would start with a 2" drop and go from there.