I am moving once again....and am preparing the truck for towing. I've towed Boston Whalers before but never had to set the rig up. I am looking at ball hitches since we plan to pull an enclosed trailer of some sort but am not sure what the proper height should be for the ball height. I can't seem to find a guide or definitive height for trailering. Any insight?

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Your trailer should be level or, at the hitch ball, slightly below the height of the trailer floor at the axle.

It's all about the build up of air resistance under the trailer. The less the better.

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I was under the assumption that the trailer is to be pulled at a level height but was wondering if there was a standardized height that most went by e.g. 12.5 inches from the ground for most trailers etc.....it seems to be a chicken and egg situation since I don't have the trailer available yet but if buying one would need a suitable height hitch...

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Two inches beneath your knee cap.....where it hurts the most.

The top of the tow ball on my truck is 19" off the ground and it tows everything (utility trailers, etc...) perfectly level. You can also pony up some big bucks and get an adjustable hitch insert. This, in combination with a ball that allows you to swap out sizes will get you set for towing about anything.

Here's one...

http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/products/Adjustable_Ball_Mount,1420

The make ones with higher capacity too, that's just an example. I think the solid aluminum ones are close to $200 with the balls included. I think the U-haul standard ball size is 2 5/16.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

For me, it's shin level. Let me measure the height of my scars.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvAHYR5DnZE

I'm happy to say I've never done that!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

I worked on a fishing charter in Leland MI for a summer, our boat was next to the public launch on blow days we would drink beer and watch the F-ups. If people are in a hurry 1-10 of them screw up with one major one everyday. I haven't seen the reciever pull out but I've seen the brackets pull off the truck when pulling the boat out, I've seen the obvious Donzi sliding off the rollers on the concrete and dragged by another boat into the water, when the Donzi broke free the pull boat lunged forward and broadsided a Riveria '50 on its way to delivery....it sunk.

That's a big OH S**T! I live right up the street from a cove that I keep my boat in. Many a summer's evening has been spent other on a mooring nearby or on shore near the launching ramp, cool beverage in hand, to watch the antics of the Darwin Award candidates launch and haul their boats. Holiday weekends are even more entertaining since that draws out the even less experienced boaters.

It's usually run of the mill stupidity and lack of common sense but I did see a guy with a 2wd F150 try to pull out a late 70's vintage 28' Bayliner, going in was easy. But when his clutch disintegrated it was all he could do to stop the reverse momentum before reaching window level.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

It should be so the trailer sits nice and level.

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

You find a trailer yet?

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-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Haven't found one yet....

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

You want me to measure the distance from the ground to the ball on the G wagon?

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

I have a 400-lb open snowmobile trailer that carries a 625 lb. snowmobile. The first season that I used this trailer, I had a hitch with an insufficient drop which caused the trailer to be towed in a slightly nose-up attitude.

First time I'm on the road, all is fine around town. Then I hit the interstate and attempt to accelerate to cruising speed. As I accelerate through 40 MPH, I start to feel this strange vibration. I slow down, vibration abates, speed up, it's back. WTH? I pull off onto the shoulder and check the rig out; all six tires are round, the trailer hubs are cool, all connections tight. I get back on the road and experience the vibration again. I speed up to 55 and the vibration is gone. Huh.

Now I'm on a secondary road which requires speeds in the 40-50 MPH range and my dental fillings are starting to rattle. "!)#^)$^!!!" I study my trailer tires in the sideview mirrors and don't see any sign of a tracking problem. I pull over again, torque the trailer wheel lug nuts and start wondering if I have a tire with a bad belt. That doesn't make sense as speeding up settles the vibration down. Then I realized one factor that I wasn't considering: Aerodynamics - My open trailer, with its nose-up attitude, was trying to take off at LaGuardia. Once I used a different hitch that leveled the trailer out, I was good to go.