Tow hitch bottom out

[babock]

Originally Posted by 5picker

While commonly referred to as 'flipping the axle' you don't really flip it. It is simply positioned/mounted under the leaf springs instead of on top of the leaf springs.
The camber of the axle remains the same.

As long as you weld a new spring perch, I agree.

[jimmoore13]

You mention loading....light in front and heavy in the rear.

You are clearly thinking things through, so I expect you are aware of this. I'll state the obvious. That kind of loading practice decreases the trailer's stability at speed. Be careful to not unload the tongue too much.

As a simple example, if your axle is a fulcrum, and if it's precisely in the middle of the trailer, if you add 100 pounds at the rear bumper, you effectively remove 100 pounds of tongue weight due to leverage. This could make the trailer pretty unstable in cross winds and when passing by large trucks. Ideally, you want to maintain the designed-in tongue weight and balance your load.

Of all the recommendations, and given your photos depicting the trailer as close enough to level for reasonable towing, I like the "axle flip" recommendation most. Many people do this to make their rigs more capable off-road. If you're willing, you could also take the opportunity to upsize the wheels and tires to maximize the benefit. Assuming they fit, with a flipped axle, you could possibly change to 15" wheels with a larger, wider tire and turn your camper into a real boondocker. This will raise the camper even higher, but more importantly, it will raise the axle higher off the ground for more axle clearance over rocks and other obstacles.

While you're working on the suspension, ditch the plastic bushings and bolts in the springs and shackles and replace with metal bushings and bolts that have zerk fittings to allow you to lube your suspension rather than just letting the plastic disintegrate. Most leaf-spring suspensions on trailers are made of "junk" materials that won't last. If you're working on it anyway, now's the time to upgrade from plastic to metal. New, stronger shackle straps replace the notoriously thin ones that quickly wear egg-shaped holes in the metal (in part due to no grease in the joint. It's relatively easy and cheap to upgrade while the rig is already in the shop. https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tra...lPkaAnSR8P8HAQ

Bear in mind, however, that raising the center of gravity (CG) will make the trailer more "tippy," and more care in turns and cross winds will be required. Bigger, stouter tires will help a bit, but every suspension modification is a trade off. If you're rolling in money, you could add shock absorbers to improve ride and stability. https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Sus.../LC281255.html If your shop is already welding on the axle mounts, they might be able to weld on shock mounts, too.

Items are just illustrations. Finding the right parts for your rig should be easy.

[jimmoore13]

P.S. Bigger wheels and tires mean more "unsprung weight." If you go that route, and if you can afford it, the shocks make even more sense to control wheel hop related to the heavier tire/wheel combo...especially if you go with steel wheels to save money. They are usually about 10 pounds heavier per wheel than alloy.

[SuicideSaints]

Your ball setup looks like it adds a couple inches of height forcing you to add a couple inches of drop in the shank, it also looks tilted back. I don't know the whole thing looks off to me but I don't have any experience with this hitch.

Id check for level once hooked up, in doing this make sure to note how much your airbags are assisting in this level. If your level while towing and everything else is right you can just inflate the bags enough to clear the curb and deflate once you are out of your driveway.

[babock]

Originally Posted by jimmoore13

P.S. Bigger wheels and tires mean more "unsprung weight." If you go that route, and if you can afford it, the shocks make even more sense to control wheel hop related to the heavier tire/wheel combo...especially if you go with steel wheels to save money. They are usually about 10 pounds heavier per wheel than alloy.

On my boat trailer, I went from 14" wheels and tires to 15". Granted I wasn't switching from aluminum to steel but I did not notice any difference.

[Sarjent]

Just got back from the dealer. It is all level and set correctly they said. The guy told me on the side that I could spend a few hundred dollars on their shank which is shorter or find a buddy and hack off from mine while moving it up one notch. He did recommend backing up with the WD bars attached to see if it helped.

So I got home, went slow and steady...scratch another scrape. Good thing this is asphalt...

[babock]

Is both your vehicle and trailer now level?

If you go up one notch and then level your trailer, your tow vehicle will then be low in the back.

[rsdata]

If you go up one notch and then level your trailer, your tow vehicle will then be low in the back.

not necessarily... depends a lot on his TV rear loading capability through his suspension, the WDH bar loading... AND this is where air bags on the TV can be a real help... pump those suckers up a few pounds to clear that hump

[babock]

Originally Posted by rsdata

not necessarily... depends a lot on his TV rear loading capability through his suspension, the WDH bar loading... AND this is where air bags on the TV can be a real help... pump those suckers up a few pounds to clear that hump

Read my post again. If they are currently level...then moving the ball height relative to the tow vehicle will affect either the level of the tow vehicle or the trailer depending on which you then make level.

The important thing you need to do with the ball height is to figure out how high it needs to be with the truck level not hooked up to the trailer first. That's pretty easy to do. With the trailer disconnected, adjust the traielr jack so that the trailer is parallel to the surface its on. If the ground is level, then you can just use a bubble level. Measure the distance between the ground and the upper inside of the coupler. That determines the ball height of your two vehicle.

[rsdata]

I guess that I figure he would not have to perfectly level his camper by readjusting his load... and that an inch gained at the tow ball might be lost at the bumper of the trailer and would never be noticed without a level...

please forgive me if that is not the "letter of the towing law"...

just trying to help the OP not start a disagreement about towing principles

[babock]

Originally Posted by rsdata

I guess that I figure he would not have to perfectly level his camper by readjusting his load... and that an inch gained at the tow ball might be lost at the bumper of the trailer and would never be noticed without a level...

please forgive me if that is not the "letter of the towing law"...

just trying to help the OP not start a disagreement about towing principles

Depends if you don't mind the trailer be high by an inch or tow vehicle be low by an inch. I made the statement what would happen if one moved that ball up. You seemed to disagree with that statement.

[rsdata]

Depends if you don't mind the trailer be high by an inch or tow vehicle be low by an inch. I made the statement what would happen if one moved that ball up. You seemed to disagree with that statement.

yes I now see what you mean...

what I meant is that I would not mind placing my tow ball an inch higher to try to clear that driveway obstacle which is certainly detrimental to his RV experience, and I sincerely doubt that a 1 inch variation of trailer level will make him unsafe or otherwise while towing as you seemed to imply that out of level is not acceptable...

what do you think?

[babock]

My goal is to get it as level as possible. Might as well start that process with the proper ball height.

You want it level as possible for the best handling characteristics. It's especially critical if the trailer has torsion axles as an un-level trailer will have more force on one of the axles.

[Camping-man]

I have a utility trailer that when in tow, the tonge is a little higher then the rear of the trailer. We had a High wall pop up that was 21" long when closed and weight 4400 lbs. We tow it with out a WDH and it towed just fine. Your camper may tow just fine with out the WDH.

[Sarjent]

so I have a buddy coming over tonight. We are going to use a torch and cut the shank an inch off the bottom and move the ball up one notch on it. My opinion is that the ball height will compensate itself with the airbag system, at the very least it will be really close to level. I plan on taking some before measurements and after.

[SuicideSaints]

Why not just inflate the bags to clear the curb and deflate once cleared? if everything else is level and setup correctly this seems like the best situation....

[babock]

Originally Posted by Sarjent

so I have a buddy coming over tonight. We are going to use a torch and cut the shank an inch off the bottom and move the ball up one notch on it. My opinion is that the ball height will compensate itself with the airbag system, at the very least it will be really close to level. I plan on taking some before measurements and after.

You are level now are you not?

Just get some 2 x 8's and cut them to whatever length you need and throw them on the ground when you pull your trailer out. That is what we did for years.

[Sarjent]

Originally Posted by SuicideSaints

Why not just inflate the bags to clear the curb and deflate once cleared? if everything else is level and setup correctly this seems like the best situation....

bags are automatic. No way to manual inflate/deflate that I am aware of

[FirstTracks]

We took 4" off mine this week with a chop saw.

[SuicideSaints]

Originally Posted by Sarjent

bags are automatic. No way to manual inflate/deflate that I am aware of

Ok I understand now