Author Topic: How's my hitch height? Too low?  (Read 4078 times)

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Offline laxation

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How's my hitch height? Too low?
« on: June 19, 2022, 09:23:42 PM »
Just drove our camper home for the first time, and pretty sure the hitch is too low.
What do you reckon?

We got an adjustable hitch for it, but still might be a bit low.

The ride home was quite bumpy/juttery. Have driven plenty of trailers, probably not this heavy, but haven't experienced that before.

If it is too low, what can I do about it?
I thought about putting smaller tyres on the camper, but if there's a cheaper & easier option I'd love to do that instead.

Offline Marcus73

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2022, 09:41:41 PM »
Looks to me like the issue may be more a case of the tow vehicle dragging its bum on the ground. Quite a bit of sag there.


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Offline laxation

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2022, 09:42:46 PM »
Looks to me like the issue may be more a case of the tow vehicle dragging its bum on the ground. Quite a bit of sag there.


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whats going to do that if not the trailer though?

I assumed if the trailer is up higher it wont sag

Offline Marcus73

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How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2022, 09:50:48 PM »
whats going to do that if not the trailer though?

I assumed if the trailer is up higher it wont sag
The sag will be caused by the amount of weight on the towball. Even with trailer up higher the weight will still be there. There’s various ways to level out the car varying from upgrade suspension, airbags or weight distribution hitches. At an uneducated guess I’d say airbags would be sufficient, but I’m sure someone else with more knowledge will chime in.

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« Last Edit: June 19, 2022, 09:52:41 PM by Marcus73 »

Offline laxation

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2022, 10:24:01 PM »
The sag will be caused by the amount of weight on the towball. Even with trailer up higher the weight will still be there. There’s various ways to level out the car varying from upgrade suspension, airbags or weight distribution hitches. At an uneducated guess I’d say airbags would be sufficient, but I’m sure someone else with more knowledge will chime in.

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towball weight should be ok... the car is rated for 150 and this trailer is only 120.
I will be taking off the boat rack, hopefully that helps.

whats the cost of airbags?

Offline nab

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2022, 11:39:23 PM »
Marcus is on the money, the towball weight is making the car sag. Have you measured the towball weight or is it just what the VIN plate/seller says? Quite often they are not accurate and are usually heavier than stated.

Airbags are approx $500-600 installed. You will need to pump them up when towing then let them down when not.

Another option is stiffer springs for the rear, but you will have a slightly harsher ride when unladen.

Also, the axle on the trailer doesn't look like it is central to the mudguard? Or is it just the angle of the pic?
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Offline laxation

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2022, 12:02:57 AM »
Marcus is on the money, the towball weight is making the car sag. Have you measured the towball weight or is it just what the VIN plate/seller says? Quite often they are not accurate and are usually heavier than stated.

Airbags are approx $500-600 installed. You will need to pump them up when towing then let them down when not.

Another option is stiffer springs for the rear, but you will have a slightly harsher ride when unladen.

Also, the axle on the trailer doesn't look like it is central to the mudguard? Or is it just the angle of the pic?
I haven't measured towball weight, just basing it off the model.

Had a look at the axle, it's behind a wall so it's hard to see, but I think you might be right that it's a little off. Not as bad as that picture looks, but a little bit.
I was planning on taking the trailer to get serviced/check over - i hope it's not an expensive fix, if it does need it...

What would be better for an xtrail when talking air bag vs springs? I'd assume springs... but I dont know anything about it really

Offline laxation

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2022, 12:26:30 AM »
Just wondering, could it be as simple as the trailer being empty? The only thing in it was the annex, poles and spare room - all of it in the front tool box.

Would that be enough to drop the back of the car in itself?

Offline Fizzie

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #8 on: June 20, 2022, 07:31:48 AM »
Just wondering, could it be as simple as the trailer being empty? The only thing in it was the annex, poles and spare room - all of it in the front tool box.

Would that be enough to drop the back of the car in itself?

That would certainly be enough to throw your ball-weight out, as there's nothing further back to balance all the weight in the nose of the trailer.

As others have said, check that ball-weight before doing anything else.

Another possibility to lift your hitch - can you flip it so that it bends upwards, not down ??? That may give you another 50-75mm of height ???
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Offline NZMarkb

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2022, 09:20:17 AM »
As others have already said
Some heavier springs in the back of your tow car would fix the problem
Tow hitch looks fine if the car was level
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Offline Bird

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2022, 10:14:05 AM »
A photo on level ground would show better.
But yes, as others have said cars anus is sagging. The gap from tyre to flair on front and rear shows this.
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Offline Bookleaf

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2022, 11:59:38 AM »
As a general rule, the trailer ball should be a little nose-down when connected to the car.  Yours looks very close to level now, so I think dropping it so it is about 25mm nose down would help.  The tongue you have looks like it could be an adjustable type with a couple of holes to effect height adjustments.  Drop it one hole and see how things are.

re rear sag.  I also think the car, as said, has saged with the weight of the trailer.  This is not uncommon,  All vehicles sag with extra weight on the rear.  Get a hefty person to stand/balance on the tow ball tongue (one that might be about the same weight as your tow ball would be good) and see how much the car sags.  I think you will find there is an issue with the amount of sag, not the fact that it has saged.  As been pointed out, the front has risen due to the trailer weight and consequental rear sag which, because of the see-saw effect of the car's overall suspension will take weight off the front wheels.  The lesser weight over the front wheels will make the car more "twitchy" to drive.  This is what you may have experienced.
To get the front down/return some of the weight lost, weight distribution hitches are about the only thing I know of that will achieve this, but for such a small load, I think this may be overkill.
Airbags are the next option But (in my opinion) only if the rear suspension is coil springs.  Bags can cause unwanted problems with leaf springs, despite hundreds of vehicles with leaf springs having them added.  I assume you have coil springs. .  They will raise the height of the rear and give a little firmer ride when pumped up, but don't put weight back in the front wheels.
Replacing the springs is the third option.  The standard springs may have lost some of their tension over the years (how old is your car?) and standard springs may be all that is necessary.  A little beefer spring would be better.

My suggestion is to replace the springs, readjust the ball height and see how you go.  Airbags would be my next add.

Also, the type of hitch you have on this trailer puts the actual pivot point of the assembly a little distance from there it would be with a standard ball.  This increases the effective weight placed/reflected on your rear suspension and rear axel by the trailer, due to the lever effect of having the pivot further from the axle.  Just a point to remember.  The pivot point, being further from the ball also gives the trailer a greater leaverage to amplify up and down movement,  The extra distance may only be 100mm or so, but the effects are there and can be felt.
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Offline laxation

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2022, 03:58:50 PM »
That's great info, thanks.

Looking for some info on springs, and I see Pedders does a $75 towing check. That sounds like pretty much what I'd be after to sort this out
https://www.pedders.com.au/products/tow-load-assessment/

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2022, 04:02:51 PM »
Quote from: laxation
Looking for some info on springs, and I see Pedders does a $75 towing check. That sounds like pretty much what I'd be after to sort this out
https://www.pedders.com.au/products/tow-load-assessment/
I wonder how often people need an upgrade after the assessment.
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Offline laxation

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2022, 05:01:35 PM »
I wonder how often people need an upgrade after the assessment.
yeh look i did wonder that... but it seems like it's pretty clear i will need one  ???

i'm going to try loading the trailer properly, taking off the boat rack, and then will see what it looks like.

Offline Marcus73

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How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #15 on: June 20, 2022, 05:28:28 PM »
That's great info, thanks.

Looking for some info on springs, and I see Pedders does a $75 towing check. That sounds like pretty much what I'd be after to sort this out
https://www.pedders.com.au/products/tow-load-assessment/
I’d save the $75 as it’s fairly obvious something needs to be done and if they want your business I’m sure they can give you suggestions on the best way of going about it. I’d just take it either there or another reputable suspension specialist and just get there advice.


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« Last Edit: June 20, 2022, 05:30:54 PM by Marcus73 »
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Offline Bird

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #16 on: June 20, 2022, 06:37:11 PM »
AS Marcus said... save the $75 at this stage.

Load up like your going away with everything, car and trailer.

Take a trip to a weighbridge
Get some real world numbers before spending $.01

Trailer by itself - Loaded
Car by itself - Loaded
Ball Weight - Loaded etc etc

Then talk to someone like Zordo or your local suspension guru - its easier for them to work out what is needed with numbers.

http://www.zordos4wdsuspension.com.au/
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Offline DandyD

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #17 on: June 25, 2022, 06:41:25 PM »
Could be worse…

Car dealer loses court appeal over buyer’s claim £140k Bentley couldn’t tow caravan

https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/car-dealer-loses-court-appeal-over-buyers-claim-140k-bentley-couldnt-tow-caravan/266457

Offline Foo

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #18 on: June 26, 2022, 04:19:59 AM »
AS Marcus said... save the $75 at this stage.

Load up like your going away with everything, car and trailer.

Take a trip to a weighbridge
Get some real world numbers before spending $.01

Trailer by itself - Loaded
Car by itself - Loaded
Ball Weight - Loaded etc etc

Then talk to someone like Zordo or your local suspension guru - its easier for them to work out what is needed with numbers.

http://www.zordos4wdsuspension.com.au/


Zordo has retired, if I remember correctly.

Don't know why people think that standard shocks and springs on soft roaders are going to be any good with proper camper trailers and caravans. I'm over driving at night time and having to put up with idiots that don't get out and adjust their lights before driving off!  >:(

Before hooking up a camper trailer, measure the unladen weight height from the bumper to the ground and then hook up and do the same thing and there is your answer to how bad the saggy arsed standard springs are.  ;)

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Offline Marcus73

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #19 on: June 26, 2022, 07:34:13 AM »
Zordo has retired, if I remember correctly.

Don't know why people think that standard shocks and springs on soft roaders are going to be any good with proper camper trailers and caravans. I'm over driving at night time and having to put up with idiots that don't get out and adjust their lights before driving off!  >:(

Before hooking up a camper trailer, measure the unladen weight height from the bumper to the ground and then hook up and do the same thing and there is your answer to how bad the saggy arsed standard springs are.  ;)

Foo
Possibly a tad harsh.
I think it’s more that laxation was under the impression that it would be fine due to the manufacturers specifications and not a case of being an idiot. Not everyone realises that quite often the manufacturer’s can stretch the truth.


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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #20 on: June 26, 2022, 08:06:57 AM »
As others have suggested I'd be looking at fitting a rear suspension (coil springs, I assume?) air bag kit. That gives you the option of maintaining a softer ride when unloaded and pumping them up for situations when you need to level up the vehicle.
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Offline #jonesy

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #21 on: June 26, 2022, 09:34:19 AM »
Before spending money in your car, check your ballweight and take for a drive. Otherwise you may not be fixing the cause of the problem, only hiding it

  Empty out the toolbox should bring it to reasonable weight.  Either use a proper ballweight scale, or you can use bathroom scales and a few clocks if wood.

Easy way to check if your axle is not centred correctly is get a tape measure and crawl underneath and measure from axle to rear (or front) on both sides. 
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Offline Foo

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #22 on: June 26, 2022, 01:33:19 PM »
Possibly a tad harsh.
I think it’s more that laxation was under the impression that it would be fine due to the manufacturers specifications and not a case of being an idiot. Not everyone realises that quite often the manufacturer’s can stretch the truth.


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The implication of "idiot" wasn't directly directed at him but nobody should expect a standard vehicle like that, to have half decent shocks for towing anything over 600kg in weight. You only need to look at them on flat ground and see if there is saggy arse syndrome happening and if you're going to tow and at night time, adjust the lights to suite.  ;) He's asking a question of what the problem could be, because he noticed the handling is sketchy.  ???

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Offline Fizzie

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #23 on: June 27, 2022, 08:02:52 AM »
  Empty out the toolbox should bring it to reasonable weight. 

That by itself will make a remarkable difference!

I mentioned earlier that when we went over a weigh-bridge we found we were 260kg over weight, but ball weight was unbelievable - 380 instead of 160 max!  :o :o :o

Have since stripped everything out of the van, & also removed the big box that was on the drawbar. It weighed 15kg empty, & just taking that off dropped the ball weight by ~25kg! & when you consider that it would have been ~60kg full, with wood,  pegs, tools & so on, I shudder to think what effect it was having :'( :-[
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Offline Steffo1

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Re: How's my hitch height? Too low?
« Reply #24 on: June 27, 2022, 08:32:56 AM »
A quote from a recent, towing weight article: "Experience has shown Weightcheck that 50mm difference in coupling height can record a difference of 20kg or more."

« Last Edit: June 27, 2022, 08:44:31 AM by Steffo1 »
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