Ball Distance from Bumper
Hello all, Simply put, how far should the ball be behind the bumper when trailer towing? Any logic to closer or further away from bumper? Thanks in advance! Gerrit
Forum Discussion
Think of leverage. The further the ball is from the hitch, the more torque there is on the hitch.
As an example, think of using a "cheater bar" on a wrench. The longer the bar, the more torque you can apply to a tight fastener.
It has been so long since I did weight and balance computations for aircraft modifications that I don't remember the formula, but one could just multiply the distance (in feet) from the ball to the hitch by the weight on the ball (in pounds) to get the torque (in ft./lbs.) on the hitch frame.
IMO, the ball should be as close as possible to the hitch.
Sometimes that "as close as possible" isn't very close!
As an example, think of using a "cheater bar" on a wrench. The longer the bar, the more torque you can apply to a tight fastener.
It has been so long since I did weight and balance computations for aircraft modifications that I don't remember the formula, but one could just multiply the distance (in feet) from the ball to the hitch by the weight on the ball (in pounds) to get the torque (in ft./lbs.) on the hitch frame.
IMO, the ball should be as close as possible to the hitch.
Sometimes that "as close as possible" isn't very close!
