With a hitch with built in sway control, the set up is a huge part of your safety. Riding "level" is indeed a goal but consider this. You can raise you ball high enough to get it to ride level without putting any friction on your bars. I have an Equalizer hitch and they have some specific steps to follow. Mine is level but, that requires some pressure through the bars. If I had to add more pressure from the bars, then there would be other issues. Read the directions for your hitch and follow them for the initial set up. Call the manufacturer for more specific info.