Drop down hitch or no?

[zach477]

I measured the height of the hitch receiver on my Fleetwood Fiesta. Measuring from the bottom, it's 23" off the ground. Im going to be moving from Minnesota to Tennessee I'm going to be renting a uhaul tow dolly to tow my car (toyota corrola) down there. I do not yet have a ball mount....planning to buy one soon.

The guy I talked to at uhaul when booking the tow dolly said I should get one that drops down 10". That seems a little extreme to me. What do you guys think?

[zach477]

Butch50 wrote:
You don't want to buy an adjustable one as most of the time they are not built to handle the load of a car being towed. You also won't find a 2.25" one as they usually go in 2" increments. So either a 2" or 4". If you need a 2.25" then a 2" would be close enough.

The ones that uhaul sells are 2.25" and the price is right. Plus when I go to actually pick up the dolly, if it's not right I can return it for another with a bigger drop.

[Butch50]

You don't want to buy an adjustable one as most of the time they are not built to handle the load of a car being towed. You also won't find a 2.25" one as they usually go in 2" increments. So either a 2" or 4". If you need a 2.25" then a 2" would be close enough.

[zach477]

I stopped at a uhaul today and brought my tape measure. I'll be going with a ball mount with a 2 1/4" drop which should bring the tow dolly tongue to level.

[eHoefler]

If the dolly has brakes on it, the coupler/actuator needs to be level to the ground for proper operation. If it is nose high, the brakes will not function properly if at all. If it is nose down, the brakes will jab with the slightest brake pressure from the tow vehicle and will also activate just in de-acceleration.

[Halibut214]

mowermech wrote:
So, now you have one U-Haul person telling you you need a 10 inch drop, and another U-Haul person saying you don't need any drop at all.
The tongue of the dolly needs to be very nearly level, no more than 3 inches high or low at the hitch, IMO.
I think you need to take the rig to the U-Haul dealer and let THEM do the measuring, then get the ball mount THEY recommend!
Remember, they don't care about your car, nor do they care about your tow vehicle. They just don't want any damage to their dolly! They WILL give you the best possible advice to see to it that their dolly is not damaged.

Don't know that they don't want any damage to their dolly but they sure as heck don't want to be sued for sending you on your way with the toungue sticking up in the air. It's unsafe and I seriously doubt they would even do it. If you need the drop you need the drop whether that be 1 in or 12.

[mowermech]

So, now you have one U-Haul person telling you you need a 10 inch drop, and another U-Haul person saying you don't need any drop at all.
The tongue of the dolly needs to be very nearly level, no more than 3 inches high or low at the hitch, IMO.
I think you need to take the rig to the U-Haul dealer and let THEM do the measuring, then get the ball mount THEY recommend!
Remember, they don't care about your car, nor do they care about your tow vehicle. They just don't want any damage to their dolly! They WILL give you the best possible advice to see to it that their dolly is not damaged.

[zach477]

I just called the 800 number for uhaul, and the guy said 10" is ridiculous and that I don't need one that drops down at all. Maybe I'll just buy an adjustable one??

[rk911]

zach477 wrote:
I measured the height of the hitch receiver on my Fleetwood Fiesta. Measuring from the bottom, it's 23" off the ground. Im going to be moving from Minnesota to Tennessee I'm going to be renting a uhaul tow dolly to tow my car (toyota corrola) down there. I do not yet have a ball mount....planning to buy one soon.

The guy I talked to at uhaul when booking the tow dolly said I should get one that drops down 10". That seems a little extreme to me. What do you guys think?

I needed an 8" drop-down in order to flat tow our 2010 Liberty behind our 2016 Itasca Suncruiser. do what ya gotta do.

[enblethen]

Tow dolly should be around 19 inches. About a six inch would be normal.
I also would suggest going by U-Haul and measure yourself.

[tonymull]

Whatever makes it level. I'd call or go to a u-haul and ask or measure for yourself. That does seem like a lot.