How level should your trailer be when towing?

[imq707s]

I have my truck/trailer set up about as good as I can....but the trailer is still a little "nose high". I have the load bars tensioned so that the truck is just about perfectly level while towing.....and I have the ball dropped down as low as I can get it on the hitch bar....but the trailer still is a few inches high in the front, and not perfectly level.

The only real solution I can see is that I need to buy a longer drop hitch bar, so I can move the ball mount down a few more holes. I'm assuming that getting the trailer closer to level will also make the load distribution bars work better....keeping my truck level and being able to use less tension on them. Right now I pretty much have to have them maxed out to keep the truck level.

Should I but a tow bar with more of a drop so I can set the ball lower and get the trailer perfectly level.....or should I just tow it the way it is?

Any advice would be great!!

Here is a picture....you can see that the front of the trailer is slightly higher than the rear.....I think lowering the ball 1.5"-2" would do the trick.

Moderator edit to re-size picture to forum recommended limit of 640px maximum width.

[humblerb]

imq707s wrote:
Thanks for all the info guys. I went ahead and ordered a Curt shank that has about 4 more inches of drop....so that should easily cover what I need.

I would have bought one in town....the Camping World wanted $159 for the same shank that I got on Amazon for $69. How do they stay in business??

From us old-timers who won't buy from Amazon and who want to get it done right now.
:B

[imq707s]

Thanks for all the info guys. I went ahead and ordered a Curt shank that has about 4 more inches of drop....so that should easily cover what I need.

I would have bought one in town....the Camping World wanted $159 for the same shank that I got on Amazon for $69. How do they stay in business??

[MitchF150]

That's nose high for sure.. Here is mine, and It's just a tad nose lower than level, but here is some pics that show it looks pretty much level.. It's actually about an inch or so lower on the nose by the tape.. Tows great and only a simple EAZ-LIFT WD hitch too.. 🙂

Mitch

[LIKE2BUILD]

imq707s wrote:
I have my truck/trailer set up about as good as I can....but the trailer is still a little "nose high". I have the load bars tensioned so that the truck is just about perfectly level while towing.....and I have the ball dropped down as low as I can get it on the hitch bar....but the trailer still is a few inches high in the front, and not perfectly level.

The only real solution I can see is that I need to buy a longer drop hitch bar, so I can move the ball mount down a few more holes.

Yes you are nose high.
Yes, the only correct solution is to buy a shank with more drop. Sure, you could 'flip' the trailer axles and raise the trailer but that is a lot of unnecessary work. Etrailer.com has a great assortment of Drop Shanks for 2" Receivers you can use to select the one you need. If you're not quite sure, give them a call. I've talked to their customer service folks several time and they are very knowledgeable and helpful.

One more thing. I looked closely at your picture and your WD bars aren't quite correct. You have the ends pointing up and they should be parallel to the trailer frame. When you set up the new shank follow this procedure.

1) Place trailer on 'flat' surface. Use tongue jack to raise/lower until bottom of trailer frame measures equally at the front and back.
2) Measure top of trailer coupler and then install hitch head on new shank in a position where the top of the ball is about 1" above the 'level' coupler height.
3) Measure front wheel wells of truck unloaded.
4) Connect hitch and truck, snap up bars, and find the correct # of chain links to make bars parallel to trailer frame.
5) Measure front wheel wells again. If they are higher than unloaded disassemble the hitch head and adjust head tilt back. Some heads use serrated washers but my guess is yours has a 'button' bolt with washers as spacers. Add 3 washers, tighten and reassemble the head, and hitch up again.
6) Repeat the process until you find a point where the WD bars are parallel to the frame, the trailer frame is parallel to the ground, and the front wheel wells return to unloaded height.

[imq707s]

mkirsch wrote:
Also, you don't "level" the truck with the weight distribution bars.

You ignore backend squat, and work to return the front end of the truck to unloaded ride height. Newer vehicles recommend only returning HALF way to unloaded height...

If you are leveling the truck with the bars, you may be putting far too much pressure on the front of the truck, overloading the axle and potentially damaging the front suspension.

I forgot to mention...I have a set of firestone airbags on the rear of the truck that I put a little air in after I have the trailer hooked up....it doesn't really raise the rear much, but it sure make for a better ride.

[3oaks]

humblerb wrote:
Is your current shank as low as it can go - in other words, has it been flipped over?
I'm surprised someone hasn't already asked this.
Maybe everyone's assuming it is turned downward and didn't ask.

Didn't have to ask. I could see it already was. Had to blow up the picture to see it. 😉

[humblerb]

Is your current shank as low as it can go - in other words, has it been flipped over?
I'm surprised someone hasn't already asked this.
Maybe everyone's assuming it is turned downward and didn't ask.

[mkirsch]

Also, you don't "level" the truck with the weight distribution bars.

You ignore backend squat, and work to return the front end of the truck to unloaded ride height. Newer vehicles recommend only returning HALF way to unloaded height...

If you are leveling the truck with the bars, you may be putting far too much pressure on the front of the truck, overloading the axle and potentially damaging the front suspension.

[3oaks]

I think if I left the axles where they are, and just dropped the ball down 2-3" on the truck....the trailer would be getting pretty low to the ground.

No lower than the back end of your trailer is now. In fact lowering the front end of the trailer will actually raise the back end.

Regardless of how you accomplish it, leveling your trailer will give you a much better and safer towing experience.

[imq707s]

Thanks for all the info guys. I've put around 3000 miles on this trailer so far, and I've always wondered why it feels like I'm going to get pulled off the road when a tractor trailer passes me! I guess the nose high setup on the trailer is what causes that.

If I can drop the axles down a little bit instead of lowering the ball down in order to make the trailer level.....that would be great! I always thought it set pretty low compared to other TT's I see on the road. I've never got up under there and looked....but I'm assuming that there are multiple adjustment holes where the bolts attach the leaf springs to the frame? I think if I left the axles where they are, and just dropped the ball down 2-3" on the truck....the trailer would be getting pretty low to the ground.

[ACZL]

Lower axles mounting bolts if possible on trailer to raise back of trailer up.

[tempforce]

your trailer looks to be about 3+ inches high in the front. ****very hazardous....
easy fix, longer shank..
this is the procedure i used when pre delivering a new unit.
check the bumper height front and rear before loading. after loading, the truck should be lower and almost equal front and rear with the most drop on the back. to much drop in the front, you remove traction in the rear. to much load in the rear, not enough steerage.
that said. level your camper. measure the ball at the bottom of the frame extension, and check the frame in the back. if both ends are at say 18" drop the front 1-2" no more. this measurement is half of what your total is actually, if you re-measure at both ends... to much weight in the front will cause porpoising or rocking forward and back while traveling. stiffer rear truck shocks will help tame that problem. i used adjustable rear shocks. so i got a decent ride empty and great control while towing. say you have a 3/4 ton truck and your tongue weight is close to 700 lbs. expect about 2" to 3" drop when hooked up. so back your truck up to your trailer with the hitch already adjusted. your ball on the truck should be about 1" to 2" higher than the trailer hitch. at the top of the mount and top of the ball. if your hitch is too high, get a lower shank or a shorter shank if your ball is too low. after you adjust the shank and hook up, check to see how far the hitch dropped.. if it dropped more than 4" you may need to raise the ball mount on your truck.
to find out, raise the trailer and back of the truck (leave hitch connected). mount your ez-lift or whatever brand of hitch your using. take the weight off the jack and measure your truck. front and back to see how much the front and back dropped. you want more drop in the rear of your truck and the trailer to be lower in the front. you may need to adjust the weight load on your hitch by adjusting the number of chain links you are using on the load compensating bars.
more than a link either way, you will need to adjust the tilt of the hitch head.
re-check your bumper and frame measurements. the trailer should be where you want it, the truck should be close to level or slightly higher in the back. the truck should drop more in the back than the front. don't drive with the front of the truck high. if your headlights go in the air, your hitch isn't connected properly. you should still be able to drive at night, without adjusting your headlights more than 1/2-1 full turn.
****if your trailer is too high in the front, you will get a death sway, that you will not be able to recover. a slight amount high in the front of the trailer you may be able to recover, but you will have white knuckles every time a truck is near you and if you get any wind.
as mentioned above the bars should be close to parallel to the trailer hitch frame. also if your not going on non paved roads, i wouldn't flip your axle. as you will end up with more tire wear, due to the axle being slightly bent to compensate for axle weight. that bend is called camber.
after you get your hitch adjusted. return to the scales. mark down front, rear and trailer weight. i also disconnected my trailer and weighed my tongue weight. with these numbers and those you got before. you can determine the load distribution on your tow vehicle. after getting everything set up i painted the chain links i used, so that i would get the same link every time i hooked up. on a large trailer, having full tanks shouldn't make much difference. unless your fresh tanks and waste tanks are located at opposite ends of your trailer. if in doubt, error on having the front of the trailer low..

[mike-s]

It doesn't make any difference for weight distribution, as long as you're not out of adjustment range.

It does make a difference in towing, having a level or slightly down attitude helps with trailer stability.

Investing in a shank with a larger drop would be worthwhile. Another option would be to raise the trailer (axle flip, or ???), which would serve double duty if more ground clearance would suit your camping environments better.

[camp-n-family]

Yes, you need a lager drop shank. Looks like you also need to change the head angle as well. When tensioned up, the bars should be close to parallel to the trailer frame, not pointed upwards like yours show. You risk damaging the frame or snap up brackets if you don't leave enough chain links hanging. You can accomplish that by tilting the head back towards the trailer more which will point the bars downwards more. This will also allow you to use less chain links for tension.