New vehicle hitch set up question

[Camper_G]

Hey y'all.

I need to update my signature, about 2 months ago, I traded the 2000 Ford Expedition in and bought a 2015 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab, 1500 4x4.

I took the trailer for the first test tow today and I'm very pleased with the performance of the Silverado versus the Expedition. Big difference in power, the extra 2 gears is nice, has an intergrated brake control, the tow/haul mode works great and gives extra engine braking, etc.

My question for the experts is this. When hitched up with NO weight in the back off the chevy, with the hitch head on it's highest setting, and two links on the weight bars loose, it's about 1" NOSE HIGH.

When I drop it down one hole on the draw bar, same chains setting, no weight in the bed it's about 1" NOSE LOW.

I know level or a little nose low is optimal.

When I got back home, with the 1" nose low setting, I had my wife and two sons get in in the bed of the Chevy and sit near the tailgate. With them in the bed, I lost an additional 1/2" in height at the front of the trailer, IE it would be 1-1/2" nose LOW. The weight of my wife and two boys is around 300lb or so I'm estimating.

My thoughts here is maybe I should go back to the original head height setting, which was 1" nose High, with the truck and camper empty (just non perishabbles in the camper I keep in it all year, plates and such, but no food, no clothing, ETC.

I know with a full load of firewood, plus other gear in my truck bed, plus more weight in the camper itself, which would put more tongue weight on the Chevy, I'd likely be sitting dead level, or maybe just a touch nose high.

It's possible with full firewood and all the gear in the truck bed, I could lose another 1/2" and then I'd be 2" nose low which seems too much, as I don't want to overheat the front axle tires.

I don't want to be nose high either, as I know that is not good for trailer stability or sway.

The measurements I took were on the 4 corners of the box on the left and right sides. I was in a parking lot as level as I could be when I took those measurements and each time the Chevy seemed to be sitting level so I think the weight bars are set correctly with 2 links loose.

What do you guys think? I'd apprecaite any help or thoughts. Stay as is and wind up 1-1/2-2" nose low when fully loaded for a trip or go back to the original and probably wind up level or just a bit nose high if I don't get as much squat on the rear of the chevy as I'm anticipating with the extra weight. I know the only true way to tell is to load it for camping and do what I did all over again, however, again any thoughts would be appreciated.



Sincerely,
Greg

[Camper_G]

DustyR wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Keep it where it's at. 1.5" nose low will brake a lot better in a panic stop than level or nose high.

Also it will give you a bit more clearance at the back trailer bumper which is good.

The nose low attitude will also be better for fuel mileage.

All in all keep it where it's at.

X-2

The only comment I would have is to get the measuring tape out and set the trailer/hitch as per TV manufacturers instructions. The old adage of towing level or TT nose slight low works here.

I agree. That's my concern. With no load in my truck excerpt me it's sitting 1"nose low. With spprox 300 lbs in the back i lost another 1/2" at the front of the trailer. That may very well be
Ok. But i have a 100mi trip coming up and i want to make sure it's right for that trip.


Thanks for all the help so far.

How can i tell if i have a 1" rise ball or no rise? The one i have now looks like every other I've ever used.

[DustyR]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Keep it where it's at. 1.5" nose low will brake a lot better in a panic stop than level or nose high.

Also it will give you a bit more clearance at the back trailer bumper which is good.

The nose low attitude will also be better for fuel mileage.

All in all keep it where it's at.

X-2

The only comment I would have is to get the measuring tape out and set the trailer/hitch as per TV manufacturers instructions. The old adage of towing level or TT nose slight low works here.

[Camper_G]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not sure what I'm using right now. Probably what is standard. Not sure if that's 1"rise or not?

[ktmrfs]

hawkeye-08 wrote:
You might be able to use a hitch ball with some rise to fine tune your setup..

For example, this one has 1" rise.

http://www.etrailer.com/Balls/Curt/C40035.html

my suggestion as well. 1" riser balls are very common, std ball for goosenecks. that should give you a slightly nose down attitude.

or if your already using a 1" riser ball, go back to no rise and bring the hitch up one hole.

Since many hitches are 1.5" increments in rise/drop with a 0 or 1" riser ball you can basically adjust in 1/2" increments.

[hawkeye-08]

You might be able to use a hitch ball with some rise to fine tune your setup..

For example, this one has 1" rise.

http://www.etrailer.com/Balls/Curt/C40035.html

[Camper_G]

I could possibly have 3 links loose and that wold put the bars parallel with the camper a frame. Not sure what i want to do with it yet. I don't want it too nose low

[campigloo]

If you load heavy can you take up another link?

[Camper_G]

thanks for the replies! Looks like there's two different opinions and I can see the merit in both as I have been trying to hash this out myself!

Any other thoughts?

Thanks,
greg

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

Keep it where it's at. 1.5" nose low will brake a lot better in a panic stop than level or nose high.

Also it will give you a bit more clearance at the back trailer bumper which is good.

The nose low attitude will also be better for fuel mileage.

All in all keep it where it's at.

[lbrjet]

I would go with the 1 inch high setting since it will come down a bit when you load up. 1/2 inch high is better than 1 1/2 inches low IMO.