Trailer nose down?

[acritzer]

I asked this as part of my larger thread on setting up my hitch, but at that point it didn't get much feedback.

How much, "nose down" is OK?

My last set of measurements had the front down almost 2" compared to the back. I'm not totally confident on the precision since it's on my driveway, which isn't consistent.

Is this OK? Or, should I try and move the hitch up yet again?

[hawkeye-08]

Short answer, keep going up until it is too high and then go back down one hole.

[fla-gypsy]

acritzer wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:

acritzer wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:
Nose down is better than nose up but level is always better. Are you using an adjustable draw bar?

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what an adjustable draw bar is. I can raise and lower the height of my hitch ball though.

Sometimes referred to as a shank

http://www.reeseprod.com/products/weight-distribution/wd-shanks/xDqAUvNOHeJOEQE!QxI!fWu5X4bpIN4D

Oh,yeah. That's what I have.

Can you not change the location of the hitch head to get it closer to level than 2" off?

[acritzer]

fla-gypsy wrote:

acritzer wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:
Nose down is better than nose up but level is always better. Are you using an adjustable draw bar?

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what an adjustable draw bar is. I can raise and lower the height of my hitch ball though.

Sometimes referred to as a shank

http://www.reeseprod.com/products/weight-distribution/wd-shanks/xDqAUvNOHeJOEQE!QxI!fWu5X4bpIN4D

Oh,yeah. That's what I have.

[fla-gypsy]

acritzer wrote:

fla-gypsy wrote:
Nose down is better than nose up but level is always better. Are you using an adjustable draw bar?

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what an adjustable draw bar is. I can raise and lower the height of my hitch ball though.

Sometimes referred to as a shank

http://www.reeseprod.com/products/weight-distribution/wd-shanks/xDqAUvNOHeJOEQE!QxI!fWu5X4bpIN4D

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

acritzer wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I'm going to say you got it on the money. There is several reasons to have your trailer down in front.

#1. You will get "slightly" more tongue weight and that is a good thing.

#2. The trailer will cut the wind better. It sounds like a minor issue but it really can add up and make a big difference in mileage over years of towing.

#3. This is a big one. During panic braking the nose of the tow vehicle will dive because of weight transfer. When this happens the back of the tow vehicle and front of the trailer will raise up. This is not a good situation because the weight of the trailer will try to lift the back tires of the TV off of the ground. Braking with two tires is not a good thing and you want all tires of the TV braking equally. When the nose of the trailer is down like you have it; it will form a straight line when in panic braking mode; which is a good thing. I say leave it. 🙂

Thanks. I'd like to be "done"...but also want to get it right. Sounds like level is the best, most agree on that. The question really is, how much nose down is OK.

There really is very few disadvantages to nose down and a lot of advantages. One is it "slightly" loads the front tires a little harder on a tandem axel set-up. It's so small it's not really worth mentioning.

Another is it will add a "slight" amount of tongue weight. This may be a bad thing if you are close on payload of your TV. If not, added tongue weight is a good thing.

I have towed a lot of different trailer in my time. Nose WAY up, nose WAY down, level, and almost every conceivable combo there is out there. They all towed just fine and didn't seem to make much difference on nose attitude.

The thing that made a HUGE difference was tongue weight. If you don't have enough tongue weight your trailer will want to kill you. I've towed 3000 lb trailers with 0 tongue weight and it would sway to hard it would almost lift the back tires off of the ground with a 3/4 ton diesel truck!

Like I said, if it was my trailer I would leave it.

BTW, another advantage of nose down is rear end drag. A few inches up in the rear can make all the difference in the world as far as whether you drag or not coming out of a parking lot.

[acritzer]

Turtle n Peeps wrote:
I'm going to say you got it on the money. There is several reasons to have your trailer down in front.

#1. You will get "slightly" more tongue weight and that is a good thing.

#2. The trailer will cut the wind better. It sounds like a minor issue but it really can add up and make a big difference in mileage over years of towing.

#3. This is a big one. During panic braking the nose of the tow vehicle will dive because of weight transfer. When this happens the back of the tow vehicle and front of the trailer will raise up. This is not a good situation because the weight of the trailer will try to lift the back tires of the TV off of the ground. Braking with two tires is not a good thing and you want all tires of the TV braking equally. When the nose of the trailer is down like you have it; it will form a straight line when in panic braking mode; which is a good thing. I say leave it. 🙂

Thanks. I'd like to be "done"...but also want to get it right. Sounds like level is the best, most agree on that. The question really is, how much nose down is OK.

[acritzer]

fla-gypsy wrote:
Nose down is better than nose up but level is always better. Are you using an adjustable draw bar?

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know what an adjustable draw bar is. I can raise and lower the height of my hitch ball though.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

I'm going to say you got it on the money. There is several reasons to have your trailer down in front.

#1. You will get "slightly" more tongue weight and that is a good thing.

#2. The trailer will cut the wind better. It sounds like a minor issue but it really can add up and make a big difference in mileage over years of towing.

#3. This is a big one. During panic braking the nose of the tow vehicle will dive because of weight transfer. When this happens the back of the tow vehicle and front of the trailer will raise up. This is not a good situation because the weight of the trailer will try to lift the back tires of the TV off of the ground. Braking with two tires is not a good thing and you want all tires of the TV braking equally. When the nose of the trailer is down like you have it; it will form a straight line when in panic braking mode; which is a good thing. I say leave it. 🙂

[fla-gypsy]

Nose down is better than nose up but level is always better. Are you using an adjustable draw bar?

[acritzer]

poncho62 wrote:
Is your tow vehicle sitting level?.....If so, move the hitch up. If tow vehicle is drooping at back, you should correct that first

im pretty sure the TV is OK at this point. I got the front to almost the same pre-loaded. The back is down a bit. Multiple users here have said that's good.
Now just messing with the trailers levelness.

[poncho62]

Is your tow vehicle sitting level?.....If so, move the hitch up. If tow vehicle is drooping at back, you should correct that first

[acritzer]

I think to make another adjustment and have confidence in it I would need to go to a parking lot that's more consistent than my driveway.

[DutchmenSport]

If you have the ability to make another adjustment to get it more level, then do it. If the trailer is not level, you are putting more stress on one axle and not so much on the second axle. (if you have a tandem axle trailer). You really need the trailer as level as possible.

There's two ways to make he adjustment: 1) raise the hitch head, or 2) adjust the Weight Distribution bars, and I suppose there's 3)... a combination of both.

[SWD]

Level would be ideal....but nose up is not good as it doesnt put enough weight on the ball and could cause sway issues.