How critical is it to have a perfectly level trailer?

[neu]

Hello everyone,

I bought an adjustable trailer hitch, but I miscalculated and the maximum height is not enough to level the trailer. This hitch raises the height by 5 1/4 inches, but based on my calculations, I need an additional 1-2 inches of height to level the trailer. Is this critical or can I still tow the trailer as is?




UPDATE: I've read a few articles that say that I should better level it properly...
I don't know how to remove this question from the forum

[valhalla360]

Durb wrote:
You could take your trailer to a welder and have him remove the coupler, then weld another coupler to the underside of the frame. It looks like you would pick up 5-6 inches.

I believe this is a unibody vehicle...ie: there is no frame to weld to.

[valhalla360]

JBarca wrote:
2. The top of the tow ball is to be no more than 6 1/4" above the centerline of the 5/8" ball mount locking pin.

Minor Correction: The center of the ball can't be more than 6 1/4" behind the pin hole...NOT ABOVE.

[Durb]

You could take your trailer to a welder and have him remove the coupler, then weld another coupler to the underside of the frame. It looks like you would pick up 5-6 inches.

[JBarca]

Boomerweps wrote:

neu wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Hi Neu. I am not a fan of packing heavy objects at the rear of the trailer to offset hitch weight. Instead just consider getting them over or slightly behind the axle. Packing heavy items at the very rear of the trailer can introduce a pendulum effect which can cause a sway situation.

Check your manual to see if Audi has a maximum height on how much the ball can be above the mount. I know some manufacturers do including tesla.

Even swapping out the lead acid 12 volt for a lithium battery can help the situation.

Is your Audi a Plug in hybrid or full electric?

Happy camping Neu.

Thank you for the tip! And if I place a heavy object in the back of the trailer to reduce the tongue weight to an acceptable level, is that a good idea or still a bad one?
I have a gasoline engine, not a hybrid, 2.0T with 252 hp and 370Nm of torque in stock.
Thanks for the tip on the lithium battery. My battery is actually on its last legs, so I have more than one reason to consider replacing it with a lithium one.
I don't have the user manual at hand, but I have a photo of the sticker on the hitch itself. It seems that the maximum height is 6 1/4. However, I'm not sure what they meant by 1/2. The diagram is confusing to me. Could you help clarify?

UPD: Aaah, now I understand. The maximum lifting height here is 1/2 inch. What am I supposed to do now? Can I drive with the trailer lowered down?
As far as I understand, with a single-axle trailer, I can tow it with the tongue tilted forward. I just need to remember about the tongue weight and the clearance.

Whoever approved that hitch sticker needs fired. WDH only limits!
And that diagram of where the ball should be is nuts. Most hitch rise measurements are listed by its base, so 1/2” in this case. Only time I’ve seen the top of the ball used for measuring is in a WDH set up manual. And unless you buy an oddball (pun intended) tow ball with an extended base, no regular tow ball is 5 & 3/4” tall, most are 3-4” tops.

First off, I totally agree; this sticker has issues; it clearly states the "hitch" is only rated for carrying 441# in weight-distributing mode. This needs further clarification by the manufacturer. It may be the car frame cannot handle a weight-carrying setup. We do not know the weakest link in this car setup.

Now to the dimension specs listed, this car receiver hitch is custom-made for this vehicle by the manufactures specs to work both with the car frame and the physical receiver hitch. If you look closely, there are 2 specs shown.

1. The bottom of the tow ball mounting surface is to be no more than 1/2" above the top of the inside of the 2" square receiver tube.

2. The center of the tow ball is to be no more than 6 1/4" behind the centerline of the 5/8" ball mount locking pin.

Both specs refer to the leverage a 441" tongue weight rating can create in torsion within the receiver and car frame system. In technical terms, they limit the amount of moment arm the trailer hitch ball mount or trailer hitch WE shank and head length is used for max. weight rating.

Those dimension ratings can be worse than weight distribution or weight-carrying ratings in Neu's quest to level out his camper. He is trying to use a high-rise drawbar and needs an even higher one to level out the camper. Both can be over the ratings of that receiver, or car frame, with or without a WD hitch on a 441# trailer loaded tongue weight.

Neu, I suggest getting it in writing from Audi what those numbers mean for your VIN number vehicle for both the weight disturbing and weight carrying ability along with the max. tow ball rise height and length from the receiver pin hole can be. And please report back any findings. I have seen receiver ratings before on total ball rise, just not as spelled out as yours are.

Hope this helps

John

EDIT: 5/7/23 Corrected spec # 2 above to reflect the rear overhang of the tow ball.

[Grit_dog]

Btw, if that pic is of the bolts securing the receiver socket to the cross bar (on the right) with them little bolts no bigger than the screws holding the light plug on, I wouldn’t put more than a couple bikes on a bike rack on that thing….seriously.

Time to rethink the overall approach maybe.

[Grit_dog]

And aside from the question of actually towing the trailer ….which you’re still avoiding, what part of that sales pitch blog did you infer the wdh vs no wdh from? Or did I miss part of the article?
And to Reisenders point, is the gold standard (official placard on the hitch) completely wrong? Is this a knockoff Asian mfg hitch off of Amazon or Fleabay or something where the mfg has poor interpretation skills when they attempted to produce the placard?
(Btw that seems plausible with the supposed or apparent errors in numbers, classification, Engrish grammar lol and lack of information. )

Back to the original subject, it now appears you’re attempting (or just in the speculation and consternation stage) to tow a trailer with a much higher hitch height than may be acceptable for the tow vehicle. You notice the pic in the blog or Reisenders trailer? Both have much lower hitch heights.
Reason #37 (even though the detractors will say otherwise) to leave the mommy missle in the garage when it comes time to do some actual towing…..

I applaud the OP for his spirit and as well his quest for knowledge rather than the “hold my beer” approach , but pending the placard resolution, it appears he’s likely in the you shouldn’t tow it if you believe the mfg ratings category….

[Boomerweps]

neu wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Hi Neu. I am not a fan of packing heavy objects at the rear of the trailer to offset hitch weight. Instead just consider getting them over or slightly behind the axle. Packing heavy items at the very rear of the trailer can introduce a pendulum effect which can cause a sway situation.

Check your manual to see if Audi has a maximum height on how much the ball can be above the mount. I know some manufacturers do including tesla.

Even swapping out the lead acid 12 volt for a lithium battery can help the situation.

Is your Audi a Plug in hybrid or full electric?

Happy camping Neu.

Thank you for the tip! And if I place a heavy object in the back of the trailer to reduce the tongue weight to an acceptable level, is that a good idea or still a bad one?
I have a gasoline engine, not a hybrid, 2.0T with 252 hp and 370Nm of torque in stock.
Thanks for the tip on the lithium battery. My battery is actually on its last legs, so I have more than one reason to consider replacing it with a lithium one.
I don't have the user manual at hand, but I have a photo of the sticker on the hitch itself. It seems that the maximum height is 6 1/4. However, I'm not sure what they meant by 1/2. The diagram is confusing to me. Could you help clarify?

UPD: Aaah, now I understand. The maximum lifting height here is 1/2 inch. What am I supposed to do now? Can I drive with the trailer lowered down?
As far as I understand, with a single-axle trailer, I can tow it with the tongue tilted forward. I just need to remember about the tongue weight and the clearance.

Whoever approved that hitch sticker needs fired. WDH only limits!
And that diagram of where the ball should be is nuts. Most hitch rise measurements are listed by its base, so 1/2” in this case. Only time I’ve seen the top of the ball used for measuring is in a WDH set up manual. And unless you buy an oddball (pun intended) tow ball with an extended base, no regular tow ball is 5 & 3/4” tall, most are 3-4” tops.

[Reisender]

neu wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

neu wrote:
Aaah, now I understand. The maximum lifting height here is 1/2 inch. What am I supposed to do now? Can I drive with the trailer lowered down?
As far as I understand, with a single-axle trailer, I can tow it with the tongue tilted forward. I just need to remember about the tongue weight and the clearance.

What do you mean by capacity for weight? Sorry, I didn't get it. It shows the tongue weight and the max trailer weight

The top two rows of the table appear to be the max towing and tongue weight if you use a WDH (weight distributing hitch).

The bottom two rows are if you are using a weight carrying hitch (which is what you show in your first post on the thread).

It's odd that there is no rating shown for weight carrying. Typically it will be lower (often much lower) but I would typically expect some rating. Hence the suggestion to get confirmation from Audi.

As far as how level the trailer is, that's a separate consideration. But if the table on the hitch is correct, Audi doesn't want you towing any trailer without a WDH regardless of how big the trailer is or how level it is (again needs confirmation from Audi).

Will it instantly rip the hitch off? Probably not but no guarantees.

I think this is an error in the table's naming. Neither the Audi Q5 nor the Audi Q7 models support the installation of a weight distribution hitch. The data in the table coincides with what Audi writes when using a regular hitch:
https://www.waltersaudi.com/blog/2017/december/21/can-the-2018-audi-q5-tow.htm#:~:text=But%20the%20P...

I agree and it is what I recall from interacting with Audi for someone else a few years back. Basically audi doesn’t recommend or support weight distribution hitches for a few models.

Going a different direction. It seems odd that the trailer is that high. Does the trailer have some sort of off road package that lifts it? Common nowadays. They call it a Boondock package or whatever.

[neu]

valhalla360 wrote:

neu wrote:
Aaah, now I understand. The maximum lifting height here is 1/2 inch. What am I supposed to do now? Can I drive with the trailer lowered down?
As far as I understand, with a single-axle trailer, I can tow it with the tongue tilted forward. I just need to remember about the tongue weight and the clearance.

What do you mean by capacity for weight? Sorry, I didn't get it. It shows the tongue weight and the max trailer weight

The top two rows of the table appear to be the max towing and tongue weight if you use a WDH (weight distributing hitch).

The bottom two rows are if you are using a weight carrying hitch (which is what you show in your first post on the thread).

It's odd that there is no rating shown for weight carrying. Typically it will be lower (often much lower) but I would typically expect some rating. Hence the suggestion to get confirmation from Audi.

As far as how level the trailer is, that's a separate consideration. But if the table on the hitch is correct, Audi doesn't want you towing any trailer without a WDH regardless of how big the trailer is or how level it is (again needs confirmation from Audi).

Will it instantly rip the hitch off? Probably not but no guarantees.

I think this is an error in the table's naming. Neither the Audi Q5 nor the Audi Q7 models support the installation of a weight distribution hitch. The data in the table coincides with what Audi writes when using a regular hitch:
https://www.waltersaudi.com/blog/2017/december/21/can-the-2018-audi-q5-tow.htm#:~:text=But%20the%20P...

[valhalla360]

neu wrote:
Aaah, now I understand. The maximum lifting height here is 1/2 inch. What am I supposed to do now? Can I drive with the trailer lowered down?
As far as I understand, with a single-axle trailer, I can tow it with the tongue tilted forward. I just need to remember about the tongue weight and the clearance.

What do you mean by capacity for weight? Sorry, I didn't get it. It shows the tongue weight and the max trailer weight

The top two rows of the table appear to be the max towing and tongue weight if you use a WDH (weight distributing hitch).

The bottom two rows are if you are using a weight carrying hitch (which is what you show in your first post on the thread).

It's odd that there is no rating shown for weight carrying. Typically it will be lower (often much lower) but I would typically expect some rating. Hence the suggestion to get confirmation from Audi.

As far as how level the trailer is, that's a separate consideration. But if the table on the hitch is correct, Audi doesn't want you towing any trailer without a WDH regardless of how big the trailer is or how level it is (again needs confirmation from Audi).

Will it instantly rip the hitch off? Probably not but no guarantees.

[neu]

valhalla360 wrote:

neu wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Hi Neu. I am not a fan of packing heavy objects at the rear of the trailer to offset hitch weight. Instead just consider getting them over or slightly behind the axle. Packing heavy items at the very rear of the trailer can introduce a pendulum effect which can cause a sway situation.

Check your manual to see if Audi has a maximum height on how much the ball can be above the mount. I know some manufacturers do including tesla.

Even swapping out the lead acid 12 volt for a lithium battery can help the situation.

Is your Audi a Plug in hybrid or full electric?

Happy camping Neu.

Thank you for the tip! And if I place a heavy object in the back of the trailer to reduce the tongue weight to an acceptable level, is that a good idea or still a bad one?
I have a gasoline engine, not a hybrid, 2.0T with 252 hp and 370Nm of torque in stock.
Thanks for the tip on the lithium battery. My battery is actually on its last legs, so I have more than one reason to consider replacing it with a lithium one.
I don't have the user manual at hand, but I have a photo of the sticker on the hitch itself. It seems that the maximum height is 6 1/4. However, I'm not sure what they meant by 1/2. The diagram is confusing to me. Could you help clarify?

If I'm reading the table correctly, they require a wdh and the base of the ball within a half inch of the top of the receiver opening.

It's odd that they don't show any capacity for weight carrying (the way you are currently set up). Probably need to go down to the audi dealer and get them to confirm. Ask for it in writing or they may just tell you it's fine without confirming to make you go away.

Aaah, now I understand. The maximum lifting height here is 1/2 inch. What am I supposed to do now? Can I drive with the trailer lowered down?
As far as I understand, with a single-axle trailer, I can tow it with the tongue tilted forward. I just need to remember about the tongue weight and the clearance.

What do you mean by capacity for weight? Sorry, I didn't get it. It shows the tongue weight and the max trailer weight

[valhalla360]

neu wrote:

Reisender wrote:
Hi Neu. I am not a fan of packing heavy objects at the rear of the trailer to offset hitch weight. Instead just consider getting them over or slightly behind the axle. Packing heavy items at the very rear of the trailer can introduce a pendulum effect which can cause a sway situation.

Check your manual to see if Audi has a maximum height on how much the ball can be above the mount. I know some manufacturers do including tesla.

Even swapping out the lead acid 12 volt for a lithium battery can help the situation.

Is your Audi a Plug in hybrid or full electric?

Happy camping Neu.

Thank you for the tip! And if I place a heavy object in the back of the trailer to reduce the tongue weight to an acceptable level, is that a good idea or still a bad one?
I have a gasoline engine, not a hybrid, 2.0T with 252 hp and 370Nm of torque in stock.
Thanks for the tip on the lithium battery. My battery is actually on its last legs, so I have more than one reason to consider replacing it with a lithium one.
I don't have the user manual at hand, but I have a photo of the sticker on the hitch itself. It seems that the maximum height is 6 1/4. However, I'm not sure what they meant by 1/2. The diagram is confusing to me. Could you help clarify?

If I'm reading the table correctly, they require a wdh and the base of the ball within a half inch of the top of the receiver opening.

It's odd that they don't show any capacity for weight carrying (the way you are currently set up). Probably need to go down to the audi dealer and get them to confirm. Ask for it in writing or they may just tell you it's fine without confirming to make you go away.

[Reisender]

neu wrote:

Durb wrote:
It looks as though you are measuring tongue weight at the jack. Keep in mind the shank and hitch ball are resting in your receiver and their weight needs to be calculated in, probably using up your 35 pound margin.

Moving heavy items to the rear of your trailer to offset your tongue weight is problematic, especially with a single axle trailer. This practice will maintain your net tongue weight, but will also reduce your percent of weight on the tongue. This percentage number (12% - 15%) is critical in keeping sway under control. Theoretically, you could reduce your tongue weight to zero by selective loading. Not good, you would be all over the road.

Actually, I just didn't remove the weights after weighing, sorry for the confusing photo.
Yes, I definitely plan to stay within the 12-15% range for tongue weight, the question is whether I can put something in the back to even out the values within this range.

Yah. Moving stuff back away from the tongue is ok. It becomes not okay when you go to the other extreme and place it all the way on the tail. Then it becomes like a pendulum and can cause sway issues. Instead, try and pack things close to or over the axle of the trailer so the trailers axle picks up the weight. In my opinion 10 to 12 percent is fine for axle weight. We run at 10 percent and have no sway issues. We also pull with an SUV. Our trailer is a little lighter than yours though. Our batterie is mounted just behind the axle.

[neu]

Durb wrote:
It looks as though you are measuring tongue weight at the jack. Keep in mind the shank and hitch ball are resting in your receiver and their weight needs to be calculated in, probably using up your 35 pound margin.

Moving heavy items to the rear of your trailer to offset your tongue weight is problematic, especially with a single axle trailer. This practice will maintain your net tongue weight, but will also reduce your percent of weight on the tongue. This percentage number (12% - 15%) is critical in keeping sway under control. Theoretically, you could reduce your tongue weight to zero by selective loading. Not good, you would be all over the road.

Actually, I just didn't remove the weights after weighing, sorry for the confusing photo.
Yes, I definitely plan to stay within the 12-15% range for tongue weight, the question is whether I can put something in the back to even out the values within this range.

[Grit_dog]

Placing weight at the back of the trailer is still not advisable however although you appear to be ignoring my repeated question of How does it tow? (I’ll try not to read into that), it may be just fine. Re read mine and Reisenders recent responses. If you don’t understand them then it’s trial and error (IE see how it tows) or just resist the urge to induce poor towing behavior by increasing the moment placed on the pivot point (axle) with increased rear weight.

Idk if your hitch diagram means maximum rise. I’d presume that as it’s reasonable. And if I read the poorly interpreted German correctly it may say only “rise” IE not a drop hitch. But that doesn’t matter since the hitch receiver is low enough to tow any trailer without ever needing a drop.

The most important thing you missed is it appears your car/hitch has no rating for weight carrying stingers. Since it’s only rated for weight distributing.
I’ve never towed any trailer with a little car and firmly believe many wdh applications are a ruse by a slimy salesman and an uninformed customer, it appears that your car may actually be recommended or require a wdh for anything substantial.