What is "trailer level"

[sailor55330]

Hi All-

I have a question about what you look at when you are setting your trailer "level" during towing--regarding hitch height. I have heard of 2 schools of thought. One is trailer tongue level. The other is axles level (measured distance between top of tire and fender--and assumes tandem trailer). For my trailer, the two don't correlate. If the axles are level, the the tongue is slightly high. If the tongue is level, then the front axle has more load on it. For sake of discussion, I will say that one of the recommendations came from the trailer manufacturer and one did not----I will post which recommendation came from the trailer company a little later if anyone is curious

It's an interesting way to look at things.

 

[mla2ofus]

If your trailer has equalizers between the front and rear springs the load doesn't change appreciably between the axles. Weight transfer can change tongue weight depending on hitch height.
Mike

 

[Silvertip]

Measuring is not even necessary. Park the rig on a flat level parking lot. Walk away about 30 feet and look at the rig from the side. If the back of the tow vehicle is squatting and the tongue is low the entire RIG is NOT level. You may need helper springs on the tow vehicle or tongue weight may be way too high. If the tow vehicle is level and tongue is low, you need a ball mount with more height. If the back of the trailer is lower than the tongue (the tongue is high), you need a ball mount with more drop. Don't look at the boat when doing the eyeball check. Look at only the tow vehicle and trailer frame. Forget the single axle dual axle bit. It has no bearing on the issue. Before you get too wrapped up in this it is a good idea to weigh your boat & trailer so you can determine tongue weight. Single axle you want 10% give or take a bit. Tandem trailers can get by nicely with 5 - 7%.

 

[sailor55330]

Thanks for the responses.

So how would you play this one.

A 2" drop stinger puts the trailer nose down. Flipping it over leaves me just shy of level. Going to a 3" drop that is flipped puts me trailer nose high.

My choice is trailer nose down by about 1".

Tow vehicle squat is nearly non-existent @ 3/4" of an inch, measured.

 

[H20Rat]

**deleted**

 

[Alumarine]

Thanks for the responses.

So how would you play this one.

A 2" drop stinger puts the trailer nose down. Flipping it over leaves me just shy of level. Going to a 3" drop that is flipped puts me trailer nose high.

My choice is trailer nose down by about 1".

Tow vehicle squat is nearly non-existent @ 3/4" of an inch, measured.

Try towing it both ways and see how it feels.

 

[Cat nip]

I ran into this with my pontoon behind my crown Victoria. And what I ended up doing to get it level is I got the drop hitch that was 1" low and northern tool sells balls that have up to a 2" rise so I got the 1" and bolted it on and Presto it's now perfectly level. and they were rated the same as the normal balls in that size, mine was 2" diameter.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Measuring is not even necessary. Park the rig on a flat level parking lot. Walk away about 30 feet and look at the rig from the side. If the back of the tow vehicle is squatting and the tongue is low the entire RIG is NOT level. You may need helper springs on the tow vehicle or tongue weight may be way too high. If the tow vehicle is level and tongue is low, you need a ball mount with more height. If the back of the trailer is lower than the tongue (the tongue is high), you need a ball mount with more drop. Don't look at the boat when doing the eyeball check. Look at only the tow vehicle and trailer frame. Forget the single axle dual axle bit. It has no bearing on the issue. Before you get too wrapped up in this it is a good idea to weigh your boat & trailer so you can determine tongue weight. Single axle you want 10% give or take a bit. Tandem trailers can get by nicely with 5 - 7%.

I agree with this method.