Receiver drop calculation

[Eric_Phillips]

I have a 2011 F150 and just bought a used 2-horse trailer. The top of the hole for the receiver on the truck sits at 19.5". The bottom of the hitch on the trailer when level is 13.25". The current receiver has a 2" drop. When I hook the trailer up with that receiver the truck sags ~3" to 16.75". A 6" drop seems huge and with no sag it would put the bottom of the trailer jack ~4" off the ground. A soon as the truck sags a little and I put horses in the trailer I think it will be dragging on the ground. I would feel better with a 3" drop. Is that ok for this setup?

 

[HHR]

I have a 2011 F150 and just bought a used 2-horse trailer. The top of the hole for the receiver on the truck sits at 19.5". The bottom of the hitch on the trailer when level is 13.25". The current receiver has a 2" drop. When I hook the trailer up with that receiver the truck sags ~3" to 16.75". A 6" drop seems huge and with no sag it would put the bottom of the trailer jack ~4" off the ground. A soon as the truck sags a little and I put horses in the trailer I think it will be dragging on the ground. I would feel better with a 3" drop. Is that ok for this setup?

Try loading your gear and horses with the 2" drop you have now. Then you can do some measurements to know for sure what amount of drop you are going to need. It's always better to be a hair high with the front of the trailer than too low (level is ideal).

 

[s219]

I agree, load up completely with current drawbar and then measure the difference needed to bring closer to level.

I went with a 4" drop for my new truck based on measuring difference in receiver height from old tow vehicle (which had 2" drop"). I noticed that for the heavier-rated drawbars (mine is 10,000#) the selection is limited. Did not see any 3" in that rating. So you may need to go with the closest available option.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Just so I understand your suggestions completely. Load the trailer and reconfirm height when level not connected to truck. Connect to truck and determine how much drop I need to reach level.

 

[HHR]

Just so I understand your suggestions completely. Load the trailer and reconfirm height when level not connected to truck. Connect to truck and determine how much drop I need to reach level.

Sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[pmsmechanic]

If you need a 3" drop you can always use a 1" riser ball on a 4" drop hitch and be right on.

 

[davkir]

You might look at a place like etrailer.com for adjustable drawbars.

 

[schmism]

You might look at a place like etrailer.com for adjustable drawbars.

$60

on the plus side if you have different trailers you can adjust the height for them, and pulll the 2 pins and pull the ball off while keeping the shank in the reciver if you like something back there for people to run into instead of your plastic bumper.