Effect of un-level trailer

joshuabardwell · May 18, 2012

bcp said:
Sometimes things are rated one way and not another simply because they were not tested both ways.

That's a good point. I'm not trying to convince anybody either way. Just wanted to make sure a fully informed decision was being made. I'm sure it will be fine.

jejeosborne · May 18, 2012

bcp said:
Sometimes things are rated one way and not another simply because they were not tested both ways.

Bruce

I doubt they would take the effort and publish information without testing. My guess is if it has a gusset (diagonal brace), these are strong in tension but not compression. Like a guy wire on a power pole.

jeffsw6 · May 18, 2012

joshuabardwell said:
Is this a big deal? Do I need to pony up the $100 or so for a shank with sufficient drop?

Just to give you another point of view, an adjustable ball mount with enough rise / drop height to do whatever you need is a good investment. I carry the Curt D900 with me whenever I tow my bigger trailer just in case I need to make an adjustment once the trailer is loaded up Curt Multi-Ball Adjustable Ball Mount for 2" Trailer Hitches Curt Ball Mounts D900

These are really nice if you are picking something up and you just don't know what you are going to need. Sometimes I rent towable generators and when I do that I bring that D900 and a straight mount (no drop/rise) because I don't know what I will need until I get to the rental yard to pick it up, they could give me one generator one week and a different one the next. Picking the things up myself instead of paying their delivery fee more than pays for the $135 mount in one rental, they charge a lot to deliver things!

US American · May 19, 2012

^^^^ I agree with this statement but there should be no guessing when it comes to towing. Use components that are designed for the intended application. Likewise, set your trailer up so it's level when properly loaded. A generally accepted guideline is that 10-15% of your level bumper pull trailer's weight goes on the tongue. Load the trailer appropriately then tweak the rest of your system (drop shank, airbags for the truck, etc.)

Towing is dangerous enough even when things are properly set up. One certainly would not want to create unnecessary risk. I had to buy a longer drop shank for my old bumper pull horsetrailer when I changed from a chevy half ton to a dodge 3/4 ton five years ago. I still used the same WD setup but to get the trailer level I had to get a longer shank. It cost me about $120 at the time but it was money well spent.