my hitch is to low

[Ron Dickey]

I found a higher hitch for 18 bucks I will try that first.
changing the weight of the tung may be in order down the line.
I am unsure if I can do anything about the cars springs I had wondered about bigger tires but unsure if the wheel well would let me.
re doing the moffler sounds possible.

these are all great Ideas. many thanks

Mike what does your home made hitch look like??

Ron

[Ron Dickey]

I bought the 4" rise Class I hitch and the trailer does hitch up without having to jack the car up to meet it.

The trailer is empty now and as I fill it at or behind the axel I will see if the muffler drags less as of this point it did I had the tire in the boot but no counter ballance in the rear.

this is a improved start.

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

I'm having a problem wrapping my brain around the real problem. I've been towing with my lowered VW for 10 years. So let me see what I can present. I agree with others' comments about tongue weight or trunk weight and how it impacts the way a muffler may drag on steep driveways. My hitch is the lowest point on my car. So I occasionally hit it in steep driveways. I solved this by approaching the driveway at a 45-degree angle.

Regarding the way your trailer does not meet up with your hitch without jacking the car, I'm a bit lost here. My first solution was to get a rotating wheel jack which swings up and out of the way when driving. I could easily swing it up to allow the trailer coupler to lower down to my car. IMO, if your tongue weight is so high you cannot lift it, then I'm inclined to wonder if it should be on the back of a small car.

Here's a photo which shows my trailer with the jack rotated out of the way:


That said, I don't like lifting or wrestling with my 100-150 lb tongue, especially in my grassy back yard where moving the trailer to the hitch is difficult. "Work smarter, not harder," right? I also had a problem with the wheel jack since I park the trailer in windy areas when I AUTOCROSS. I didn't want to risk having the wind blow my rollable trailer into a car. So I went with a different jack which can retract the "foot" quite high. HERE'S A LINK. Its rating is a bit overkill for my application. But I mounted it on my tongue as close to the trailer/box as I could to reduce tongue weight and increase clearance. The end result is the jack can be retracted to the point that the trailer coupler is on the ground while the jack foot is about two inches off the ground. I'm quite confident this couple can be height-adjusted to meet up with nearly any hitch. Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of my trailer which shows this jack. I'll have to take a few shots when I have my car, trailer, and camera in the same place at the same time. I'm on the road a lot. Anyway, I hope this gives you a few ideas.

Good Luck,

Scott

PS: I'm considering adjustable coilover suspension for my car. This is primarily for improved handling in competitive environments. But they should also enable me to raise the rear a bit when I expect to tow.

[Stealth TDI]

PS: Is there any chance you can post a photo of your car and trailer coupled? I'm curious to see the car's stance while coupled.

[Ron Dickey]

Scott,

yes I will enter shots soon I have a bunch to get in my album and will that to the list.

I have a jack like that but I did not put it on. I like to manuver the trailer using the wheeled type when I move it into the garage or to a new spot without the car. it is a little heavy for my old back.

I either need to replace the car (not a good time now) or talk to my machanic about adjustable coilover suspension or setups for springs and what i could do for muffler all I need us one hard hit and I am done for.

thanks for the interest.
Ron

[Rigsby]

Over here, in Europe, These spring assisters are commonly used to give a bit of lift and strength, Especialy when towing european caravans

[High Desert]

Over here, in Europe, These spring assisters are commonly used to give a bit of lift and strength, Especialy when towing european caravans

I've also used these type on coil spring cars. They work well, lifts the car a bit without loosing ride quality. Doesn't settle near as much with a load as they effectively increase the spring rate. They should also work on a strut type suspension.

Best part is they were only $14 each at Summit Racing.

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

I have a jack like that but I did not put it on. I like to manuver the trailer using the wheeled type when I move it into the garage or to a new spot without the car. it is a little heavy for my old back.

I feel the same. So I have both jacks on mine:



I normally use the "big jack." But it's nice to have the swing-down wheel available to me on short notice. The wheel in the "up" position also makes a good handle for maneuvering. The extra tongue weight is not bad since I have another cargo box on the back of the trailer. So it's all balanced.

Take Care,

Scott

[SlyTerry]

At the end of the day you want the tongue of your trailer to be declining towards the trailer hitch of your vehicle. This assist in transfering the (inertia) weight towards the rear of your vehicle during decceleration and assist in braking and stability. If the tongue rises as it approaches your trailer hitch then the trailer will be trying to lift the rear of your vehicle and thus reduce your braking ability.

[Ron Dickey]

I had a freind weld my axel because the other broke last year. he watch me pull out the jack raise the car desite the new raized hitch. He looked at and said if you like I can raise the hitch up higher so the jack can come down with out you jacking it up.

I still need to fix the muffler thing and and Terry is right I do not want to remove all weight from the front.

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

At the end of the day you want the tongue of your trailer to be declining towards the trailer hitch of your vehicle...

I finally got around to coupling the trailer and taking a peek at the tilt of the tongue. This is with my original hitch, not the one with the riser:



Using the riser hitch would raise the tongue 3.1 inches. I think two inches would put the trailer level. 3.1 inches might incline it the wrong way just a tad. So I guess this is the hitch to use unless I tow a trailer with taller wheels. Do the experts agree?

Oh, here's a neat piece of armor to protect my bumper from little kisses while coupling:



Sorry about the crappy phone pics...

Take Care,

Scott

[Stealth TDI]

Okay,

I hope I'm not hijacking the topic. I finally got to take some comparison photos with the two different drawbars:



The good thing about the riser bar is it is also about an inch longer and it lifts the jack/wheel just a little higher for better driveway clearance. Other than that, I guess my question is whether there is any signficant safety concern when considering the following remark:

At the end of the day you want the tongue of your trailer to be declining towards the trailer hitch of your vehicle...

Thoughts?

Scott

[High Desert]

Okay,

I hope I'm not hijacking the topic. I finally got to take some comparison photos with the two different drawbars:



The good thing about the riser bar is it is also about an inch longer and it lifts the jack/wheel just a little higher for better driveway clearance. Other than that, I guess my question is whether there is any signficant safety concern when considering the following remark:

At the end of the day you want the tongue of your trailer to be declining towards the trailer hitch of your vehicle...

Thoughts?

Scott

from my experience as long as the trailer load is balanced and not tail heavy it should pull just fine

a low slung hitch can be a nuisance for dragging and getting hung up too, in my opinion

[Senior Ninja]

Often driving from the street to the driveway at an angle rather that straight on will stop the bottoming out of the car.
Steve

[Stealth TDI]

Hello,

Often driving from the street to the driveway at an angle rather that straight on will stop the bottoming out of the car.

I'm already doing that:

My hitch is the lowest point on my car. So I occasionally hit it in steep driveways. I solved this by approaching the driveway at a 45-degree angle.

But there are some driveways which are too narrow to do this... especially if there's another vehicle coming from the other direction. Also, I just drove my trailer into a community with good-sized speed bumps. I definitely needed to exercise caution in there.

BTW, my trailer has 12" wheels. I may try to see if 13" wheels will fit. There's plenty of fender clearance. Perhaps the taller wheel/tire will fit and level the trailer. I know... I'm being a bit of a kook about leveling the trailer!

Take Care,

Scott