Drop Hitch Recommendations

[ShadowsPapa]

I like the pull pin adjustment method with the b and h. I adjust mine differently depending on how much weight is in my bed.

Yeah, the idea is keep the trailer as close to exact level as possible. It matters.

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[WILDHOBO]

No longer than some trucks I've had.......
And trailer sway is 100% different. You can apply the trailer brakes and come out of trailer sway (DO NOT apply the truck's brakes!!)

Better, if you tow and load to prevent sway, it's not going to sway. Sway comes from mistakes and not properly spreading the weight in a trailer. A properly loaded trailer won't sway.
Sway is when the trailer is going faster than the tow vehicle (can be proven by looking at the path the trailer tires take vs. what the tow vehicle tires take)
So if you apply the trailer brakes only, you slow the trailer and drag it back into line.
Some WDH move the ball back a ways, too.
I agree, I try to keep the ball itself as close to the tow vehicle as possible, but if you tow properly, it's only an issue in an emergency - and knowing what to do by pushing that trailer brakes only button - you can pull out of it easily. (if you use the Curt Echo, PLEASE buy their optional button! don't wait until you really wish you had it)

Is that a lock n load?

 

[bleda2002]

I'm running the aluminum weigh safe with a 6 inch drop for 38s, a 2.5 Clayton lift, and a relatively low Aliner expedition in the 25-2600lb range. I really liked the weigh safe since I could adjust the cargo to get it to a good tongue weight based on tanks, coolers, food and other stuff that varied based on the trip.

 

[Jaxmax]

shot you a PM

I am sending David the 8” drop hitch, anyone need a 10” drop hitch, Andersen 8000lb rated 800 lb. Tongue weight, with me free is free, will arrive your doorstep. Figure some of you nutcases with huge lifts and tires might have cause for it, 10” is a lot, so really measure and see if it is something you need versus something you just want!…Jack

 

[WILDHOBO]

I am sending David the 8” drop hitch, anyone need a 10” drop hitch, Andersen 8000lb rated 800 lb. Tongue weight, with me free is free, will arrive your doorstep. Figure some of you nutcases with huge lifts and tires might have cause for it, 10” is a lot, so really measure and see if it is something you need versus something you just want!…Jack

You’re a good Jeep neighbor, Jack. The joke is that I use my b and h 8” adjustable upside down as a rise because my trailer tongue is so high. It’s higher than the normal receiver by 2” or so, and that’s with about a 5” lift in the back of my JT. it’s sort of funny. I only flip it over with other more traditional trailers.

 

[Viper501]

This is a Reese w fixed bolt on pintel / ball hitch. It works great. Even for towing. I normally keep it upside down to avoid scraping it in inclines.

 

[A 2]

No longer than some trucks I've had.......
And trailer sway is 100% different. You can apply the trailer brakes and come out of trailer sway (DO NOT apply the truck's brakes!!)

Better, if you tow and load to prevent sway, it's not going to sway. Sway comes from mistakes and not properly spreading the weight in a trailer. A properly loaded trailer won't sway.
Sway is when the trailer is going faster than the tow vehicle (can be proven by looking at the path the trailer tires take vs. what the tow vehicle tires take)
So if you apply the trailer brakes only, you slow the trailer and drag it back into line.
Some WDH move the ball back a ways, too.
I agree, I try to keep the ball itself as close to the tow vehicle as possible, but if you tow properly, it's only an issue in an emergency - and knowing what to do by pushing that trailer brakes only button - you can pull out of it easily. (if you use the Curt Echo, PLEASE buy their optional button! don't wait until you really wish you had it)

Found this video. It’s very detailed and a bit dry. If you like to geek out on math, this one is for you. Hopefully it will help answer which length of drop hitch from pin to center of ball anyone is considering.

 

[SightsOfIron]

love it

 

[Escape.idiocracy]

I have the Weigh Safe drop hitch and highly recommend it. I've never towed with the JT but I have countless times with the Weigh Safe on other vehicles. Fit, finish and quality are second to none with the Weigh Safe, not cheap though.

I did not have the same luck in 2022… I exchanged 3 through their warranty before returning.

If they have changed to a liquid gauge I would humor again.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Found this video. It’s very detailed and a bit dry. If you like to geek out on math, this one is for you. Hopefully it will help answer which length of drop hitch from pin to center of ball anyone is considering.

The guy does a good job - diagramming, the math involved, and finally - real-world application and measured on a real scale.

I did an experiment years ago with one of those platforms that goes into a receiver.
With a bit less weight in concrete block than what my trailer tongue would be loaded on that platform, it really dropped the back of that JT. The same weight of trailer tongue on the ball dropped it of course but not as much. it's a simple matter of leverage.
Like some dude said thousands of years ago, give me a lever long enough and I can lift the Earth.
The farther out that ball is from the rear axle, the more leverage it has to lift the front of the truck as well - the truck then being the lever (with the ball mount being part of that lever)
The weight of my snow plow is 300 pounds - not a big deal, really, but when it sits out there 2 to 3 feet ahead of the front bumper, it is weight at the end of a longer lever and actually lifts the rear of my JT - so I put ballast in the back.
If that same 300 pounds was right on the bumper, about all it would do is drop the front of the truck - not enough leverage to raise the back..

I do the same thing he does - 500 pounds ( I seem to remember I ended up at about 520 in the end) And having a dual-axle trailer LEVEL matters, too - otherwise the tongue weight will be inaccurate.
If the front is high, you increase tongue weight because you are riding more on the rear axle. So you have to weigh with the trailer as level as possible - and then tow with it as level.
So me being me - I took my long 8' level and put on the trailer! Accuracy..........not sure if it shows in these pics or not. But you can't weight it at one angle then hitch it up either higher or lower than how you used this type of scale.

 

[mrhemi]

Well, my situation was much different,
but very memorable and left an impression.

An 11,000 pound sailboat perched on a three axle trailer
that had a mind of its own.
The tow vehicle was a 3/4 ton Chevy, not a dually or quad cab.
It had an extended 9-foot flatbed
that gave the trailer a lot of leverage.

One other consideration. It is my understanding that
U-haul trailers are all set up for an 18-inch coupler height.
That is the top of the trailer ball is 18-1/2 to 3/4 inches above the ground.
Unless a person knows they have a trailer of a different height
that might make a useful target height to select a fixed drop hitch.

Also, another rule of thumb is that the coupler should be lower than
but never higher than the trailer tongue
to avoid jackknifing on decelerating or braking
by levering the back wheels up enough to lose traction.

I see a lot of lifted 4x4s dragging trailers nose high.
Good luck with that.
And they look funny with a long drop hitch and no trailer
as if they plan on plowing furrows.

I once sent Reese Hitches a suggestion.
Make a drop hitch with a second perpendicular pin hole.
So that the drawbar could be installed horizontally
up and out of the way and also double as a step.
They did not reply.

You could drill your own second hole. Just make sure it is in front of the original pin hole.

 

[Mad Mac]

You could drill your own second hole. Just make sure it is in front of the original pin hole.

I've considered it.

In fact for that big sailboat
I had a second pin hole drilled
closer to the ball
and shortened the drawbar
to fit deeper into the blind receiver.
That gave the trailer less leverage
to push me around.

 

[mrhemi]

I've considered it.

In fact for that big sailboat
I had a second pin hole drilled
closer to the ball
and shortened the drawbar
to fit deeper into the blind receiver.
That gave the trailer less leverage
to push me around.

I have done that as well on my Liberty when I had to get an extended draw bar to clear the spare tire, but did not want it out any further than necessary to avoid excess leverage.

 

[ZeeJay]

A cautionary tale.
The farther the hitch ball is from the rear axle
the greater the leverage the trailer has on steering.
A Gladiator already has a long tail end.
An adjustable drop hitch extends it another 2 to 3 inches farther out.

I could be wrong, I often am,
but death wobble takes on a whole new meaning
when a heavy trailer begins to sway
and push your tail end around.
Something I never want to happen again.

Chess this is many much true. Also why aside from the 5.9L better than 3.6L I use my 5.9 Limited ZJ to yank my ATVs around. Truck gets stupid squirrely with all that. Grand Cherokee not so muchy.

 

[Janster]

Older thread…sorry….
B&W Tow & Stow
Best thing we ever did!!

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