I'm curios as to what the standard ball height is supposed to be. If I remember right, I thought it was somewhere around 20".

Yes, I know it will vary. But there has to be some kind of range the manufacturers all shoot for.

 

It's going to vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. My Sunline had a ball height of 15", but it had the axle on top of the spring pack. If I had done the axle flip, it would have raised the entire trailer including the ball height by 3-4".

It also matters which axles they select. The higher the weight rating, the higher the trailer. At some point they have to go from 14" to 15' wheels and tires or from 15" to 16" to match the weight ratings of the axles and the trailer.

The larger the trailer, the taller the frame steel will be. That can directly affect ball height since the A-frame is usually on the same level as the frame itself, at least in RV and small utility trailers.

Your best bet is to pick the trailer you want, and measure the ball height with the trailer sitting level on level ground. Then you can decide what you need in the way of a shank and ball platform, and possibly the ball itself.

I have both standard and deep drop shanks so I can quickly swap them out if I have to tow a trailer with a different ball height. I also have a 1 1/8" box end wrench (and other large sizes) for loosening and tightening the bolts that hold the ball platform to the shank. That's my size 13 shoe in the pic.

 

I'm just trying to pick the best fit ball mount for my truck.

With a standard 2" drop mount, the ball height is 20-1/2". With suspension squat, that seems about right. Maybe I could use a 3" drop.

 

Level is your best fit.

 

The one that matches your coupler with the trailer level.
If you tow a lot of different trailers but only want one hitch, use something like these:

or

 

If you set the top of your ball 18" off the ground, you will be able to tow most trailers. I have towed at least 8 different trailers level with that setup without having to change anything.


That being said, I have also towed a couple small 4X8 utility trailers that were a little nose high. If you are going to tow just one or two trailers, get the draw bar with the drop you need to get the trailer level.

 

Thanks, that's kinda what I had figured. Right now with a standard 2" drop the ball sits at 20". Maybe a bit high, but I need to test it on a heavy trailer to see what the suspension squat will be.

 

Also keep in mind the more drop your ball mount has the lower the rated capacity. Reese recently came out with a "carbon forged" ball mount that is rated 1000 lbs higher then their standard counterpart.

 

Yes that is true. Although I'm not too worried about the rating. I am only concerned with breaking strength. If I ever hitch more than 8,000lbs to this truck, I will be surprised.

 

If you hitch 8000 pounds to it, how are you going to stop everything once it gets rolling?

You've got four-wheel drums, right?

Pop

 

Very carefully...

 

That's what trailer brakes are for.

 

ZACTLY!

I've pulled 5,000lbs behind this truck with no brakes. I didn't want to go any heavier. But with trailer brakes, 8,000 would be fine.