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I borrowed from a few designs and came up with this solution.
The shiny yellow ball assembly is from Curt for about $65 for the 14,000 lb rated version and $95 for the 20,000 lb rated version. I sprung for the heavier duty version, but as far as I can tell, there is very little difference between the two aside from what is stamped on them. The lighter version is sold with a 2" receiver and heavier version comes with a 2.5" receiver if you buy the whole assembly from Curt.
The channel bracket came from a trailer store for about $20. Hitch pins are from a farm and feed store and the 3" x 1/4" wall tube cost about $10. All told, I have a little over $130 into this hitch and I can turn it over and get lots of rise out of it as well. Had I used the lighter version, my cost would have been closer to $100.
Clearances are so close, that if I replace the pins with 5/8" bolts, I can clamp the ball assembly with the channel bracket and there is no rattle or movement at all. The channel bracket is 12" long, so I get about 8" of total drop based on where I welded the bracket to the 3" channel.
Adam R.
great work! Curious why you didn’t just go with the full factory Curt that uses the duel ball you bought.
great work! Curious why you didn’t just go with the full factory Curt that uses the duel ball you bought.
Because I could build it for about half the price and utilize a 3" receiver tube which eliminates the need for an adapter sleeve and reduces any extra slop in the hitch assembly. Curt doesn't offer their channel mount with a 3" receiver and if they did, I'd have built mine for 1/3 the price.
If your at stock ride height or closeto it 5 or 6 inch drop is fine. If you go to some of the manufacturers websites youll find a measurement guide that tells you how to judge your drop. They tell you you want your ball at 16" You measure from the bottom I believe of your receiver to the ground and subtract 16. Theres your drop.
I looked at Bullet Proof Hitches and they have a 6" drop rated I think to 22,000. There site will tell you how to measure. Their product looks a lot like the other posters home made unit.
GenY Has a page with a lot of innovative and cool looking products with HD commercial ratings on most.
Personally I like that many have multiple ball hitches and also attachments that allow for hooking to a pintle.
About $300 gets you a lot of heavy duty versatility.
Buy American made. Get more weight capacity than you need. I would buy with a higher rating than your trucks towing/tung capacity. Regardless what your current trailer weighs.
I have a 2019 F350 CCLB with the 3" receiver. I went with larger tires - Toyo 295/65/20. I purchased and use the Weigh Safe 8" drop hitch. I haul a 16" flatbed trailer and a 27" enclosed snowmobile trailer. I have the drop hitch set about the 6" drop position. Figured if I purchased the 6" drop and needed more I might regret my decision.
Im looking to buy an adjustable drop hitch for my stock 2019 F250, and looking for input. I've seen 8" drop mentioned often but was wondering how often that full 8" drop is actually necessary? Would a 6" drop be fine for 90% of trailers or is an 8" needed more often than I would think? I have no plans to ever lift the rear, but might step up tire size to a 35" in the future.
Down to 3 trailers, did have 5 and they all sat at different heights. Got sick and tired of the Hitch/Ball Shuffle and for what I paid for all those hitches and ***** in diff sizes I could have bought a Alum 3" shaft hitch. So now I got about a box full of hitches and ***** and
Also... a little too high is better than low. I never worried too much and as long as your landing gear doesnt top out before lifting the hitch off your ball your fine. Unless your so high causing your front axle to unload and lock the wheels under braking.
I always read that the nose of the trailer needs to be tilted down just a hair.
Originally Posted by Mikelikesit
Also... a little too high is better than low. I never worried too much and as long as your landing gear doesnt top out before lifting the hitch off your ball your fine. Unless your so high causing your front axle to unload and lock the wheels under braking.
I have a 2019 F350 CCLB with the 3" receiver. I went with larger tires - Toyo 295/65/20. I purchased and use the Weigh Safe 8" drop hitch. I haul a 16" flatbed trailer and a 27" enclosed snowmobile trailer. I have the drop hitch set about the 6" drop position. Figured if I purchased the 6" drop and needed more I might regret my decision.
The Weigh Safe is what I'm considering, Tractor Supply has the best price right now. I just need to decide on the drop. The only trailer I could measure would be the dump, that's at the job site, but I really doubt it would need more than a 6" drop. Any other trailers would be rentals and I don't anticipate any small, 12" tire type trailers. I'm a little surprised that for some, a 6" drop is plenty across multiple trailers, while others need the full 7-8" drop. It seems that 8" is the most common choice, regardless of whether or not its needed.
I took some measurements at the truck, it looks like the 8" would have the drawbar 12.25" from the ground, empty. Hitched to a loaded trailer would probably be closer to 10-11" to the ground. Sound OK? Or I just go with the 6" and eat the extra $ to buy a new drawbar if that time comes.
I cant imagine why level would not be the recommended loaded attitude. In my perception that slightly high would be better I am referring to not wanting the hitch and landing gear to be too close to the ground as in possibly grinding into things. My preference is level to slightly high. I suppose if your trailer was 13'6" when level they might recommend lower as opposed to higher due to height interference.
As for buying a 6" or an 8" drop. Theres no harm in having greater adjustability.
Ive never worried about such things in 45 years of trailering unless it was either too high or too low to connect easily. Or due to overall height of a big machine or needing to fit under a low bridge. Ive pulled trailers where the attitude was substantially higher in the front with no ill effect other than looking goofy. I think a lower attitude towards the front looks even goofyer.
But never the less in my opinion neither within a couple of inches makes any difference in this context unless you have multiple axles and all have brakes. If your hitch is too high it could unload the front axle under hard braking or if your hitch is too low it might unload the rear axle. Either way causing the unloaded axle to lock up while the other axles rotate. Reducing breaking by one axle.
Also if your low empty your going to be lower fully loaded. I would rather be a bit high empty and level loaded. Unless as I said overall height is an issue. Hitting stuff with your over-height trailer is always bad form.
I have to admit all my experience is hauling commercially other than boats. So I have no camper or toy hauler experience. I suppose there could be other considerations. But I doubt it.
In the big trucks 5th wheel height was an issue considering box trailer heights being 13'6".
As for buying a 6" or an 8" drop. Theres no harm in having greater adjustability.
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The only reason I'm even questioning it would be ground clearance, having the extra draw bar length always hanging down without actually needing it. If its common enough to use the full 8" then it makes sense. Most seem to go with the 8" option, and none have mentioned any annoying clearance issues.
Look at GenY hitches. I bought one last spring. They are well built and have many options depending on what weight rating you need. I would never buy an aluminum hitch after watching a pickup and snowmobile trailer jack knife and go in the ditch in front of us last winter in Idaho. I am not sure of the brand hitch they had but it was a 2.5” shank and it was snapped it two pieces with the weight of a 4 place snowmobile trailer.
I really like the B&W adjustable hitches. I just put on the 3" heavy duty 7.5" adjustable on my F350 DRW. I hate the extra raddle from the adapters. What I like about B&W hitches is you lock the hitch in, and if you don't change the stock pins someone still cannot steal the ball. They can steal the pins and leave the ball flopping but not steal the ball.
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