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.

 

You need to measure your trailer and the height of your receiver. My setup on the 19 requires 5.75” drop so I purchased a B&W (2 ball) that can drop up to 7”. I use an 8” drop on the 02 and my 98 is 0.

 

I have an f350 with 37’s. Across bumper pull trailers in my driveway not one isn’t good with a 6 inch drop or less.

here’s my lowest trailer on a 5” drop. Anything but empty it rides nice and level. Sorry I don’t have a direct picture of the hitch.

 

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.

 

Thank you, that's what I was thinking, that I would most likely never need more than 6". I was considering an 8" for the "just incase", but I would prefer not to have the additional hanging down if I will most likely never need it. I can only really measure 1 trailer that I might use at the moment, a 6x10 dual axle dump trailer, others might be a flatbed trailer for hauling a vehicle or whatever the equipment rental place has for their skid steers. The guy that tows the dump trailer does it with a 15 F350 on 35's, I'll look at his hitch again but it doesn't look like much drop at all.

 

I had an 8in WeighSaver on my 17 F350 CCSB with stock 20in tires. I used all the way down with my trailer. Your drop needed will vary by trailer. Measure yours to get a fit for your trailer.

 

Cool idea! Im no welding expert, but will that weld hold up to 20k lbs? Im looking for something like this and have a friend who can weld and powder coat. Not sure if there is anything else to it?

 

I went with an 8" drop for my stock 2019 F250 with 20" wheels. My previous 2009 F250 required a 4" drop. The 8" is used for my horse trailer however my dump trailer has an adjustable coupler and I was able to move the coupler up 4" and go with a 4" drop for it. Had to get new draw bars anyways because of the larger receiver. Did not want to use adapter.

 

Which Mfg is the one to go with? I see B&W and Curt. Curt seems a little cheaper.

 

Not really. The 3" tube is fully chamfered and the weld is a full penetration weld. Keep in mind, that only thing holding that hitch in is a 5/8" shear surfaces on either side of the 3" tube. There is far more "weld" in place than the shear surface area of that 5/8" pin. Since I don't have anything that weighs anything close to 20,000 lbs it should hold up just fine. There is also a heavy gusset on the underside as well for good measure.

Also, for anything that weighs in the 20,000 lb neighborhood, the ball will likely be moved up and more in-line with the 3" tube. Ideally, if I'm moving that much weight, a 5th wheel or gooseneck is more appropriate.

I built this assembly to handle a car trailer that I borrowed and need to return back to Oregon in a few weeks. My 5 1/2" drop hitch had the trailer too nose high during my drive from Oregon to Colorado. With this hitch, the trailer now sits level at the lowest setting, but any trailer I build for myself will definitely require a higher ball setting. As mentioned, I should have bought the 14,000 lb version of the Curt ball assembly and saved myself $30.

The finished product also got a coat of shiny gloss black Rustoleum!

Adam

 

Nice, thanks man!

 

I use the 7” drop B&W 2 ball on both my F350’s and it’s just right.

 

Adam, that looks great, nice fab work. My welding skills are far from good enough for something like that. I've looked at the Curt but really like the weight savings of the aluminum hitches, and even though the tow ratings are lower, its within my trucks tow ratings and enough for anything I'll be towing. I'm surprised, but most of the replies would lead me to think that a 6" drop might not be enough.

 

I bought a Bulletproof 6" drop. Excellent hitch and works perfectly for any of my 7 trailers. Highly recommended. My 19 f250 seem to sit very high and I still think an 8" would be unnecessary. JMO

 

I went to the shop and measured mine and it comes in at 8" of drop. My dad's trailer is built about as low to the ground as they come and it on the lowest setting the hitch works perfect for his trailer. I certainly don't see a need to go below 8" after using mine. My truck is also an F-350 LB and I plan on going to a 35" tire once I wear out the factory 18" Goodyears. The tire size change will also raise my back end at least 3/4", but probably closer to 1" so the hitch will still work fine. The nice thing about this style is that I have adjustments every 2" and no need for adapter sleeves.

Adam