Towball to low

[ynotaj]

Hey guys

I have a hayman reese tow bar system on a 2wd hilux and find that when towing most types of trailers they scrape at some stage, this happened on the weekend when towing my brand new dunbier boat trailer into a shopping centre to get lunch for the days boating when my jockey wheel bottomed out and broke the wind up and down handle.

I'm sure I have seen a height adjuster advertised here on this site but now I can't find it, I found the couplemate locking system but no height adjuster.

I'm hoping to not only help with scraping, but also when lifting trailers off the tow ball, because of the low height the angle is wrong and makes it hard to lift off.

cheers

Tony

[seabug]

Check with Hayman-Reese

My son bought one that was altered quite a few inches

Regards
Seabug

[westie]

There are HEAPS of types available from 4X4 shops or towbar fitters I have just got one with 2 bolts in it and 4 positions.

Have you turned the goose neck over? as this can lift it quite a lot.

Most fitters fit them in the low position, just remove the ball, turn the hitch over and refit the ball. I am assuming it is the type on the square box section that is held in with a pin.

If not then you will have to buy a new higher goose neck.
just rember to ask what the tow weight is, as the higher you go the less it can tow.

[griz066]

Hi Westie,
That is not always possible the under side of my H Reese has 2 strengthening gussets which means you are not able to fit the tow ball to it as the tow hitch would bind on these at even a slight angle.

There must be a few different variations to these tow bars it seems.

[phewy]

Westies on the ball. :D Adjustable TBM (trailer ball mount). Fitted one today for a customer coincidentally. Should be around the $120 - $140 mark. Check the rating tho. I think these are only rated to about 1500kgs max. # :-?

[westie]

Westies on the ball. :D Adjustable TBM (trailer ball mount). Fitted one today for a customer coincidentally. Should be around the $120 - $140 mark. Check the rating tho. I think these are only rated to about 1500kgs max. :-?

Yes that is right they are rated at 1500kg only, that is why I mentioned that if Ynotaj dig find one to suit, he should check if it changes his towing weight.

[finga64]

How low is the towball ynotaj??
Any pictures??
It may be a case of too much weight on the ball as well seeing it's a brand spanker trailer.
How much weight is on the front of the trailer? The easiest way to measure this is to bung the bathroom scales under the jockey wheel.
Cheers Scott

[ynotaj]

Thanks guys I'll check out the weight tomorrow, my boat is a hornet trophy side console with a 40hp 4 stroke and I think the boat and motor is about 500kg, so add trailer weight and camping gear it would add up to a fair load, still under a 1000kg though, but I guess if you can put bathroom scales under the jockey wheel to measure the weight on the ball, it is a lot less at that point

cheers
Tony

[2iar]

Just approaching this from different angle - always fold the jockey with the wheel forward (ie closest to the car), and have the handle positioned up the way. Use an occy strap to secure if necessary.

This used to happen a lot with my old tinny and Redco, and the above cured it on my steep driveway.

Hope this helps.

Good luck,
Mike

[billfisher]

A fair bit of weight (7 to 10% of the rig) is a desirable thing to be on the tow bar. The rig will handle better with less chance of swaying. If the rig is too low from the weight you will be better off fitting pump up air shocks to your car to raise the height. Not only will you get more clearance, the rig will be better balanced and will give better braking and handling.