I have a Nissan Xterra with 21" from ground to centre of my 2 inch female hitch slot. Sorry, I'm a newbie and bad at the terminology. I have s 8.0 QS and need to buy the tongue and ball. How much rise or drop do you recommend?
Thanks!!
Measure the height off the ground of the coupler when the trailer is level. Work from there.
A likely starting point is a 2 inch drop, but that's just an uneducated guess from being a past frontier owner to towed a CL16DB so not apples to apples.
As Pin said, the height of the trailer coupler is the start point. When towing the front of trailer should be slightly angled towards the ground. The drop of the TV hitch should be configured to allow that to happen.
If you can afford to do so it is not a bad idea to buy one with adjustability. Compared with ones with a predetermined drop, they cost more and weigh more, but provide potentially useful flexibility. The adjustability means you can use it with different tow vehicles. That's good if you buy a new tow vehicle or have reason to use a borrowed one.
Buy from a local place like tractor supply. Keep your receipt and make your best guess. I had to have a rise on my hitch because I tow with a minivan. I guessed wrong and returned my original.
Thanks guys. I was figuring there was a simple formula since all 8.0 QS would have the same ground to coupler dimension when level. Minus that measurement from the TV 's measurement and the difference should be the magic number and add drop or rise accordingly. I have my QS resting patiently in my yard while we are doing a rock wall reno and I can't go level it. No biggie. I'll re borrow my neighbors 2" drop hitch and see if it slightly angles towards the TV.
Can't wait to go camping! Probably End of May :)
I took the easy route and bought three of all different lengths, then took the other two back to the store when I figured out which one worked for me.