altering trailer hitch height

[brucer]

basically , it seems to me that my trailers hitch is a bit low compared to my tow ball, making the rear of the car squat quite a bit. its as if the nose load is a bit too much due to where the height of the hitch is.

does any body have any knowledge about making it higher, as in putting an inch box between the hitch and its mounting point? is it safe? would it work?

the bottom of the hitch is 12inch's, the bottom of the tow ball is 14inch's. the height of the towball cant be altered.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z24/bachilds1988/DSCN9674_zpsfe5eec9f.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/user/bachilds1988/media/DSCN9674_zpsfe5eec9f.jpg.html)

any help is great.

bruce

[mowgli]

axle spacers??? what axle/suspension type is it?? would bigger trailer wheels/tyres fix the problem??

[brucer]

unsure what type of suspension it is, dont know alot about trailers, dont fancy changing the tyres as i bought them new recently.lol. but i think if the fronts were bigger it would help, the front of the trailer sits lower than the rear.

[mowgli]

ok, i think i'm getting a better picture now...

you need to move the weight further back on the trailer....

most trailers are pretty well balanced when empty.. but a fwd car is something daft like 67% front & 33% rear weighted..

everyone sticks the car to the front of the trailer.. if it will cope with being moved further back , then brilliant....

you should never have more than 50kg vertical static load on the towball, (stick and a set of bathroom scales)

if you can't move the car further back , then put it on backwards, or stick all the spare tyres/tools etc right at the back of the boot to level it up

[brucer]

the car is as far back as it can go due to the wheel strap anchor point, which is right at the back. theres about 2ft infront of the wheels left of bed length

i should have mentioned the trailer sits lower at the front when nothing is loaded onto it, so bare trailer.



pic of how it sits loaded up

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z24/bachilds1988/DSC_0147_zps2df54c0b.jpg (http://s193.photobucket.com/user/bachilds1988/media/DSC_0147_zps2df54c0b.jpg.html)

[mowgli]

its still too heavy on the front.. the tow car shows that.

you basically have to make the load suit the tow vehicle... so do like i said in my previous post... or move the anchor points

you could also try sand bags or similar at the rear, but obviously keep an eye on MAM

[brucer]

okie doke, will have a play with and see what i can sort out.


thanks for the help

[dc1984]

Possibly a stupid idea but could you not reverse the car onto the trailer?

[pottersrebel]

like mowgli says try loading it up backwards. there`s too much weight on the front for that trailer, if vosa see how much its pulling the back end of your Vectra down you will more than likely get pulled to check towing weights etc
Can you not get heavier rated rear springs for the Vectra? I use a citroen relay to tow my stockcar which weighs 950kg + trailer weight of 600kg and after two yrs the rear leaf springs collapsed, ive since fitted doubled up leaf springs and you cant tell ive got the trailer on now.

[mowgli]

you can get spring assistors from caravan shops.. some are hard rubber balls that fit inside the springs & then get inflated... but obviously they are still a bodge, as they will fiddle the brake valves into thinking the car is not rear loaded, so you could get into bother in a hard braking situation..

[brucer]

already got spring assistors fitted....

how about lowering the front of the vec to suit? lol

[pottersrebel]

lol it`d look perfect when towing but without the trailer on you`ll look like a dragster lol lol

[chrisd1986]

The fitter were i used to work put box section between the hitch and his a frame to raise it so he could pull cars with his ridiculusly raised hilux. He welded it on the a frame and then bolted it aswell

[brucer]

lol it`d look perfect when towing but without the trailer on you`ll look like a dragster lol lol

its a sacrifice id have to make .lol


The fitter were i used to work put box section between the hitch and his a frame to raise it so he could pull cars with his ridiculusly raised hilux. He welded it on the a frame and then bolted it aswell

ill try a few combinations tomorrow with the ideas put forward already, if the hitch height was the same as the towball it wouldnnt be pulling the car down to its level.

ill get pictures and report my findings.

[Jon_nova1]

The problem with reversing the car onto the trailer is if the weight on the back end is too great you'll start suffering lot's of snaking

[mowgli]

The problem with reversing the car onto the trailer is if the weight on the back end is too great you'll start suffering lot's of snaking

too much front weight is just as dangerous, if not more, as it makes the steering wheels leave the ground.

its down to basic safety here.. the OP has got it way too heavy on the front, and already has spring assistors.. so its already a hazard..
the trailer looks front heavy from that pic alone...

we run an 18' triaxle ifor williams trailer. people look at us funny when we load stuff up & check the ball weight. most things are loaded near the rear..

to get the trailer weights right, you might need to mount the axles in different positions.

changing the mounting point height will not solve the problem