Changing the towing vehicle & ball height

geoB

Our new-to-us towing vehicle has a max height of receiving tube of 18". The previous TV had a max height of receiving tube of 15".  We've taken the T@B 400 for many a mile in the past; a photo of our rig shows the trailer seemingly level. So one would expect that the ball height with the new TV to be 3 inches above the nominal 21" of tongue height of the 400.

The ball height of the new TV is 27". So just dropping the ball mount 3" leaves 3" to be accounted for. Is that a realistic expectation of adding tongue weight to a ball, i.e., drop the rear end of a Highlander by 3" by adding 300+ pounds to the ball?

Horigan

A 3” drop with 300 lbs seems like a lot to assume. One way to easily find out is to have two people stand on the rear bumper and see what the sag is. 

geoB

That's what we tried last night - just a 1" offset. I going to the local dealer to get the ball height set to 22". Hope that settles the issue.

GatorEgg

Glob, you didn’t state year of 400.  Find stated tongue weight of your specific year trailer.  They vary greatly.  Then have a neighbor or two corresponding to that weight sit on you tow vehicle bumper.  Then measure.

geoB

@GatorEgg Sorry, it's in the small print in my signature. A 2021 T@B 400 BD. See below.

SolidCamper

GeoB- could you post a photo of the current situation here. From my understanding of your description, Inc reading or decreasing the ball mount height with respectable to the  TV receiver shouldn’t change the tongue weight or add torque put to your TV receiver tube and it’s supports— extending the load of the trailer further away  horizontally from the bumper would increase that torque. 

geoB

The only thing at issue is how much to change the ball height on the new-to-us TV is correct. I checked with the manufacturer of the weight distribution hitch, giving them all the relevant data I had. The net result was, as expected, just set the ball height to 21 - 22 inches. 21 is the nominal tongue height of the 2021 T@B 400 BD. 22 is the estimate (based on two of us sitting on the back of the new TV) which incorporates the deflection of the hitch due to ~300 lbs of tongue weight. Resetting ball height happens tomorrow, 7/12.

Hope this helps.

SolidCamper

Good luck with it. Send a picture after you’ve adjusted it all- just for interest -it  might help others. 

geoB

Edit: content deleted - I will update tomorrow with corrected data.