Can a Trailer Ride With the Tongue at an Upward or Downward Angle

Updated 03/24/2021 | Published 02/22/2010

Products Featured in This Question

Adjustable Ball Mount for 2" Hitches - 9" Rise to 10-1/4" Drop - 5,000 lbs

(59)

$119.25

Question:

I recently lifted my trailer and it now looks like I need between an 8 and a 10 to tow my trailer. I think the 8 might make the trailer coupler slightly higher than level. Does this cause a problem?

asked by: Randy

Expert Reply:

Yes, a trailer that is nose up can cause big problems. A level trailer is ideal and worth working toward for safety. The good news is that you can get the trailer almost exactly level with switching ball mounts. This is where an adjustable ball mount like Convert-a-Ball # TK5007 comes in handy.

If you are unable to achieve level even with an adjustable ball mount, it is better for the trailer to be slightly nose down so long as the tongue weight capacity of the hitch and vehicle is not exceeded. If a trailer is nose up too much, the tongue weight is low enough that the trailer may begin to sway.

So in short, level is best. If level is not possible, then try to go slightly nose down. Slightly nose up can be fine, but keep an eye out for trailer sway.

You can view some additional information on towing a trailer at the links provided.

expert reply by: Patrick B

Martin N.

3/3/2020

Will increasing the towball height on the towing vehicle decrease noseweight on a twin axle trailer or does this only apply to single axle ones?Thanks.

Chris R.

3/4/2020

Towing a tandem axle trailer nose high could potentially lead to sway and more weight on the rear tires and axle just like a single axle unit. Regardless of the trailer size it's always best to tow as level as you can. If the ball height was raised on the truck because of a new lift (or new truck), then I recommend countering it with a new ball mount that provides the needed drop to match the coupler height.

Joe

9/20/2020

Does the hitch hight have anything to do with backing up a short trailer i been back up trailers for years but this trailer is hard to back its a high but not bad

Jon G.

9/21/2020

@Joe I mean you want to have your trailer leveled out (which is the point of having an adjustable ball mount) so if it is pretty uneven then that would probably be contributing to difficulty backing up. With that being said, if you've only backed up longer trailers then backing up a short trailer will be more difficult simply because any turning will be more aggressive because of how close the trailer axle is.