Will Adding a Longer Ball Mount to Towing Setup Make Trailer Easier to Back Up

Published 08/08/2019

Question:

Hi I have a 2” ball mount that goes into my receiver. It is 3 1/4 and about 6 “ center to center of holes rated 6k lb and 600 tongue wt. mike i have a short tear trailer and backing up is hell, i suck and jackknife. I read besides getting better myself that u could use an extended ball mount, at least 12” or 16” extension hole to hole to make it a bit easier to back up. Can you recommend one or help me find one. I found a 2” but that is going to shift more weight to the rear of my camper and make it squirrelly . Thank you. I think I’m better going longer more tongue wt than 2” cause I have lots of canned goods and cooking gear in the rear galley.

asked by: Robert

Expert Reply:

Going with a longer ball mount or a hitch extender will make backing up the trailer maybe slightly easier, but realistically it's not going to magically fix the issues you are having. The trailer will react a little bit slower when you turn the wheel of the vehicle as you are reversing it but probably not enough that you'll become considerably more confident backing up the trailer.

Best advice is to try and line up the right angle you need to back up into while the vehicle is moving forward and have the trailer as straight as possible in doing so as this will make the reversing part much less complicated.

That said the part # BM20 will add quite a bit of length to your setup and would work. Downside is you know have a much bigger target to bang your shin on! This is 13-1/4 inches from pin hole to ball hole and has a drop of 2 inches like you need as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C