How Exact Does Rise/Drop Figure Need to be For Ball Mount

Published 10/25/2023

Question:

re: Receiver height On our 2012 Chrysler Town and Country Touring Vehicle the measurement from the floor/pavement to the top inside of the hitch receiver is closer to 13 1/2.inch I get a slightly different measurement depending how flat and level the surface is at different locations I tried to take a measurement. For us this measurement is critical to getting the ball mount required to get in this case the proper rise. I was hoping to review your video after installation for the distance but your video only showed 11inch Now I believe we have 17inch tires so that may have some bearing on this concern. Do you have an updated video on this hitch and vehicle that could show a different measurement in the above regard? Im wondering how much off one way or another the ball mount can be compared to number needed for perfect level and it wont affect the towing of the in this case boat and trailer. For example: If you are say 3/8inch to 1/2inch on rise of the ball mount would that negatively affect the towing handling of the boat and trailer?

asked by: Dave H

Expert Reply:

Getting the correct rise/drop is important but if you can't get it totally exact it's not that big of a deal. Getting it pretty close is often times just as good. This is why there aren't ball mount rise/drop figures available in every possible height. On a vehicle like your 2012 Chrysler Town and Country that is going to have some suspension sag when the weight of the trailer is put on the hitch it typically works out the best to have the rise/drop from the ball mount on the higher side to compensate.

If you have 13-1/2 inches from ground to the top of the hitch that would be the figure to use. You probably already know this but the other dimension you need is the distance from the ground to the bottom lip of the coupler when trailer is sitting level.

expert reply by: Jameson C