How do you figure out how much rise or drop you need in your towing ball mount? With the wide range of trucks and SUVs available today, it isn’t often that a trailer is a perfect match to its towing partner. For this reason, ball mounts are available in a variety of sizes that offer different amounts of rise and drop to compensate for varying heights of the towing vehicles and trailer. To find the proper ball mount for, you have to measure to figure out what rise or drop is needed.

How to measure ball mount rise and drop for trailer hitch

Measuring the Height of the Hitch & Coupler

To ensure that you have a level trailer that handles well and is safe, you need to figure out what your rise or drop is required for your ball mount.

Starting with your vehicle and trailer on level ground, measure from the ground to the top of the hitch receiver on your truck, record this measurement for comparison. Now that you have your hitch height measurement, measure the height from the ground to the bottom of the trailer coupler. If your hitch height of the towing vehicle is higher, you will need a drop ball mount. If your coupler height is greater, you will need a ball mount with rise.

Find the proper ball mount to adjust the rise or drop that you need to keep your towing load leveled.  You may also find ball mounts that have a longer shaft length if you need your trailer farther away from the rear of your vehicle.

Now that you have figured out the ball mount that you need, make sure that the trailer ball is attached tightly and all hitch pins have been properly installed prior to finishing trailer hook up. We carry many top-of-the-line towing and hitch accessories from Curt Manufacturing here at SharpTruck.com!