# Trailer Ball and hitch issue...



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Flip your drop hitch over and try it. It will help with #3 definitely. If your coupler isn't setting right it might mean there isn't enough weight on it because the jack is holding it up. So it might not be seated on the ball. Start with flipping your hitch and see where it gets you.


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## TravHale (May 17, 2019)

1. Boat should be as close to level as possible--looks pretty level from photo? 

2. If you drop the trailer on the ball while it's too off center, it will bind and prevent the coupling from seating onto the ball properly. Or, your trailer jack isn't allowing enough downtravel to seat on the ball.

3. Your trailer ball is too low to provide the necessary clearance to properly operate the trailer jack. The tongue weight is likely causing your cars rear suspension to squat. I would go to a 1in drop or zero drop depending on the clearance needed to operate the jack. You can try flipping your current 2in drop, but it might be higher than you'd want.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

firecat1981 said:


> Flip your drop hitch over and try it. It will help with #3 definitely. If your coupler isn't setting right it might mean there isn't enough weight on it because the jack is holding it up. So it might not be seated on the ball. Start with flipping your hitch and see where it gets you.


I will slip the hitch and see where that gets me. Its definately not the jack, because there is still more room to lower when it gets hung up.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

What I did with my boat/trailer (trailer was Ramlin) was move boat back an inch on trailer, move bunks back an inch and added a 3/4 inch aluminum bar to set rear tie downs further back. The rear tie downs would rub my gel coat if I didn't. This made the tongue weight lighter and closer to the % allowed. Being overly tongue heavy Didn't really bother my pickup but it sure made moving boat in the garage a challenge. If the tongue is overly heavy as suggested by a squatting vehicle your front tires won't have enough traction to steer safely.. If tongue is to light then the opposite occurs in that the rear vehicle tires get lifted and no traction and you can loose control going down the road.
See red arrows on the attached photos The bunks should hold the weight of the motor/transom


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Rich11111 said:


> What I did with my boat/trailer (trailer was Ramlin) was move boat back an inch on trailer, move bunks back an inch and added a 3/4 inch aluminum bar to set rear tie downs further back. The rear tie downs would rub my gel coat if I didn't. This made the tongue weight lighter and closer to the % allowed. Being overly tongue heavy Didn't really bother my pickup but it sure made moving boat in the garage a challenge. If the tongue is overly heavy as suggested by a squatting vehicle your front tires won't have enough traction to steer safely.. If tongue is to light then the opposite occurs in that the rear vehicle tires get lifted and no traction and you can loose control going down the road.
> See red arrows on the attached photos The bunks should hold the weight of the motor/transom


I don't like this idea, mainly because my boat is already about 4 inches too long too fit straight abck in my garage. I don't want to have to angle her any more if I don't have to. I don't use the rear straps on the transom. I just throw a strap over the back deck and secure it to the trailer.

I will pay attention to the squat. I have not towed the boat yet with this vehicle, other than around the block. I don't think its an issue of the vehicle squatting when the hitch coupling meets the ball, it just gets hung up because of the angle. the hitch coupling is not coming straight down over the ball because my car is sloping downward when backed up to the garage. When I put the boat away later I will try and take a pic of a visual of this.


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## Sublime (Oct 9, 2015)

If you do this, make sure you haven't loosened it too much. The video goes over a couple of checks, but if it were me, I'd secure the latch, put your trailer jack down and crank away until the back end of your tow vehicles starts to lift.


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## DBStoots (Jul 9, 2011)

Sublime said:


> If you do this, make sure you haven't loosened it too much. The video goes over a couple of checks, but if it were me, I'd secure the latch, put your trailer jack down and crank away until the back end of your tow vehicles starts to lift.


Very helpful--thanks for sharing that video.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Here is a better picture for the angle and the issue at hand. On level ground the trailer sits nice and flat when hooked to the vehicle. So on one end I don't want to change it. But when you look at the scene it seems like I will have to raise the ball from that 2-in drop


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

You will eventually realize that you have to disconnect before it is all in the garage. The trailer wheels need to be in garage though. Just be careful when the hitch is disconnected with the trailer jack way out. It may want to roll downhill. Just quickly push back into the garage.

I guess you could build up your driveway. Your call


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Rich11111 said:


> You will eventually realize that you have to disconnect before it is all in the garage. The trailer wheels need to be in garage though. Just be careful when the hitch is disconnected with the trailer jack way out. It may want to roll downhill. Just quickly push back into the garage.
> 
> I guess you could build up your driveway. Your call


I think you are right. I'm going to get strong pushing the trailer in lol.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Be very careful putting on or taking off the hitch. When it starts rolling out of the garage it can get momentum and get away from you and plow into your vehicle. It almost happened to me. What I would suggest is when you back your trailer into the garage, take note of where your hitch has to be. Never allow your trailer wheels to get out of the garage unless it is hitched. You can also measure the trailer wheels to the hitch to find the furthest the hitch can be so trailer wheels remain in the garage. You will eventually find that sweet spot where most of the trailer is in the garage and hitch can be released. You may want to put a board to catch trailer before it has a chance to get out of the garage as a measure of security. Again you will find the point where most of trailer is in the garage and hitch comes off the ball. I found my sweet spot after a few tries. You may want to mark it with a spray paint spot.

After I disconnect my boat from the hitch, I immediately push it in until the jack wheel is in the garage ( off the incline)

Don't wear flipflop while doing this. After a year with my boat I am comfortable doing and forgot I had sandals on that were wet and I slipped out of one.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Solid advice. I use wheel chocks but 2x4 sounds like good insurance to cover it if it gets away


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Ya know @Mike tries to fish, maybe you need a truck


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## Hank (Jan 14, 2019)

If your boat and trailer is sliding forward on the ball it will be hard to latch because the coupler mechanism is pushing against the ball and will be very hard or impossible to latch. For easiest latching, the ball should be located in the coupling as if you were pulling the trailer — that gives freedom of movement to the latch.

That may sound pretty basic, but it might be part of your problem.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

permitchaser said:


> Ya know @Mike tries to fish, maybe you need a truck


I just got rid of my truck bc we had our first kid. Now I gotta transport wife, baby, 2 dogs to keys and tow a boat.... Not enough room in the truck.

Mitt Romney got into all kinds of trouble for strapping his dogs to the roof, so I can only imagine how much I would get into for strapping my wife up there. Had to get an SUV for the interior space lol


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Hank said:


> If your boat and trailer is sliding forward on the ball it will be hard to latch because the coupler mechanism is pushing against the ball and will be very hard or impossible to latch. For easiest latching, the ball should be located in the coupling as if you were pulling the trailer — that gives freedom of movement to the latch.
> 
> That may sound pretty basic, but it might be part of your problem.


Good point. My experience is that coupler mechanism does make it a little more challenging but tricky and doable. Careful with your fingers as you manipulate the trailer onto the ball. Garages are made with a slight slope down so that any water will run out thru the garage door. This will show when lowering the hitch onto the ball.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

My driveway has a similar slope and oddly I've never tried to latch the trailer with the boat in the garage. I wheel it out, lower until the weight is almost off the winch, closer the coupler, a couple more turns on the winch and raise the wheel.My winch wheel is only a few feet outside of the garage.

I would never ever loosen the nut on the trailer ball. I'd attach the hitch to the trailer and lower the winch until it slid into the hitch mount before I loosened the nut. Your going to forget to tighten that one morning early and be SOL. 

Also the note from @Rich11111 about not wearing flip flops to push the boat is a good one. I kick them off when I'm pushing the boat in.


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## Michael T (May 18, 2020)

I had a 2" drop on my hitch initally and had some of the same issues. 

A couple of things I did to solve it: 
I swiched to a 2" lift on the hitch to help get clearance when coupling, this helped I did not have to lower the jack all the way down to get the hitch on the ball or get under the bow and lift to help the jack get into place when decoupling. 
I taped off where the trailer wheels sit best in the garage to have consistency when backing in as this helped getting the trailer uncoupled after fishing. I back it in until the port wheel is in position, then I know I am at the right spot to unhitch.
I trimmed an 1" oak board at an angle to help get the jack wheel over the ledge at the lip of the garage.
I parked further away when coupling which made me pull my skiff out more so it was more level with my hitch, despite being on a downward angle.
I always switch to close toed shoes when pushing the skiff into the final position, up about 5" of driveway and over the lip.


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## Half Shell (Jul 19, 2016)

If I'm reading this correctly, the problem your post #9 is not towing; it's the slope of the driveway that results in your coupler being too high for the trailer ball when the boat is in the garage. The jack wheel lacks the range to lower it enough.

If you were to raise your tow ball 3-4" it may help in hitching/unhitching on that slope but then once on level ground you're likely to be towing around with tool little tongue weight and get swaying.

Here is your solution...

1. chock the wheels so the boat does not want to roll forward.
2. Get a hydraulic floor jack (I have a 3-ton model from Northern tool)
3. Raise the floor jack so it's supporting the tongue weight under the coupler just aft of the where the ball goes.
4. Stow the jack wheel
5. Lower the floor jack slowly down so that the coupler connects with the ball.

The floor jack will let you take the coupler all the way down to the ground and then raise it up about 2 feet without ever losing control of the boat.

Also, for a few hundred $$, a pair of Go-Jaks will allow you to push your boat around at ease once in the garage freeing up more room.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Glad I posted in here. Lots of good solutions. Thanks everyohne for the responses! I have plenty of time to screw with this with the new baby at home before I actually get the boat out to fish again. I hate seeing her sit in the garge. Counting the days til 01 Feb and daycare starts


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## mwolaver (Feb 6, 2014)

Mike tries to fish said:


> Glad I posted in here. Lots of good solutions. Thanks everyohne for the responses! I have plenty of time to screw with this with the new baby at home before I actually get the boat out to fish again. I hate seeing her sit in the garge. Counting the days til 01 Feb and daycare starts


And all those "day care" germs starting coming home! Oh the memories! Good luck buddy!


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

When I load my boat my truck is headed down hill. Then I just use the camera and hook it up. No problemo


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## AUtrkyhntr (2 mo ago)

Not ideal, but I’d get a good quality floor jack to use in the garage. The tongue Jack is just a pain with that angle you have to deal with.


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## rovster (Aug 21, 2018)

I’d also use a floor Jack. It’s an extra step but it takes a couple of minutes literally. Good luck.


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

My wife’s car does the same thing and it has a 6” rise on the hitch. I do a few things. I have a few 2x12s I lay flat and back on to that just raise the back, and a lot of times to avoid the latching issue as well I set the front edge of the trailer on top of the ball lower the jack and pick it up then just push the trailer forward to fall on. Works for me.
I have 15 trailers at my shop and have to do something like the 2x12 thing once a week because of how my employees put the jacks down with the extenders all the way out. Drives me nuts.


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## leon jones (Jan 13, 2022)

*Mike tries to fish*, looking at the pics you furnished there are several issues contributing to your problem

the hull IS properly positioned / the transom is supported by the trailer's aft cross beam ... do not move it










the tongue jack is not likely the one that came on the trailer from the manufacturer which would IMHO been been galvanized like the trailer itself










consider replacing the jack with one that has a removable pivoting wheel and mount it on the opposite side and on the side of the winch stand so the crank handles do not fight each other

i did this to my skiff's trailer (pictured below) due to the need of maximum ground clearance for the roads i travel and places/conditions of my launching points (pic of another boat being launched very much like the locations where i launch)

















hitch balls are ROUND/SPHERICAL and therefore the angle of your driveway should not inhibit proper attachment 



Hank said:


> *If your boat and trailer is sliding forward on the ball it will be hard to latch because the coupler mechanism is pushing against the ball and will be very hard or impossible to latch*. For easiest latching, the ball should be located in the coupling as if you were pulling the trailer — that gives freedom of movement to the latch.
> 
> That may sound pretty basic, but it might be part of your problem.


*Hank*'s words ring true here as in your pic (blown up) i can clearly see what Hank is referring to w/ the adjustment nut under the coupler being at an angle under tension

the floor of garages are typically slanted outward for drainage purposed at about 1"/20'± and your rig is trying to escape it's confines and fighting your hitching process










properly adjusted the nut in the coupler is designed to allow the ball up into the coupler w/o any monkey motion other than maybe slight aft pressure on the rig w/ your butt leaning against the winch stand










IMHO someone had adjusted the nut too tight for proper hitching and trailering



Jason M said:


> My driveway has a similar slope and oddly I've never tried to latch the trailer with the boat in the garage. I wheel it out, lower until the weight is almost off the winch, closer the coupler, a couple more turns on the winch and raise the wheel.My winch wheel is only a few feet outside of the garage.
> 
> I would never ever loosen the nut on the trailer ball. I'd attach the hitch to the trailer and lower the winch until it slid into the hitch mount before I loosened the nut. *Your going to forget to tighten that one morning early and be SOL.*
> 
> Also the note from @Rich11111 about* not wearing flip flops to push the boat *is a good one. I kick them off when I'm pushing the boat in.


*Jason M*'s and *Rich11111*'s cautions should be heeded at ALL TIMES

now ... as for tongue height and having the trailer tow level

your rig in the OP looks good for towing when the TV is empty which it appears to be in the pic

once you get a family's worth of stuff in the back of your SUV the hitch will be lowered by at least 2" and maybe more

so flipping the hitch stinger and remounting the ball you will raise the the base of the ball 2" plus the thickness of the ball mounting point which is referred to as a "0" rise/drop 

this would be a good starting point for level towing in real life conditions

i like the drain plug of my skiff to be at east a bit down hill of the belly of the hull so rain and accumulated spray will drain easily in transit

*Mike tries to fish*, i am seeing a small floor jack in your near future along with some wheel chocks/4x2 chunks

also ... if you would reposition the winch handle 180º you will not be snagging yourself on it as you walk between the TV and the trailer AND you might just be able to open n close the hatch w/ less caution required

BON CHANCE

leon


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Damn Leon


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## Michael T (May 18, 2020)

Leon, about the jack position. That looks to be a Ramlin trailer and that is the standard jack they are coming with these days, I have the exact same setup.

The reaon you maynot be able remove and remount to the other side is that first its position will interfere with the swing tongue, pic 2, not allowing the tongue to move all the way to its final position, against the spare. The second reason you might not want to adjust this jack is that it does not mount directly to the trailer, it is mounted to a bracket that is then bolted to the trailer. Moving it would require additional drilling through the reinforcement plate.

Flip the ball and figure out a process that works for your setup and storage. I do not even attempting to couple my skiff up until I have the tongue and jack wheel out of the garage by about 5' or so, to reduce any issues with the angle of my driveway.


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## m32825 (Jun 29, 2018)

New Ram-Lin trailer here, same jack as pictured. They recommended the top of the hitch be in the 20" to 21" height above ground range when hooked up. I used a floor jack to lower the trailer onto the hitch and it works well.


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## Rich11111 (Jun 6, 2018)

Michael T said:


> figure out a process that works for your setup and storage.


Everyones set up is variations. You have to figure what yours requires.


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## BrownDog (Jun 22, 2019)

Your solution is flipping your hitch so it lifts not drops.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Thanks everyone, especially Leon. It's a funny thing about this skiff life we all love... so much nuance in what seems like just a small simple thing.


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## leon jones (Jan 13, 2022)

HEY *Michael T*, your pic provides more information that i could not see previously ;-)

my CoastLine trailer was all aluminium ... it didn't have one of those custom made galvanized tongues(hinge built in before galvanizing) 

in your pic i can now see the spare is U-bolted on and could be moved to the port side if it is in the way

it appears the bracket for the current wench winch mount adds only 2 holes 

back in the 1960's when i worked as a boat>trailer fitter and hitch installer for a boat dealer i was "told" to pick my parts in order to have the top of the ball @ 16"±

back then all our trailers were all riding on leaf springs(only Chris-Craft boats came w/ a coil spring torsion bar mounted spindle arrangement)

things change ... *m32825*'s information (20"-21" height) is an addendum to much of the previous discussion ... specially where i was "assuming" a desired 16"

so ... it seems a 4"± drop stinger turned upside down may end up being what *Mike tries to fish* ends up needing and that alone could possibly be the only element that needs to be changed to solve his jack/hitch/hooking up issues

raising the hitch that high would also insure drainage in transit

DANGEE ... ¿ aint this fun ?

leon


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## m32825 (Jun 29, 2018)

Check with Ram-Lin to see what they recommend for ball height on your trailer and let us know. Might be the same as mine, might be different, as we have different trailers.


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## Michael T (May 18, 2020)

@Mike tries to fish - Per Leon's note above about ball height, I tow with a Jeep Grand Cherokee with an aftermarket Curt hitch, 2" rise on the ball. That puts the top of my ball at 19.5" off the ground. 

Thinking back I dealt with many of the same problems you are running into when I was running a drop hitch. As you tow with an SUV too, flip the drop and see if you can get the ball into the 20" range because for me the adjustment made hooking up my skiff a lot easier.


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## Hank (Jan 14, 2019)

IMO, The drop or rise on the hitch ball is determined by getting the trailer pretty much level when its all hitched up and ready to drive away. 

Go find a flat level spot and take your level with you. Check your surface then the trailer tongue or main rails. A straight board maybe 3-4’ long and a digital angle finder makes this real easy. When you get the trailer level, measure what should be the ball height. Go home and figure which ball receiver gets you closest. I’d err on the side of tongue higher but only a little bit. (for that day when you take an extra ice chest or a fat friend) Load the car and boat as normal and go back to the flat spot to check your work. 

To really tune your rig, take a bathroom scale with you and weigh the tongue weight while level. It should be no less than 10% of the loaded trailer weight. 15% would be better. There is a video on this that demonstrates the principle very well.


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## Naturecoastfly (Mar 26, 2019)

Had same issue with my ramlin but thank god my pole barn has asphalt millings for a floor. I just dug a trench where the wheel on the front jack can go. 

I doubt you want to dig a crater in your garage though lol.


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## jonterr (Mar 24, 2013)

Mike tries to fish said:


> I just got rid of my truck bc we had our first kid. Now I gotta transport wife, baby, 2 dogs to keys and tow a boat.... Not enough room in the truck.
> 
> Mitt Romney got into all kinds of trouble for strapping his dogs to the roof, so I can only imagine how much I would get into for strapping my wife up there. Had to get an SUV for the interior space lol


I hear they may start making 4 door trucks one day😳


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## backcast (Apr 9, 2013)

This thread got me to wondering how high ball was on my hitch. I dry launch my Caimen with Rambling trailer. I thought the tilt would make dry launch easier. So top of ball is 26 inches. Works for me.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

jonterr said:


> I hear they may start making 4 door trucks one day😳


They do. To fit 2 dogs and a kid it would need to be a full size truck. They also want over 60k for a new full size 4 door truck with 4x4. I don't want to pay for the higher fuel costs either. Also overkill to tow a ~2500 lb skiff on a trailer. 

I want just enough vehicle to tow my skiff and fit my family.


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## jonterr (Mar 24, 2013)

Mike tries to fish said:


> They do. To fit 2 dogs and a kid it would need to be a full size truck. They also want over 60k for a new full size 4 door truck with 4x4. I don't want to pay for the higher fuel costs either. Also overkill to tow a ~2500 lb skiff on a trailer.
> 
> I want just enough vehicle to tow my skiff and fit my family.


Dang
I had no idea that boat weighed 2500 lbs😳
U may NEED a truck😜


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

jonterr said:


> Dang
> I had no idea that boat weighed 2500 lbs😳
> U may NEED a truck😜


I'm guessing, with fuel, engine gear, trolling motor batteries. This is a loose estimate after seeing someone weighed their vantage fully loaded and it was around 2,900 including trailer.


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## Mike tries to fish (Oct 31, 2021)

Quick follow up. As many suggested, I flipped the 2 inch drop upside down. Also, I move the trailer just outside of the garage. These two things and so far no issues.


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