Drop Hitch problem

[Dunner]

Don, you can't reverse this one unless you cut the tabs off that align it at the receiver open end.

Rollaway Hitch Protector - Roadmaster Inc 050 - Skid Wheels - Camping World

Steve, this one, welded to the bottom rear(front)of the hitch might work.

Steel Mini Roller, Weld-on - Ultra-fab Products 48-979022 - Skid Wheels - Camping World

[Dunner]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

The pictures in this thread of sheared receivers is just scary.

This is not a sheared receiver. This hitch sheared because
china went cheap on the material they were supposed to
put in the products the sell to us.

[Solask]

Hi Dunner...the OP started this thread with a concern about drop hitches increasing the chances of bottoming out and being forced to support the weight of the rear of the coach. Seems to me that is a situation that "is what it is" and you take your chances with this set up. No telling what it would take to cause a catastrophic failure under this circumstance. Adding a roller or guard here, in my opinion, just makes the danger of slamming the weight of the coach to the underside of the hitch more likely.

Another statement thrown into the thread by another poster made a flat statement that drop hitches degrade a hitch rating by half...period. This is an entirely different subject that I commented on. My set up requires a 4" drop, putting me at 14" off the ground. I dont like this, but my motorhome hitch assembly towing capacity is not degraded according to reputable hitch manufactures, Roadmaster and Blue Ox.

[Dunner]

Originally Posted by Rkh

Hi Dunner...the OP started this thread with a concern about drop hitches increasing the chances of bottoming out and being forced to support the weight of the rear of the coach. Seems to me that is a situation that "is what it is" and you take your chances with this set up. No telling what it would take to cause a catastrophic failure under this circumstance. Adding a roller or guard here, in my opinion, just makes the danger of slamming the weight of the coach to the underside of the hitch more likely.

Originally Posted by Dunner

It could be done, but if someone hit something hard enough to do that, a roller isn't going to help.

Another statement thrown into the thread by another poster made a flat statement that drop hitches degrade a hitch rating by half...period. This is an entirely different subject that I commented on. My set up requires a 4" drop, putting me at 14" off the ground. I dont like this, but my motorhome hitch assembly towing capacity is not degraded according to reputable hitch manufactures, Roadmaster and Blue Ox.

As I posted in the diagram, your hitch is not degraded by a drop hitch, but I believe the receiver is. Let's make sure we are talking about the same thing. In my opinion, the receiver is what is mounted to a vehicle. A hitch, is anything that is plugged into it. Therefore, the manufacturers are correct if they build their hitches accordingly.

The bottom of my receiver is ~24" off the ground and I have to use a 11" drop hitch to level my trailer. I don't like it either, but what else can be done?

[Dunner]

And another thing. If I think my hitch is going to bottom out, I will hold up traffic to minimize the damage. For back of my 20' enclosed I had a 3" by 30", two line decal made that says:

I MAKE WIDE
RIGHT TURNS TOO

On my last trip home, I straddled the center lane line right in front of a cop. He just waited as I stopped to let a car to exit the street I was entering, just like he would do if I was a semi.

[ahicks]

Dunner, a suggestion? What you're calling a "hitch", if you'd call it a "ball mount" you might have a little less confusion? -Al

[Dunner]

If I went to WM or even Autozone and asked for a "Ball Mount", what kind of look do you think I'd get? .

I know what you mean though. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.

[Dunner]

I know the "Experts" are going to slam me for this, but tough excretions.

This is my "Drop Hitch Strain Relief" setup. It at least it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling that it helps support the "Ball Mount"(Happy -Al? ). With the rod ends, I can pre-load it either up or down. With my back-up camera speaker on, I can't get it to clunk or make noise. The white ball makes is much easier to see while hooking up my enclosed.

[Bagger97]

There are two models of drop receivers, one has a solid shank and the other a hollow shank. Roadmaster makes both. Don't get them mixed up. The hollow shank is ONLY for towing a toad with a towbar as the TW is reduced to 100 lbs. The other can be used for a dolly or towbar.

[tpm64]

Originally Posted by Diplomat Don

tpm64......I had to reread your post several times to understand what you're asking. I think you're saying that the force of a car pushing on a tow bar, even at an angle, (your straight wire example) is the same as a car pushing on the bend of a drop hitch. I would agree, but all of the issues come from the force of the hitch striking the ground and attempting to lift the rear of the motor home into the air......different force than the car pushing on the tow bar or hitch.

We are very close in understanding. What I am contending is that there is no benefit, from a braking standpoint, of a drop hitch over an angled tow bar attached to a toad. And there are problems (strking the ground) with the drop hitch.

Can anyone poke a hole in my proposal?

[Solask]

Originally Posted by tpm64

i know what I am about to propose goes against most everyone here, but here goes:

Can anyone explain (using real engineering) how adrop set up has different forces (x, y, and torsional) than and angled (non level) tow bar?

I contend that horizontal, vertical, and rotational forces are identical in both cases. That is, drop receivers do nothing to change physics. As an experiment, bend a wire to look like a drop hitch. Lay it on a flat surface. Push the end just like the car is pushing into the back of a motorhome. Does it rotate or slide straight or do some combination? Now take a straight wire whose ends match the ends of the drop hitch and do the same thing. Does it rotate or slide or do some combination? Does it do exactly the same as the prior experiment?

TPM, back to your original post which I dont think anyone understands yet. I think your making a comparison between a tow bar that is not level between the towed and the MH, v.s. leveling it with a drop hitch.
Any tow bar I've ever encountered requires it be level plus or minus 2 or 3 inches..I trust those manufacturers completely and will make the needed adjustments to comply. I want my entire set up to meet specifications for my safety and the safety of others. I also do not want to open myself up for any legal issues should the unthinkable happen.
OK?

[tpm64]

Originally Posted by Rkh

TPM, back to your original post which I dont think anyone understands yet. I think your making a comparison between a tow bar that is not level between the towed and the MH, v.s. leveling it with a drop hitch.
Any tow bar I've ever encountered requires it be level plus or minus 2 or 3 inches..I trust those manufacturers completely and will make the needed adjustments to comply. I want my entire set up to meet specifications for my safety and the safety of others. I also do not want to open myself up for any legal issues should the unthinkable happen.
OK?

Agreed. I am not saying to disregard the manufacturers instructions. I am asking if anyone can support those instructions with real physics. I can't, so I must be missing something.

[Solask]

TPM, got ya..I'm unqualified for the physics chat. However, as I sit here looking at my ReadyBrake tow bar, it makes sense to me that it should as level as possible to evenly distribute the forces on its pivot points. But thats as deep as it gets for me...Good luck!

[Alan_Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

And BTW, This was in the older threads - OUCH!!:
Attachment 24487
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f85/tow-b...oke-48077.html

That is a result of going cheap - the ball mount is hollow, it's a light duty piece of equipment that was simply used in a situation that overloaded it.