is anyone using a drop hitch?

[CountryFit]

i am using roadmaster stowmaster tow bar with 10" ball drop to make the tow bar in level. kinda inconvenient though - each time i have to take it out and stow away. recently i saw a falcon 2 which stays on rv when disconnected. now a question comes up - how to handle the "drop"? i saw this hitch receiver drop

is anyone using it? like to hear from you...

[AFChap]

I use a Blue Ox 4" drop on my coach mounted towbar ...it stays there all the time. I have seen a few using that 10" drop ...mostly using it as a riser to tow a Ford Edge.

[CLIFFTALL]

I use a 10" Blue Ox drop down. I leave it on ( locked ) and the tow bar attached ( also locked ). I never remove them.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by Clifftall

I use a 10" Blue Ox drop down. I leave it on ( locked ) and the tow bar attached ( also locked ). I never remove them.

Mine is only a 2" drop but otherwise, same as Cliff.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

i am using roadmaster stowmaster towbar with 10" ball drop to make the tow bar level. kinda inconvenient though - each time i have to take it out and stow away. recently i saw a falcon 2 which stays on rv when disconnected. now a question comes up - how to handle the "drop"? i saw this hitch drop

has anyone used it? like to hear from you...

Well Sir,
In all reality, just leave it on there, right along with your new tow bar. You can use locking pins for both setups and, no one will walk away with them. Yep, they'll stick out a bit but, it's better than lugging it around and finding a place to store it. Then, when it comes time to travel, you have put it all back on again. We had one when we tow our '11 CRV and I left it on there. Now, we have the opposite situation. We now tow an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 Extended Cab and, need a riser for it to be level. The riser just stays on the back of the coach, along with the Blue Ox Aladdin Tow bar.
Scott

[CountryFit]

thank you all!! looks like that is the way to go, making life easier...
enjoy your rving!!

[wa8yxm]

I use a custom 4" Blue ox drop too (The custom part is an added "Tong" to hold my bicycle carrier)

How do I handle it when I unhook the car.. I don't. I shoved it in the motor home's receiver, pined it, locked the pin, added a "Hitch Immobilizer" (Called an anti-rattle clip when I got it) because it holds the bicycle better with one of those, Then shoved the blue ox tow bars into it's receiver, pined and locked that one.. and other than inspection of bolts and pins.. I don't touch it, (Well I may grab hold if I'm working under the motor home near it and wish an "Arm up" when I get off the ground. but that's not "Touching it" in the sense of this post) I stow it in the receiver.

Same for the blue ox tow bar, it's stowed on the drop.

[CountryFit]

thanks. i ordered a 8" high-low drop hitch and a falcon 2 tow bar. it should be good

[wa8yxm]

One word of caution about a big drop (Oh I used to use a bigger one but it seemed to be too big, and when I visisted Pender NE they confirmed and built the smaller one for me).

I have one campground I visit in SC. Now reading the maps the suggested route looks like it wont' work.. (it will but .. .Well... But.. Drop the motor home at the LOVES and drive a car the first time.. then go back and pick up the MH)

If you take the route that looks best on a map, with an 8: drop you may well not make it. .with a 4": it will bottom out.

Now That is the only place *I* drive that is like this, but I have to assume it's by no means unique.

And I just put the 4" back on the RV

I have also plowed a bit of dessert when I hit a rut and the drop bottomed out and dug a ditch.

USE of the drop GREATLY reduces your hitch capacity.. Using the 4" on a 5,000 pound rated hitch towing 4,000 of Lumina APV I broke the brackets that hold the cross arm to the frame (Both of 'em) This means the break-away and safety cables stayed with the towed, Only the electrical umbicals held.. Thankfully that included the brakes so the car stopped (When someone got my attention) right where it was supposed to (That car rolled nice and easy).

The re-built brackets likely would warrant a 15,000 rating (The Weld shop that fabricated the new brackets did a very good job, heavier plate, added braceing, way way stronger then OEM)

The moral.. INSPECT those brackets after every tow.

[CountryFit]

thank you wa8yxm, this is the best advice for the day! This reminds me the other day i saw a gas rv was stuck on a ditch by drop hitch plowing the road; the toad was blocking the full lane of the main road. a policeman was there but not seeing the driver, i guess the driver was out of juice and waiting for a crane to arrive. that was not pretty

what is the max allowable height difference between the hitch receiver and the toad connector? vaguely remember somebody said max +/- 2"?

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

...
what is the max allowable height difference between the hitch receiver and the toad connector? vaguely remember somebody said max +/- 2"?

Per Blue Ox +/- 3"

http://blueox.com/Uploads/Docs/BX7445.pdf

Remember to make that measurement with the RV up on the bags if appropriate and on level ground. The manual with the tow plate normally will have the pin height information so folks can download that and compare that with the hitch height. That should be a good start before you get everything put together and avoid a last minute change of drop hitch.

I could have probably gotten away without any drop but the 2" I use makes it almost dead even. I felt it was to my advantage to get it since it wouldn't probably have any real chance of bottoming out and probably works out better on the front end suspension of the toad in the long run. I wanted to avoid downward pressure on the toad during brake application. I wouldn't have use it as a riser if the hitch was lower than the base plate pins.

OTOH...if I was hauling something really big...I would be much more inclined to be as dead even as possible.

[CountryFit]

Thanks Boss. I was on a trip so just saw this post... I think I'll get a 10" high-low drop hitch, in line with what i got now - a 10" ball drop hitch. With a Falcon 2 I should be a happy camper