Will Raising the Height of a Trailer Change is Capacity

Question:

Hi, I have an 04 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a 10foot x 6.5foot Pace American utility trailer 2990 GVWR. I measured the top of the hitch opening to the ground and its 16inch The measurement of bottom of coupler to the ground is 12, trailer was level and empty. The trailer with 1 ton of wood pellets was lower than 12inch at the coupler. I loaded the trailer with the bags of pellets, more weight in front then evenly to the rear. Does 12inch seem too low or is that normal? I use a ball mount with a 2inch . Should I mount the leaf springs on top of the axle to gain height so I dont scrape my driveway. By doing this would anything change GVRW or anything else?

asked by: Dave R

Expert Reply:

First, every trailer is going to have a different coupler height so 12 inches is not out of the ordinary though it is pretty low. If you need the extra height then using an over/under conversion kit such as # K71-384-00 would add some height.

It won't change the rating on the trailer but it will make the trailer more susceptible to sway because it will raise the center of gravity. To use this conversion kit you will need to have double eye leaf spring suspension and a 2-3/8 inch diameter round axle.

Since the distance between the coupler and hitch heights is 4 inches then ideally you would want a ball mount that has a 4 inch drop. I have included a link to all the ball mounts we carry that have a 4 inch drop.

expert reply by: Michael H