Recommendation for Ball Mount for 2012 Toyota Tacoma Towing Camper and PWC Trailer

Question:

I have a 2012 Tacoma SR5, it seems to be the standard 19inch to top of the inner tube of the receiver it has. It has a class IV on it standard from the factory, but Im not towing near that much so a III will work too. One trailer is 1200lbs dry weight, the other is rated as most for a load of 1000lbs I have two trailers, and where they are sitting isnt exactly level at the moment so I cant get a good measurement. I was previously towing with a 2010 Subaru Outback, but even the one bar seems lower than I need for what I had with it. Both trailers use a 2inch ball. The first trailer is a 2019 nuCamp Boondock Edge XL. The manufacture says to the top of the ball the hitch should sit 22 1/2inch from the ground. Now I think a standard 2inch ball is about 2 3/4inch tall? It would mean I would need about a 3/4inch rise or am I calculating that wrong? The other trailer is a Load Rite for a PWC. This is what they say: Ideally the tow ball on your vehicle should be 18” to 21” off of the ground to the center line of the tow ball. Now I have probably one of the smallest trailers, Im not entirely sure what they mean by center line of the tow ball I know I need 2inch ball, but I just need the correct 2inch ball mounts as well for each trailer. Im fine buying two separate and not buying an adjustable.

asked by: Dan M

Expert Reply:

Thanks for all the info on your truck and trailer heights! So the correct way to get the amount of rise/drop needed is to use the distance from the top of the hitch opening like you measured of 19 inches (like you said this is pretty standard), and then the distance from the bottom lip of the trailer's coupler as it's sitting level. Since the numbers your trailer manufacturers gave to the top of the coupler this means you'd need to subtract right at 2 inches.

So your first trailer would require an 1.5 inch rise ball mount and the second would require basically a zero rise/drop since the manufacturer gave a range of 18 inch to 21 inch from top of ball to the ground. We have the Curt ball mount part # D-4 which gives a rise a 3/4 inches. This would be close enough to get both trailers level and would work great. For a 2 inch diameter hitch ball we have the # 63845 or for a 1-7/8 inch part # 19260. You would also need the Hitch Pin and Clip, # PC3.

expert reply by: Jameson C