Towing boat need opinion. 2024

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

I just picked up our new pontoon yesterday. Our driveway is pretty slope (about 30 degree slope) to where we alway have problem scraping when back the trailer to driveway (can't even back 26' moving truck in when we moved).

I use Toyota Tundra with 4" drop ball mount which when I picked up I asked the guy at service about leverage and he said it is fine. I didn't do any proper measure (4" drop mount I use for my Jonboat and motorcycle trailer). My question is, Can I use different drop let say 2" drop to gain more clearance. I normally don't tow to far only a mile to launch ramp.

CaptPete reply :

given the distance you are talking, you'll be fine. But technically you should use the proper drop to level the trailer and get proper tongue weight. The amount of drop shouldn't be dictated by ground clearance...

lo n slo reply :

is the rear of the trailer digging in or is the hitch bottoming out?

J Francho reply :

On 5/12/2018 at 1:38 AM, lo n slo said:

is the rear of the trailer digging in or is the hitch bottoming out?

Yeah, that was gonna be my question as well. A 2" is actually gonna make it worse if it's the trailer/toon scraping.

James, can you possibly back in at an acute angle, and then straighten it out once your past the spot that scrapes?

You want to be on the road perfectly level, so make sure you have that right.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

It the tongue part that bottom out. (Often time I scrape tongue jack wheel on my Jonboat).

image to show where it scraped

On this trailer it is not that bad on the scraping part since it is just a bracket for a step and once my rear wheel get on drive way I can push through. The problem is the tongue jack which is the swivel type where at location I wanna park, I cannot deploy the jack down. I have to back up where I have enough clearance but it block my golf cart in the garage. That why I need a bit more clearance 4" on so.

Anyway I will do a proper measure next time when I get the boat down to launch lamp.

On 5/12/2018 at 1:41 AM, J Francho said:

James, can you possibly back in at an acute angle, and then straighten it out once your past the spot that scrapes?

J Francho reply :

Yeah, that's a tough one.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

On 5/12/2018 at 3:41 AM, J Francho said:

Yeah, that's a tough one.

I already have some idea but it need more steps and not sure it it would work my idea is too switch between proper ball mount and higher ball mount. Use higher one when back in or get out from driveway and switch to proper when on street where I have more leverage. But if towing with higher one not gonna create problem then it would be a lot easier and quicker.

BTW I cannot use the adjustable ball mount hitch it would bottom out for sure. I have to use 2 different mount. Such a headache for me, my wife on the other hand just point the finger like I want that boat, I want this color, I want it park there, it block my golf cart, I want cover on .... on and on and on, LOL poor James. And this is not the end of the world yet, wait until I have to teach her how to back up the trailer or operating the pontoon when launch or load that gotta be even more headache.

lo n slo reply :

looks like you’re gonna have to sell your house james ????

good luck brother and let us know when you solve this one.

MickD reply :

For what you are doing, short range towing, just about any drop will work ok. That dimension is not nearly as important as most people think. Worst case scenario: try what works for your drive and carefully see how it works on the road. It also looks like you have the room to use the suggested angle approach to help.

WRB reply :

Your driveway about 12-15 degrees at the most.

Try flipping over the reciever and remounting the ball.

You could use a pair of 2x12x 10' long planks with a 4 X 4 under the middle at the driveway street gutter to reduce the drop, it will flex until bottoming out on the 4 X 4 and you may need another person to help stay aligned on the same angle as the trailer tire marks in the driveway.

Tom

frosty reply :

Man that’s a pretty harsh change! Get some air shocks for the truck to raise it up a couple inches. Not sure how hard it is to deflate them?

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

@MickD I'm gonna try to drive with 0" drop ball mount and see if there is any sway or any problem when launch /load.

@WRBmy ball mount receiver is 3-1/4" drop if flip might be too tall and to remounting the ball is pretty tough. I'd rather buy new receiver only that I saw all 0" drop come with welded multiples ball size and I'm not sure if it is strong enough.

@frostyair shock, huh? Too expensive my man.

Like I said my main concern is to get enough clearance for me to deploy tongue jack where I want it.

Worst case scenario I just use gator jack to lift up the tongue high enough.

WRB reply :

On 5/12/2018 at 11:17 AM, frosty said:

Man that’s a pretty harsh change! Get some air shocks for the truck to raise it up a couple inches. Not sure how hard it is to deflate them?

Rotating the reciever bar 180 degrees and remounting the ball is easy.

Tom

On 5/12/2018 at 11:42 AM, JustJames said:

@MickD I'm gonna try to drive with 0" drop ball mount and see if there is any sway or any problem when launch /load.

@WRBmy ball mount receiver is 3-1/4" drop if flip might be too tall and to remounting the ball is pretty tough. I'd rather buy new receiver only that I saw all 0" drop come with welded multiples ball size and I'm not sure if it is strong enough.

@frostyair shock, huh? Too expensive my man.

Like I said my main concern is to get enough clearance for me to deploy tongue jack where I want it.

Worst case scenario I just use gator jack to lift up the tongue high enough.

Draw bars come several drops from flat to whatever you need. Try what you have, then will know exactly what you need.

Tom

Junger reply :

Can you use an adjustable ball mount like this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B004SMGAJ6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Give yourself enough clearance, then when you're on a flat surface, put down your tongue jack and re-adjust the mount to be level.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

@Junger

i was thinking about this one

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004SMGAIW/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?psc=1

so I can use for my Jonboat too,my Jon need 4" drop.

Junger reply :

On 5/12/2018 at 12:35 PM, JustJames said:

@Junger

i was thinking about this one

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004SMGAIW/ref=sspa_mw_detail_1?psc=1

so I can use for my Jonboat too,my Jon need 4" drop.

Yeah essentially the same concept, the one I linked is a one piece ball mount, and it has a couple more inches of adjust-ability. You have to gauge how much upward + you'll need. But I have the one I linked and it's rock solid. Good luck!

Tim Kelly reply :

Could you leave the jockey wheel partially down, so that when it was about to scrape the jockey wheel would hold the trailer and back of the truck up? Might work for the few feet involved.

WRB reply :

Looking at the truck photo the ball is even with the bar CL, try flipping it over and remounting the ball, should be about right height,

Tom

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

On 5/16/2018 at 12:03 AM, WRB said:

Looking at the truck photo the ball is even with the bar CL, try flipping it over and remounting the ball, should be about right height,

Tom

This ball mount is normally for my Jonboat, I do have another one same drop but with 1 and 3/4 ball for my motorcyclte's. Remounting the ball is easy, just the matter of 1-1/2 socket with 250 lb torque wrench which I don't have both.

Anyway I just got the adjustable one (the one I posted). I will have my machanic friend install the ball today and will try to tow the boat tomorrow for my lake inspection.

Another reason I got this ball mount because my wife close friend who live here drive a hummer and he gonna be towing this boat when I'm at work, with this new ball mount he can adjust to fit his car (a lot higher than my truck)

I know you think I'm lazy but I'd rather spend a bit more money than moving my ball around lol.

Catt reply :

On 5/16/2018 at 1:04 AM, JustJames said:

I know you think I'm lazy but I'd rather spend a bit more money than moving my ball around lol

Then buy another receiver, flip it over, & mount the ball.

As for tools O'Reilly & AutoZone rent tools. Personally I would buy a 1/2" drive 1-1/2" socket & either buy or rent a breaker bar.

You ever try pulling 250# torque?

Put the receiver in a vise, pull the breaker bar as hard as you can & I Guarantee you'll be good to go!

Ratherbfishing reply :

On 5/16/2018 at 12:03 AM, WRB said:

Looking at the truck photo the ball is even with the bar CL, try flipping it over and remounting the ball, should be about right height,

Tom

Agreed. Just flip the receiver hitch upside down and remount the ball (or get a new one). This shouldn't be a big deal. The hitch on my Pilot sits about 3 or 4 inches (probably more) higher than my friends F-150 and we can tow the same boat equally successfully.

I also like the suggestion put forth to put some planks down which raises your truck up. It's a simple solution but a good one.

frosty reply :

On 5/16/2018 at 10:51 AM, Catt said:

As for tools O'Reilly & AutoZone rent tools. Personally I would buy a 1/2" drive 1-1/2" socket & either buy or rent a breaker bar.

Harbor freight, $10 for the breaker bar. It has a lifetime warranty. Probably can’t get the socket without buying a set but I know oreilly carries them in impact sockets as singles.

Way2slow reply :

Rear airbags or air shocks is about the only reasonable solution I see, so you can lift the rear when you get ready to back it up the drive.

With that said, I bought a Mustang the kid had put air shocks on the rear to clear the wide tires he had. The ride totally sucked, couldn't get them off fast enough, so I would lean toward the bags.

kjfishman reply :

Thinking outside the box can make some ramps to use when you back it in or out?

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

I'd been thinking about making wooden lamp too for transition between driveway and street (the lowest point. I have 2x10 planks enough to make the lamp with 2x4, 2x6 underneath to make triangles support. This project doesn't work for me since it is more step unnecessary and to move in-out those lamp is quite heavy.

Anyway I got my adjustable ball mount, I think this should be okay. I also switched garage for my golf cart and 2 kayaks to solve the major problem for my wife.