truck too low for trailer

wn2fly · 10-12-2009, 11:48 AM

we have a 2005 chevy 3/4 ton and just got our first airstream (1981 excella) and the truck sits too low to pull the trailer. we have tried several different hitches. unfortunately its a holiday here and we stuck until we can get this figured out. anyone else ever had this happen? bought the truck used and this will be our first time towing.

**moosetags** · 10-12-2009, 11:59 AM

Can you post a photo of your tow vehicle? I cannot imaging a 2500 tuck being too low for any trailer. Has your truck been customized into to some type of low rider?

Brian

ticki2 · 10-12-2009, 12:01 PM

Post a picture of what you have for a hitch. There is really no such thing as a truck too low. There are hitches to raise or lower the ball height to what ever you need.

ROBERT CROSS · 10-12-2009, 12:36 PM

As Brian said it's very unlikely that a 3/4 Chevy would be too low to tow, unless the suspension has been "slammed". In fact our 06 3/4 Burb was several inches higher than our 95 and required a six inch drop.

Post those photo's.....

Airslide · 10-12-2009, 02:56 PM

Maybe your trailer has modified axles like this set up for the Alaskan outback..

eubank · 10-12-2009, 02:58 PM

Or maybe your trailer has new axles! (I had to raise our hitch by three inches after installing the new ones. Shows you how bad those old axles were!)

Lynn

Foiled Again · 10-12-2009, 04:03 PM

When I went from my Suburban to a Silverado I thought I'd have to get a custom hitch bar with more than a six inch drop, However I was able to lower the drop on mine to the maximum and hitch up, expecting to be nose high. Low and behold my Chevy squatted down level with minimal help from the weight bars. I was concerned that I'd taken too much weight off of the front wheels and would have searchlights instead of headlamps, and NO steering, but after a trip to the scales, and a minimal amount of tweaking everything was fine.

Airstreams are LOW - normally 18-19 inch ball height. I've seen one guy who knowing his frame was damaged, welded another on beneath the original one. Other than that, I'm mystified that your truck is too low unless the hitch receiver itself is somehow dropped. What pray tell is the year and model of your Chevy. My 2008 Silverado's receiver sits at about 24 inches with nothing on it.

All that aside, if you go to WalMart and get a hitch that normally drops 4 inches, you simply turn it upside down in the receiver after inverting the ball of course, and voila... you have a hitch that RISES four inches above the receiver.

We all want to give you good advice - and pictures would be a huge help. To accurately measure your ball height, get the airstream on level ground, level it front to back (put a level on the floor and check), then measure the drop from the inside of the cup that receives the ball, down to the ground.

To determine the receiver height on the truck, make sure your tires are fully inflated for towing, and that you have decent shocks on the truck. If you've got 500 lbs of crap in the bed... that's going to lower the riding height of the truck bed too. Any kind of adjustable shocks - air or otherwise?

Also PLEASE don't tell me you have a beat up old van with a bumper hitch - the bumper hitch was NEVER meant to pull anything bigger than a lawn trailer - and could be ripped off by trying to pull a heavy trailer.

Paula

wn2fly · 10-13-2009, 12:13 AM

i will try to add pictures tomorrow
we bought the truck used last month and all appeared to be fine-passed preinspection perfectly-but apparently it has been modified (found that out today) and it has something called a shackle on it-i dont know why and it is not obvious until we try to hitch the trailer...it does not look like a low rider truck at all...the springs are worn also...its a 2005 3/4 diesel four wheel drive...

we were told if we fixed it it should give us about 2 inches more clearance...(replacing spring and undoing shackle)
we did consider turning the hitch upside down but havent found anything that says its is ok to do that...feedback on resources on that would be great-to get the measurement of 5 inches i went from the lowest part of the hitch to the ground...it doesnt have the new axels...this is our very first experience in towing and we appreciate all the help and ideas....we actually took everything out of the back of the truck and that didnt make a difference....

**jcanavera** · 10-12-2009, 03:40 PM

Here's how you compensate if the receiver is too low. Hitch Bars One of the examples here can give just over a 10" rise.

Jack

funkill · 10-13-2009, 07:47 AM

What type of hitch have you researched?

I have read the installation/set-up instructions for a variety of Weight Distribution hitches and they each show that the shank can be turned *upside down* to obtain the correct hitch/ball height.

Laura

**moosetags** · 10-13-2009, 08:44 AM

How much of a drop does your hitch bar have? Maybe it's just too much for your truck. Also, when your truck is on level ground, what is the distance from the botttom of your receiver hole to the ground?

Brian

wn2fly · 10-13-2009, 11:41 AM

not sure if this shows the problem - we were told yesterday the springs are shot and their was a 'shackle' put on the truck to lower it...when the truck is on even ground it does not appear to be lower in the back but apparently it is...so the plan is to remove that shackle and change out to heavy duty springs...worst part is that it cant be done for a few days and its kinda spendy...we are willing to turn the hitch upside down though-thanks for all the feedback...we are beginners and learning trial and error -we bought this truck and was told it was tow ready

2airishuman · 10-13-2009, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wn2fly

...-we bought this truck and was told it was tow ready

perhaps the seller meant, the TRUCK was ready for being towed...

looks like you already have a straight shank on the hitch. so there is nothing to turn over...

((can the FRONT section of the hitch be FLIPPED and reassembled ? ))

you could buy another shank (with a 2 inch or 4 inch drop) and flip it over...

but if the springs and shocks are SHOT that's still gonna be an issue

and towing will only make things worse (including tire wear and other running gear bits)

FIRST return the truck to the ORIGINAL height, by DITCHING the lowering shackles.

THEN evaluate the spring stack and shocks...

THEN sort out the hitch/shank weight distribution/sway issues;

THEN tow.

best of luck

cheers
2air'

ROBERT CROSS · 10-13-2009, 12:04 PM

Check this thread....Hitch Failure on 2002 GM 2500 Vehicles

Worked at a Chevy store, have seen quite a number of bad receiver's, cracked welds and poor build/design. Replace with good aftermarket. It's one of the first things I did when we got the 06 Burb. It is not restricted to just the 02's

HD springs not a good option, when towing a Stream, Just make sure the shocks and tires are in good condition and the trailer is level when towing loaded.