Best Drop Hitch?

-
matthon

matthon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
3,147
Reaction score
1,577
Looking for recommendations for a good drop hitch brand/maker.

For my car trailer with my rust bucket 2008 Silverado, I had a 3" drop hitch, considering with a loaded trailer the suspension will roughly drop an inch.

My new acquisition is a giant lifted 1984 Ram and needs a much longer drop.

From the bottom of the hitch receiver to the trailer hitch when level, calculated I need a 14" drop, holy cow!

Looking at adjustable drop hitches, Bulletproof hitches came up, look strong/well built.
Found it strange their website calculates the drop without using any trailer hitch height, min or max.

Any input is appreciated.

20240123_104138.jpg
 
B&W and Weigh Safe are what we use at work. They’re overbuilt for your application but you would never have issues.
 
I bought the biggest drop available at hf, if I remember right around 10-12". (It's at my other house so I can't say exactly). I use it to tow with my box truck, almost as high a bumper height as yours.
The trailer isn't quite level, but if I run the car all the way forward, the tongue weight is good, and the trailer ain't gonna wag a 14000lb dog.
It's not the "best", but I does fine for me.
 
B&W largest drop is 9" and the shaft appears to be box not solid.
Weigh Safe largest is 10" and aluminum.

With a 3" body lift and a suspension lift, neither are even close.
My 3" drop is solid steel, am I crazy for being unsure about box and aluminium?
 
The reason to use aluminum is to save weight. Last place I wanna save weight is a trailer hitch.
No, you're not crazy.
When i was working, I could have made a 14" drop with scrap materials around the shop...... but I'm retired and the business folded without me, lol.
 
If you can weld, or know a good one, you could buy a six inch drop, split it in half, extend it and brace it (my hf drop has a 8 or 9 inch long, 1/2" brace welded to the back of the drop) to get the length you want.
 
diymirage said:
what class receiver does that truck have?
Click to expand...
Great question. In retrospect should start there.

For my own info, on my 08 Silverado I had a Curt receiver, 4 bolts into threads in the box frame, 2 bolts into threads in the bumper:
Class III
2 Inch Hitch
6000 lbs GTW
Visible Cross Tube
600 lbs TW
10000 lbs WD GTW
1000 lbs WD TW

The hitch is solid steel:
16,000 lbs max trailer
2,400 lbs max tongue
2 5/16 ball
6 inch drop

Top of the receiver was 20" and the 6" drop means the bottom of the trailer hitch is 14" when I measured for the drop years ago.

1984 Dodge has a 3" square tube bumper, bolted to the frame with 3 grade 8 bolts on each side of the C-channel frame, with a receiver welded to the bottom of the bumper, that has a sticker on it which provides me no confidence:
3,500 lbs MGVW
350 lbs TW

Bumper appears to be a hefty piece, fully enclosed on the ends, but I do not like the welded on receiver, and not sure of the square tube strength when through bolted to the frame.

I may be able to make the Silverado receiver fit, but would rather buy one that is meant for the Ram.

I have to wonder, what is the towing capacity of the stock Dodge Ram bumper hitch?

20240202_133008[1].jpg


20240202_132844.jpg


20240202_132918.jpg


20240202_133355.jpg
 
Right now it looks like the receiver is the weak link

Normally I would say match the drawbar and ball to the receiver, but in this case, I would start from scratch

The way the receiver is mounted now, I don't see any way of telling what it can actually hold

A lot depends on the weld job, but also the intergity of the bumper...too many unknowns for my taste

It looks like a class v reciever can be had for 300 bucks...to me, thats cheap for some peace of mind


added bonus is that it appears the curt receiver mounts to the bottom of the frame rails and then drops down a little further, placing the new receiver below the existing welded on one (would be great if you didn't need to cut that off)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top