Tow Ball Height: How High Should You Go?

When you have a tow bar installed on your vehicle, you may have plenty of questions on your mind. One of these questions might be how high should tow ball height should be? It can be difficult to answer such questions if you’re not an expert. Fortunately for you, here at The Tow Bar Guys can provide you with all the answers.

When you have a tow bar installed on your vehicle, you may have plenty of questions on your mind. One of these questions might be how high should tow ball height should be? It can be difficult to answer such questions if you’re not an expert. Fortunately for you, here at The Tow Bar Guys can provide you with all the answers.

What Is Tow Ball Height?

The tow ball height is the vertical distance between the tow ball’s centre and the ground. You need to measure the height on flat and level ground and your vehicle’s laden condition should be known. If you’re looking for the height of the tow ball that’s inside the coupling head, it’s called the coupling height.

Height Of Your Tow Ball

According to the Australian Standard AS 4177, the tow ball’s height should be between 320 mm and 460 mm. The height measurement is for the centre of your ball to the ground. You should determine the laden condition of your vehicle. When you measure the height, your car should be on level and flat ground.

Laden condition as defined by manufacturers as either conventionally laden or fully laden. Conventionally laden is defined as 6.5kg of luggage for every passenger and 68.5 for every passenger. Fully laden, on the other hand,  is the maximum allowed mass of your vehicle as shown in the handbook.

Your tow ball should be according to your vehicle manufacturer’s specified height. Make sure to hire a specialist to help ensure that you have the right height for your tow ball.

Height of the Caravan Coupling Head

Your coupling head’s height needs to between 385mm and 455mm. That is if your caravan carries the maximum permitted mass. Following the specifications, the tow level will be not levelled and somewhat nose-down. The difference between the height of the tow ball and trailer coupling can be extreme. Your trailer coupling should be at 510 mm if your trailer is empty. The tow ball, on the other hand, should be at 350 mm on your fully laden vehicle. The difference is still lofty even if you’re within the allowable range.

Should Your Caravan Or Trailer Be Level?

Your trailer or caravan doesn’t need to be level. Plenty of people think that your trailer chassis should be perfectly level. They do what they can to make it so. However, as we have mentioned above, the height range for both your trailer coupling and tow ball is wide.

You need to remember that the specifications states, the trailer has a somewhat nose-down attitude. Your trailer’s medium range is 35 mm higher than your towing vehicle’s tow ball’s medium range. Moreover, due to the acceptable ranges and laden definitions, the differences are extreme.

For example, if your trailer coupling is at 520 mm and your tow ball is at 350 mm, the height difference will be 170 mm.

Another example is if your trailer coupling’s height is 385 mm and your tow ball’s height is 510 mm. The height difference is 125 mm.

Since an EC directive controls your tow ball, the differences can is complicated. Fortunately, it’s not a requirement for your trailer to be EC approved, it’s still safer for it to be.

What Should You Do If The Tow Ball Is Low?

If your tow ball is too low, your trailer coupling height might be incorrect. When this happens, the fault might be from your vehicle or tow bar.

Unless your vehicle has stability or grounding issues, don’t do anything drastic. Unfortunately, at times, with an EC type-approved tow bar, you’ll need to hire a professional. Professionals such as the ones here at The Tow Bar Guys can give you a chance to:

• Choose a different location for your tow ball. There are vehicles with at least two tow ball fixing heights.
• Check if your tow bar has been properly installed.
• See if there’s a need to retighten or loosen any parts of your tow bar.
• Examine your vehicle suspension. Over time, through wear and tear, it can get damaged.
• Scan if your spring assisters are working properly.
• Look into your jockey wheel grounding and see if it needs repositioning.
• Survey if you have a sports’ type suspension. They are generally 15 mm to 50 mm lower than standard suspensions.
• Inspect your chassis number.

Should You Use A Raiser Plate To Increase Your Tow Ball’s Height?

You should never use a raiser plate to escalate the height of your tow ball. If you try to attempt doing this will result in your tow bar interface’s leverage escalating. You could also end up damaging your other towing system components.

If your tow bar is EC approved, utilizing a raiser plate will invalidate it. There are only a few situations where a raiser plate is needed. You need to make sure that the modifications you want to make are permitted by the tow bar manufacturer. You should hire professionals such as those here at The Tow Bar Guys.

Tow Bar Installation Services in Melbourne

Are you looking for help with adjusting the height of your tow bar? Do you need professional advice about your tow bar? If so, give one of our staff here at The Tow Bar Guys a call through our number: 03 8750 1477. You can also send us an email at sales@thetowbarguys.com.au.