I just traded in a Jeep Commander for an H3T and the first thing that struck me was how high the hitch receiver is (ok, maybe not the first thing...). I had a 2" drop to tow my boat but looks like I'm going to have to get something a LOT lower. Any of you towing stuff like that and what kind of drops are you buying for this thing?

 

Here's what I had to do:



Bought the drop down thing at a trailer suppy store. I think it was around $135. I also had to lengthen my trailer safety chains.


WGW

 

Thanks for the pic--that is some serious looking equipment!

 

You got a lot of choices, I've seen numerous adjustable heigth models, adapters like the pic above or fixed height ones. If you already have a hitch the adapter style may be the way to go. If want a new fixed height just back up to your trailer & measure to see how much of drop you have. I think I'd go w/ an adjustable one then you can tow most any trailer no matter what height it is.
here's just 1 link I've stumbled across when I started looking. http://www.etrailer.com/c-BM.htm

 

WGWGOLDWING, is that a Blue Ox Drop Receiver? Found a local dealer here and I think it would quite nicely solve my problem (I need an 11.5" drop--their 8" drop and my current 3" ball mount would be great).

The dealer mentioned something about these drop receivers cutting your tow capacity in half though?!??! Does that ring familiar?

 

Blue Ox does sound familiar. Not sure about the cutting tow capacity, they didn't mention it when I bought. They said that they were popular with the RV crowd that pull vehicles. I'm pretty sure the instructions rated it at 5000lbs class III. Unfortunatly, right now, I'm 1000 miles away from my rig, so I can't verify.

Edit....Just found this: http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...h-receiver.htm
Picture and label looks just like mine. No mention of reduced tow capacity.

WGW

 

Excellent--thought that "half" sounded a little fishy. Cheers and thanks.

 

Just to be safe, I e-mailed Blue Ox and asked if they've heard of this weight reduction for drop receivers. Sounds like it is half of the weight listed but half of max tongue weight, not max towing capacity. Their response isn't very clear so I've asked for clarification but in the meantime, this is what they wrote:

When you are towing a boat or trailer the tongue weight is what you go
by. Our drop receivers are rated for 1000# tongue weight and if that is
cut in half then the tongue rating is only 500#. I do know that the
rating is dropped when you add a drop receiver.

 

Got their clarification this morning. And yes, turns out your tongue weight max is cut in half. Here's the thread (my attempt to clarify below, their response above):
---
Jason,

I checked with our engineering department and you are correct on all
accounts. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank You
Deanna Graham
Customer Care
deannagraham@blueox.us

-----Original Message-----
To: AEMFG
Subject: Re: Drop Receiver Safety Question

Ok so my truck's tongue weight max is 700# and its hitch tongue weight
max is 500#. I guess more importantly the boat&trailer will have a
tongue weight of 10-15% of its gross weight (2850#) meaning between
285# and 428#. Sounds to me like I'd be well within the 500# limit.
Did I calculate that correctly?

 

Good to know. I'm still just a little confused though. Where is the tongue weight cut in half? Isn't the blue ox drop receiver rated at 500 lbs? That's what the H3T is rated at too, 500 lbs. So I'm looking at a max of 250 lbs tongue weight?

Thanks,

WGW