What ball mounts are you guys running?

FULLSCALE

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Some of the Curt mounts come with the ball actually welded to it. Not as big a deal with the Ranger, but my on my old Colorado it was great to have that extra ground clearance as it was 2wd and very low.
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Thanks for pointing me to Curt. I did some investigating and it appears some of Curt's ball mounts are made in USA and others are made in China. Curt's website indicates this loaded ball mount (https://www.curtmfg.com/part/45064) is made in USA. "Loaded" is their terminology for a ball mount with the hitch pin and ball included and factory torqued. When I looked at a Curt 6 inch drop ball mount at a local big box store (Mills Fleet Farm) its label said it was made in China. Amazon sells the loaded ball mount so I plan to order it from them.
Well, this is interesting, yesterday the Curt website said "Made in USA" for the ball mount referenced above. Today the website says "Assembled in USA". I wonder what the difference is. I sure hope they are not claiming it is assembled in USA because the hitch ball is attached/torqued to the ball mount in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That would be misleading if that is the case.
 

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Hi Sierra,

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FULLSCALE

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Well, this is interesting, yesterday the Curt website said "Made in USA" for the ball mount referenced above. Today the website says "Assembled in USA". I wonder what the difference is. I sure hope they are not claiming it is assembled in USA because the hitch ball is attached/torqued to the ball mount in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. That would be misleading if that is the case.
I bet that’s exactly what it is.
 

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This thread got me thinking. "Oh ya, new truck, better measure for the trailer". Holy crap. I need a 8" drop for my trailer! For a truck with a very similar stature to my Colorado, Holy Moly is the hitch high! 3" and change higher than the Colorado. I found an adjustable drop mount on Amazon, but yikes. They can get pricey when you need that much of a drop.
 

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This thread got me thinking. "Oh ya, new truck, better measure for the trailer". Holy crap. I need a 8" drop for my trailer! For a truck with a very similar stature to my Colorado, Holy Moly is the hitch high! 3" and change higher than the Colorado. I found an adjustable drop mount on Amazon, but yikes. They can get pricey when you need that much of a drop.
I have reached the same conclusion. Went to my Ford dealer today and measured the height to the bottom edge of the receiver tube for several Rangers. Seems to be about 20 inches. On my 2002 3/4 ton Sierra it is 16.5 inches and a 4” drop ball mount is perfect. The Ranger will squat more than the Sierra but even with that I’m not confident a 6” drop is enough.
 

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In my quest for a ball mount made in USA I settled on this one and picked it up at my local U-Haul store:

https://www.uhaul.com/MovingSupplie.../Ball-Mount-(7-3-4-drop-11-1-2-length)/?id=96

This ball mount has a 7.75" drop, is rated for 5000 pounds max trailer weight and 500 pounds max tongue weight. The price was very reasonable and I am impressed with the build quality. From my measurements the 7.75" drop should be spot on for my boat and 2020 Ranger. This is my second U-Haul ball mount. I wonder who makes them for U-Haul....
 

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I went with a 6” drop Curt ball mount and Reese 2” forged ball and both match the Ranger’s tow rating of 7500lbs. I’m using a Reese Tactical pin to hold it on the truck.

C6291796-A033-4501-AF04-F3D1B3F60A2D.jpeg
 

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My first tow was to be a u-haul 12' trailer. So I went to u-haul to size up the trailer to the truck. Got a u-haul 3 1/4" drop. The squat on the truck was 2" with the trailer loaded. Looked pretty darn level. Pulled great no problems.

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I got a 5" drop hitch with 2" ball for the Ranger & teardrop. Also works pretty well for the flatbed trailer. Both trailers are within 2" of being the same tongue height, so I split the difference. With the camper, bed-load & tongue weight from the trailer it tows fairly level on both types of trailer. Best towing is with a minimum of 10% of the total trailer weight.

You might get away with towing in town when under this 10% number, but at speed on the interstate with wind, trucks & other vehicles next to you, you are asking for trouble if it's under this amount.
 

ausable

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For light towing, utility trailer, etc I just use a standard Curt type drop hitch.
For the 19' travel trailer I use the Fastway E2 hitch.

FW_E2_Trunnion_Left-Facing_Web.png
 

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This rig is very easy to swap out ball sizes and adjust for height. A little pricey, but everything was keyed alike and super user friendly. It's a good unit.

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