BoWingo

Hey all. I'm new to the forum and just picked up my 2012 F-150 FX4 a week ago tonight.

I'm looking at getting a B&W Tow and Stow receiver hitch ball mount. I like the idea of the tri-ball with the adjustable drop to cover pretty much every towing task I may face. Not knowing what trailer tongue heights I may encounter, though, I'm wondering if I should get the Model 6 with a maximum drop of 3-inches or the Model 8 with a max drop of 5-inches.

To help a little, I measured my receiver hitch height this afternoon. With the truck sitting unloaded, the inside top of the 2-inch hitch receiver hole sits 20 inches off the ground.

So, in your opinion, is the 3" fine or do I pay extra and play it safe with the 5" ball mount?

brulaz

Really depends upon the tongue weight and height of what you're towing. (And whether you plan to lift your truck any)

Guess you're always better off playing it safe, but with my 500-600# tongue weight (and high trailer frame), it sagged enough so that I turned the receiver hitch around so the ball was actually raised slightly above the receiver. And that's with an unloaded 1" rear lift from the Roadmaster Active Suspension. (this is an extreme case as Ford says not to put more than 500# on the ball without a WDH, and I would never put more than 600#)

I used to have a little utility trailer that was lower to the ground and couldn't have had more than 50# tongue weight. Maybe a 4-5" drop would have been best for that one. But a 3" would probably have worked fine.

tomb1269

I have found that most trailers (again I said MOST) that stock trailers for regular hiway use pull level when the top of the coupler is about 15 inches off the ground. I have an 05 F150 FX4 and have a 2 & 1/2 inch drop. However, when I put Dad's 20 ft pontoon boat trailer with out the boat its fine at 2.5 drop, add the boat I it drops the back of the truck just enogh I have to jack the trailer tongue up to get the trailer tongue jack to swing down at home. So depending on what the weight of the trailer is you may need different heights but unless you lift your truck 3 inches would most likely be the lowest you would ever go.

Fastbikeman

I think it depends upon what you are towing as to the size of the length of the WD shank. My Airstream needs to be 19 1/2 to 19 3/4 inches from the ground to the top of the ball in order for me to do that with my F250 I will need one that is 6 inches. Any longer and it will hang to low and any smaller I will not be able to make th proper adjustments.

BoWingo

Thanks, guys. Given the uncertainty of what I may encounter and the fact that I would like to buy just one ball mount and be done with it, I'm going to go ahead and go with the Model 8 for up to 5" of adjustable drop.

Plus, this should cover me if I end up adding just a bit of lift to the truck someday.

trx300exnj

ok so I am now in the same boat 3 or 5 inch drop I would have ordered the 5 already but I am worried that even in the raised position the 5 may scrape the driveway when backing the trailer in or even unloaded
have you used the lowest setting on the 5 ever? if so what type of trailer was it the lowest trailer I will be towing measures 15 inches to the bottom of the coupler my 2012 xlt hitch measures 21 inches to the top of the receiver, so taking the sag of the load into consideration I figure that's a difference of 5 inches but again I don't want to be scraping when not in use and installed

HoustonRider

i have the 3" on my SuperDuty and my F150 and have never had to drop it lower that where it was when it was shipped (in the middle I guess). Never had to raise it up or lower it.

IMO the 5" drop would be a tad too low. That 3rd ball sits 3-4 inches below the hitch when its tucked under. On occasion the 3" set up (tucked under when not in use) will scrap the dirt/ground on the F250 (yep) if I go into a ditch. The 5" may anchor you down, lol

Go with the 3. *** Do not underestimate the heavy-duty aspect of this hitch. It weighs 40+lbs and I lost a fingernail earlier this year when I let it drop after I pulled the last pin out.

Respect the ***** or it will take yours

Down and dirty I grabbed a pic of the one on the 2012 FX4. This is the 3" drop and the 3rd ball sits just over a foot off the ground. This hitch is no joke. its a heavy BIATCH.

trx300exnj

couldn't ask for a better response thanks

trx300exnj

any idea the cheapest place to order from?

HoustonRider

I think I paid $180 for the one above on Amazon, shipped.