Trailer tongue on Ford Explorer.

[Froggy]

Hi, I am getting ready to order my trailer, went to look at tongues etc, they got all kind dropped , straight, what do you think I would need on the Explorer? I am thinking dropped a couple of inches no?

 

[lckstckn2smknbrls]

You would measure the height of the ball and the height of the tongue when the trailer is level and the difference is the drop you need. Or in my case the rise.

 

[Waterwings]

From what I've always heard, you never want to tongue to be lower than the rear of the trailer, as it could cause problems/wear on the tires. Just what I've heard, lol.

 

[bassboy1]

From what I've always heard, you never want to tongue to be lower than the rear of the trailer, as it could cause problems/wear on the tires. Just what I've heard, lol.

Personally, I'd take to low over too high any day of the week, but that is on more substantial trailers. The effects won't be noticeable on a smaller aluminum boat. With the tongue too high, when you brake hard, the trailer pushes up a bit on the back of the tow vehicle. Even though the front wheels of the tow vehicle do most of the braking, I still would rather the trailer not push my rear wheels off to one side or the other. Furthermore, tongue high trailers, especially shorter ones, have a much greater tendency to sway, which isn't all that fun. While level is ideal, too low is much better than too high, in my book.

 

[Reelized]

I tow with a 98 explorer and use a straight one.I flipped mine upside down to get the ball up a little higher for when I'm towing my bigger boat.I haven't noticed ant problems when I tow my 16'tracker.

Here's a link
https://www.etrailer.com/faq-ballmount.aspx