Posted: 7/6/2006 6:34:09 AM EDT
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My wife and I are shopping for a used pop-up camper and may need to react quickly if the right one becomes available at the right price. We have the cash ready, but I have no experience with towing trailers. We just bought a 2006 Ford Expedition which already has a factory class III hitch with a 2" receiver and a 5-pin plug. I'd like to have a ball mount and ball already purchased, so that if we buy a pop-up, then we'll be ready to take it home right away. I guess this leaves me the only option of getting an adjustable height mount, since I don't even know the coupler height of our future trailer? From others' experiences, is there anything undesirable about adjustable height ballmount? Is it best for me to wait and get a solid one-piece ballmount to be trailer specific? What about these cushioned ballmounts? Are they worth having? Also, aren't 2" balls pretty much the standard? I've been looking at www.etrailer.com/. Thanks in advance for help with my questions. M.L. |
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If you're loking at pop-ups in a fairly narrow size range, you could just find out what hitch height and ball size is most common. It might not hurt to have a 1 7/8" and a 2" ball anyway. They don't cost that much, and you may need the different ball size if you rent a concrete mixer or something like that. I've got 3 different draw bars for my F-150, and have used them all on occasion. Good luck, and please post a photo of your camper. I'm trying to gauge my kids' interest in pop-up camping. |
That would pretty much do you for the ball mount. Otherwise buy a couple of balls (1-7/8" and 2") and just see what fits at the store. Most likely you couly buy your mount and purchase the ball that you need from the camper store. The only other problem that you may have taking it home that day is finding the correct wiring harness. I will almost guarantee you that a pop-up trailer will not have trailer prakes and will probably not be set up for a 5 pin connector. Again, I am sure that the store will have an adapter there that will only cost 50% more than the one you would find at WalMart SBG |
+1 on the convert-a-ball. I've got one with all 3 ball sizes and a 1" shank. That will handle anything my F-350 can. |
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There's not particular reason NOT to get an adjustable ball mount. They're just more expensive and clunkier. If the back of your truck doesn't stick up too much, then a solid ball mount with a 2" drop will probably be fine. You can always flip those over and get about the same amount of rise out of it. I have a 2001 Silverado and towed a pop-up for a couple of years myself. 2" drop worked fine for me. When DPeacher towed my camper to the HunFarm with his 2500HD 4x4, I bought the biggest drop they had, and it still wasn't quite level. I'm now towing a travel trailer with a weight distributing hitch. I would consider changing the 5-pole plug though - they aren't used often. Either get a plain 4-pole plug, or the 7-pole. Personally, I would stay with a 7-pole as it gives you more options. Expect to buy an adapter if you leave the 5-pole, since I haven't seen a camper with anything other than a 4- or 7-pole though. |
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18-22" from ground level to the top of the hitch ball is where you need to be. That's the industry standard.  Also, don't tamper with the factory harness or plug. There are adapters to convert the different connectors. They are available in every configuration imaginable. |
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I use a B&W "tow and stow" adjustable hitch. They are a little pricier, but for my application it is nice to be able to have different balls available and also be able to rotate the whole thing out of the way without removing the hitch. Here is some info on it, but if you search you can find it cheaper than this. Hitch |
