tow ball height

[Im a BusyBee]

what height should the tow ball be on a car to tow a caravan

[NORMANTHEDOG]

most tow bars are fitted to be at more or less the right height for your vehicle when they are fitted.

[Im a BusyBee]

our discovery has several different settings where it can be adjusted and as we havent towed our caravan with this one yet my husband wanted to check it - he thinks it looks as though it is lower than our old car's

[ACB312]

It's a while since I was involved with caravans but I think the idea was to have the height (and the weight distribution inside the caravan) such that the caravan was just 'tipping forward' slightly to produce a downward weight on the towball of so many Kgs. Sorry I can't be more specific but it might be an idea to have a look at Camping and Caravan Club site or similar for more accurate advice. I do remember putting a set of scales below the caravan tow hitch with a bit of timber to bridge the gap and loading the van accordingly. Your car manual should also state recommended towball weight. Cheers Andy

[Paul22118]

Get the van on alevel piece of hard ground. Put all the corner steadies down and then ensure that the vanis level i.e. horizontal with the flat bit of concrete, tarmac or whatever.

Reverse the towing vehicle up as close as you can without touching the towing hitch. Most brackets on the tow vehicle will give you usually two bolts heights. If it is a Range Rover 'type' you may well have a geater choice.

Then bolt on the ball to the bracket at a height that is close to the visually good match. When the van is then loaded - heavyish to front, the weight will be distributed on the axle of the van with a leaning to the ball. Otherwise there will not be enough downward force on the ball and thus the bar to give a good gravity connection.

The key is to load properly and keep within the guide of 85% i.e. make sure the van is no more than 85% of the weight of the towing vehicle.

Big van towed by little mini = not good.

Stabiliser bars are advised.

Good luck.