Is it possible to flip tow ball over to gain height?

Yes I do this all the time....my garden trailer is low so have a hitch set for that height and my off road Kangacamper is high and have another hitch set up for that. Same types of hitch just rotated through 180 degrees with a ball permanently fitted.

Have read somewhere that it was not recommended on the ones with the tongue cut at 45deg angle.

Nissan did some like that and it was pointed out that it put extra stress on the weld across the top which it was not designed for.

A HR with a square ended butt weld is OK.

This was discussed a bit on the Caravan & Motorhome forum.

Dont bite me Im just the messenger.

Toyota also had some and I think had a warning not to turn it over.

Jazzy, sorry to hijack your post, But...................

I was also wondering if anyone could advise about a very similar question.

I have a Tregg hitch and have flipped it so it hangs under the towbar rather than over.

I assumed that the same bolt going through will still have the same rating whether over or under.
I assume it is sheer strength we are talking about.
Perhaps after this thread I may be wrong?

Can anyone advise me.

Thanks
Brian

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YES,YES and YES again. LOL

Well probably......it all depends on the tow ball set up and how you use it.

If its rated at say 2 tonne and you turn it over and only use it for two tonne, I wouldn't think you would have a problem with it. Saying that I've seen some cheap overseas welds I wouldn't trust even in the correct position.

But Generally.......weather its the 90deg or 45deg type it wont make a lot of difference....the 45deg has more weld area, so even in the "wrong" position it should be as strong as the 90 deg ones anyway, if the plate is the same size and the welds are to the same standard.

I think people rely on engineers to much these days, and if you had as much to do with them as I do you would understand a lot of them aren't precise as a lot of people think.

Just remember....the whole set up is only as strong as the weakest link.
Theres no point worrying about a weld strength being reduced from 10 tonne to 9 tonne because your turning it upside down, when your tow hitch is held on by 3 x 1/2" mild steel bolts and your using a crappy Chinese ball.......if you know what I mean.

If your not sure, take it around to your local welder and just ask him.

Cheers
Hairy

g'day Jazzy,
I'd have a yarn to your local Nissan dealer, I am not sure about the Nissan tow bars, but on my Prado's genuine Toyota tow bar it has a diagram showing ,tongues put in both ways , if you want to go either way it has a different part number for each tongue, so i guess each tongue is designed to take the weight differently.maybe it's the same with yours and you just need to buy the other tongue. hope this helps.
Cheers,
John.

Hi Jazzy
to alleviate all the can you or cant you reverse the hitch
not sure how you go with insurance
Ihave fitted a set of polair bags inside the rear coils on my nissan this
helps as a booster just add a little air for the correct hight
they sell for arround $350 more flexible i feel
regards Garny

I took my camper trailer to a fellow who is a "gifted man". An engineer & very knowledgeable he cut the steel which held the coupling of my trailer & welded it to the A frame underneath which gave me an extra height of about 150mm.

Thanks for replies, just took the van for a test run on the highway and it handles very well.

However, we do think we would benefit from putting on a WDH as it is not quite level on the road.

On a 4.7M span of the van there is a difference of 11 cms from front to back (back of van higher).

I guess with that incline, it would make a substantial strain on the suspension?

So, with a WDH, you can raise or lower the ball height? (ball on the Navara needs to come up).

As has been pointed out by others your towing hitch is over engineered to the load rating they spec.

I have a toyota hitch and they offer a picture that you can reverse the tongue.

This is good enough for me and if you needed a higher or lower hitch point this is the answer.

I have also seen tow hitches that are made to drop up to 200mm from the picture. I would not be has happy towing heavy with one of those - the forces would crack something somewhere.

David

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