Pintle hitch mounting plate orientation / size?

[pebble41]

I picked up an M1101 in NC and the truck I would prefer to pull it home (SE PA) with has a 2" receiver height of about 19". The lunette height on the trailer is about 26". I was looking at mounting plates with some rise to them and noticed that a number of them are marked drop position only. Am I correct in assuming that is not a CYA notice? Once I get it home I plan to pull it behind an M1008 so height will not be an issue. Is there a general guideline for acceptable height differential? Since I will likely only use the equipment once I don't want to overbuy. Thanks for your time.

 

[Mullaney]

I picked up an M1101 in NC and the truck I would prefer to pull it home (SE PA) with has a 2" receiver height of about 19". The lunette height on the trailer is about 26". I was looking at mounting plates with some rise to them and noticed that a number of them are marked drop position only. Am I correct in assuming that is not a CYA notice? Once I get it home I plan to pull it behind an M1008 so height will not be an issue. Is there a general guideline for acceptable height differential? Since I will likely only use the equipment once I don't want to overbuy. Thanks for your time.

.
I am of the opinion that whatever you tow it with will be just fine - even though it should be level - It will be just fine. It may be worth checking the wheel bearings before you start towing. OR get yourself a temperature gun and shoot the bearings after you have towed the trailer for 20 minutes. See how hot they are. Run down the road for another 20 minutes. How much hotter are they? Then try a half hour and do the same...

If they start getting hot, you may need to pull over and grease the bearings.

 

[zebedee]

I have fab'd one for moving mil trailers with various cars/pickups.. only thing to really worry about is the appropriate amount of nose weight so that the 'tail doesn't wag the dog'.

 

[fb40dash5]

I was looking at mounting plates with some rise to them and noticed that a number of them are marked drop position only. Am I correct in assuming that is not a CYA notice?

My personal advice... keep in mind that pintle mount is probably rated for around 10k, and the warnings are assuming you might be towing around 10k. Towing your empty trailer home is <1500lb (assuming it's not, like a generator trailer with a generator or two on it)

Thing two, it's a standard old 8 lug pattern. I brought some random old Chevy rims with crappy 265/75s on them to pick up both my trailers, that's good for a 2-3" drop. Plus dropping a couple hundred pounds of spinny weight.

 

[98G]

I picked up an M1101 in NC and the truck I would prefer to pull it home (SE PA) with has a 2" receiver height of about 19". The lunette height on the trailer is about 26". I was looking at mounting plates with some rise to them and noticed that a number of them are marked drop position only. Am I correct in assuming that is not a CYA notice? Once I get it home I plan to pull it behind an M1008 so height will not be an issue. Is there a general guideline for acceptable height differential? Since I will likely only use the equipment once I don't want to overbuy. Thanks for your time.

What's your tow vehicle?

 

[pebble41]

What's your tow vehicle?

Ford Maverick Hybrid. It is rate to 2k.

 

[MarkM]

The trailer comes in at 1400lbs so you don't have a lot of room for cargo weight with that tow vechicle.

Mark

 

[Valley Rock]

I tow my military trailers with either one of these, the fancy black one can be mounted upside down or right side up it doesn't care, you just flip the ball mount over .

I just use my old Ford pu, I've never had to fab anything to tow them .

 

[pebble41]

When loaded it will be towed behind a CUCV. I'm just pulling it home with the Maverick to save on gas and reduce the chance of a break down far from home. Also a 14 hour day in a CUCV would be a bit rougher.

 

[98G]

When loaded it will be towed behind a CUCV. I'm just pulling it home with the Maverick to save on gas and reduce the chance of a break down far from home. Also a 14 hour day in a CUCV would be a bit rougher.

My opinion only, based on towing all kids of military trailers behind all kinds of civilian vehicles.

The pintle riser flipped is still going to be far too low to get the trailer level. That's OK, because you're empty and tipping forward biases the weight to the tongue, where you want the weight biased.

My only concerns are whether this will exceed the rated tongue weight of the tow vehicle, and you might get inappropriate activation of the surge brakes. You can disable the surge brakes if this occurs by means of opening the bleeder screws. (But only if this occurs. Generally you want the surge brakes fully functional.)

You do NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES want the weight biased to the rear of the trailer. Given a choice between exceeding the tongue weight, and inappropriate rearward bias, exceed the tongue weight. Biasing the weight rearward will cause loss of control.

The cheap pintle riser, and the cheap pintle are the appropriate choices for your situation. The tow vehicle may still be inadequate. You won't have a definitive answer until you load the tongue, at which point you're already 350 miles from home and committed...

FWIW, I towed a 19,800lb GTW rated pintle trailer 400 miles yesterday behind a Jeep Gladiator.

 

[MarkM]

When loaded it will be towed behind a CUCV. I'm just pulling it home with the Maverick to save on gas and reduce the chance of a break down far from home. Also a 14 hour day in a CUCV would be a bit rougher.

A 14 hr day in a CUCV would be hell to say the least. Five hours in my M998 and I'm ready to drive off a cliff.

Mark

 

[MarkM]

There are all kinds of channel pintel hitches in the 10" riser range. Just stay away from the real cheap ones. I purchased the one below and it's built like a tank. I used a very heavy duty channel pintel adapter for the hitch.

Mark

Drop channel hitch

 

[pebble41]

I wanted to say thanks for all the real world advice. I wound up with a Curt 13" plate and hitch. It was more than what I wanted to spend but it was what was available in time. I did throw about 100 pounds in the nose of the trailer to increase the tongue weight and another 150 in the truck bed just in case. One of the hubs needed some grease. Scraping the crust stuff off pushing new grease in with finger sorted it out enough to get home. I've got some stuff to figure out but there should be plenty of time while I wait for the paperwork. Thanks again!