Towing Hack

[Shaved Ice]

I had to rent a trailer yesterday to transport a king size bed frame. I have a drop hitch, but I opted to bring my hitch that comes straight out with three different size balls (see pic) since I didn’t know the size U-haul uses. When the U-haul employee tried to hook up the trailer, there was not enough room between the ball and the bottom of the spare tire for the trailer coupler to connect. For reference: I have stock JLUR tires, stock towing package, and a Mopar tailgate reinforcement.

I was thinking I would have to take the spare tire off to attach the coupler. The quick thinking employee simply told me to open my tailgate. This moved the spare tire out of the way and allowed the trailer to be connected. He claimed he hadn’t seen it before and just problem solved ( a lot quicker than me). Anyway, I thought I would share in case anyone out there finds themselves in a similar situation.

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[spurly]

Even with a drop hitch, the trailer latch can still interfere with the spare. Some people might be inclined to use a hitch extension to clear the spare, but that's never a good idea unless you're hauling a super light or small trailer.

 

[rustyshakelford]

We’ve also hooked the ball to the trailer receiver then slid it into the jeeps receiver and insert the pin. Different ways to accomplish the same goal

Brett

 

[SecondTJ]

The problem lies with your drawbar being “flat” with no drop. You wouldn’t have the issue with one like this & only a 2” ball

 

[Shaved Ice]

The problem lies with your drawbar being “flat” with no drop. You wouldn’t have the issue with one like this & only a 2” ball

I know. I was just working with what I had from previous purchases. Also, I might have had to swap out ball sizes if I had brought my drop hitch.

 

[wv18jl]

We’ve also hooked the ball to the trailer receiver then slid it into the jeeps receiver and insert the pin. Different ways to accomplish the same goal

Brett

Same here

Although I could have just opened the tailgate

 

[rustyshakelford]

Same here

Although I could have just opened the tailgate

My spare hangs down to low and would hit!

Brett

 

[Jamin55]

What drop size is being used on Rubicon with std 33 inch tires

 

[SpeedKills]

What drop size is being used on Rubicon with std 33 inch tires

it varies significantly from trailer to trailer. Around 3" is a best-guess starting point, but the trailer needs to be measured. I have 4 different drops in my garage because of the 6 different trucks I've towed with and all the different trailer sizes.

 

[Jaym]

Ran into this issue with my trailer. In fact I even took my spare off to get the trailer on and off once—second time I was much smarter and just opened the tailgate, locked the trailer down, then shut the gate. That works like a charm.
Problem is with my trailer you almost need a helper as you need someone to hold the tailgate open just wide enough as you back up so it doesn’t bang onto the front of the trailer.

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