Silverfox

I am very knowlegeable in the art of towing but I have a question to save me a lot of grief getting the right Ball Mount to tow my 14.5ft aluminuim boat.
I am hoping someone here has already figured this out.

I will be using a new EZ loader trailer with 13" tires which sits the tounge at the coupler approx 16" at the top of the frame from the ground with trailer level.

My Curt hitch receiver on the HHR sits @ 11.25" from the groung to the top of the 1 1/4" reciever hole.
By the time I hook the trailer and boat up to the HHR it will drop to 10" with approx. 80lb. of tounge weight.
The way I see it I need a ball mount with a 5" riser from Curt.

That 5" riser will bring the coupler/tounge closer to the rear hatch when opening the hatch.
In fact I am concerened it might even "Hit" at that point when opening it.

The only option I see is to buy the 5" riser ball mount with a Longer length.

Curt offers 2 different lengths in that ball mount.

#45024 @ 9-9/16" OA

#45205 @ 11-9/16" OA

Has anybody used either of these ball mounts that can tell me if the had a hatch clearance issue?

I would not want to use the longest one #45205 unless absolutely neccesary.

SF

IgottaWoody

so your saying the trailer sits too high..or the rear sags? Or both?

Silverfox

I'm trying to find out if those HHR owners that tow have used the (5" rise) ball mounts with the specs listed on my post, and if they had any issues with the rear hatch hitting the trailer coupler when opening the hatch door.

DreamHHR

5" should only bring the coupler roughly level with the top of the bumper, right? Then there's no way for the hatch door to hit it. I do have a riser (5 to 6" sounds about right), and have never even come close to hitting the trailer coupler (even with the handle / hook thing in the up position); however, I can't tell you which length I have, I'll have to check when I get home tonight.

Yves

DreamHHR

Alright, I don't know how low your receiver is relative to the top of the bumper, but I just measured mine and there's >12 inches, so there's no way a 5 inch riser will interfere with the hatch door. OTOH, you want to make sure that the bar is long enough so that the ball clears the bumper, because it's going to sit smack in the middle of it, height wise. My riser bar measures 11.5" from the square tip to the center axis of the ball, and I don't recall seeing too much of a gap between the riser and the bumper, i.e., I don't think that I could be using anything much shorter.
But, we don't have the same setup, so measurements may vary. Good luck; if you measure carefully, you should be able to figure out what's needed.

Yves

foolmoon_design

You should also add some airlift bags. Some use them for towing, some for drag racing.
You can install in an hour. They raise the whole ass end about 2" & level nicely when towing. Inexpensive too. There is an install in the how to's

Lucky

I have never had a problem with any trailer I have had behind my hhr but we are talking about a boat trailer. I could see some boat trailer with the winch pedestal being close to hitting the hatch when opening it.

Silverfox

Right ... The winch stand and associated parts can be slightly moved back if neccesary so I don't feel thats a problem for me but it could be if your trailer is on the short side for the boat you have on it.

SF

Silverfox

DreamHHR,

Thanks for that info
Thats helps me a lot.
I will opt for the Curt Long 11 9/16" Ball mount.

SF

Silverfox

Thats a good idea if I get into trouble trying to get things level enough for me.
I really won't know for sure until it's loaded and all hooked up.
Then a test drive to see the results/issues.

SF