Manley owners: coupler height?

[woe_bonnet]

Hi all!

Wondering if any current Manley owners could tell me what the coupler height is on their trailer? I'm trying to determine how much rise I'll need on my ball.

Thanks!

 

[Boostpowered]

If your looking to make it level Your gonna have to back whatever you have up to one and measure it. A coupler can be all the way on the ground, up so high the rear of the trailer is on the ground or anywhere in between.

Their website for the basic one says it has 31" tire and what looks like a 3" frame and id add another 3-4" between the axle and frame for leaf springs so id reckon somewhere between 19 and 22" from the coupler to the ground.

 

[woe_bonnet]

Thanks for your response... yes, I'm in a bit of a pickle. We just had the receiver hitch installed, but don't want to order a ball mount until we know how much rise we'll need. I'm trying to avoid having to ask a friend to haul the trailer home for me once it lands at the receiving dock, but it may just come down to that.

This would be easier if somebody made height-adjustable ball mounts for 1 1/4" receivers, but I don't think that's a thing (probably for good reason). Also, I know there are 1 1/4"-2" hitch adapters, but I believe those are really rated for accessory mounts, not towing?

 

[Boostpowered]

Thanks for your response... yes, I'm in a bit of a pickle. We just had the receiver hitch installed, but don't want to order a ball mount until we know how much rise we'll need. I'm trying to avoid having to ask a friend to haul the trailer home for me once it lands at the receiving dock, but it may just come down to that.

This would be easier if somebody made height-adjustable ball mounts for 1 1/4" receivers, but I don't think that's a thing (probably for good reason). Also, I know there are 1 1/4"-2" hitch adapters, but I believe those are really rated for accessory mounts, not towing?

A 1 1/4" hitch and any kind of extensions included are rated for only 2000lbs. I wouldnt worry too much about the extenders and drops or lifts. And there are adjustable hitches they just cost more. Also if you get a drop hitch with a ball that bolts on and not welded you can flip the ball around so say if you have a 2" lift hitch it can also be a 2" drop hitch How many inches between the top of your hitch receiver hole and the ground? We can probably figure it out.

 

[woe_bonnet]

I'm 10" from the ground to the top of the receiver hole. Unless somebody has a Manley trailer and can give me the second half of the equation, I'll probably just wait and have my friend tow the trailer back to our place from the dock, and get my own measurement at that point.

I'm curious, though... To clarify my earlier response, I did find a great number of height adjustable ball mounts, but every one of them is for a 2" receiver hole, not 1 1/4". I found other message strings on other forums, as well, asking similar questions and the response seems to be that they aren't made for that size receiver hole. I've admittedly done a lot less looking into the 1 1/4"-2" receiver hole adapters (which I thought would allow us to mount one of the height adjustable ball mounts I've found) but those I have seen have indicated they aren't usable for towing applications, just accessory mounts (bike rack etc.)

If you can point me to a height adjustable ball mount for a 1 1/4" receiver hole, I'd be grateful and would happily purchase one! Or, I'll just wait until the trailer is here and I can take a measurement and get the closest matching rise on a fixed ball mount.

 

[Boostpowered]

Start with this to get to a 2" hitch since that's what the trailer says it comes with it will get you 5" higher then get a 2 inch reciever with adjustability. Its made for hauling.

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Accessories/Brophy/HT5R.html

 

[woe_bonnet]

Right, I've seen these as well... but like the others, it says "not to be used for towing." The tongue weight and towing capacities are effectively halved in some cases, depending on the brand, when using those adapters.

 

[Boostpowered]

Technically the1 1/4 reciever on your vehicle isn't meant to to used for much. It will likely break at the same tounge weight as a extension would. At this point you can find a 2" reciever for your vehicle that can handle 7k lbs but if your vehicle came with or is only made for 1 1/4 its not gonna be able to safely handle towing something over 2000 lbs for very long.
Or you can cobble it together with adapters dont exceed the weight and use safety chains.
But in all honesty your probably going to run into more problems since your towing capability is likely 2000 lb with 200lb tounge weight since its class 1.
I'm assuming your ride is a front wheel drive car like vehicle with a hitch that small which is a whole new can o worms.

I hate to say it but If your planning to do the kind of stuff this trailer would be capable of or even needed for you should get a bigger vehicle with a 2" hitch and minimum of rear wheel drive

 

[woe_bonnet]

The GTM of the trailer is fine for what the car (AWD Subaru) and Class I hitch are rated for. And you're correct, we're definitely not going to be doing offroad/overlanding (though we may, in the future, using this trailer and a different tow vehicle). The goal was to find a mobile base camp that we could tow with our Subaru, that could be used for overlanding later on... and this Manley came at an unbelievable price.

It's just the complicating factor of the tongue height that is stuck in our craw at this point.

 

[Boostpowered]

If your not worried about being perfectly level all the time and are just using as a Basecamp and can unhook to level when at campsites. then one of these should work just fine at hauling it around fully loaded. CURT 45592 Euro Mount (2" Ball, 1-1/4" Shank, 3.5K, 5-1/8" High, 11-1/4" Long) | eBay

 

[woe_bonnet]

That's exactly the one I was thinking of going with. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that the height disparity isn't more than 5". You can keep your fingers crossed on our behalf, too, if you'd like... maybe it will help :)

 

[brian0128]

See photos for answer. That is with General Grabber 31x10.5R15 at 22psi and 300lbs in trailer plus lid, rack and spare.

 

[woe_bonnet]

Thanks very much Brian, I appreciate it!

 

[JackA]

Why not call them?

 

[woe_bonnet]

Yes, I did so (contacted the current NA distributor). Without going through the long and convoluted conversations that ensued, suffice it to say he was unable to provide me with the information.

The good news is that the trailer is finished with its inspection and ready to head home Monday. A neighbor has kindly offered to help me tow it home, then it's just the wait until the appropriate ball mount is fabricated.