If you need to straighten equally rapidly, you now have a vehicle that is suddenly rolling two to three inches side-to-side-without factoring in body roll (centre of gravity)-and at the same time the front tires have less traction.įor those who are NASCAR fans, you are likely familiar with the term “wedging a car” where the weight on the tires is modified with sway bars and spring rates to optimize traction on the continuous left turns. Just when you want the most consistency from your tow vehicle, its balance suddenly changes. Picture an emergency maneuver such as a sudden lane change. It is also causing the front suspension to lighten by a few hundred pounds. So, even before considering the vehicle’s centre of gravity or any other factors, the vertical ball mount is causing the tow vehicle to roll side to side. The difference in how a vehicle sits when turned with a vertical ball mount versus an angled ball mount is ¾” to 1.5” of body roll. Ensure your torsion bars work for you, not against you. The bottom line: when we turn with the angled ball mount, we are still transferring weight to the front wheels - not trying to roll the tow vehicle over.

The bar behind the tow vehicle is only four inches off the ground and the bar we don’t want to transfer weight in this turn is seven inches off the ground. If you reference the photograph above, you can see the arch that the torsion bar ends make as they rotate and the bars are positions for a 22 degree turn. The bar on the outside of the turn is now pointing straight up the centre of the tow vehicle, but has more angle since the maximum rearward angle occurs when the torsion bar is straight behind the tow vehicle. This causes the bar on the inside of the turn to unload and stop working. Why? When the bar is sideways, getting close to running parallel to the back bumper, it no longer has an angled pivot point: it has a rearward angle and not a sideways angle. The bar on the inside of the turn remains pointed at the outside rear tire, but it no longer has any pressure on it. With the angled ball mount, the tow vehicle stays balanced. The bar on the outside of the turn is pointing towards the centre of the car at the front, but less weight is transferred forward because only one bar is pointed at the front of the car, not two. When the tow vehicle is turning (see image on right), the inside torsion bar points-and transfers weight-to the opposite rear wheel, effectively trying to roll the vehicle over sideways. This means each torsion bar will transfer an equal amount of weight in the direction it is pointing. As a result: no matter where the torsion bars are in their rotation, the ends stay the same distance from the ground (see the yellow bar in the photograph below) and therefore they exert the same pressure. When the ball mount is vertical, the axis on which the torsion bars rotate is also vertical. This allows additional traction during sharp turns and more stability at high speeds. However, the main reason for the rearward angle is because it prevents weight transfer when you turn corners or change lanes. There are a couple of minor advantages of this rearward angle: less wear on the chains and more flexibility in the position of the snap-ups. So, a great deal of the pressure on the torsion bars in this picture is due to the rearward angle. To get the torsion bars working again and the tow vehicle level, we would have to hook up on the four- link and the torsion bars would almost touch the frame of the trailer. If we left the torsion bars connected on the end link (the chains as they are in the picture) the chains would be loose and since the torsion bars would no longer be working, the tow vehicle would sit very low at the back end, rather than being level. Study this picture and think about what would happen if the ball mount was rolled forward at the top to a perfectly vertical position: the back of the torsion bars would raise several inches. This may be true for carpentry, but not for suspension geometry and weight distribution hitches. To many people, this angle looks wrong: they think a 90 degree/square angle would be correct. Depending on hitch weight and ball height, this much angle may not always be achievable, but if possible, it is desirable. In this picture (left), the ball mount is bolted together at the correct angle. Most trailers on the road today have their ball mount angle set improperly, which is unfortunate as it’s an easy fix on most hitches and will significantly improve towing performance and safety. Understanding Ball Mount Angle Tow effortlessly and smooth this season!

Trailer equalizer tilted