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I am new to this board. Have learned a great deal from everyone reading some of the threads. The Audi Q7 specs for ball mount are very tight at 6.193 inches from pin to center of ball and 3.432 inches from pin base to center of ball vertical. Many travel trailers in the US have hitch mount that is at around 21-24 inches high. That is about 6-8 inches higher than the Audi hitch. I am specifically looking at the APEX NANO 208 BHS. Dry weight of 3948lbs and hitch weight of 516lbs. This is a tandem axel. I don't have air suspension on my 2021 Q7 3.0. I plan on getting air bags that I read about in the forums and adding them to the rear springs to reduce sag.
If you are on this board and you have a trailer that is similar in size, what kind of ball mount / rise combination are you using? Even out of spec combo? I realize that it might be impossible to use Audi's specs exactly on the ball mount and there will be added torque/changes in tongue weight max that are hard to calculate.
Here are some solutions that I have seen on this board:
With a dry weight of 3948lbs and 516 hitch, let's say an extra 1200lbs loaded onto the APEX (LP, battery, stuff) would take it to 5200lbs approx. Tongue weight of about 680 when the trailer is loaded.
The weigh safe mount from timber grove is a little out of spec based on the Q7 Hitch stickers, but I am also not at the Q7's max of 7700 / 770 tongue max.
The ability to add anti sway bars also allows the opportunity to redistribute a little of the weight off the tongue if necessary.
There is always going to be some added risk that you have to accept if you decide not to follow Audi Specs. I would probably be more worried if the trailer and tongue weight was closer to the max. I think one would also assume that Audi's specs have a considerable safety margin above what they are quoting, although I would never take my chances at max load. If you are in a similar situation or you found a solution, what do you think? Am I way off or do you think this is a reasonable setup?
So last year I used a CURT 45362 Aluminum Trailer Hitch Ball Mount, Fits 2-Inch Receiver, 8,000 lbs, 1-Inch Hole, 6-in Drop, 5-in Rise with my 2019 Q7 3.0 (no air suspension).
I towed a Viking 12.0TD MAX single axle a few thousand miles last year which according to Google has a cargo capacity of 1,034 lb, a hitch weight capacity of 259 lb, and an unloaded weight of 2,225 lb. So loaded I figured around 3k. Towards the end of the year we drove about 5 hours to camp and I definitely felt it back there on grooved concrete at 65 mph on the Interstate. Enough that this year I’m going to get a scale and be more scientific about my towing setup, tongue weight, airbags, maybe a sway bar, etc.
Not sure how frequently you tow stuff but I’ve pulled several boats tens of thousands of miles albeit usually with half ton pickups and I like to stay significantly under vehicle maximums, which makes things safer I’m sure but also much less stressful on me.
Going forward for a variety of reasons I’m only going to look at dual axle campers and boats so +1 on that idea if you’re still thinking of that.
My Apex Nano is double axle so there is a little more stability. I added in a friction sway bar. I am also planning on getting the Tucson electronic anti-sway. I don't want to have to think about sway as much as possible.
You have to make sure that you have 13-15% tongue weight to control sway. If you are hitting pot holes or grooved concrete, not sure there is anything you can do to not feel that. However, if the trailer is making a lot of noise, pick up a hitch tightener.
Here is a pic of my setup. Didn't have the sway bars attached yet.
I don't have air suspension. There isn't much sag.
.....You have to make sure that you have 13-15% tongue weight to control sway.......
That's a lot of tongue weight. I run just over 10% on my boat, and it's as stable as can be. I know several of the guys with 24ft boats run down into the 7-8% range.
Even Audi's ratings only indicate 10% (7,700lb rating with a 770lb tongue weight rating).
While I agree that too little tongue weight is a problem, and too much is likely NOT a problem, I think 13-15% is high, if not a shade excessive.
For my trailer loaded, it's about 4800 lbs. So I try to shoot for about 625lbs tongue weight. Weight safe might be pricey but it's an easy way to calculate.
BTW - this is a really nice big scale to have when loading things into your trailer (It's only $70) and you can be more accurate with how much weight you are adding to your trailer like clothes, food, etc. : https://www.vevor.com/shipping-scale...p_010547226310
For my trailer loaded, it's about 4800 lbs. So I try to shoot for about 625lbs tongue weight. Weight safe might be pricey but it's an easy way to calculate.
BTW - this is a really nice big scale to have when loading things into your trailer (It's only $70) and you can be more accurate with how much weight you are adding to your trailer like clothes, food, etc. : https://www.vevor.com/shipping-scale...p_010547226310
Definitely agree, our basecamp comes in at a little over 3,000lbs loaded but its tongue weight is 440lbs. Tows like a dream, mind you we do run an Andersen WDH on it as well.
Definitely agree, our basecamp comes in at a little over 3,000lbs loaded but its tongue weight is 440lbs. Tows like a dream, mind you we do run an Andersen WDH on it as well.
Lone Rock Beach, Lake Powell
Did you get a modification to your Audi to use that WDH?
Did you get a modification to your Audi to use that WDH?
Nope, we ran the same WDH on our Q5 for 40k km as well with this trailer before we upgraded to the Q7. Its a chain and poly bushing style vs. the load bars. Way less forces but still smooths everything out.
03-07-2024, 10:26 AM
Solutions for ball mount rise on a travel trailer
