So I have a 04 ram, 2wd, 17 inch wheels. I plan on hauling about 1500-2000 lbs of scrap in a week or so using a 16 foot car hauler. What sort of drop or rise should I need? I have a 3 1/4 inch drop hitch now (or 2 inch rise). I read 18-20 inch ground clearance when under load but that seems a bit extreme, ill need a rise to handle that I think. If anyone else has any trailer pulling experience let me know! Thanks.

 

It'll depend on your trailer. Is this an open deck of enclosed unit? I've hooked up to a HD dump trailer and it was a straight bar setup. A typical cargo trailer needed a good 2" drop. A little boat trailer would need a 3-4" drop. Depending on the weight you might see a couple of inches of suspension drop unless you have some sort of helpers under there. Too many variables at this point.

 

Its a open trailer pretty well, some ply wood walls and the floor is steel.

 

I'd check online for the specs of the trailer (actual hitch height) or measure it if you can before you go. All the regular car trailers I've seen are always quite low for obvious loading issues, but your 18-20" comment makes me think it could be a deckover trailer if talking about clearance under anything. Those can get quite high depending on the size of the tires.