jbgilbank

All the researching I have done, I hope this helps many! This is the shortest mount I have found without having to pay an astronomical price through Audi for their 6.25" ball mount with only a 2' ball. Best part is, it is all you need for this vehicle.
Etrailer.comI am also purchasing the Convert-A-Ball Interchangeable Ball Set - 2" and 2-5/16" ***** - 1" Shank - Nickel - 904b

timshuwy

Curt has a preloaded 7.5 inch long for $28 (and a bunch of 8" non-preloaded ones) - CURT Manufacturing - CURT Fusion Ball Mount #45134
They also have a nice looking (overkill) 7 inch Forged version $62 .: CURT Manufacturing - CURT Forged Ball Mount #45341

dreadlocks

Ive got that fusion one for my little trailer, I really like it because the trailer is small enough to move by hand.. with locking pins nobody can remove the hitch bolt and make off with the trailer.. plus never have to check if its tight.

They got one thats a 2.25in rise and only 8in offset I'm thinking of getting for a camper.. I need a ~3in rise ideally but all I'm finding are 8.5in and up.. for a 20ft trailer I dont think 3/4 of an inch will be all that dramatic, plus I could put air suspension in offroad and not drop the trailer bumper as much if I need to take it offroad to pull into camp.. That forged one is 8.5in according to the video the guy measures on this one: https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Curt/C45341.html

Am I missing something here, but lets say you have 770# and 2 more inches of leverage coming off back of TV is +70lbs of force, wouldn't the trailer tongue also be 70lbs lighter if you extended it 2 inches further out? I think all this worry over that factory sticker is largely moot, the forces on the structure are basically the same even if the pivot point is not exactly within spec.. this article seems to agree: https://www.etrailer.com/question-209339.html

I really think all this worry about 2-3inches out of what the manual/sticker says is much ado about nothing.. why can other vehicles use 16in long neck hitches without dramatically loosing tongue thus tow capacity but we cant? Is it because Audi wants us to buy a $140 hitch that should be $35? hrmmm

jbgilbank

I agree, good article! And Audi can keep their overpriced mount!
I am certainly not going to warp myself over it and surely surely don't think it will make an once of difference in my case, but since I need to get one anyway, I want to get as close to spec as possible for the least amount of $! This setup I listed will do the trick perfectly and look great!
I have several mounts from my farming days, a couple of old 8's rate at 6000 and a 10 rated at 7500 and a grip of old ball, one of which I cannot separate without a **** ton of applied hot wrench, which I just do not have the time to deal with now. It is soaking like a fiend though! I had some heavier equipment that still may be on the farm 3000 miles away.

timshuwy

The tongue weight would not be lighter... it would be the same... but the amount of effect that it has on the car would be greater with a longer hitch. The article says that the HITCH can handle the weight but also says to refer to the car manual.
Think of it this way... if you have a tough bolt to loosen, you use a longer handled wrench, a breaker bar, or even a cheater bar to get even more torque on the bolt... a long hitch is basically the same thing. You put a really long hitch, and you are giving the trailer more torque to push down the back of the car.
But, like someone else said, if you are running your Q7 up to the max on trailer weight/tongue weight, AND you have the inside of the Q7 fully loaded with 7 passengers, THEN you have something to be concerned about...You need to take total load into account, and if you are using 2 extra inch hitch, and it adds 80lbs, that is less than putting an adult in the back seat.

dreadlocks

Yes I get that argument, but the trailer is also on a lever.. and like picking up a wheelbarrow further from the axle the less force it takes.. Taking your scenario I add its more like hooking a cheater bar up to a bolt then setting up another lever to turn the cheater bar.. its not necessarily going to be much easier to turn that bolt from the short end of another lever that undoes most if not all the mechanical leverage gained by extending the first lever.

I get that there will be additional torsion on the TV's receiver, but I dont think it cleanly into every X inches reduces tongue weight capacity and increases axle loading by X or it would be more than just us worrying about this and how to calculate such loads would be more readily available..

jbgilbank

I have another quesiton.
Would I tow in D or S/
Comfort, Dynamic or Auto?
Or does it do its own thing when I set the tow in MMI?

Still waiting on my Redarc brake control, but have my pigtail put together and set for quick installation.
Also waiting for my ball and mount, which should all be here early next week.

Now, I just need to find a trailer that they will not take all of the pants from my entire family to purchase! EEK! I either can't seem to find a used one here in Cali. or any used one they want new price for.
I would travel into Nevada or AZ to get.

Seriously looking at aluminum, but the weight reduction is not that great for the overly expensive increase in price!
Any thoughts on brand I could get here in Cali. would be highly appreciated.
I am leaning toward LOOK! or Pace.
I would have to travel so far for Haulmark and some of the other brands I am suspicion of.
Want: 7x14, tandem with V and ramp, extra height not necessary but RV door would be nice and drymax I guess is the shiznizzle these days.

Thanks in advance!

dreadlocks

You tow in D, Sport mode will get even more crap fuel economy.. AAS can be in whatever you want and it'll lock in height at that in when you hookup trailer (No need to set it in MMI actually), if your in Dynamic and have a trailer hooked up you cant get back into Dynamic unless you unhook the trailer wiring to get it to squat again.. I put mine in Comfort when towing, you can change to any ride height but dynamic when trailer is plugged in.

Good luck on trailer shopping, thats a rabbit hole I spend months in heh..

ps: Loading mode on AAS is great for unhooking from a heavy trailer, dont really have to crank it up much.. just level it off and let the air out of the bags to take it off the ball, the back will raise up when you get up to a few MPH after pulling away.. Also dont forget the backup camera has a special trailer hookup mode thats damn handy.

jbgilbank

Thank you!
Absolutely what I had concluded, but wanted a 2nd at least. On all points!

Also, you mention "special trailer hookup mode"? Isn't that the MMI listed as "TOW"? Or is there something else?

dreadlocks

The Tow Option in MMI will go ON/OFF Automatically when it detects something plugged into the trailer plug, you dont have to enable/disable it.. I think the option is there for stuff like bikeracks with lights, so you can over-ride it and say actually we are not towing despite something being plugged in.

I put it in Tow Mode option manually when I took it in for smog check, I didnt want it to squat down on the rollers and loosen up the straps.. so it can also be used for Dyno runs.