mahkno

Have a 2018 Audi Q7 with air suspension. I am trying to figure out what the hitch height (inside top of the square hole) will be with a trailer on but I do not have the trailer yet. There seems to be some variability as the Q7 will adjust height as needed. What I cannot find is what the target height is that the Q7 will adjust to once a trailer is attached. This is needed to determine what ball mount to put on for drop/rise.

With no trailer attached I measured: Dynamic at 14.25", Comfort 15", All-Road 16", Lift-Offroad 17.5" According to the manual we are supposed to set it to comfort or automatic.

I am looking to buy a boat but I need to know what ball mount I need before I leave.

The trailer's coupler height is 14.25".

Thanks

M

LeicaNut

You will need to set your air suspension into trailer mode in the MMI and the air suspension will be at the proper height, 2 bars, if I remember correctly. Which I believe is comfort mode.

CottagerGreg

Most boat trailers or enclosed trailers I have prefer a height of 17-18" so I have a receiver with a riser to match the trailer. Our ultility trailer is lower like yours so I mix and match to ensure a level trailer as it helps with sway under highway speeds.

AlbertQ7

Yes, set it in comfort/automatic. It should return to that "comfort" height. So if you measured 15", then it should get back to 15". Calculate your drop, etc, based on that. If it settles 0.25-0.5" lower, that's not a big deal as you'd rather err on slightly low rather than slightly high.

Alternatively, get something like this: https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts...en/AM3290.html
You can then have any height you want and chose a 2" or 2 5/16" ball depending on what you are towing. I've used that one in the past and liked it. I use the dedicate Audi ball mount for my travel trailer since I'm loading the hitch weight to the max and the Audi mount has a shorter distance from the hitch pin hole to the ball mount, decreasing the lever arm. That may not be important, but I figured I'd go with it considering I'm pushing the limit. Most boats don't have that heavy a tongue weight, so I would opt for the flexibility of something like I linked. That said, if you want a standard mount you should be able to calculate the drop needed with your measurements and the assumption that the air suspension does get you back up to the preloaded height.

mahkno

I guess my reading of the manual suggests that even if you set it to Trailer Mode, it does not actually kick in until something is hooked up. The ball mounts that Audi sells as accessories have 2" drops which seems too much unless Trailer mode is higher. I don't have anything to hook up to test it out.

Sounds like the consensus is that 'comfort' height is the same as Trailer Mode.

AlbertQ7

Correct. I think the main thing trailer mode does is it deactivates the lowering function at higher speeds, deactivates rear proximity sensors, deactivates blind spot monitoring (which I hate that it does, but maybe it is concerned about confusion from the trailer), and gives you a symbol in the MMI when you turn on your blinker showing that there is a trailer blinking as well. Mine goes into trailer mode automatically when I plug in the trailer socket. Perhaps it activates an automatic anti-sway function as well...