I have an 2017 Audi Q7 3.0 with factory tow package, no air suspension. We are looking to buy a Winnebago Micro Minnie 2306 BHS trailer, double ax, 25' long, gross weight 4200, tongue 495 lbs; fully packed maybe 5000-5500. I've been looking a lot on this forum about this topic and concluded the Audi should be able to tow that comfortably.

Now I was at the dealer to make the deal, but first wanted to check the trailer hitched on and discovered the trailer tongue is 23 1/2" from the ground (lower part of the tongue) when leveled whilst the hitch receiver is 16 1/4" from the ground (upper part). Apparently the standard Audi ball has a 2" rise, but for this trailer I would need 7" it seems. Then we looked at other brands and their tongue height at level was about the same. The lowest we could find was 19 3/4 which would still demand a 3 1/2" rise. furthermore, hooking it on showed a 1 1/2" sag so fully packed I expect 2" meaning the figures above should be added 2", am I correct?

I already concluded the standard Audi hitch will not work, but mounting a 7" rise, would that even be possible?

Makes me wonder how other people handled this since I've seen examples on this forum of people towing double ax trailers of this size with their Q7, can anybody help?

thanks beforehand!

 

How are you measuring the trailer tongue height (to which part of the trailer tongue)?
My Lance trailer does ride lower to the ground than many other dual-axle 21' trailers. I had measured about 21" at one point. I have the Audi standard ball set up with a rise, and then got the Curt hitch ball with 2" rise shank:
That setup does a great job for my trailer. I may be just a hair nose down, but pretty darn close to level. HOWEVER, I have the air suspension, so I do not get significant sag. Our unweighted car receiver heights are similar. So, yes, if you're tongue is 2.5" higher than mine and expect 1.5" sag, you'll need another 4" more than me... It will look odd, but I don't see why you couldn't put a 7" rising hitch. I would do one of the adjustable kinds so you could adapt to anything you might tow. Have the shank drilled so you can have the ball closer to the rear bumper to be within Audi spec. The biggest issue you may run into is whether you can still open the trunk with the trailer hitched up depending on how far forward the hitch jack controller is.

Be sure that the dealer actually weighs the tongue weight for that trailer. My Lance trailer tongue weight was WAY heavier in real life than the brochure had stated. I removed the wet-cell batteries from the front and replaced them with a dry battery installed inside behind the axle. I travel with only one propane tank and have to be careful packing in order to keep the tongue weight just barely at Audi spec.

 

good point, I measured up to the lower part of the coupler; the upper part would be 2 1/4 higher.
I know factory figures are always the optimal ones and sales guys just tell you whatever you want to hear. It took me already quite some persuasion for the sales guy to help me out, looking for a ball mount and hooking the trailer to my car instead of just chattering about the great features and saying "yeah, you're good" when asking about the weights

Anyway, thanks for your feedback, I decided to order an adjustable one with weight scale included, that will immediately help me with the tongue weight problem you mention.

I ordered this one (8" drop/rise):

 

I was going back and forth myself of the same situation and never towed anything larger than my kendon motorcycle trailer. But a guy dreadlocks and some other towing experts gave me the courage to go for it after scouring the board for towing information and reading endless posts. I dont have air only steel springs and the rear dropped about 1.75. I am towing a smaller 2020 Micro minne 2106ds model that is 21ft 3800lb with 360lb hitch weight. I bought the same ball as you and pulling is effortless and not much if any sway. No WDH or sway bars or any additional towing. I have the 10" rise model and am a couple clicks below the max height so I think we are at the same height. There are seasoned towing guys that tow near the limit with no problems from what I was able to find on this board with our gen.

hardware.

 

I have a 18 without air as well and a trailer that is 3200lb dry (3800lb loaded). I have towed it with a regular hitch that I drilled a hole to make the ball distance to pin to be within specs.
I do get some drop and trailer won't be 100% level but I think that would be better than having the trailer level and such a high ball receiver. I'm not a towing expert (though an Engineer). The amount of forward/backward force at such a distance high will create a much larger torque and will impact stability of the vehicle a lot more than not having the trailer level. Think of it, if the trailer is not 100% level the load on the hitch might increase by a small amount but if you use such a high extension (say the distance is 40% more to the pin) it creates 40% more torque. It works like a pry bar with the force of the trailer behind the end of the pry bar when you pull or stop.

 

Although it is good to read the reply from Maksiu that the hitch I had in mind (with up to 9" rise) works well, I decided to go for another trailer after all. We now chose a No Boundaries 19.8; 22,5' long, 3800 empty, factory hitch weight 395 and a single-ax. This after I continued reading on Audiworld and decided that 5500lbs and 25' might not be ideal for long trips. Furthermore, I drew exactly the same conclusion that a high rise ball will put different and additional torque on the receiver. The new trailer hitch is now lower and a single axe, so not need to exactly level anymore.

I now ordered the 3503 - 2" Alumistinger ball mount which gives a 1" rise, after all the research I discovered that this is the only ball mount that comes close to the 6.2" that Audi demands since I understood that the official Audi mount (from Curt) has even 9"? I could potentially add an additional 2" rise ball to level. However, now I discovered you cannot add a sway bar to that ball mount so I will have to do without. Unless someone would tell me that I really need one? Then I switch to the Audi (Curt) ball mount and add a sway bar.

 

Personally, I run a sway bar even with my tandem axle travel trailer which sits lower than most and which has a relatively high tongue weight. As you may know, having a tongue weight at least 10% (better is 12-15%) of total weight is key to limiting sway. A light tongue weight is a recipe for disaster. Regardless, with the high crosswinds and oncoming semis on 2-lane roads, I feel more comfortable having a sway bar set up to help minimize sway from those conditions. I had a sway bar tab welded to my ball mount weld-on tab: https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...rt/C45822.html. If you cannot weld to your ball mount, they do make a sway bar tab that gets held in place by ball when it's bolted onto the mount: https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...e/RP26003.html

Especially with a single-axle trailer and the fact that you're planning long distances, I would feel better with a sway controller. Be sure to also weigh your tongue weight once you are set up and loaded to be sure that your load distribution isn't making the tongue too light.

 

Ok, thanks for your answers.

So I reviewed it all again and since the hitch is too small for the part suggested (see topic: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q7-...acket-2975091/) and an aluminum one (which make welding complicated), I found a curt 3/4 rise with sway tab https://www.curtmfg.com/part/45820 I will use a 2" rise ball to compensate the sag (https://www.curtmfg.com/part/40034).

I also ordered the betterWeigh mobile scale (https://www.curtmfg.com/towing-acces.../betterweigh); it appears to work well, I'm curious

 

I just ran out and took a tongue weight and it came to 460lbs with this one below. I have two 20lb tanks and one battery so that seems about right because my trailer is 360lbs dry with nothing in it.

 

Our trailer is also single axle. As for the receiver I got a generic (I think Curt) ball mount and as you said the distance of the tip of the ball to pin is much larger than then 6.2" recommended. What I did
was to drill another 5/8" hole for the pin closer to the ball. This way the receiver sits further into the receiver and is within the recommended distance.
BTW, one thing I learned is that trailers might weigh different thans spec, e.g. ours is supposed to be 400lb dry at hitch but I just weighed it today and it's over 515lb.