2017 / 2018 Ford Factory 3" Receiver Hitch Extension

BradW wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
It can be done technically, but will sacrifice the safety.
Lately I was hauling garden sculptures on equipment trailer.
Whole trailer was probably in 8k range, but due to the load shape, the tongue was light.
I could not drive with it faster than 55mph as with any maneuver the trailer would start fishtailing.
That was with no extension, where extension is fishtailing amplifier.

Been there! :o

Picked up a load of 12' composite deck boards on my 8' utility trailer towed behind my 2-door jeep. I knew it would be light on the tongue (maybe 100 lb tongue weight). I'm guessing the trailer/load weighed 1,500 to 2,000 lbs (maybe more). When I hit 45 it got BAD squirrely. If I had tried to drive over 45, I would have lost it. Of course it was also raining, dark and Friday rush hour traffic. I made it 15 miles home driving 40 and I will never do that again.

Me too -- similar situation. Light tongue weight is the symptom of the actual cg being too far back. Situation is mathematically and physically unstable.

Kayteg1 wrote:
It can be done technically, but will sacrifice the safety.
Lately I was hauling garden sculptures on equipment trailer.
Whole trailer was probably in 8k range, but due to the load shape, the tongue was light.
I could not drive with it faster than 55mph as with any maneuver the trailer would start fishtailing.
That was with no extension, where extension is fishtailing amplifier.

Been there! :o

Picked up a load of 12' composite deck boards on my 8' utility trailer towed behind my 2-door jeep. I knew it would be light on the tongue (maybe 100 lb tongue weight). I'm guessing the trailer/load weighed 1,500 to 2,000 lbs (maybe more). When I hit 45 it got BAD squirrely. If I had tried to drive over 45, I would have lost it. Of course it was also raining, dark and Friday rush hour traffic. I made it 15 miles home driving 40 and I will never do that again.

Here are photos of the hitch extension I built in 12 years ago and am still using on our 2006 F350. Its made from 2-1/2" X 1/4" wall square steel tube. I believe it is about 22" to 24" hole to hole. I have towed our 7,500 lb car hauler many 1,000s of miles with it.

The new extension will be longer, 30" to 36" and will be made of 3" X 3/8" wall steel tube and have similar side chains/turnbuckles. I agree that 1/4" wall would be plenty, but I will likely use 3/8" so I don't have to think too hard about it. The trade off for added strength is cost and weight.

I agree that 500 lb tongue weight seems low for a 7,500 lb trailer. But I'm pretty sure that is what it is. I remember weighing it when I was setting everything up, but that was 12 years ago and the remembering part of my brain ain't what it used to be. I was trying to keep the tongue weight as low as possible to reduce the torque on the hitch, but still have stability on the highway. It was easy to adjust the tongue weight by just positioning the jeep fore or aft on the trailer. I still have the two walmart bathroom scales I bought to weigh it.

I love the WD hitch set up we currently have. The truck actually drives much better on the interstate with the trailer than without.

The added leverage on the receiver hitch is my main concern. When the weather clears up, I'm going to crawl under a 2018 and check the side plate thickness and thump it with a small ball peen hammer.

Just run into This SuperTruss video that shows how they work during driving.
They flex quite a bit, even the guys did not say what is the trailer weight.
Showing how serious the connection is.
Steel can handle pretty good flexing, but at some point metal fatigue comes to play.

I use the following Reese hitch extension for my camper. It is not 3 inch to 2 inch but rather, 2 1/2 inch to 2 inch.

http://www.reeseprod.com/products/hitch-accessories/other-accessories/trailer-hitch-extension/hxyNMzUEThezO4ZpzhR4RkMsE576VeBN

It works great and I haul my utility trailer with ATV, coolers etc. loaded on it. Since your hitch is 3" you could just use your 2 1/2" reducer.

I need a weight distribution hitch due to my tongue weight, but I do not need any sway control for my trailer to track straight.

It can be done technically, but will sacrifice the safety.
Lately I was hauling garden sculptures on equipment trailer.
Whole trailer was probably in 8k range, but due to the load shape, the tongue was light.
I could not drive with it faster than 55mph as with any maneuver the trailer would start fishtailing.
That was with no extension, where extension is fishtailing amplifier.

I can tell you that the double truss extensions from Torklift have their current rating due to the extension strength and their receivers have more capacity. If you are building your own extension, it will need to be comparable in strength to get similar ratings. I have not seen any other receivers with side plates as large as those used in the SuperHitch, so I question whether these other receivers can take the leverage a long extension exerts on it with any significant weight.

My 20' enclosed trailer is typically loaded at 6000-8000 lbs and has an 800-1000 lb tongue weight. I cannot see a 7500 lb trailer with 500 lb tongue weight unless it is loaded rear heavy or it is a boat.

There are charts for capacity for WD hitches. Length makes a big difference for anything other than the Super Hitch. You might check those out.

I cut my 2 1/2 down to 18 inches which gives me just enough length for my TC. I cut it short so it wouldn’t be in the way putting down the steps. The downside is there isn’t a lot of room to hookup. Anyway, it worked fine without a WD hitch for my wife’s uncles 18 TT behind my TC to Yellowstone last year.

What'd you use for an extension? I could see a piece of 3" square 1/4" wall tubing. That would make an awful strong extension.