Cargo trailers with tongue extensions
I know many of you have said in the past you have trailers with tongue extensions instead of a hitch extension. So those of you who do this how long is your tongue and how much does your camper overha...
Forum Discussion
Extending the tongue length on the trailer reduces the hitch weight even though that extra length adds material weight to the empty trailer. A longer tongue will make a trailer track inside a turn more than a shorter one. With about any trailer, you want the distance from rear corner of the camper to the front corner of the trailer to be more than half the width of the widest camper or trailer measurement. You need to add at least 1/2 a foot to the length to compensate for uneven ground.
Extending the receiver will swing a trailer wider in turns than without the extension. The outward swing will not be more than rear of the camper but is noticeable. Backing up a trailer using an extension will make the trailer respond quicker to steering input as if it was a shorter trailer due to the extra swing.
Some campers have little hanging bellow bed level and better suited for longer tongues directly connected to the receiver others have a step down to carry generators or propane in the rear wings plus have dump plumbing and generator exhaust hanging even lower. Remember that when taking dips out of driveways, you are also turning and may contact something to the side of the tongue rather than the camper floor.
Extending the receiver will swing a trailer wider in turns than without the extension. The outward swing will not be more than rear of the camper but is noticeable. Backing up a trailer using an extension will make the trailer respond quicker to steering input as if it was a shorter trailer due to the extra swing.
Some campers have little hanging bellow bed level and better suited for longer tongues directly connected to the receiver others have a step down to carry generators or propane in the rear wings plus have dump plumbing and generator exhaust hanging even lower. Remember that when taking dips out of driveways, you are also turning and may contact something to the side of the tongue rather than the camper floor.
