Hitch extension brace
I'm looking to hear from people only who have done this to get real-life info on their experiences. Opinions not of any value since I have already thought. I want to brace my extension bar. I do n...
Forum Discussion
aj, close your eyes, don't read this.
For the rest of the group, if anyone is considering this type of setup, please consider the loads and stresses involved.
Presuming a 3' total extension from the upper mounting point of the "brace", bumper hitch ball location in aj's example and 6" of drop from the upper mount to the lower mount (out on the end of the extension).
To support 500lbs with the "brace", there would be approximately 3000lbs of tension in the brace/connections on either end.
A 1' drop over 3', the brace would see about 1500lbs of tension.
This is not considering any bending moment on either end where the "brace" attaches.
A setup like this WILL reduce the amount of bending stress on the trailer hitch receiver on the truck and on the hitch extension for sure.
It's not a totally flawed concept, however, the receiver/extension would have to bend or deflect for the "brace" to act. At that point, who's to determine what the limit is and if it's still well in the plastic range of deflection and how it will hold up to cyclic loading.
Now, real world, there's always some slop in the receiver to hitch connection. If one pre-loaded the "brace" at all, pulling the hitch extension upward, then ALL the load would go to the brace first until the brace "stretched" enough for the extension to bottom out in the receiver. Not good.
If the "brace" was just snug, but didn't lift up the end of the extension at all, then it would only act if the receiver or extension bent significantly under load. This is the ideal situation and the concept could offer a minor bit of support here, but the assumption would be that the extension/receiver is bending every time it's loaded, which isn't good.
In other words, think of the brace as an angle chord of a truss that is in tension. There's a reason you don't typically see trusses of any nature for any purpose with brace angles that small (10-15deg). Puts very large amounts of stress in that truss member compared to the applied load it is resisting.
Bottom line, that's why a Superhitch type truss works well in this scenario. It doubles the depth of the "beam" that has a cantilevered load on it. Which is much stronger than a "truss" with such a shallow angle trying to provide the same moment or bending resistance.
Sorry aj, had to explain it for the folks that might want to understand and not just hear what they want to hear.
For the rest of the group, if anyone is considering this type of setup, please consider the loads and stresses involved.
Presuming a 3' total extension from the upper mounting point of the "brace", bumper hitch ball location in aj's example and 6" of drop from the upper mount to the lower mount (out on the end of the extension).
To support 500lbs with the "brace", there would be approximately 3000lbs of tension in the brace/connections on either end.
A 1' drop over 3', the brace would see about 1500lbs of tension.
This is not considering any bending moment on either end where the "brace" attaches.
A setup like this WILL reduce the amount of bending stress on the trailer hitch receiver on the truck and on the hitch extension for sure.
It's not a totally flawed concept, however, the receiver/extension would have to bend or deflect for the "brace" to act. At that point, who's to determine what the limit is and if it's still well in the plastic range of deflection and how it will hold up to cyclic loading.
Now, real world, there's always some slop in the receiver to hitch connection. If one pre-loaded the "brace" at all, pulling the hitch extension upward, then ALL the load would go to the brace first until the brace "stretched" enough for the extension to bottom out in the receiver. Not good.
If the "brace" was just snug, but didn't lift up the end of the extension at all, then it would only act if the receiver or extension bent significantly under load. This is the ideal situation and the concept could offer a minor bit of support here, but the assumption would be that the extension/receiver is bending every time it's loaded, which isn't good.
In other words, think of the brace as an angle chord of a truss that is in tension. There's a reason you don't typically see trusses of any nature for any purpose with brace angles that small (10-15deg). Puts very large amounts of stress in that truss member compared to the applied load it is resisting.
Bottom line, that's why a Superhitch type truss works well in this scenario. It doubles the depth of the "beam" that has a cantilevered load on it. Which is much stronger than a "truss" with such a shallow angle trying to provide the same moment or bending resistance.
Sorry aj, had to explain it for the folks that might want to understand and not just hear what they want to hear.
