Hitch extension brace

I think this is what he is after..Just another tube welded to the bottom of the other hitch for vertical support...

A SuperHitch clone.

I have an opinion and I have experience. But without knowing the hitch weight of the trailer, the trailer weight, if you plan to run an equalizer hitch and the extension length required I can't even begin to say if it will work.

It isn't the static load that you have to worry about but the dynamic load from bouncing and dips you have to worry about. The longer the extension extension the worse the dynamic loading.

In regards to just adding a second tubing to mimic a Superhitch, there is more to the Superhitch than just a second tubing. You still have to worry about all of the torque placed on the hitch connection to the truck and it's reaction to the truck frame.

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.

Wow, You have two of the best Truck camper guys on this forum and you choose to insult them for trying to help you. Good luck.

Ohhh, you want someone to tell you it works....
I see, sorry, didn't mean to waste your time.
You need to save plenty of that for your hitch brace project.

Moving on…

I have also considered modifying my hitch to mimmic a Super Truss like Torklift has. It would require welding on a little receiver below, or above like Torklift does. If anyone has tried this I am interested to see the actual results and how you made it work

I considered two additional receivers at the ends of the hitch so I would have a 3-arm ball mount extension, but this would be a lot of welding, metal and time.. but it would be strong. I ruled this option out for now

"Real situations" means it hasn't busted yet? And "hasn't busted yet" is better than calculations? lol

Grit dog wrote:
Since you don’t want to be rude but you don’t want people’s opinions then I won’t share facts with you because I won’t waste my time running the calcs so that you believe it’s not just opinion.
But with that said I’ll let YOU sleep on these words. Restraint angle and horizontal and vertical component of the load.
Oh and no one does what you’re suggesting because it won’t hold much vertical load.

But since you don’t provide load, extension length, material properties, you can backwoods almost anything together. Whether it works or helps is unknown.

Thanks for not sharing opinions, all you have said crossed my mind in a mere moment as mentioned, therefore is the reason I am interested in a real situation rather than calculations.

You opinionated comments and speculation are what I wanted to avoid… Re-read the first sentence. I can't help clarify this further, but if still confused, then just move on I guess,no need to comment on everything

Since you don’t want to be rude but you don’t want people’s opinions then I won’t share facts with you because I won’t waste my time running the calcs so that you believe it’s not just opinion.
But with that said I’ll let YOU sleep on these words. Restraint angle and horizontal and vertical component of the load.
Oh and no one does what you’re suggesting because it won’t hold much vertical load.

But since you don’t provide load, extension length, material properties, you can backwoods almost anything together. Whether it works or helps is unknown.

no, that one is not supporting any vertical weight, just keeping it centered a little. thanks
I am looking to make a triangle with one side angling up towards the bumper ball.

Also, the point of most stress is where the extension exits the receiver.