OK, before I rush out and spend too much more money I am trying to find some good information.I have a 3900lbs sawmill that I tow to the job site, it's tongue weight is very low (I need to measure but I'm guessing 150-200 lbs max since it's so easy to pick up and move by hand.I need to hitch it up behind our new 990 but need about 36 to clear the rear of the camper and have no worries when backing it up (with corners/turning etc)....the old setup I could just hook it right up to the hitch and go but with the AF 990 I can't do that anymore.Thoughts? I have a 2" receiver on the truck now that appears to be stock though it's clearly a bolt on unit and pretty heavy.Our old setup

Manufacturers of 36 inch extensions for 2 inch receivers say...?

I'm no expert, but I'd be a bit leery of that. I can't tell the brand of the truck, but some of the GM's used to have a reputation for breaking hitches without an extension. It is be the bending moment on the hitch that is the problem. I'd change over to a large 2-1/2" Reese, plenty strong enough and much lower price than the Torklift.

I was trying to find a Reese that had a similar super truss style extension. The truck is a 2010 F350 SD 4x4

The AF 990 is a 10' camper, so you should be able to use an extension around 24" - My 9' AF811 required a 28" extension on my short bed Ford.With the weight you want to tow, you will not need a SuperHitch unless you have later plans for something heavier. If you can stay with 2' extension, I think the OEM hitch will handle the leverage of load. I would still use side chains on the extension to limit lateral forces on the receiver. If you have use a longer extension, I would not put my trust in the OEM receiver. You could replace it with 2.5" Titan and 2.5" extension, but I would replace it a SuperHitch at this point and not worry about having enough capacity in the future and having to do it again.

I just couldn't find any 24" extensions for 2" receivers. Specially not with chains etc. I might talk to my local guy but I'm also not sure 24" is enough with the back bumper on the camper.Seems like I really need a 36" min extension so I may just have to bite the bullet and go with the super hitch but then I also have to get new rear tie downs -- grrr

OEM hitch with 36" extension? | Good Sam Community

emcvay
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2018

The truss worked great pulling the mill today!
emcvay
Explorer III
Apr 13, 2018

You can see how far the bumper comes out and that this new hitch extension will fully clear the rear of the camper etc

Pretty well secured

A 2nd receiver was welded to the bottom of the original and then beefed up with angle iron. The whole thing is very heavily welded in with lots of extra support. The hitch itself is rated at 12,500lbs and has 10 1/2" bolts (I believe they are 1/2") holding it on.
emcvay
Explorer III
Apr 13, 2018
That's the fox landing which hangs off the bumper. It is about 30" from the normal hitch to pass by the bumper of the 990 not including the landing. With this extension I can stuff the mill in a lot of places I could not otherwise :)

I'll have to get some pics of the hitch itself which was beefed up pretty well.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 13, 2018
^ Looks good!
I understand why you need that long an extension from your pic now. Is that an add on step behind the bumper?
Also, I didn't set mine up for tight maneuvers. That'll require more clearance like you said
emcvay
Explorer III
Apr 13, 2018

Just need to get the extension put in from the hitch to the end of the supertruss.

The double hitch is a custom fab job but very heavy and I'm confident it will be fine for my needs as I'm only pulling just over 4000lbs with it. The truss is 36" long and very secure. I'll know how it does this weekend as I'll pull the mill to a job on my maiden milling job with the new camper.

On the extension length: for me, it's important to get as much clearance as I can for the mill as I often pull it into places where you might not normally go with a camper ;) and I need to be able to make some pretty tight turns, sometimes darn near jack knifing the mill to get it in there. SO I need to make sure it will NOT hit the back of the camper! The old one sat up much higher and on a 2" foam insulation sheet to boot, so I had tons of clearance but the AF990 drops down to within 1" of the mill's hydraulic box so just some uneven ground will cause an issue.
jimh406
Explorer III
Apr 04, 2018
Grit dog wrote:
I’ve used way less hitch extension towing several differnet traielrs with an AF camper that hangs off the back of the truck about a foot more than yours does.

Me too. As noted previously, I use 18. Longer isn't usually better.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 04, 2018
I’ve used way less hitch extension towing several differnet traielrs with an AF camper that hangs off the back of the truck about a foot more than yours does.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 04, 2018
I guess just make sure you really need that long of hitch extension. Looking at the pic of what you’re towing and knowing the length of the camper, my gut says you can do it with less extension length.
Another thing to consider is setting it up for the majority of conditions (driving down the road) and if the hitch is short for extreme angles, just have another slip in extension for those situations.
emcvay
Explorer III
Apr 04, 2018
Good points. If I was going to pull 6000+ lbs I'd just put in a Superhitch but at just a tick over 4000 lbs with very light tongue weight I think this option should be just fine.
Reddog1
Explorer II
Apr 04, 2018
I have read many posts on receivers over the years. I have seen many photos. I have installed a few receivers myself. One thing I see over and over again is how many bolts and the size of the bolts that bolt the receiver to the frame of the truck. Take a look at your receiver mounting. I bet the downward force is on two 1/2" bolts on each side. You probably have one ore two 1/2" bolts on each side in the front of the receiver. The force here should be up.