Pick up to Trailer space

TomG2 wrote:

LarryJM wrote:

What I and most others here are talking about using are longer Drawbars and NOT HITCH EXTENSIONS.
ag
Larry

Adding 8" to the distance from the hitch to the ball, whether with an extension or a longer shank has the same mechanical effect on the vehicle hitch. Eight inches is EIGHT INCHES.

I agree that you are not going to bend either the shank or the extension. It is the leverage on the vehicle hitch that is affected and the reason for derating the whole setup.

Alternatively as I suggested in one of my prior posts I could put forth as the "FACTS" as I might see them is that all the receivers, etc. are rated for drawbars for 18" so what you might call *" further away I would view as 8" closer and so the shorter drawbars could in fact have the effect of lessening the forces on the receivers and increasing their actual capacities above what is stated. You can't provide any facts on what the receiver's wt. ratings are based on WRT the distance of the ball from the receiver so you really can't say that an 18" drawbar is longer or shorter than the drawbar length used in determining the receiver's ratings. I believe the receiver's ratings already account for the max. length drawbar typically availble which depending on the actual manufacturer is around 16 to 18". Also, I can see that shorter than 16 or 18" drawbars are provided usually because of cost and most applications don't need the longer drawbars.

Larry