WISDOM OF A HITCH EXTENSTION
We just finished our first trip in our 19 foot Airstream Flying Cloud. All went well except for one unanticipated issue. Having access to the truck bed for additional storage was important. But, the t...
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To conclude my post about pushing my 19ft Airstream back enough to drop my tailgate. I thought I had it solved with a 13 ¼ inch (pin hole to middle of ball) hitch. After turning my jack sideways I was very frustrated to see that I was A FEW FRACTIONS OF AN INCH SHORT of being able to drop the tailgate!
By the way, at first the ride seemed to have just a little more pull and bounce but when I saw that I was just at or below level, I turned the ball mount over and raised it ¾ of an inch and I was back to the smooth, no sway or bounce ride I had with the shorter ball mount.
Now, I find that the next size up in a ball mount which I can find (with out a huge rise or drop) is 16 inches. The 13 ¼ inch length worked well. Ideally I would like a 14 inch length but 16 worries me.
The only solution I see is this 14" "raw" ball mount bar from e-trailer, to which I would have to weld a ball mount platform. I wonder about its capacity but, in that it is solid steel I would think that it would handle my 4,800 lb max Airstream with a 550 lb hitch weight.
Any thoughts? Here is the raw bar. http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Accessories/Curt/D31.html
By the way, at first the ride seemed to have just a little more pull and bounce but when I saw that I was just at or below level, I turned the ball mount over and raised it ¾ of an inch and I was back to the smooth, no sway or bounce ride I had with the shorter ball mount.
Now, I find that the next size up in a ball mount which I can find (with out a huge rise or drop) is 16 inches. The 13 ¼ inch length worked well. Ideally I would like a 14 inch length but 16 worries me.
The only solution I see is this 14" "raw" ball mount bar from e-trailer, to which I would have to weld a ball mount platform. I wonder about its capacity but, in that it is solid steel I would think that it would handle my 4,800 lb max Airstream with a 550 lb hitch weight.
Any thoughts? Here is the raw bar. http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Accessories/Curt/D31.html
