Extended tow bar

[jdrobin]

I have a GMC Sierra (tows 9000 lb) with a 6' 10" bed. I have to leave my tailgate down to carry my golf cart (1000 lb) so I can't carry my golf cart and tow my travel trailer (6000 lb). I'm wondering if I could use a tow bar extender to make room for the tailgate to be in the down position while towing the camper. Has anyone done this?

[blt2ski]

I've extended the tongue on a few trailers that I needed more turning length, ie dually flatbeds where the typical 36-42" trailer body to ball spacing does not work or the trailer hits the corners of the 8' wide flatbed. So extending the tongue another 12-18" works well in this situation. Even an extension like the torklift will not allow one to 90 degree jack knife the trailer on a wider truck.

Either may work depending upon multiple issues you have vs what I have or someone else may have. Choose poison carefully.

Marty

[jdrobin]

Thanks for all the advice. It was very helpful.

[hornet28]

40 yrs ago when I was showing horses I had a 10 1/2' truck camper and pulled a 4 horse trailer. I had a 40" removable extension for the trailer tongue, it worked great. Sorry I don't have any pictures after all this time that show it

[mr_andyj]

Yes, you absolutely can do this.
The Supertruss is very popular.
For a lighter trailer a simple 18 inch 2 inch tube extension would work, but your trailer is pretty heavy.
I would just get the Supertruss, or if you want more info then look at the Truck Camper Forum on this site. Truck campers weigh about 1,000-3,000 lbs, and like a cart, sit in the truck bed past the down tailgate and towing often requires extensions. There is all your knowledge and experience.

I had a TC and towed a light cargo trailer so the 2 inch extension worked fine for 80,000 miles with no / zero issues or concerns.

[dodge_guy]

What you want is one of these.

Torklift Super Truss

[capacitor]

Leave the tailgate at home as long as it isn’t needed for golf cart wheels.

[BarneyS]

This ^^^^
Barney

[mkirsch]

Commonly available tow bar extensions are rated to 3500lbs trailer, 350lbs tongue weight. I haven't seen any short ones in the 12" or so range rated for more than that.

There is a Torklift Superhitch/Supertruss system that is popular among those with truck campers. It's not cheap but it's designed for what you want to do, and it is not a kluge.

Depending on how much extension you need you might be able to find an extended shank for your weight-distributing hitch, too.

[wing_zealot]

I have one, but it’s only used so I can put the tailgate all the way down when the trailer is hooked up. Getting one long enough to allow the tailgate to be down while making 90 degree turns is a whole different ball game.

[Grit_dog]

How long of extension?
I'm not the weight cops, but a golf cart in the back of a half ton with a roughly 900lb tongue weight on a hitch extension sounds like a bit much, unless you're talking maaaybe 12" or less.
And that said, if you use a WDH idk how it would work with the extra leverage.

I towed our 6000lb boat for years behind a straight 2' long 2" sq draw bar extension with our TC on the truck. No issues, but I was plugging it into a much heavier duty truck.

[Tal_IL]

Extending the hitch will be like putting a pipe on a wrench handle, I think. I expect it will will effectively increase tongue weight significantly. Many years ago, I had an 11 ft truck camper. I built a 4 ft long extended hitch to tow my fishing boat. It worked OK. BUT, it was a light-weight boat with minimal tongue weight.

[Lwiddis]

Note what eTrailer says:

"This hitch extender is designed for using hitch-mounted accessories or for flat towing only. Do not use to tow a trailer. Using this extension will reduce your hitch's tongue weight capacity by 50 percent."

And Curt: "350 lbs TW, Not For Towing Use"