24 Inch Hitch Extender Under The TC

[sonuvabug]

Another issue I am trying to figure out with my new TC. Now that I've added the TC, the hitch receiver is "buried" under the TC's steps. There is now 24" from the face of the truck's hitch receiver to the outside edge of the TC's steps.

How does everybody go about towing with this situation. I have a hard time envisioning you simply extend the hitch receiver by 24" with an extension ... even if such a beast exists.

[dadwolf2]

The chains I am referring to are not the trailer safety chains. Like you said, that needs to go to the truck. The chains I mentioned are just to strengthen the extended hitch point in turns and any side to side play/movement.

I bought 2" stock / receiver and then cut & welded the parts to the size I needed from the local trailer hitch supply store.

[sonuvabug]

dadwolf2 wrote:
... snipped ... what kind of tongue weight are you expecting? ... Also, don't forget that your hitch receiver doesn't have to go all the way to the edge of the camper, by the time you put the trailer ball in, that extends the pivot point back another 8-9". I still added chains and forged turnbuckles from extended hitch to frame for added strength.

Good question and great points. Of the two trailers we have, the heaviest is a 3,500 lbs. covered cargo trailer. If you go by the 10-15% recommended tongue weight, we're talking 350 - 525 lbs. maximum. We usually run about 3,000 lbs. fully loaded including the trailer and I'd like to keep the tongue weight closer to the 350 mark max. and my welder would also like to see that.

Good point on the trailer ball hitch adding some inches to the overall extension length. If possible I'd still like to have the extension receiver end built flush with the rear edge of the TC.

My welder also explained here in Ontario at least, the safety chains MUST be affixed to the truck frame/existing hitch receiver and not to the extension which would be a big MTO (your DOT) no-no.

[Reality_Check]

mkirsch wrote:
The thing about extending the receiver is there are bolt-on solutions out there.

Not so when extending the trailer tongue. You need custom fabrication.

Reality Check has piqued my curiosity on the tongue extensions. Do you have any pictures you could share?

I'll get some.. give me a day.

[dadwolf2]

What do you plan on towing and what kind of tongue weight are you expecting? If your tongue weight is really low, you don't need the SuperTruss route. Also, don't forget that your hitch receiver doesn't have to go all the way to the edge of the camper, by the time you put the trailer ball in, that extends the pivot point back another 8-9". I still added chains and forged turnbuckles from extended hitch to frame for added strength.

Myself I only use my trailer to put some kayaks on or flat tow in the future. Very little tongue weight.

[sonuvabug]

Once the fabrication is complete, I will take and post pics. I've never posted pics before but I assume there are "how to" guidelines posted somewhere. I also owe some pics of the new-to-us TC so I'll post those as well.

[mkirsch]

The thing about extending the receiver is there are bolt-on solutions out there.

Not so when extending the trailer tongue. You need custom fabrication.

Reality Check has piqued my curiosity on the tongue extensions. Do you have any pictures you could share?

[Grit_dog]

Mello Mike wrote:
If you're towing a heavy load with a heavy tongue weight then I would buy a Torklift Superhitch. However, if you're going to tow something light or tow a vehicle 4-down then a simple 2 ft hitch extension will be more than sufficient.

This.
I rolled up the Alcan from Seattle to Anchorage last year during frost heave season = terrible roads with a 12" ext on my OE Dodge receiver towing about a 5klb trailer with pretty good tongue weight estimate about 800lbs. No problems.
Used a 24" extension all winter to clear my sled deck with my 2 place enclosed trailer max weight about 2500-3000lbs not much tongue weight. Again lots of ugly road conditions without issue.
Trailers pulled the same by the way. I've inspected the receiver a couple times and it looks ok. No cracks or bending.
I wouldn't reccomend it with older or 1/2 ton truck hitches at all and even I'll admit it's not the "right" way to do it.

[Reality_Check]

bigfootford wrote:

joe b. wrote:
Instead of using an extension, I have seen RVers extend the trailer tongue, to the needed length. Recently I was looking at a posted blog where a couple took their TC round trip from Michigan to Alaska, pulling an enclosed cargo trailer with a motorcycle in the trailer. He had the trailer tongue extended and said it all work fine for the trip.

.

I can totally jack knife this trailer 90 deg and not touch the camper.


We added 1.5 ft. Basically duplicated the tongue on a Uhaul 5x8 single axle trailer except for the bend upward. 3/8" 2x3 tubing.



Jim

Extending the tongue is under rated and rarely done, but it's easy.

We're running 28" and 48" extensions, and I have one trailer that still needed the tongue extension. It's a longer 10k, and I had to add about 20" to be able to jack knife it safely with the camper on.

A-Frame or not, the extension's are easy and pretty straight forward.

I suggest that the OP's problem is fairly light duty and a single extension is probably completely adequate. Most boats can jack-knife without any problem as is.

[Bedlam]

wcjeep wrote:

AISURFFISH wrote:
The good thing with the super hitch on s ford is....it fits 99-2015.. I have put it on each truck I have owned.. I have had 3 trucks and 4 campers.. 1 SUPERHITCH..

That seems like cheating. Congrats.

That is cheating. I have to enlist Torklift Central's help for my next truck. At least I sold my OEM 12.5k receiver to recover some of my SuperHitch 17k cost on my current truck.

[sonuvabug]

Extending the tongue on the trailer won't work for me ... as I have two different trailers I'd like to tow behind at different times depending on my needs.

Second, by extending the trailer tongue only, you could only do it if you had a single channel design leading up to the trailer tongue's coupler. If you had an "A" frame design culminating at the coupler (like my cargo trailer has), I suspect you run the risk of increasing the contact between the TC's bumper and the "A" frame trailer tongue on sharper turns that include inclines i.e. like turning into a gas station that has a stepper driveway leading into it.

The linky showing the 24" extension is for a 2 1/2 inch set-up ... unfortunately mine is a 2" hitch receiver ... won't work.

[bigfootford]

joe b. wrote:
Instead of using an extension, I have seen RVers extend the trailer tongue, to the needed length. Recently I was looking at a posted blog where a couple took their TC round trip from Michigan to Alaska, pulling an enclosed cargo trailer with a motorcycle in the trailer. He had the trailer tongue extended and said it all work fine for the trip.

.

Did the same as you for our recent trip to Alaska. 8000+ miles.

I can totally jack knife this trailer 90 deg and not touch the camper.


We added 1.5 ft. Basically duplicated the tongue on a Uhaul 5x8 single axle trailer except for the bend upward. 3/8" 2x3 tubing.




Jim

[dakonthemountai]

24" receiver tube extension

This one says it's good up to 6,000lbs with a tongue weight of 600lbs.

I'm not the expert about this but a person interested in purchasing my Weekender needs the same length extension the OP is asking about and I found this.

Dak

[delosholly]

We use a 36" extension with the ball adding another 7" or so. Our truck came with a 2.5" reciever. We use a Curt brand extension. We haul a 10' long enclosed cargo trailer that is about 2000lbs total wait when loaded and 250lbs of tongue weight.

This configuration does great for us with one warning to others: Be careful of sharp turns!! Even though our ball is further out beyond the back of the TC than it would have been by simply sticking out of the back of the truck without the TC on it, we have twice had the trailer come into contact with the camper.

One time we were coming down out of a parking lot and turing a sharp right at the same time... so downhill and right turn. This caused the upper corner of the trailer to hit and dent the back of our TC about 1.5' from the top of the TC.

The second contact came with a backing up situation when one of the permantly mounted "feet" on the jacks did not allow enough clearance for the trailer to move past the edge of the camper. This slightly misplaced the jack, but not by much. If that "foot" was removable, the trailer would have cleared the camper.

Someome can move this comment if you feel it goes off topic too much.

Del

[joe_b_]

Instead of using an extension, I have seen RVers extend the trailer tongue, to the needed length. Recently I was looking at a posted blog where a couple took their TC round trip from Michigan to Alaska, pulling an enclosed cargo trailer with a motorcycle in the trailer. He had the trailer tongue extended and said it all work fine for the trip.

I was using an extension for towing my Jeep 4 down behind my TC/truck but when I decided to add a Ready Brake System (a mechanical surge brake system) it was of a length, I didn't need the extension anymore. My truck does have a Class 5, 2 1/2 inch receiver, under bumper.

Extending the tongue on my boat trailer would be a very easy task, not perhaps too cheap to do, as it is 4 inch tubular aluminum but could be fabricated longer at any good metal shop in this area. As mentioned above, a dropped ball and a longer tongue may be worth considering for some TCers.

[CAJW]

sonuvabug wrote:
That SuperHitch is super pricey. What about a 24" extention with "loops or brackets" welded into the sides such that load binders could be secured from each side of the extension back to the main hitch?

Yes, it's pricey and worth it IMHO. It's been engineered to handle the loads they specify + a safety factor, would a home grown unit give you the same confidence? The cost of a runaway trailer to include damage, liability for others, possible injury etc.. made the decision easy for me to go with a tried and true system. Not saying a home grown system can't work, but in today's litigious society, engineered is safer in my book.