I had a previous 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 A FEW FRACTIONS OF AN INCH SHORT of being able to drop the tailgate! Now I find that the next size up I can find (with out a huge rise or drop) is 16 inches. The 13 ¼ inch length worked well, ride and handling wise. 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

Dragonfly wrote: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.Oh yeah, that is adequate for your trailer weight. Easily adequate.

I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.

DSteiner51 wrote:I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.It is a class IV receiver, part of the truck's HD payload and towing package. Others have pushed their TT or boats of similar weight (3800-4500 lbs) back even further and done OK. I am only pushing back about 4.5 inches over the 9.5" triple ball I was using. I am well under the max towing and tongue weight and, I know better than to do it with a hitch extension. But I will investigate the impact to be sure. Actually, my worry is about a strong enough plate to hold the ball and the weld from our local welding shop.

Dragonfly wrote:DSteiner51 wrote:I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.It is a class IV receiver, part of the truck's HD payload and towing package. Others have pushed their TT or boats of similar weight (3800-4500 lbs) back even further and done OK. I am only pushing back about 4.5 inches over the 9.5" triple ball I was using. I am well under the max towing and tongue weight and, I know better than to do it with a hitch extension. But I will investigate the impact to be sure. Actually, my worry is about a strong enough plate to hold the ball and the weld from our local welding shop.If it's a solid shank regular hitch why not just take it to a machine shop and have them redrill the pin hole 1" closer to the end?

Or buy the 16" and drill a hole 2" further out. Cut off anything that that sticks too far out the back side of the receiver.

CUSTOM FABRICATED BALL MOUNT? | Good Sam Community

boogie_4wheel
Explorer
May 12, 2014
Dragonfly wrote:
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.

Oh yeah, that is adequate for your trailer weight. Easily adequate.
DSteiner51
Explorer
May 12, 2014
I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.
Dragonfly
Explorer
May 12, 2014
DSteiner51 wrote:
I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.

It is a class IV receiver, part of the truck's HD payload and towing package. Others have pushed their TT or boats of similar weight (3800-4500 lbs) back even further and done OK. I am only pushing back about 4.5 inches over the 9.5" triple ball I was using. I am well under the max towing and tongue weight and, I know better than to do it with a hitch extension. But I will investigate the impact to be sure.

Actually, my worry is about a strong enough plate to hold the ball and the weld from our local welding shop.
Turtle_n_Peeps
Explorer
May 12, 2014
Dragonfly wrote:
DSteiner51 wrote:
I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.

It is a class IV receiver, part of the truck's HD payload and towing package. Others have pushed their TT or boats of similar weight (3800-4500 lbs) back even further and done OK. I am only pushing back about 4.5 inches over the 9.5" triple ball I was using. I am well under the max towing and tongue weight and, I know better than to do it with a hitch extension. But I will investigate the impact to be sure.

Actually, my worry is about a strong enough plate to hold the ball and the weld from our local welding shop.

If it's a solid shank regular hitch why not just take it to a machine shop and have them redrill the pin hole 1" closer to the end?
Sport45
Explorer II
May 13, 2014
Or buy the 16" and drill a hole 2" further out. Cut off anything that that sticks too far out the back side of the receiver.
Dragonfly
Explorer
May 13, 2014
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
Dragonfly wrote:
DSteiner51 wrote:
I'd be more concerned about the receiver being able to take the extra leverage. The bar I wouldn't worry about.

It is a class IV receiver, part of the truck's HD payload and towing package. Others have pushed their TT or boats of similar weight (3800-4500 lbs) back even further and done OK. I am only pushing back about 4.5 inches over the 9.5" triple ball I was using. I am well under the max towing and tongue weight and, I know better than to do it with a hitch extension. But I will investigate the impact to be sure.

Actually, my worry is about a strong enough plate to hold the ball and the weld from our local welding shop.

If it's a solid shank regular hitch why not just take it to a machine shop and have them redrill the pin hole 1" closer to the end?

The existing hole is the pin hole. The shank needs a small plate with a one inch hole welded on the other end to hold the ball. Plate on top = ¾ inch or so rise. Flip it and plate on bottom = about a two inch drop. Then it needs to be painted. Unfortunately it won't be powder coated but that is OK.

Also, I thought about cutting down the manufactured 16 inch a few inches and drilling a new pin hole. I worried about the wisdom of that and sure enough have had MANY warnings about not doing that.
Dragonfly
Explorer
May 13, 2014
Sport45 wrote:
Or buy the 16" and drill a hole 2" further out. Cut off anything that that sticks too far out the back side of the receiver.

I really wanted to do that although I figured it might be problematic. Sure enough I have had MANY warnings NOT to do that.
Bedlam
Moderator
May 13, 2014
Torklift makes double truss extensions up to 5' long and receivers that can handle the leverage exerted with that length. A lighter duty setup would be a Class V hitch with single truss extension. Ideally you will want chains triangulating the extension to the outside corners of the receiver to reduce side forces. Check out the truck camper section where this is common.
Sport45
Explorer II
May 14, 2014
Dragonfly wrote:
Sport45 wrote:
Or buy the 16" and drill a hole 2" further out. Cut off anything that that sticks too far out the back side of the receiver.

I really wanted to do that although I figured it might be problematic. Sure enough I have had MANY warnings NOT to do that.

What problems do they say you will have? Unless the thing has some special heat treatment I can't imagine a problem with shortening the reach by drilling a hole.

Maybe you can drill a hole in your receiver 2" further back. :)
Sport45
Explorer II
May 14, 2014
You could get a gooseneck tailgate that has the cutout in the middle. Then you'd be able to bring the ball up closer to the truck.

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