Heavy duty hitch extension??

[8wj2r5w]

I have a Mega Cab dually Ram that I use to tow a 15K race trailer. I want to get a camper for the truck, but the highest capacity hitch/extension setup I can find is the Torklift. Their extension is only rated at 12K and worse, only 1200 lbs tongue weight. My trailer is over 2000 lbs tongue weight. Has anyone on here had anything custom built to tow heavy trailers? Thanks!

[notsobigjoe]

8wj2r5w wrote:
I have a Mega Cab dually Ram that I use to tow a 15K race trailer. I want to get a camper for the truck, but the highest capacity hitch/extension setup I can find is the Torklift. Their extension is only rated at 12K and worse, only 1200 lbs tongue weight. My trailer is over 2000 lbs tongue weight. Has anyone on here had anything custom built to tow heavy trailers? Thanks!

What about this...

https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/new-tag-axle-improves-truck-camper-hauling-options/

[jimh406]

I’ve pulled a 23 ft TT behind my truck. It was no issue at all. I couldn’t even feel it was there. YMMV, but not all trucks are created equal. I’ve also pulled a smaller TT on a 1000 mile trip, it was a smaller one, but again, the only way I knew it was there is that I kept looking to make sure it was still there. It was fully loaded for a week long trip.

The point is with the proper gearing and truck, pulling a trailer isn’t much of an issue for trucks that are rated for 24K loads even if some of the weight is a TC.

[mkirsch]

Pete_k wrote:
Here you go and this guy is doing it Commercial. 3500 ram with the trailer extended to the factory hitch..

I would bet that trailer has nowhere near 2000lbs of tongue weight.

[deltabravo]

I had the smallest Arctic Fox truck camper, the 811.

I also have an 8.5x20 race trailer with a 10k GVWR. My first trip with the trailer, I loaded my well built Jeep TJ in it. The trailer was a little over 10k.
It was not a pleasant experiencing hauling nearly 4k lbs in the truck bed and towing that much weight.

I never hauled the Jeep in the trailer again.

If I had a need to haul that much or more trailer weight again, I wouldn't be doing it with a truck and camper. I'd get a Renegade toterhome.

[jimh406]

Pete_k wrote:
Here you go and this guy is doing it Commercial. 3500 ram with the trailer extended to the factory hitch.

Looks like he needs a weight distribution hitch, air bags, or both.

[Pete_k]

Here you go and this guy is doing it Commercial. 3500 ram with the trailer extended to the factory hitch.

Click For Full-Size Image.


Click For Full-Size Image.

[JRscooby]

NRALIFR wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
It looks like the safety hitch floats up/down in relation to to TV. If the camper overhangs the back of bed the tongue would hit.

It does, and it could. Depends on the camper and the truck it’s on. Not every 10-12 ft camper hangs down as much as mine does. Fitment is the operators responsibility just like with an extended hitch. I’d sooner tow a heavy race trailer with the Automated Safety Hitch than any extended hitch though.

Even if the bottom of camper does not drop below bed level, but extends 2 feet behind the bed clearance could be nothing pulling in a drive off a crowned street. 4 feet? Might hear a bang crossing a bridge. Now I do agree, more axles are better, and a long extension on hitch is a bad idea.
Extended tongue, still need to worry about bottom of camper, but less weight on drive axle, less increase in OAL

noteven wrote:
What part of how an Automated Safety Hitch or an Idaho Tote works don’t folks understand?

They attach in 2 places so they don’t pivot like a trailer. The axle has brakes. They self steer. They carry a load or hitch load...

This concept is not new or physics defying... see concrete mixers with booster axles or dump trucks with flying tag axles.

Small simple versions were found under whatchamacallit truck campers back 30 or 40 year ago.

If you look at trucks with a axle made like that, there is nothing to stop upward travel of that axle. With the thing pushed in this thread, it must have a hinge so it can float up/down, or the vehicle could not be controlled on uneven ground.

[AnEv942]

Noted OP says not really interested in product, but question about if Automated Safety Hitch still available prompted me to send email and ask. Below is note I received from them.


{ sales/safetyhitch.com

We have been in business delivering Automated Safety Hitch since August, 2008 without interruption. Presently we are delivering 22 per month, soon to be 44 then 66 or 88 per month.

We expect to have ten production lines, (two shifts), open by years end with each production line producing an average 22 per month.

We are signing on dealers so that nobody in North America will have to travel more than 150 miles to see one and experience riding in a demonstration.

Thank you for asking,
Michele }

[noteven]

What part of how an Automated Safety Hitch or an Idaho Tote works don’t folks understand?

They attach in 2 places so they don’t pivot like a trailer. The axle has brakes. They self steer. They carry a load or hitch load...

This concept is not new or physics defying... see concrete mixers with booster axles or dump trucks with flying tag axles.

Small simple versions were found under whatchamacallit truck campers back 30 or 40 year ago.

[NRALIFR]

JRscooby wrote:
It looks like the safety hitch floats up/down in relation to to TV. If the camper overhangs the back of bed the tongue would hit.

It does, and it could. Depends on the camper and the truck it’s on. Not every 10-12 ft camper hangs down as much as mine does. Fitment is the operators responsibility just like with an extended hitch. I’d sooner tow a heavy race trailer with the Automated Safety Hitch than any extended hitch though.

As far as the company is concerned, I have no idea if they’re still around or not. The website makes it appear that they’re still in business, and it has a 2021 copyright on it, if that means anything.

:):)

[JRscooby]

It looks like the safety hitch floats up/down in relation to to TV. If the camper overhangs the back of bed the tongue would hit.

[valhalla360]

SpeakEasy wrote:
I can't show you the math, but I can tell you that extending your hitch length has an enormous effect on tongue weight. Think of a lever and the leverage effect. I think the physics of it is sort of the reverse of a weight-distribution system.

I'm sure some of the engineers on this forum can jump in here and explain mathematically what it is that I'm referring to.

-Speak

Yes, it drastically increases some of the forces that can be applied to the truck.

Problem is people see the static hitch weight and don't understand in real life towing, there are dynamic forces involved where the hitch weight and the lever arm come into play.

5th wheels tow very well because the hitch sits right over the axle and can't apply any torque. Bumper pulls aren't as good because there is typically 3-4 ft where the hitch can apply leverage...now add a few more feet and with a very large bumper pull and it just gets out of hand real quick.

Even in the static condition, that's likely going to add 3000lb to the rear axle, so with a big heavy truck camper, good chance the rear axle is overloaded even on a dually.

As someone else said, get a shorter truck camper, so you can use a standard hitch or move up to a commercial truck with drastically higher capability.

[mkirsch]

NRALIFR wrote:
I think if I was wanting to haul a truck camper and tow a trailer with that much tongue weight, I’d be looking at this:

Automated Safety Hitch

:):)

Is that company even in business anymore? That is an OLD website. People have been asking about/recommending it since I joined this site in 2004.

[noteven]

When you look at a commercial truck pulling a pony or stiff hitch trailer (RV world: bumper pull) the hitch on the truck is only allowed to be offset so far from the center of the rear axle or axle group.

A little on line research into maximum hitch offset may discover some info to help in decisions.