trailer reach extension

[gungadin]

Last year I installed a reach hinge to allow my trailer to fit inside my garage with the doors closed. It works great, however I tow with a jeep and have found on some of the ramps (Kitty Coleman was the worst) I had to go past the rear wheels, just to get the rearmost roller into the water. I am seriously considering adding a three foot extension to my reach, thus extending the length an extra two feet from what it is now, I think this will keep the rear tyres out of the water. The only problem that I can foresee is that the tongue weight will decrease to the point that it might affect my short wheelbase jeeps handling. any one out there that has done this extension modification with no adverse affects?

 

[tykkyt e blue]

I have done both my boats with the Fulton hinge. I bought a 11' camper so both needed 4' extension to reach under the camper o/hang.
The tongue weight will go down a bit, but it is very slight ( you can take measurements from your existing trailer and make a calc. The % change in length of the dist. from coupler to axle center is how much the tongut weight % will go down
All I did to compensate was to move the winch post foward about 1.5 inches.

 

[CCB]

As far as I know a 4 foot extention will cut your tongue rating in half if not more.I had to add a tow beast with a 3 foot extention and my rating went from 1800 or so down to 900 . My bro bent ,welded and bolted a support bracket to his bumper but I don't you can do that with a jeep. never did calculations just what hitch guys told me.As for handling I would not know for a jeep but a 2004 dodge 3500 hauling a sled deck with 2 quads 2 bull moose under the deck a 3 foot extention and a 7500lb travel trailer drove as smooth as anything nothing different with handling the 4 wheel's helps a lot in the back.

check this link out

guys have done both extention from the hitch and extending there trailer.

http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/016811.html

 

[daddystoy]

I had an extension hitch made that is about 3 feet long. I switch from my regular towing hitch to the long hitch at the ramp before launching. Keeps my wheels out of the water. After pulling the boat out of the water I switch back to the short hitch. Bit of extra work but well worth it if it keeps the rear brakes from getting all rusted out.

 

[gungadin]

I like the idea of a removable extension, but, I think I will go with the 3 foot foldable extension. If I have to i will move some weight fwd in the boat or trailer. If that doesn't work out I will still be able to go back to what I have now

 

[casper5280]

I had a friend that had two different tongues that just slid inthe tongue of the trailer. A couple bolts or pins and it was done. They were made for when he had his camper on but were also used on the shallow ramps.

 

[dragginbaet]

I have suffered from the scowls of onlookers as I wiggle my way down the ramp with my boat behind the camper. I want to extend my reach to make that job easier but I don't want to mess up the towing characteristics. I have also had problems at shallow ramps and refuse to get my truck brakes wet. (the very worse ramp is at Tahsis where I observed locals submerghing trucks to the front door as if that is the normal practice) How did you construct your extension?

 

[daddystoy]

Simple. Go to your local hitch manufacturing place i.e. E&H Hitch, tell them how long you want it. They'll take a piece of 2" square tubing, cut it to length, drill a hole in it for the pin, weld on a piece of flat stock and drill a hole in this to be able to attach the ball to it, spray paint it black, 60 bucks, ( or there abouts) thanks very much! see you later.

 

[vetteman]

Simple. Go to your local hitch manufacturing place i.e. E&H Hitch, tell them how long you want it. They'll take a piece of 2" square tubing, cut it to length, drill a hole in it for the pin, weld on a piece of flat stock and drill a hole in this to be able to attach the ball to it, spray paint it black, 60 bucks, ( or there abouts) thanks very much! see you later.

This is a very simple thing to do and I've made them up myself a couple of times. Takes about 20 minutes tops. I only use these extended draw bars for my small lake boat though. Using an extended drawbar can raise a few warranty and liability issues. Even though extended draw bars are available from some of the hitch manufacturers, I've found, after contacting the manufacturer, that the use of such bars will void the warranty on the receiver hitch. We found this at work as well when we looked to buy some extended bars to haul small compressors around. This also brings up a liability and insurance issue if you were to have an incident that requires ICBC or some other insurance company to be involved.
I'd use one at the ramp if required but personally, I wouldn't use one while towing down the highway. I know a few guys who use them and have never had a problem but you never know! Just something to think about.
Dave

 

[daddystoy]

Just to be clear, I have approximately a 3' long extension that I install at the launch ramp when I get there. Part of my routine prior to launching after doing all the other necessary things is I lower my tongue jack on the trailer and take the weight off the short hitch that I use when I trailer. I push the boat the 3' away from my van so that I can install my extension then lower the boat back down onto the trailer extension piece. I snug the hitch back up and put on a longer piece of chain I carry to be able to re-connect to the safety chains and shackle these back together. Now I'm ready to go. It may sound like a pain in the butt but it only takes about 5 minutes. I am quite happy to do this to save putting my rear wheels into salt water.

 

[casper5280]

I don't understand why everyone wants to do the addition on the draw bar side vs. the trailer tongue side am I missing something here. To me extending the trailer tongue is a way safer way to go. Could someone please explain.

 

[twogone]

Be very carefull when mucking about with the trailer and/or the hitch and then pulling it on public roads & highways. Vetteman's advice is very important. There is a multitude of standards etc. that enforced by Transport Canada and the provincial commercial transport inspectors. So, if you are pulled over by one of those little white SUV's that look like police vehicles and you have made a non-approved modification to your trailer, the fine is staggering! A friend of mine (large horse trailer) was pulled over for a random check and his break away wiring was faulty netting him a $3,500.00 fine (at least that's what he told me). Also, my wife worked for ICBC for quite a few years and she can tell some horror stories about claimes made for smashed trailers that were denied because non-approved modifications were made. If you are going to make a perminant alteration to the trailer and/or the hitch (as opposed to a temporary one at the ramp) the best plan is to go to a professional like Chris at Mid-Island trailer hitch in Nanaimo. He will tell you if the modification needs to be engineered and/or inspected.