Trailer Tongue Extension (Pictures)

[Rbertalotto]

My 8' Pickup Truck camper hangs off the back of my 6.5' bed by 18"

I want to pull my motorcycle trailer this summer but I'm not a fan of hitch extensions which put the pivot point way behind the rear axle, exaggerating sway.

I decided to extend the hitch on the trailer 18". I wanted the extension to be removable so the trailer could be towed in the stock configuration as wanted.

First I needed to remove the tool box and the jack mounted on the tongue.

Then I added a 3" X 3" piece of angle iron with a set of gussets for a 5/8" hitch pin to secure the removable extended tongue.

Two gussets were added to the front to secure the 2 1/2" X 2 1/2" swuare tubing. Also using a 5/8" hitch pin

The final configuration

The coupler will be raised by a piece of the square tubing to keep the hitch height the same as it was

Tomorrow I'll weld it all together and give it a test drive. Sorry for the crappy pictures. All I had was my I Phone with me and it was getting dark. I'll take better pictures of the completed project.

 

[oscar the grouch]

interesting setup.

you could have replaced the main hitch bar with a longer piece of steel like you did but bolt it in and have a second set of bolt holes for short configurations

 

[jdubshizzle]

How did this end up working for you? Thinking about doing something similar.

 

[billiebob]

I get the feeling that pulling the front pin, you could tilt the trailer.

 

[jwiereng]

I suggest you chop off the old coupler and slide in the new tongue on the same level as existing a-frame. No need for step up - step down.

A telescopic tube is a nice way to go.

What are your reasons for wanting to be able to easily return to stock config? Usually longer tongue tow and back up nicer.

Do you have small garage to fit in?