Solution for insufficient trailer tongue extension

[Gene Neill]

The built-in extension on Daydream's trailer only adds 4' to the tongue, which is often not enough. So this week I finally had an extended hitch made for the truck, adding another 4' 6" to the equation.

The initial report is very good. The welder used 1/4" square tubing (original was 3/16). It seems more than strong enough to handle the load, as does the receiver. I weigh 200lbs, and I can jump up and down on the end of it while it is already supporting the trailer tongue.

I'm looking forward to trying it out in the real world! Finally, a way to keep my rear brakes out of the salt water!

 

[Leeward Rail]

Nice idea ! At first thought, I would have assumed that it would flex too much, but with thicker wall tubing, and the fact it's only used for a short time.. it should work well.

I've launched without an extension, in freshwater, so far and it's been ok.
At our new marina, the rear wheels are about halfway in the water.
Still not great thought. I'd rather keep them out of the water.

My big complaint was crawling into the box of the truck, over the side of the bed, without getting more than my shoes wet.
I plan on making or buying a step to make it easier to climb into the box from the driver side.
With the tailgate down, it's been simple to handle the trailer winch, and handle the bow, without getting in the water.

With your extension setup, I'd almost be tempted to weld a slightly wider plate on the top of it so I could walk out to the boat, while staying "relatively" dry.

 

[greg_m]

Looks good...nice idea.
Just don't rip the back of your truck off now!

 

[rpludwig]

I like it, thinking outside the box there!!

 

[Gene Neill]

Just don't rip the back of your truck off now!

I definitely gave that a lot of thought.

The factory hitch receiver has no data printed on it, unfortunately. But the truck has a rated towing capacity of 10,500lbs, so logic dictates the hitch receiver should handle a minimum of 1,050 pounds - and that's not at 2 mph in a marina parking lot, but bouncing down a rough road, at highway speed, in the real world.

The trailer's tongue only weighs 250lbs when extended. I don't know how to calculate the additional force created by adding a 4.5' lever in the form of the extended hitch, but I don't think that the 250lb tongue weight is quadrupled. But the true test was my fat butt jumping up and down on the end of the lever as hard as I could, with the boat hitched up.

I also did tow our 7,000lb, 27' Albin Vega over 1500 miles from Massachusetts, across the Appalachian mountains and down to Florida, using this truck and this hitch receiver.

Soooo ... all these things considered, I'm pretty confident I can get our little ol' C22 across a parking lot, down a boat ramp and back up it, using this arrangement. You'll definitely read about it here if I turn out to be wrong.

 

[greg_m]

I reckon you will need to get used to the "extended turning effect" the lever will have on the trailer! You may need way more input and maneuvering room than before just to line it up with the launch ramp... that will be an interesting bit of feedback. Look forward to nice video on the "toob"!

 

[Brian M H23]

I definitely gave that a lot of thought.
The trailer's tongue only weighs 250lbs when extended. I don't know how to calculate the additional force created by adding a 4.5' lever in the form of the extended hitch, but I don't think that the 250lb tongue weight is quadrupled. But the true test was my fat butt jumping up and down on the end of the lever as hard as I could, with the boat hitched up.

It's not very meaningful for driving around a parking lot anyway. As far as the truck is concerned, you're really worried about 2 things
1) overloading the rear suspension
2) taking too much weight off the front suspension

The total weight is the tongue weight plus any weight taken off the front wheels by moving the center of gravity. Tongue weight is 250 lbs and the truck is 5k, 130" wheelbase. Let's say with the no trailer you've got 2000 on the rear axle and 3000 on the front. So the CG is at 78 inches in front of the rear axle.

Now throw 250 more lbs, 24" behind the rear axle or 102" behind the CG of the truck
250 is 5% of 5000. So the new CG with the standard hitch is 5% of 102" farther back: now 73" in front of the rear axle. AKA 56% front, 44% rear. With your 48" long hitch, it's still 5% of the weight, but now 150" behind the CG and your new CG is 70" in front of the rear axle

Then re-calculate the weight on the axles. the new weight is 5250 and instead of CG at 60% / 40% , now you're 54% / 46%. Works out to 2420 lbs on the rear suspension with your long hitch vs 2310 with the regular hitch

For funs, you're pulling a wheelie when the CG moves behind the rear axle. To move the CG that far with your extenda-hitch, it would only take 2550 lbs of tongue weight vs 3900 without!

Also, heavy 2" square tubing is ~6 lbs/ft, the extender itself is probably an additional 35+ lbs which is not factored in.

Disclaimer: These aren't the only things to be worried about if you actually plan on driving anywhere. That's a much more complex topic!!

 

[Gene Neill]

As far as the truck is concerned, you're really worried about 2 things
1) overloading the rear suspension
2) taking too much weight off the front suspension

Agreed! Happily, neither one is even close to happening. The truck only squats about 1.5" at the bumper when hooked up using the extension.

I reckon you will need to get used to the "extended turning effect" the lever will have on the trailer! You may need way more input and maneuvering room than before just to line it up with the launch ramp... that will be an interesting bit of feedback. Look forward to nice video on the "toob"!

It's surprisingly easy! The more I play with this thing, the more I like it (that's what she said)!

 

[rpludwig]

G...can't see a downside, other than driving down I-75 with that rig deployed! (but I can't begin to comprehend Brian's astute/likely accurate analysis)...hell I have enuff difficulty backing a normal rig down a ramp, any ramp, anywhere!

 

[CloudDiver]

Gene, if you have an extendable trailer tongue and you still need that extension then I am pretty much in deep crap while in (too) shallow of water. I have pretty much resigned myself to the idea that I'll need my 20 or 30 ft tow straps to splash my hull or I will swamp my truck.

 

[Gene Neill]

Twenty or thirty foot straps?? Holy crap, are the ramps that shallow?

This trailer's tongue extension is just plain too short by design, IMO. Only four extra feet. What does your trailer have? We almost always CAN launch, given sufficient water depth, but it gets too wet for my liking. I don't relish the sound of my exhaust gurgling in salt water.

In fresh water, I'll half drown my truck and think very little about it. LOL

 

[greg_m]

That's about as close as I ever got to half drowning my car... Jeep Grand Cherokee 2.7 CRD! We were on a 4x4 Safari in the Perdeberg region in South Africa. The Jeep was to this day still the best "car" I ever had.

The view from the top was well worth the effort to get there!

I have no intention of trying this while launching a boat!

 

[SVMOONDANCE]

Agreed! Happily, neither one is even close to happening. The truck only squats about 1.5" at the bumper when hooked up using the extension.



It's surprisingly easy! The more I play with this thing, the more I like it (that's what she said)!

Dude it's a Tundra, you're golden! Love my tundra!

 

[greg_m]

googles "Tundra".... it's about as close to one as we can get here in SA

 

[JRacer]

That's going to hurt your shins before it's over with!

 

[CloudDiver]

Twenty or thirty foot straps?? Holy crap, are the ramps that shallow?

This trailer's tongue extension is just plain too short by design, IMO. Only four extra feet. What does your trailer have? We almost always CAN launch, given sufficient water depth, but it gets too wet for my liking. I don't relish the sound of my exhaust gurgling in salt water.

In fresh water, I'll half drown my truck and think very little about it. LOL

Its not that the ramps are super shallow or anything, its just that my trailer is bone stock (for a power boat) with no extension at all. The trailer is longer-ish... but I still think I'd end up swamping the rear axle and brakes at least even on a typical ramp. The only reason I say twenty or 30 ft tow straps is because that is the stock lengths they come in.

 

[LakeShark]

@CloudDiver if I remember correctly your in mission bay. If so just use the big ramp by Sea World and launching should not be an issue even without an extension. The ramp is plenty steep with deep groves for traction. Just remember to time the tides and check bridge clearance on your way to the channel or sail bay. I have launched at every ramp in Mission Bay ant that one is the best.

 

[T_Cat]

My rig on the ramp extended. 2 pic. Backing down, and how deep I need to go to float.

 

[CloudDiver]

@CloudDiver if I remember correctly your in mission bay. If so just use the big ramp by Sea World and launching should not be an issue even without an extension. The ramp is plenty steep with deep groves for traction. Just remember to time the tides and check bridge clearance on your way to the channel or sail bay. I have launched at every ramp in Mission Bay ant that one is the best.

Thanks for the tip... I have used that ramp in the past for my old jet boat and as recently as this past 4th of July, but just launching my Zodiac off its beach wheels. I'm pretty certain I can launch my 22 without swamping there, but for Long term resale value of my boat (because we all end up getting a bigger boat someday), I will probably fabricate a new extension set up. The way my trailer is designed, it will be a huge pain in the rear-end, but it will worth the effort to have an extension. It will probably only cost me about $250 or less in steel stock, but then I'll have to have everything re-galavinized.

 

[Chris115]

Do you think that one of these might help?
Adding a second swivel point might be tricky when backing up, but if it was added close to the ramp and used to back straight down the ramp, it might be easier than using a chain to lower the boat into the water. Also, the double wheel assembly might be more effective than using the single wheel on the trailer tongue.
What do you all think?

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