trailer extension while attached to truck

sunshinegirl · Apr 28, 2015

S
This is how I handled my neighbor's trailer. We did the drop the jack, unhooked, the manually puller out the bar and reconnected. I drilled a vertical hole for a pin on the slide bar so when it closed or opened , the pin hit the trailer bar sleeve, stopping it right where the horizontal pins holes were. I chock a wheel, pull the h pin and he drives forward until it hit, reinsert h pin and back down the ramp. Had to open the horizontal hole a little to handle bending of the tow bar.

centerline · Apr 28, 2015

the reason people disconnect is so they can pull the extension out by hand.
the same can be done without disconnecting by just applying some jack pressure to get the weight off the extension so it will slide using the vehicle, but less potential for damage if done by hand..... you can invest in an electric winch but unless you rig the tongue extension with a couple of pulleys so you can use the winch to pull the extension out, and then back in, it wont work.

now this is not to say that if you were to pull the slide lock pin out, then back it on to the the slope of the ramp that it wont go screaming backwards until it comes to the stop at the end of the extension, but i wouldnt want to subject my trailer or boat to this kind of treatment.

attempting to use the electric winch for lowering while on the ramp would be dependent on how well used the slider is, if its lubricated, and the slope of the ramp... it may work in some circumstances, but the most dependable way to insure success everytime is to extend it while in the staging area so that when you get to the ramp, you wont have the worry and fuss if it doest slide like you want it to, AND so you can launch/retrieve as efficiently as possible so you arent hogging any more time on the ramp that is necessary... because we all HATE ramp hogs....

Kermit · Apr 28, 2015

piedpiperIII said:
This is really what I do not want to be is a ramp hog, there is a ramp 5 minutes from home but only 2 boats can use it at a time and there is only 1 dock. 20 minutes to the next and there are 2 docks but only 2 boats at a time.. Well it sounds like I will have to use the "chock wheels and pull" technique

That's what I did. Chock wheels and pull. Never had a problem.

Kermit · Apr 28, 2015

Doing great here. We love Lake Murray Sailing Club. My First Mate refers to it as her haven.

I reread sunshinegirl's method. Really sounds good.

Gene Neill · Apr 29, 2015

piedpiperIII said:
I am going to use sunshinegirl's Idea and put another stopper bolt so when I drive forward till the stopper hits then the pin hole will line up. That should save a little time.

Our current trailer is set up that way. As long as the truck and trailer are in a straight line with each other, it works well.

Interestingly, the new trailer I'm having built actually has two tongues, like this one here:

sunshinegirl · Apr 29, 2015

Do seem to make it easy do they. So u still have to unhook. I made a wooden chock to put under one wheel when Dennis pulls the truck forward. Same for backing up

Meriachee · Apr 30, 2015

I used a 15 foot 2x2 aluminum bar, that has a 5/16 wall for a pushbar. What you can't really see from the picture is the front of the assembly that has a pivoting attachment point, so that the bar can pivot in the vertical plane to accommodate the changing angles of the ramp. There is a retractable assembly for the spare, which doubles as a dolly wheel. The winch strap is used to raise and lower the wheel. It works slick, and with the keel guides makes getting the 270 on and off the trailer really nice.

sunshinegirl · Apr 30, 2015

Honestly I'd be a little scare getting up on a boat that high. Now I see why you have such a long extension to get it in the water. You must be a super backer upper.

Meriachee · Apr 30, 2015

It's actually a royal pain backing up with the 350 as its a long wheelbase, but with the triple axle setup, it rides just beautifully and the 6.7 gets pretty decent mileage.

Meriachee · Apr 30, 2015

Yes we do.
The whole rig is set up to travel, mast raising system, triple 6k axles with full electric brakes, and it tows and rides like a dream. The lessons learned from 15 years of a Mac26c were well learned and applied in earnest. The 270 can go from trailer to sails ready in under an hour, and loaded and ready to go in about the same. It takes longer to secure the junk in the cabin than to stow the mast, furler, boom and rigging.

The hard part was designing a keel guide system for the wing, and that's still not quite right, the fore/aft alignment is perfect, with a rotating keel stop which positions the keel at exactly the same spot irrespective of the angle of the trailer, but the side guides were crafted when the boat was in the water and there's a wee bit too much space between them, which is getting rectified next week after measuring the thickness of the keel.

It's interesting to see all the variations that people have done to make boats trailerable, and it's really not that hard to set one up to be easy. A little of the old "stare and compare" engineering and a little trial and error can end up with something that's simple, and a pleasure to work. I could never in this lifetime raise a 30' mast and furler by myself without a decent rigging setup, but after two attempts, it's fine. I'm not afraid to redesign/rebuild something that isn't smooth or effective, and I'll build on an idea until I get it where I want.

The 26c was built out to the point where it was ready to float in under 20 minutes, singlehanded, with a furler. It doesn't have to be rocket science.

There's a whole bunch of pictures of the trailer on the blog.
Cheers
Gary

spartacus99 · May 5, 2015

I actually bought some square steel tubing, cut with a hacksaw and drilled out holes to make a 4' trailer extension. Drill slow and use oil - massive pain to do it but it works.

Btw, I have no illusions about the strength of my mod and use it only after I've gotten to the marina. The extension is only used for the launching and loading, not actually driving around.

Gene Neill · May 5, 2015

spartacus99 said:
I actually bought some square steel tubing, cut with a hacksaw and drilled out holes to make a 4' trailer extension. Drill slow and use oil - massive pain to do it but it works.

Btw, I have no illusions about the strength of my mod and use it only after I've gotten to the marina. The extension is only used for the launching and loading, not actually driving around.

I've thought about doing a similar thing to make about a 6' long hitch for the truck. Just a long piece of square tubing with a ball on the end. For those REALLY shallow ramps where even the trailer extension is marginal.

spartacus99 · May 5, 2015

It can't be good to get the rear axle in salt water every weekend. I may need to add an extra couple of feet to mine just like you said, for those shallow ramps.

Time_Out · May 6, 2015

I got a truck camper last summer and had a SuperTruss hitch put on my truck. It uses a dual receiver with a 4' extension that is made of two square steel pipes clamped together. The thing is massive, weighs close to 100 lbs and has chains with turnbuckles that triangulate back to the sides of the hitch. I know it's overkill to the max for a C22, but it retains all of the tow capacity of my truck. Now the only weak link is the brakes, which is on my short list to build into my trailer. Looking forward to seeing how it handles going down the road.

Kermit · May 6, 2015

Time_Out said:
Now the only weak link is the brakes, which is on my short list to build into my trailer. Looking forward to seeing how it handles going down the road.

Brakes are so overrated. You only need them when you want to stop. Or slow down.

Gene Neill · May 6, 2015

Kermit said:
Brakes are so overrated. You only need them when you want to stop. Or slow down.

LMAO ...

Brings back memories of childhood ... the very first thing my dad would do, whenever he bought a new automobile, was take a razor knife and cut those "stupid seat belts" out of it. Front and back. Many, many happy miles I remember him driving with a beer in his hand, and one of us kids in his lap.

Sorry. Way off topic.

trailer extension while attached to truck

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