Tongue Extension ?

GoneKayaking:

Extending the receiver, extending the hitch rather than the tongue, would solve the clearance issue with the tow vehicle. However, it has the opposite effect on stability. Moving the hitch point further way from the tow vehicles axle will reduce stability. That's why 5th wheel trailers put the ball right over the rear axle of the pickup. I think extending the receiver would just add problems but does anyone have experience with these?

Thanks.

I tow with a 02 Ranger V6, the bar with the ball on it that goes into the receiver was custom made longer than normal so my trash trailer wouldn't jack knife into my truck. I never had sway problems with it on that trailer so I use it with My Little Shasta, compact, and I don't seem to have any sway problems. But then again I don't have huge amounts of experience either. I can put my tailgate down and not make contact with the crank. The longer bar makes maneuvering easier, too. It was suggested as a just because to put on a sway bar, some states require them, haven't done that yet. I'm in FL.

I plan on extending the tongue on my 1500 to allow me to carry two recumbent trikes in between the trailer and the tow vehicle. It will be fastened to the trailer frame back under the trailer and extend out with a trailer ball mounted to hook into the original coupler on the trailer then on to a new coupler that will hook to my hitch. It will be bolted to the trailer frame with at least 4 grade 5 bolts 1/2" in diameter at the rear then the existing coupler at the front by a 2" ball. This will not only add extension but will make the trailer frame stronger.

No almost all of my pictures got lost years ago during a remodel we think they got trashed by accident. If you visit a website that deals with big boat trailers you might find a picture, but even most of them have angled tongues now days. I would think any shop that installs them could tell how they do it. I personally don't like them they are mostly used to cover up mistakes in set up, just my opinion.

The above pictures show a receiver extension like I was talking about earlier. These will tow well but as I stated in an earlier post they multiply the receiver stress due to leverage. When using an extension such as this you must reduce the rated tongue weight capacity of your receiver by approximately 33% per foot of extension. It doesn't affect the total pulling rate, just the tongue weight rating. You will see a lot of truck campers using these extensions to pull their boats. I have seen these up to 3 feet long but they have to have extra support both up and down and side ways, they usually have a support hooked to the bottom of the camper or a brace system that hooks to rear of truck to help carry the load. A one foot extension in a hitch rated at 500 pound dead weight would most likely pull the average single axle trailer with no problems but before using an extension check the rating of or hitch. Different hitches will range from 200 to 1000 pounds of tongue weight. These extensions also change the load on the rear suspension of your tow vehicle. If in doubt check with the mfg of your hitch. Stay safe and enjoy life.

There's nothing like experience. It seems many are using receiver extensions with great success. Moving the ball further from the rear axle will decrease stability. Any trailer sway will be amplified through this increased offset. However, it seems the affect isn't large as many have found through experience.

The distance between the ball and axle on an Xterra will be less than on our Tacoma which should increase stability. The wheel base of the Xterra is less than the Tacoma though, decreasing stability slightly. But the Xterra weighs more than the Tacoma (3515lb to 4408lb) which should increase stability. [The weights surprised me, I didn't think there was that much difference till I looked it up.] My guess is the Xterra will be more stable than the Tacoma, but only testing will tell the truth.

A receiver extension will put more weight on the back of the vehicle. It will make the Xterra "squat" more. This depends on the suspension so it's hard to determine without trying it. We could put on air springs to fix this though. Probably still easier than extending the trailer tongue.

As mentioned, a receiver extension will lower the towing capacity. E-Trailer suggests a reduction of 50% in both capacity and tongue weight. They say this for all their extensions though, no mater how long. Bigbill suggests 33% reduction in tongue weight per foot of extension. That makes more sense as the reduction will depend on length. For our trailer, 2400 lb and 240 lb tongue, we'd be OK up to 18" or so of extension. Both our Tacoma and the Xterra have ratings of 5000 lb and 500 lb.

So, we'll try a receiver extension. The Xterra should show up the middle of August. We'll have to align Shasta and Terra to see how long an extension we'll need. But a receiver extension would be sooo much easier than extending the tongue that it's worth a try.

Thank you all for the input. I'll let you know how it works out and what we finally end up with.