Trailer hitch extender

[Wayne Collins]

Originally Posted by Mollie

So I now have a bike rack on the front of my boler. In doing so I wanted to put an extender on my hitch so the bikes are not as close to the back of the car when turning,etc ... it will cut the towing capacity in half I know but just wondered if having an extender creates any concerns while in transport

Moving the hitch ball back,and any slop or looseness will aggravate trailer sway.
Better to stretch the trailer frame.

One of our Scamp buddies built a bike rack to go above the LP tank and battery, keeps them away from your rear bumper in turns. Ask Floyd for the details.

[Bruce H]

Not just no but heck no! For increased safety you want to REDUCE the distance from the pivot point (hitch ball) to the back axle of the tow vehicle. Every inch of reduction helps with vehicle stability.

Conversely, increasing the distance from the pivot point to the trailer axle increases vehicle stability. If you need to increase the distance between the tow vehicle and the trailer lengthen the trailer tongue. Lengthen the trailer tongue enough and you completely eliminate trailer sway.

[Mollie]

Very good points ... thanks for the advice as I want safety to be foremost when pulling. I only bring 2 bikes usually and that works with the current setup but if I go with 3 it will run into the problem. 2 it is!!! You guys (and gals possibly) rock!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Mollie

Very good points ... thanks for the advice as I want safety to be foremost when pulling. I only bring 2 bikes usually and that works with the current setup but if I go with 3 it will run into the problem. 2 it is!!! You guys (and gals possibly) rock!

A few bike notes...
Two cheap mountain bikes or cruisers can weigh base 70 - 80 pounds(pair).
My two 1989 Trek 820s weigh 64 pounds (pair)as equipped with racks and accessories.
Two decent road bikes weigh 40 - 45 pounds (pair).
Any thing much lighter is too expensive to carry on the hitch IMHO!

[Franswa]

found this out by "accident" and it turned out to be a good thing....

used an extended "stinger" (???) with a really long trailer that helped a great deal with the trailer tracking a lot closer to the TV's wheels than before (didn't have to take corners so wide)

an extender increases the distance between the rear wheels of the TV and the ball....as the TV starts to turn to the right the ball is actually going left....an extender exagerates that

back to original problem though.....I think you could take your problem to a good metal fab shop and they could make a semi-permanent extension for your trailer that would increase the distance...but could be removed is you gave up the bikes....imagine something that would fit into your coupler and be stabilized by two welded arms bolted to your frame....with a coupler ahead of all that.....trailered boats with keels use tounge extenders all the time...but not for highway towing obviously....that's just where the idea came from...

either way, now you're looking at a possible other problem...are your chains and electrical cord long enough ???? good luck