What do you think of this? - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 01-20-2021, 07:30 AM   #1
Member
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 79
What do you think of this?

Extended hitch length by a foot.


Casita Tow Tongue Eliminated - The Casita Club Forum - The Casita Club Forums
Jimmy J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2021, 11:03 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Name: Lee
Trailer: Casita
Texas
Posts: 493
Registry
I would be very leary of that welding job holding up. Probably would be better to have a proffesional welder do it.
__________________
Lee
Captleemo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 02:40 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Name: Elliott
Trailer: Bigfoot
Everywhere
Posts: 462
Probably OK in terms of strength. Weld area's decently large. The crossbar undearneath it in the "A" area will help for any upward forces on the ball receiver. I'd be a little concerned about downwards forces from bumps, but it's hard to say without seeing what's inside there and how it's all attached.

How does that work turning left? Do you have to remove the sway bar on the exit ramp, or does it actually have enough clearance?

What's the goal of lengthening it, and why do this vs just a hitch extender?
Defenestrator is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 04:30 AM   #4
Raz
Senior Member
 
Raz's Avatar
 
Trailer: Trillium 2010
Posts: 5,185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Defenestrator View Post

What's the goal of lengthening it, and why do this vs just a hitch extender?
I believe he mentions tailgate interference as the reason for the mod. As far as a hitch extender, l wondered the same thing. Twenty four inches is quite the extension? Perhaps it was cheaper to make it?
Raz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 07:52 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
Name: bob
Trailer: 1996 Casita 17 Spirit Deluxe; 1946 Modernistic teardrop
New York
Posts: 5,413
A hitch extender (ball mount) will decrease the capacity of the vehicle receiver, due to increased leverage. This is noted on some of those double receiver adapters that are intended for bike racks. Lengthening the trailer tongue actually decreases the tongue weight on the ball which may affect handling. Apparently the purpose of this mod was to allow the truck tailgate to be opened with the trailer connected. I accomplished that by installing the Ultimate Jack, others use the Jack-e-up.
mary and bob is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 08:33 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Jon in AZ's Avatar
 
Name: Jon
Trailer: 2008 Scamp 13 S1
Arizona
Posts: 11,912
Registry
Hitch extenders reduce capacity and stability. They add slop to the connection. Lengthening the tongue is better, but it does mean you now have a longer trailer, affecting parking and storage, as well as maneuvering in tight spaces.

Tongue weight on the 17’ Casita is such that I’d have no serious concerns about becoming too light on the tongue. I think the actual projection of the extension was only a foot or so, which is a small fraction of the axle-to-coupler length. Reducing tongue weight a bit could actually improve handling by improving front-rear weight distribution on the tow vehicle. It looked like there was a sway bar in use but no WDH.

I’m not a professional metal fabricator, so I can’t comment on whether thus particular tongue extension is adequately engineered. Casita 17’s are known to exhibit some undesirable flex in the frame rails forward of the axle. Wondering if this might make it worse.
Jon in AZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 12:07 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Raspy's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: Roamer 1
Smith Valley, Nevada
Posts: 2,879
Quote:
Originally Posted by Captleemo View Post
I would be very leary of that welding job holding up. Probably would be better to have a proffesional welder do it.
Yep. It's a bad idea to make a structural alteration in a critical area like that without the needed welding skills.
__________________
I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt.
Raspy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-22-2021, 09:02 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
John in Santa Cruz's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: Escape 21, behind an '02 F250 7.3 diesel tug
Mid Left Coast
Posts: 2,937
I run a longer-than-normal stinger (ball mount) so my F250 superduty supersized tailgate can clear my E21's jack, and its not given me any issues whatsoever.

lets see, its this one,
https://www.curtmfg.com/part/45260
and is 12.25" long instead of the more normal 7.5"
John in Santa Cruz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-23-2021, 08:40 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
Posts: 3,209
tongue length

interesting p/o of our scamp added 12 ins! this is rather interesting but I don't get it?

bob in misouri

Quote:
Originally Posted by Defenestrator View Post
Probably OK in terms of strength. Weld area's decently large. The crossbar undearneath it in the "A" area will help for any upward forces on the ball receiver. I'd be a little concerned about downwards forces from bumps, but it's hard to say without seeing what's inside there and how it's all attached.

How does that work turning left? Do you have to remove the sway bar on the exit ramp, or does it actually have enough clearance?

What's the goal of lengthening it, and why do this vs just a hitch extender?
k0wtz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2021, 12:23 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
Posts: 3,209
Our extension was already done to our 13f scamp it was done by a professional welder big difference nr 1. I was skeptical at first but it was designed by an engineer and there is really not much to it!


Just a addition to the tongue and i personally tugged it 20,000 miles and not one problem. it makes it easier to back up and it makes it so the trailer is not right on top of you!


Additionally all we have on the tongue is 1 small gas cylinder and 1 small battery! It feels safe pulling also and i dont notice the trailer drifting around!


The man we purchased it from said Trust Me and he was right!


missouri bob
k0wtz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2021, 02:17 PM   #11
Junior Member
 
Name: Lane
Trailer: Casita
New Hampshire
Posts: 7
Be nice to get an update from the guy later on and see how it's working out for him. I'd like the tongue on our trailer to be 6" longer so I could open the tailgate.
Lane Noyes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2021, 03:46 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Name: Lee
Trailer: Casita
Texas
Posts: 493
Registry
My issue wasn't extending the tongue of the trailer, it was the quality of the welding job. Had that guy tried to get a welding job he would have never passed the welding test.
__________________
Lee
Captleemo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2021, 04:06 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Name: bob
Trailer: Was A-Liner now 13f Scamp
Missouri
Posts: 3,209
a welding job like this is for the pros to do!
k0wtz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-30-2021, 07:09 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Civilguy's Avatar
 
Name: Mike
Trailer: Escape 21 & Jeep GC 5.7 (Previous 2012 Casita FD17 & 2010 Audi Q5)
Puget Sound, WA
Posts: 1,775
Registry
I'm unclear about how the stresses will be transferred between the frame members and the new square HSS extension that he welded on.

After carving up the frame, it does not appear that the web and flanges of the channel were properly re-unified and connected to the HSS.

He attached something under the back end of the new extension beginning at 13:21, but the video never really shows what that is or how it's attached.

Basically, he has increased the lever-arm which will increase the stresses on a frame that's not especially robust to begin with.

If he just needed clearance for the tailgate, I'm not clear that this was a good solution. As Bob mentions above, there are replacement jacks available which would solve that issue.

Overall, I think the design and the execution are questionable and I'd be concerned about the potential for a failure somewhere down the road.
__________________
~ “It’s absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.” Oscar Wilde ~
~ “What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.” Warren Buffett ~

Civilguy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2021, 05:44 PM   #15
Junior Member
 
Name: Paul
Trailer: Casita and Hemisphere
Kentucky
Posts: 15
Interesting

Before we comment on ones ability, you might explain how a “professional weld” would be any different than the job this individual did! What would make a professional weld any stronger than welds viewed in the video? If you couldn’t see the quality, then what gives you the right to compare?

Hum........interesting!
oldharry2006 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-31-2021, 06:12 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Name: Lee
Trailer: Casita
Texas
Posts: 493
Registry
I have seen quality welds and plenty of them. I worked in the construction industry for 30 years and have seen thousands of welds. Pipe welds have to be x-rayed to make sure there are no flaws. You could see that the pop and burn style of welding in this video was not proffesional. Even structural welds have to be solid with good penetration and no gaps or burns.
__________________
Lee
Captleemo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2021, 02:32 PM   #17
Senior Member
 
Motoboss's Avatar
 
Name: Ron
Trailer: 2001 Casita 17' SD
IN
Posts: 139
I called out his welding method and was called a "hater" and that I was drunk, seriously!

His method is quite unsound in both bonding and strenght capabilities, period. His wire feed was too fast and power turned up too high resulting in the big, fast arching movements and the snapping and crackle. Yes, I've welded since the 70's and work with a professional steel worker welder with 25 years experience.
Additionally, adding the extra lenght not only adds to frame leverage stress, as noted, but also movement of weight distribution, period.

It's a poor choice to a simple solution, a new jack would have addressed quite adequately.
__________________
"Adventure Before Dementia"
2001 Casita Sprit Deluxe 17
2019 F150 4x4
Motoboss is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-01-2021, 05:13 PM   #18
Senior Member
 
Name: Steve
Trailer: Scamp 13
California
Posts: 1,890
not the way I would do it but to each his own. Complains on how thin the tongue is and prone to failure. so he compromises it further. he should have run the new tube under the trailer and tied into the frame structure which would have strengthened the structure. should have left the old swaybar mount alone. this is a very critical spot so cutting and scaring the frame there isnt wise. Not running the tube all the way under gives the tongue added leverage on the light weight frame. could just have spent a few bucks and bought another sway ball mount and weld it where you want and just cut off the old ball leaving the base. now he has to get under the frame after every trip and check for structural stability. next he will probably add even more weight on the tongue since there is all this added room. Hope his travels bode well for him.
stevebaz is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
If you think you won't be robbed EllPea in CA General Chat 20 09-12-2016 09:53 AM
So you think you don't need trailer brakes? Donna D. Towing, Hitching, Axles and Running Gear 49 12-19-2011 10:42 AM
You think YOU have a bad job. Dave Mac Jokes, Stories & Tall Tales 1 09-07-2007 03:21 PM
So you think you know everything?? Christi V. Jokes, Stories & Tall Tales 0 09-23-2006 07:52 AM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:51 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.