Installin rear hitch on Boler - Fiberglass RV
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Old 04-22-2010, 05:42 PM   #1
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I have tried searching because I remember reading several post about installing a hitch on the back of a trailer but I am having no luck finding anything..I do not want to install one on the bumper because the bumpers are not sturdy enough to hold anything.I am looking for an install that would, I presume, be attached to the frame of the trailer.It will be used to carry the rack shown below..Any help would be appreciated.Thanks.Pat.
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Old 04-22-2010, 06:00 PM   #2
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I would not install that on the back of a stock 13' boler. The frame is like the bumper - weak, it will throw your weights and balances off. Just use the roof racks on your van.
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Old 04-22-2010, 06:10 PM   #3
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Quote:
I would not install that on the back of a stock 13' boler. The frame is like the bumper - weak, it will throw your weights and balances off. Just use the roof racks on your van.
Hi Roy.Thanks for your input.We are not thinking of carrying anything heavy.It is mostly for bedding for the dogs,and unwieldly items like dishpan and drainer.We have tried putting things on the roof rack but because we are both quite short in stature have problems loading and unloading things.Do you think that the rack lightly loaded would still throw off the trailer balance.Pat.
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Old 04-22-2010, 08:25 PM   #4
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Hi Pat,

Being vertically challenged myself, I understand your problem. I keep a small folding plastic step stool in the back of my pickup to reach stuff normal people have no problems with.

The way I see it one has about 200 cubic feet of storage space in a boler. For us, the dog crates go on the floor just inside the door along with the first up and solar panels. Light bulky stuff goes on the rear bed. Camp chairs on the front bunk. Find your system of packing so loads don't shift and you know where to find it on setup and you should not need an extension.
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Old 04-23-2010, 04:59 AM   #5
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I have to agree with Roy. Distribute the weight INSIDE the trailer where it's over the axle. Remember, that every pound that you hang behind the trailer is a pound taken off of your tongue weight. "Stuff" hanging from the back is on the end of a long lever and can off-balance the weight of the tongue and can cause some serious towing problems. Add up the weight of the hitch, rack and all items to be stored and you'll be surprised at the total and once the rack is there there's the temptation to add just that extra item like the lawn chairs because they don't weigh much extra.
Someone on this forum said, "Junk expands to fill the available space".
Jim
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:27 AM   #6
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Granted, since I have a 17" Casita, it's a little bit of "apples and oranges", but if you really want to install a frame mounted 2" receiver type hitch, I have included a few pictures of the one I built on mine. I "sawzalled" off the cheesy "tin foil" sewer hose bumper and installed (welded) a chunk of heavy-walled 3" square channel directly to the exposed ends of the 3" main frame channels. I also added a cross-wise 1 1/2" piece of square channel in between the main frame rails for added support. Under both of these I welded a piece of receiver tube channel, which is my new receiver. I carry a Stowaway brand lockable enclosure (rotomolded plastic) box which serves as a convenient "trunk" to store all kinds of stuff.

As has been mentioned above, some folks caution against putting too much weight on the rear of the trailer, but if you can keep the weight distribution ratio within towing specs (keep between 10-15% of the trailer total weight as a figure for calculating your tongue weight requirement.) Ex.: If your trailer weighs 2,000 lbs, your tongue weight should be maintained between 200-250 lbs, or you may find your trailer hard to control due to fishtailing and swaying problems associated from having too light a tongue weight.
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Old 04-23-2010, 08:38 AM   #7
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It was stated above that "every pound added on the rear will lighten the tongue by a pound". This would only be true if the axle was centered under the balance point of the trailer, like a see-saw fulcrum point. However, the axle on most trailers is located behind this "midpoint" fulcrum, so your calculations would need some further adjustment, based on the true center of gravity (fulcrum point). It cannot be arbitrarily assumed that the weight distribution would be equal on either side of the axle. The distance from the center hub of the axle to the hitch, vs, from the axle hub to the rear of the trailer will generally not be the same length, and must be taken into account when calculating your load distribution.
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Old 04-23-2010, 01:04 PM   #8
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For several reasons I'm not too sure how applicable this will be to your trailer but I have added a hitch receiver to the frame of my Boler 13. I'm honestly not sure whether I'll ever use it but I currently have the frame out from under the trailer and I wanted to be sure I made every change I might ever want while it was easy to do.

My Boler is a very early model and the frame is likely quite different from yours. For example, mine is made up of C channel rather than the box frame section of the later models. From the pictures I've seen it appears that the later models have the frame basically extending out from under the shell with the bumper becoming the last cross member. Mine never had a bumper and my rear cross member is an L shape that sits under the shell.

I have added an additional longitudinal member to help support a gray water tank and a spare tire mount inside the frame. That member is near the center but not quite close enough to support the hitch tube so I welded in an angled piece to support the front of the tube. The attached pictures were obviously taken with the frame upside down. Please excuse my ugly welding. I've never gotten the hang of it but I've had it inspected by people in the know to be sure that it's structurally sound.

Russ


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Old 04-25-2010, 01:29 PM   #9
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Thanks for all the input to my question.Sorry it has taken so long to get back to everyone but we have been having some internet problems(like no internet for four days).I guess knowing me it would be wise not to put anything on the back end of this trailer.Even though I only intended to carry bulky lightweight items the temptation would always be there to add just one more thing,and as most of you agree it does not take much to get into a serious towing situation.Guess I'd rather be safe than sorry and find other solutions to loading.....Pat
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