# Yet Another Hitch Receiver



## OutbackInfront (Jun 27, 2006)

This hitch won't budge! 2 1/2" X 2 1/2" X 1/4" wall square tube, 2" X 9" X 3/8" scab plates at the intersection and 9/16 grade 8 bolts. Notice the 2 weep holes.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Very nice!!


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

You could pull another trailer behind your trailer with that!

That has all of the requirements of a class 4 or 5 hitch..

Great job!

I love stuff overbuilt!

Carey


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

Nice!!


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## clarkely (Sep 15, 2008)

I would love to see more pictures of your Stabilizer bars you are using and how you have them set up yo the Bike rack


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

Just an observations - that seems like a lot of weight added at the very back of the trailer compared to other methods / designs of attaching the reciever.


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Cool ! Whatcha gonna hook up to it?


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## OutbackInfront (Jun 27, 2006)

It might be a little heavy but I won't have to worry about. Bikesan generators and firewook laying all over the road causing law suits.


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## ED_RN (Jun 25, 2006)

Hey if somebody doesn't drop firewood all along the road we would never have a camp fire.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

OutbackInfront said:


> It might be a little heavy but I won't have to worry about. Bikesan generators and firewook laying all over the road causing law suits.


Agreed, but on the other hand lifting 200 pounds off the tongue and causing an unsafe weight distribution could result in the _whole trailer_ laying all over the road.

Not meant to criticize you in particular, but I'm always concerned about changing the weight distribution so significantly. I just hope people research and analyze thoroughly before slapping on a mod like this.


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## DernMooseAK (Apr 16, 2004)

With out getting into the math/physics of it, he is not transfering that much wait from front to the back. A camper is not a lever, it has a tandom axle that compresses more then act as a lever.
Traveling with your tanks full/empty(30gal x +/- 8lbs per gal. x 3 or 4 tanks) does more for weight transfer then a rear hitch.

Nice mod Outbackinfront!


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

DernMooseAK said:


> With out getting into the math/physics of it, he is not transfering that much wait from front to the back. A camper is not a lever, it has a tandom axle that compresses more then act as a lever.
> Traveling with your tanks full/empty(30gal x +/- 8lbs per gal. x 3 or 4 tanks) does more for weight transfer then a rear hitch.
> 
> Nice mod Outbackinfront!


Why not, that would be fun.

It certainly, at the very least, acts like a lever to some degree. Otherwise we'd never be able to level our trailers fore and aft with the tongue jack, right?

In fact, isn't the lever behavior precisely what makes your statement about the tanks true? (But it depends on which tanks you're talking about, of course. I have a freshwater tank located very far forward on the frame and grey tank(s) located near the axles.)

If I understand the physics of what you're saying (it doesn't have much impact), that would depend on the model and the position of the axles relative to the length of the frame fore and aft of it, wouldn't it?

I'm not trying to be argumentative, but this strikes me as one of those cases where a general guideline of "don't worry about throwing 200 pounds on the rear, it's not a problem" might in fact be rather dangerous on some models.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

x2 to what BoaterDan said

Ok, it's a lever with an unusual pivot point, but a lever none the less.

When I was a kid, my Grandfather had a trailer with a tool box built off the bumper. He had about 100 lbs of tounge weight left because you could pick it up to get it off the ball.








Granted, it was not a particularly heavy trailer, but it was a lot over 1000 lbs...









I'll never understand how he was able to tow that trailer that far without having an accident. Oh well, you'll never catch me with a setup like that!


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## OutbackInfront (Jun 27, 2006)

Even 250 pounds is relatively small in comparison to a 7000 pound trailer. Add to that that the fulcrum is toward the rear and on my rig, the pass through cargo is in the front, so are all the tanks, and the fridge, pantry, closets. How carefully does the average RVer pack his rig for balance anyway? I think it's more important to have a secure load and keep wihin the axle and tire ratings.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

OutbackInfront said:


> Even 250 pounds is relatively small in comparison to a 7000 pound trailer. Add to that that the fulcrum is toward the rear and on my rig, the pass through cargo is in the front, so are all the tanks, and the fridge, pantry, closets. How carefully does the average RVer pack his rig for balance anyway? I think it's more important to have a secure load and keep wihin the axle and tire ratings.


Ah, but that's the point. On my trailer my rear bumper is about 15 feet behind the axles, and it's about 20 feet to the tip of the tongue. Most of my weight is near the axles. I did in fact spend a few trips shifting stuff between my front and back garages (they're both huge) and noticed a significant difference in towing stability.

Remember, the weight at the very end of the tongue is only 10-15% of the total weight. A 250 pound difference there could be a 35% change on a 7000 pound trailer, and if it's already on the light end...

I'm not at all saying you're wrong. I'm only saying use caution with interpreting somebody else's configuration to mean it works on yours.


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## JLAnderson (Sep 13, 2008)

BoaterDan said:


> Even 250 pounds is relatively small in comparison to a 7000 pound trailer. Add to that that the fulcrum is toward the rear and on my rig, the pass through cargo is in the front, so are all the tanks, and the fridge, pantry, closets. How carefully does the average RVer pack his rig for balance anyway? I think it's more important to have a secure load and keep wihin the axle and tire ratings.


Ah, but that's the point. On my trailer my rear bumper is about 15 feet behind the axles, and it's about 20 feet to the tip of the tongue. Most of my weight is near the axles. I did in fact spend a few trips shifting stuff between my front and back garages (they're both huge) and noticed a significant difference in towing stability.

Remember, the weight at the very end of the tongue is only 10-15% of the total weight. A 250 pound difference there could be a 35% change on a 7000 pound trailer, and if it's already on the light end...

I'm not at all saying you're wrong. I'm only saying use caution with interpreting somebody else's configuration to mean it works on yours.
[/quote]

That's some of the logic I am looking for. I have a 31RQS as well. I'm trying to figure out what kind of a generator I can carry, and where. I had been thinking about adding a hitch to the back, but the thought of 200# of generator (a 4.3 KVA weighs in at 160# dry), maybe 100# of steel and hitch, and maybe a 50# or more of gas and other stuff makes me nervous. Has anybody done this successfully, without sway problemsd? What about having to cut or modify the underbelly to mount the hiotch/reinforcements? Are the hitch baskets sufficient to hold that much weight?


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

JLAnderson said:


> Even 250 pounds is relatively small in comparison to a 7000 pound trailer. Add to that that the fulcrum is toward the rear and on my rig, the pass through cargo is in the front, so are all the tanks, and the fridge, pantry, closets. How carefully does the average RVer pack his rig for balance anyway? I think it's more important to have a secure load and keep wihin the axle and tire ratings.


Ah, but that's the point. On my trailer my rear bumper is about 15 feet behind the axles, and it's about 20 feet to the tip of the tongue. Most of my weight is near the axles. I did in fact spend a few trips shifting stuff between my front and back garages (they're both huge) and noticed a significant difference in towing stability.

Remember, the weight at the very end of the tongue is only 10-15% of the total weight. A 250 pound difference there could be a 35% change on a 7000 pound trailer, and if it's already on the light end...

I'm not at all saying you're wrong. I'm only saying use caution with interpreting somebody else's configuration to mean it works on yours.
[/quote]

That's some of the logic I am looking for. I have a 31RQS as well. I'm trying to figure out what kind of a generator I can carry, and where. I had been thinking about adding a hitch to the back, but the thought of 200# of generator (a 4.3 KVA weighs in at 160# dry), maybe 100# of steel and hitch, and maybe a 50# or more of gas and other stuff makes me nervous. Has anybody done this successfully, without sway problemsd? What about having to cut or modify the underbelly to mount the hiotch/reinforcements? Are the hitch baskets sufficient to hold that much weight?
[/quote]
I have added a 2x4 steel tube hitch to the OB with a carrier for my 98lb generator and 2 30lb lp tanks. I just bought a tongue scale and will see how much it changes the tongue weight. James


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

GarethsDad said:


> I have added a 2x4 steel tube hitch to the OB with a carrier for my 98lb generator and 2 30lb lp tanks. I just bought a tongue scale and will see how much it changes the tongue weight. James


Sweet! Let's get to the bottom of this. Now, when you post the results, could you also give some dimension of the trailer, namely where the axles are located along the length of the trailer (including all the tongue, not typically included in manufacturer's length for model purposes).


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## JLAnderson (Sep 13, 2008)

GarethsDad:

Did you ever do the tongue weight check?


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

JLAnderson said:


> GarethsDad:
> 
> Did you ever do the tongue weight check?


Yes I did. When I loaded up the generator I lost 103lbs of tongue weight. The generator is 98lbs + 3.5 gallons of fuel. Photo is before adding the generator to the cargo hitch. James


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## JLAnderson (Sep 13, 2008)

GarethsDad said:


> GarethsDad:
> 
> Did you ever do the tongue weight check?


Yes I did. When I loaded up the generator I lost 103lbs of tongue weight. The generator is 98lbs + 3.5 gallons of fuel. Photo is before adding the generator to the cargo hitch. James
[/quote]

So basically 1:1. Did dropping the hitch weight cause any issues? I'm considering something that would be closer to 200#.

And THANKS for the info.


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## BoaterDan (Jul 1, 2005)

GarethsDad said:


> QUOTE (JLAnderson @ Sep 15 2009, 11:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>GarethsDad:
> 
> Did you ever do the tongue weight check?
> Yes I did. When I loaded up the generator I lost 103lbs of tongue weight. The generator is 98lbs + 3.5 gallons of fuel. Photo is before adding the generator to the cargo hitch. James


Hmmm. I guess these things act very much like a lever.









Again, we can't take somebody else's experience of how this affected their towing to mean much unless we have the EXACT same configuration, including the way we've loaded gear in the TT. Some of these trailers come tongue light from the factory, and the gear loading makes all the difference in the world.


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## n2striper (Jul 21, 2007)

I HAVE A 26RLS OUTBACK. I TOW IT WITH A 2000 F350 DRW 4X4 DSL. I TOO WANT TO BE ABLE TO CARRY SOME STUFF ON THE BACK. WE PUT A GOLF CART IN THE BED OF MY TRUCK SO I HAVE NO WHERE ELSE TO PUT STUFF!! ( SMOKER,FIREWOOD,GENERATORS,CORNHOLE ETC) I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE HITCH THING( WOBBLE CONCERNS) BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ADD EXTENSION PLATFORM. I WOULD USE LIGHTER WEIGHT STEEL/ALUM COMPONENTS. ITS ON MY MOD LIST!!!

NICE JOB !!!! I STILL HAVE NOT TOTALY RULED OUT A HITCH THOUGH. DO YOU GET ALOT OF WOBBLE WITH ONE OF THOSE WIDE CARRY FLAT THINGYS?


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