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That PP lot bar shown above is really designed to allow lot jockies to quickly hitch with a standard ball vs having to fiddle with an unfamiliar HA or PP hitch. I actually had my HA slightly damaged at a racetrack event where we had to leave our trailers (no tow vehicles due limited space and a high car count) there for the entire weekend, and to make more room they were using a tractor to jocky the unhitched trailers around. Of course when they got to my TH with the HA they "improvised" and I ended up with a crushed bearing cap and a bent overcenter latch arm.
Using the HA/PP from the front of your EX should not be an issue as long as you can easily make the hitches match up well enough height wise. I know if I were mount a front hitch it would be a little lower than my rear one, not sure if my 4" drop stinger would make up that height difference on the front if I were to simple flip it for a 4" rise. For a short driveway push though it should be OK even if a bit off on height.
Another option although pricey would be a powered trailer dolly, I saw a guy squeeze his 26' stacker trailer into a tight spot at a campground with a high end tracked power dolly, it was remote controlled and seemed very powerful pushing that big stacker around.
That PP lot bar shown above is really designed to allow lot jockies to quickly hitch with a standard ball vs having to fiddle with an unfamiliar HA or PP hitch. I actually had my HA slightly damaged at a racetrack event where we had to leave our trailers (no tow vehicles due limited space and a high car count) there for the entire weekend, and to make more room they were using a tractor to jocky the unhitched trailers around. Of course when they got to my TH with the HA they "improvised" and I ended up with a crushed bearing cap and a bent overcenter latch arm.
Using the HA/PP from the front of your EX should not be an issue as long as you can easily make the hitches match up well enough height wise. I know if I were mount a front hitch it would be a little lower than my rear one, not sure if my 4" drop stinger would make up that height difference on the front if I were to simple flip it for a 4" rise. For a short driveway push though it should be OK even if a bit off on height.
Another option although pricey would be a powered trailer dolly, I saw a guy squeeze his 26' stacker trailer into a tight spot at a campground with a high end tracked power dolly, it was remote controlled and seemed very powerful pushing that big stacker around.
If I have to take my camper to the dealer I have taken my PP off, they cannot figure out how to move it with it on. The PP is a nice theft deterrent.
I installed my Hensley Arrow at the dealer (they gave me use of a service bay) when we picked it up, a few of the shop guys were checking it our as they hadn't seen one before, I answer lots of questions as I worked on it. Fortunately the TT never has had to go back to the dealer for anything, if it did I would most like take the hitch heads off too.
To drill the 24 holes up through the bottom flange on the I beam TT frame I had to use the redneck drill press.
That 1/4" plate with the 8 bolts is for the rear stabilizer jack mount, there are nuts welded to the back side of the plate.
Here the hitch and both racks are upside down getting their base coat of Chassis Saver aluminum paint, it was followed up with Chassis Saver Gloss Black top coat.
At the ends of the cross tube you can see where the two channels capture the bottom and open end of the cross tube, it's fully seal welded so no moisture will get inside.
Here it is mounted and in use carrying the bikes, I still have to build the genny platform that will go into the outboard receivers. You can see some of the mounting bolts to the frame in both directions. And some of the wood blocks that the racks carry.
From the other side...
This shows some of the attachment to the TT frame, stabilizer jack mount and how I closed in the end of the one channel that would have been hard to repaint the inside of when needed.
Closer shot of that mounting hardware and the rear rack mounted to the lower channel via the 3 bolts running horizontally forward of the jack.
The rear rack that carries 7 of the wood blocks and the keeper rod and spring pin with lanyards attached.
The rear rack from the other side, it is only 2" lower than the rear jacks when they are fully retracted and the TT rides high enough that I've never drug the rear of it.
The front rack is mounted forward of the front stabilizer jacks bolted to the bottom flange of the TT frame. Here you see the blocks in place and the keeper rod and spring pin latched.
Different angle of the front rack with blocks loaded.
So far we have logged about 3K miles with the two bikes loaded on the hitch and all the hardware is still tight and the welds are solid. The Gloss Black paint is however starting to get chalky, like the can said would happen with sun exposure, I will be making a few small mods to the hitch and will give it a sprayed top coat then to keep it looking good.
These block racks are really awesome. I made mine out of aluminum angle and kept one at each jack location so I wouldn't have to hunt for them. After using them for a couple seasons I could use some more I may do something like you have here. Great fab work and Tig'ing the whole deal get's you extra bonus points!
I am working on a DIY poor mans leveling system now, I'll post up some pictures soon.
These block racks are really awesome. I made mine out of aluminum angle and kept one at each jack location so I wouldn't have to hunt for them. After using them for a couple seasons I could use some more I may do something like you have here. Great fab work and Tig'ing the whole deal get's you extra bonus points!
I am working on a DIY poor mans leveling system now, I'll post up some pictures soon.
Thanks!
My crappy TIG welder does much better than my crappy MIG welder does, the MIG would have been much quicker (if it didn't need constant fiddling with the feed rollers system....anyone want to buy a 110V MIG? ). We travel with a couple that has a big Class A rig with auto air leveling, so these blocks and racks really cut down on the Time Delta between our two rigs getting setup and breaking camp. Having the ample pre-built block supply right by the jacks (I still have to walk one up to the center jacks) speeds up the process almost as much as having the blocks vs the old way of playing Jenga at each jack from a big heavy bin of individual wood segments. We LOVE those blocks, so nice and easy to deal with, I still need to finish sanding the hard edges on a few of them (The near stack in the above pic shows both a finished block and one of the ones that needs sanding). Friends of ours are currently looking at a new 5ver, I will be making them a set of blocks as a trailer warming gift when they take delivery.
Did a Grand Design factory tour today. Pretty cool seeing how and where my trailer was made. It was also nice that half the production line had my specific model.
Grand Design corporate HQ, Middlebury, IN.
It was convenient that the campground I was at on totally unrelated business was only 5 miles away.
Took 4 evenings to wash and wax the camper to prep for 2 trips next week. My daughter turns 14 on Saturday and she has invited friends to the lake for an overnight. Got to uncover and get the boat ready tonight and get the camper loaded.
Its allowed in Montana as long as the total limit is less than 65 or 75ft, can't remember which. My camper is a toyhauler tent trailer that is maybe 20ft folded up and my ski boat is a small 16ft OB. Looking to add a hitch to the rear of the TH since it has a fully-boxed frame. The boat trailer has a TW of only 100 lbs, or so. Total weight on the boat setup is less than 1500 lbs with that 100hp Merc Tower of Power.
Its the original 1969 Tower of Power 6cyl 100hp Merc that came on the boat (1969 Silverline Deville) when my grandparents bought off the dealership floor in 1970 as a demo. Grandpa died 5yrs ago and the family didn't want it and didn't think it was worth their effort to sell, so I brought it home. Been fishing with it every Fall since then (Kokanee/trout) and wake/kneeboarding every summer since then. It had an Evinrude 9.9 kicker for trolling, but I sold that and now have a 55 lb thrust wireless electric trolling motor w/quick release on the back end. With a beat up 17p 3-blade prop and just me in it, the boat would do about 40mph on glass @ 5200rpm and 3000ft elevation. I now have a 4-blade 12p prop on it for watersports and hit 36mph @ 5500 with the family and gear at our new lake at 6300ft. Its not the fastest on the water anymore, but can pull my fat azz (barely) out of the water on a wakeboard. $30 in mixed lasts us an entire weekend of playing. Floor is getting soft and the seats will need replacing soon, but it sure is a fun afternoon with the kids. Will be buying into a houseboat next year, so this boat will live on for quite some time playing with my kids and future grandkids. We get a TON of looks everywhere we go with it! You just don't see stuff like this anymore.....
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). We travel with a couple that has a big Class A rig with auto air leveling, so these blocks and racks really cut down on the Time Delta between our two rigs getting setup and breaking camp. Having the ample pre-built block supply right by the jacks (I still have to walk one up to the center jacks) speeds up the process almost as much as having the blocks vs the old way of playing Jenga at each jack from a big heavy bin of individual wood segments. We LOVE those blocks, so nice and easy to deal with, I still need to finish sanding the hard edges on a few of them (The near stack in the above pic shows both a finished block and one of the ones that needs sanding). Friends of ours are currently looking at a new 5ver, I will be making them a set of blocks as a trailer warming gift when they take delivery.
