Thanks Bill, very helpful. I'll look for a thinner place to mount it.

ND, would you have the pic of the original brake hose placement? I don't see it below:

 

Found the right location.

 

Oops. Who ran, what looks like trailer plug wiring, through your bracket?

 

Yeah... previous owner tail lights job, now I get to make a splice or run an all new line and clean up the many existing splices.

 

Uh huh...previous owner

Glad to hear that it stayed dry. Nothing worse than water leaks, especially after how much we just had!

The project is looking good

 

Thx Chris, if any doubts, blame the previous owner.


Changing topics, I'm thinking about Lengthening the trailer drawbar; currently it's 4 1/2 feet long from the front of the trailer bed to the ball. The trouble is I'm unable to open the swinging tire carrier on the Excursion all the way, thus making it difficult to get into the back of the Excursion. Any experience with this? I'd have a pro welder do it. How long is too long? Any safety issues?

 

I have a buddy who is a phenomenal welder and fabricator. If you wanted, he could tell you exactly what could be done and how safe it would be, as well as, what it would cost of course. Here is his link Blank His name is Mike and he's a really nice guy. He is just up the hill off Wendy Drive.

 

Thx Chris, will give him a call. In the meantime, I continue to read on the RV forum.

The most significant factors involved in tow safety for a conventionally hitched trailer are:

1. Trailer weight vs. tow vehicle tow ratings. Mfr tow ratings evaluate the capacity of truck drive train strength, suspension, brakes, and engine and cooling system adequacy. Trailer weight is gotten, if you own the rig, by weighing it on a scale or, if you do not own it, by using the mfr's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) as a good, conservative approximation.

2. Trailer balance. Trailer balance is determined by the position of the trailer's center of gravity (cg) with respect to the hitch coupler. Stability demands that it be well forward so that at the very least 10% of the trailer's weight bears on the hitch. Think of a trailer-tow truck rig as a seesaw. The trailer CG sits at one end, the hitch bail is the fulcrum/pivot, and the truck's rear axle sits at the other. The further that trailer CG is from the hitch, the more leverage it has over the truck and the more unstable the tow is. The hitch/tongue weight's percentage of trailer weight is a measure of that lever arm, the more that bears on the hitch, the smaller the arm that the trailer can exert.

3. Type of hitch. Trailer tongue weight exerts a force on the truck behind the rear axle, pivoting the truck about its rear axle and lifting the front axle. This act to increase the oversteer of the truck making it unstable with respect to lateral forces like steering or trailer yaw (sway). Weight Distributing (WD) hitches are design to force the transfer of the hitch weight forward to the front axle of a truck to return it to its normal attitude and under-steer condition and resistance to lateral forces. Most use spring bars between the ball mount of the hitch and the A-frame of the trailer to pivot the truck forward in the vertical plane.

4. Hitch sway control. This is added to WD hitches two general ways. It is added on in the form of a friction bar connecting the hitch ball mount with the trailer A-frame. The other is to design the anti-sway into the operation of the weight distribution. I greatly prefer the latter way as employed in Reese Dual Cam, Equal-i-zer, and Hensley Arrow hitch systems.

5. Truck and trailer tire resistance to lateral forces. This is a function of tire design, weight rating, and proper inflation. My Bronco uses big BFG all terrain LT 31x10.50x15R m+s gum-***** inflated to max pressure as indicated on the sidewalls for towing. I have TS tires on the trailer tho LT would do as well -- P rated tires are not recommended.

6. Trailer lateral surface area Long trailers naturally have large sides for lateral aerodynamic forces -- cross winds or passing truck shock waves in other words. The yawing effect is resisted by all of the foregoing countermeasures and the simple tactic of slow down in cross winds!

As far as trailer length is concerned, it is useful only as a indication of general GVWR and, of course the #6 factor.

Tounge length should be determined before axle location to insure that loading is correct
The minimum length that i will use is long enough that the tow vehicle can angle as tight as possible without contact.
Jack placement should be such that it clears the tailgate enough to not pinch a hand.
For easy backing up the wheel to ball length of the trailer should equal or exceed the tow vehicle wheel base . This allows you to catch the trailer when it starts to over turn and reduces the stress when backing up.
Ecessive toungue length leads to the lowering of stiffness in the vertical plane that couped with high tongue loading can cause porpoising (SP?) leading to early failures through stress fatigue. It is normal for tounges to be stiffer in the horizontal plane than the vertical plane due to trailer frames being horizontal shapes .

Every trailer design has a sweet spot on tongue loading and you should experiment to be sure that you are in range. Once you know you load to that value. A properly loaded trailer should feel like it is not there when towed except for the added acceleration and breaking distances.

You can purchase commercial utility, travel and ATV trailers pre-assembled from private and commercial sellers. However, this option may cost more than building it yourself, or may not be available in the dimensions or weight capacity you need. If you choose to build your own trailer, it is important to correctly measure the tongue length. A trailer tongue that is too long will cause the trailer to sway, while a tongue that is too short may cause problems turning. According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, a trailer's tongue length should be twice the width of its tires, but no more than 6 inches longer than the distance between the tongue and axle.

http://www.trailersauce.com/informat...ening-bracing/
Pic shows a 12' tongue.

 

I don't think any of that RV stuff above is going to be helpful here.


No problem that I know of with going to a slightly longer tongue.


But how much do you need? You can buy (or make) longer drawbars for your receiver if you just need a few more inches. I did that once on a travel trailer so that my pickup tailgate would open without hitting the tongue jack. Worked fine.


If we're talking a foot extra, the only issue is whether that square tube tongue is strong enough, particularly if you butt weld an extension on it.


If we're talking 3 foot extra, you might have issues with the tongue weight on the ball being too light, leading to sway problems. You can load heavy up front, but there is only so much you can do. Notice on that fishing boat trailer, yes the tongue is long, but most of the trailer is forward of the axle, which keeps the desired 10-15% load on the ball.

 

Appreciate the thoughts Bill. I think a 6' tongue (+18") would do the trick. My swinging tire rack already serves as an receiver extension, don't want to double up.

I agree with the butt weld, rather some gussets and a |=| cut would work. Hand to show that double L cut with my limited characters avail.. Pic of gussets

 

Does your tire carrier hit the tongue jack, or does it hit that box on the tongue? I'm sure you know they make swing-away tongue jacks.

 

It hits the cargo box on the tongue.

Thanks Bill, I had forgotten about those; much easier than the fabrication.

Fulton Fold-Away Coupler Hinge Kit for 3" x 3" Trailer Tongue - Weld On - Up to 5,000 lbs Fulton Folding Tongue FHDPW330300

 

Actually, I was referring to these:
Fulton Bolt-Thru Swivel Marine Jack w/ Caster - Sidewind - 10" Lift - 1,200 lbs Fulton Trailer Jack FXP10


But that would only be helpful if it was hitting the jack.


That part you linked to would be good to save space while the trailer is being stored. I don't see any benefit other than that. A good welder can extend the tongue member and it will be as strong as the original tube. A cautious guy would add some fish plates. An educated guy would add them on top and bottom, not the sides.


I don't think adding 18" to the length will cause sway or handling issues. If it tows good now. If it is marginal now, might be a problem. I'm betting it won't be.

 

Picked up 24 inches of 3x3 square tubing locally. Tried to get thicker (.188), but .120 was all they had. FYI that's $18.60 worth of A500 steel.

The 3x3 fits the swivel well. I have an assortment of hardened fasteners, so went the 'bolt-on' route rather than welding.

Getting some primer on the bare steel.

 

Who needs bolts? Couple wraps of gorilla duct tape and you're good to go