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This may need to go in the towing forum but I will ask here first. I am wanting to tow about a 10K bumper pull RV with having the tailgate down. Is having the hitch extended just far enough to clear the trailer jack going to be safe? Ordered a 16K Gen-y stacked reciever and wanted to incert the reciever I already have for the RV and looks like I will have just enough room. Just wanted to see if this could be done safely. The reason I want to do this is I have a small sxs that is about over 8' and I have the 6.75' box. Can't pull another trailer behind the RV (even a very small one) because I would exceed the overall lenght law.
Will the SXS fit all 4 tires in the bed, if you remove the tailgate and leave it at home?
I'd worry about the jack hitting the gate in tight turns.
No, I thought about removing the tailgate and fabing up a shorter platform where it would connect into the Gen-Y reciever as well. But I would think if the Ball is lined up with the end of the tailgate I would not run into that problem, i just worry I am extending the Ball too far away from the truck.
Using the gen-y as a receiver extender and then putting a different draw bar on the end? Big risk there.
For some background on extending a hitch receiver, I recommend reading up on the Torklift Superhitch and Supertruss. Look at the extension lengths and ratings. Then make your decision. A lot of trucks that haul a truck camper install the Superhitch Magnum (including my F450) and love it.
This hitch is specifically designed and engineered to extend the ball further away from the truck. Their shortest extension (21") is rated to pull a 7500lb trailer with 750lb tongue weight (W/O WDH), and 14,000lb trailer with 1400lb tongue weight WITH WDH.
After reading up on it and looking at your extension lengths, I recommend you reassess your plan to see if you want to accept the risk.
Have you looked into replacing the trailer tongue jack with a shorter jack...or side crank if yours is a top crank? Or possibly a removable side mount jack similar to the one in this E-trailer link? A few years ago I bought a used Work N Play toyhauler that had a side mount jack, probably for the same issue that you're having.
Using the gen-y as a receiver extender and then putting a different draw bar on the end? Big risk there.
For some background on extending a hitch receiver, I recommend reading up on the Torklift Superhitch and Supertruss. Look at the extension lengths and ratings. Then make your decision. A lot of trucks that haul a truck camper install the Superhitch Magnum (including my F450) and love it.
This hitch is specifically designed and engineered to extend the ball further away from the truck. Their shortest extension (21") is rated to pull a 7500lb trailer with 750lb tongue weight (W/O WDH), and 14,000lb trailer with 1400lb tongue weight WITH WDH.
After reading up on it and looking at your extension lengths, I recommend you reassess your plan to see if you want to accept the risk.
Thank you, I beleive it will only be a few inches longer than the Ball comes with Gen-Y hitch. The RV receiver I have sticks out pretty far now, I would not want it that far on top of the Gen-y but shorting the RV receiver so it about 2 inches or so longer than the original ball on the Gen-Y. If that makes sense
Mechanical engineer here... People get away with some crazy stuff because guys like me build in safety factors. But sometimes it's just too much and "catastrophic failure" occurs.
nuctrooper gave you good advice. Take it or call Gen-Y with specific dimensions and tongue weights and see what they think about your plan. Or do what you want to do in the first place, but if it goes terribly wrong, be sure to take pictures
Another vote for changing the jack. My current truck has a flatbed so no issues for me but the new truck I ordered has a conventional box and I’ve thinking about this very topic. After a lot of deliberation I decided that rearranging things on the trailer tongue would be the cheapest, easiest course of action. I considered an extension but it just seemed too squirrelly. I also thought about one of those fifth wheel tailgates with the notch in the middle but they don’t seem very stout.
I used to have this problem (sig truck) where I'd have to put a quad in the bed while towing, which meant I'd have to leave the tailgate down. So I just took it off. Then one day, like an idiot, I grabbed my trailer and left the tailgate down. Drove home, did a bunch of turning and repositioning with the tailgate down. Went to back up and noticed it was down on the backup cam. Freaked out and thought I destroyed the tailgate and tongue jack. After further inspection, it's IMPOSSIBLE for the tailgate to hit the tongue jack at any angle. The tailgate will hit the trailer first. It still makes me feel uncomfortable thinking about it, but I know it won't destroy anything. What I don't like is that with the tailgate down, it's more work to hook up the trailer. I'm sure the SD trucks are a bit different, but it's worth taking note of where it might hit.
I wouldn't go longer than a 14" solid shank. You notice a difference in towing leverage on the truck any longer than that. That's a heavy trailer, can't really play around too much. And I swear my long shank hitch is very twitchy to back trailers with. That was why I bought such a long pintel ball hitch, for off road wiggling.
Get a couple Suzuki DRZ400S's! They'll fit with the gate removed (but not closed). I'm so glad I learned how to ride.
I am a mechanical Engineer, and I am going to speak frankly.
Using a stack of aftermarket components to get a jury rigged hitch extension to tow a 10,000 lb trailer is beyond reckless.
That kind of stunt is likely to get someone killed, and it will likely be the innocent person behind you who had no idea what they were following.
A extension creates a powerful lever arm that will multiply the already substantial forces that a 10,000 pound trailer puts on a hitch.
A properly designed extension in a hitch designed to accept it is safe.
A mismatched set of separately designed items is not.
Either buy a hitch and extension from a reputable company designed for your application, or do not do it.
Doing it the right way will not be cheap, but it will keep you, your passengers, and those on the road around you from getting hurt as a result.
Ok guys, thank you for the response's. I emailed Gen-Y last night and received a call from there rep, we talked about what I was looking to do and he ask to send pics of the receiver that I currently have and will be using. There responce was it was ok to use My reciever in there Gen-y Stack as long as I shorten the overall length. So I will need to drill a hole to shorten the WDH so it will sit as close to the Gen-Y as I can. That is the route I believe I am going to try. Also I am going to Mod the 2 1/2 sleeve a bit to make the hitch much tighter so there is not so much play, some metal shims should do the trick.
My fix for the sloppy loose adapter was to go to the local truck bed weld shop and buy a piece of 2" hitch tubing. It's outside/across the flats dim is 2.5"...not 2.420 or so like the factory adapter. It has a reinforcing flange on the business end and the pin hole was the correct distance back the tube, allowing it to line up perfectly with the hole in the truck hitch once I cleaned up the flange welds a bit with a grinder. All I had to do was cut off the back end of the tube so that it didn't extend out the back side of the hitch and interfere with the spare tire. Cost was $26.
If a pic would help explain this, I'll go take a couple and post them.
Ok guys, thank you for the response's. I emailed Gen-Y last night and received a call from there rep, we talked about what I was looking to do and he ask to send pics of the receiver that I currently have and will be using. There responce was it was ok to use My reciever in there Gen-y Stack as long as I shorten the overall length. So I will need to drill a hole to shorten the WDH so it will sit as close to the Gen-Y as I can. That is the route I believe I am going to try. Also I am going to Mod the 2 1/2 sleeve a bit to make the hitch much tighter so there is not so much play, some metal shims should do the trick.
If you have the 2 1/2" hitch why would you not buy the 2 1/2" GenY adapter to go in it???
You will need the increased capacity of the 2 1/2" shank anyway....
I've seen mega cabs with long bed, got a picture of one...... you just have to have the money....
