hitch extension and 9.5' camper

[TowPro]

I leave Saturday morning to GA to move my Father-inlaw back to PA. I am taking the 3500 with the pickup camper loaded, and will be towing a 6' X 12" dual axle U-haul home.



The camper does hang off the back of the truck about a 1' past the rear lights, so I am taking my 18" hitch extension with me, in case the Uhaul has a short tongue.



The hitch extension says "this decreases the weight rating of your hitch by 1/3".



The trailer has a GVW of like 5000 lbs I think, but they say you can tow it with a 1 7/8" ball which is a 3500 lb ball (I will be using a 2" ball)



I am moving a washer and dryer, a couch (not sofa bed type), a table and 2 bedroom suites. I think they said the weighs around 2500 lbs, and I can't see where I am loading more then a 1000 lbs into the trailer.



My slidin weighs 2000 lbs loaded, and I might put 6 wooden chairs and a couple boxes inside the camper.



You guys think this will be OK using the extension?



Sure hate to rent a truck when I can drive my Cummins.

 

[Cj84gpn]

TP,

you should be good to go. I tow my Jeep behind mine with the 9. 5 on the truck with out an extension. The only reason I see you needing the extension is because of the box trailer vs. the car hauler I pull. With the box trailer you may get inot clearance issues with the camper in tight turns, if so your are not going to be heavy enough with that trailer and load to worry about it. I used to run an extension with a different set up, one thing that really helped was to drill a 1/2" hole in the collar on the trucks reciever. Then weld a 1/2" nut to the collar. Insert the extension then thread a bolt into the nut you weld on, then snug the bolt to take some of the slop out of the extension to reciever connection.



Bob

 

[TowPro]

Re: TP,

I noticed the slop last weekend towing the bike trailer. Never really banged around, but I could see it.



I just hope some joker at U-haul don't look at my setup and tell me I can't use it.



Not looking forward to 900 miles of towing a surge brake either, but its from GA to PA, so its up hill I should be ok with the brakes.

Originally posted by Cj84gpn

I used to run an extension with a different set up, one thing that really helped was to drill a 1/2" hole in the collar on the trucks reciever. Then weld a 1/2" nut to the collar. Insert the extension then thread a bolt into the nut you weld on, then snug the bolt to take some of the slop out of the extension to reciever connection.



Bob

 

[dflack]

no brakes at u-haul

despite what the u-haul website and literature appears to tell you, their trailers do NOT have brakes for normal usage. the surge brake is ONLY activated in disconnect situation in an attempt to stop the trailer. Normal usage is NO BRAKES. I checked, double checked and finally gave up trying to rent a trailer with brakes - U-haul is a monopoly in the one-way rental market. (please don't tell me otherwise) Also, buy the cargo insurance, your policy does NOT cover potential (accident) damage to rental trailers and contents. Its not that expensive and its one less thing to worry about. Of course the 45 mph stickers are a joke, so check the tires. Also, check out as many trailers as you can on the lot - franchisee's have no interest in maintenance costs - I rejected several trailers whose wheel bearings were so loose I wouldn't take across town much less a loaded roadtrip, then I made them switch to the best pair of tires I noticed on a different trailer. Good Luck!

 

[OTRPU]

I had another 3/4T pickup long time ago. Carried a heavy old Mitchell that hung off the back a good 18 inches. I had a diamond plate bumper/step on back the camper. Had a short tow bar that tied the ball hitch on the camper bumper to the receiver hitchball on the truck frame. Did a good job of helping keep the camper in the bed. All I ever towed with it was a 16 ft single axle boat/trailer that had surge brakes. Personally I don't care to tow trailers >3,000 that don't have brakes. But maybe I'm just picky.



Be Safe,

Steve J.