Thickness and Suitablity of the Combo Bar 24 inch with 2 inch Trailer Hitch Receiver

Question:

Ive got a very small tear camper made on a Harbor Freight trailer frame that comes to a triangular point in the front with the hitch connector bolted right there in the point., with no tongue tubing of any type projecting forward. This means my trailer comes dangerously close to hitting my towing vehicle if I make a sharp turn. Im looking for some rather inexpensive 2 or so tubing to weld in that area to create a tongue to get the camper a bit further away from the vehicle and this seems like the best bet for that. I am just inquiring to the thickness of this metal and whether it should be strong enough to become the projecting tongue of my lightweight camping trailer less than 400 pounds total?

asked by: Ron G

Expert Reply:

Dimensions for the Combo Bar 24" with 2" Trailer Hitch Receiver, part number 80924, are as follows. The wall thickness of the square tube is 1/4 inch and the tube is 2-1/2 inch square. From the center of the hitch pin hole to rear of the bar the measurement is 21-3/4 inches and from the center of the hitch pin hole to the front of the added collar is 2-1/2 inches. This item is designed as a fabrication part for a receiver hitch not as a extension.

What you are trying to do is understandable but I am thinking it will be a lot of work and when finished the modification may or may not be safe. I have assembled one of those harbor freight trailers before and welded uprights for rails around the sides of the trailer and they held good but I am concerned about the extension putting stress on the A-frame and it bending or cracking where welded from the additional stress. I cannot recommend the modification of any trailer in any case.

I believe that you have another remedy readily at hand that will not require modification of the trailer and will only take a few seconds to install, if you have a 2 inch receiver hitch on your vehicle and your hitch and vehicles tongue weight rating are high enough. The Hitch Extender For 2 inch Trailer Hitch Receiver 18 inch, part number he18, would extend the trailer farther away from the vehicle for turning clearance and would be easy to install when the trailer is going to be towed. The thing to remember is that any adapter will reduce your hitch's overall capacity by 50 percent and you will need to make sure that the tongue weight capacities remain within the limits of the weakest link in your system, the vehicle, hitch adapter or drawbar.

expert reply by: Robert G