Extending Trailer Tongue

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
charlg
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Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:42 am

Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby charlg » Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:21 am

The Karavan trailer that came with my new 2018 130SS seems short. This summer I backed-up a little too sharply, and the rub rail on the boat hit and cracked the tail light on the truck. I'd like to add about two-feet to the trailer tongue and add a swing-away tongue.

[Seeks advice from other who have] extended their trailer tongue or added a swing-away tongue.

MarkCz
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Joined: Sat Jan 27, 2018 3:44 pm

Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby MarkCz » Tue Oct 15, 2019 8:21 pm

I have added a swing tongue to my trailer but have not lengthened the tongue. Adding additional tongue length can be easily done by buying some suitably sized tongue material and drilling new holes for the hitch coupler as well as the trailer tongue hinge. You may have to lengthen the trailer light harness and also adapt the safety chains.

rtk
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Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby rtk » Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:31 am

I extended the tongue on my trailer this year by three feet. I removed the 6-foot galvanized box beam and replaced it with a 9.5-foot piece. I moved the tongue back about 6 inches and added an additional bracket to attach the tongue to the trailer frame. I did not add a folding tongue.

I had to do as MarkCz said. I ordered a 12-foot section (the minimum size) from a metal supply place and asked them to cut it to 9.5-feet. I used the remaining 2.5 feet for the additional bracket for the tongue attachment.

With a good step bit for drilling metal, a slow half-inch drill, cutting oil and some patience and time, the task was not a terribly difficult.

Rich

Jefecinco
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Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby Jefecinco » Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:43 am

Extenders are available from Harbor Freight and others. The extender slides into the hitch and the ball slides into the extender. It's not meant to be a permanent solution and I wouldn't tow more than five or ten miles with one but, it's easy to install at or near the ramp and provides a couple of extra feet of tongue length to facilitate launching.
Butch

biggiefl
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Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby biggiefl » Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:29 am

I would not tow with an extender like mentioned above. They are basically for the ramp at the lake which is low and you need a longer trailer to launch or retrieve due to water level.
On my 24th Whaler. Currently in the stable: 86 18' Outrage, 81 13' Sport(original owner), 87 11' Sport, 69 Squall(for sale cheap).

jimh
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Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby jimh » Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:58 am

In a REFERENCE article series on TRAILERING, a very good illustration of a trailer tongue extension was provided by contributor Chuck Tribolet, a crafty engineer (who unfortunately passed away several years ago). His modification is seen below:

Image

The right-hand portion of the extension fits into the existing trailer frame. When at the launch ramp, if even more extension is desired, two bolts can be removed, and the tongue can be extended further, and the bolts reinstalled.

As seen above, the extension and the original trailer box-beams are joined by using a smaller box-beam that telescopes inside the original beams and has a considerable span to bear the stress and load.

jimh
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Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby jimh » Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:08 am

Backing up with a short trailer can be difficult. Adding an extension to the trailer tongue might be a solution. For the cost of adding a swing-away tongue, I don't think the added length will be hugely effective in reducing the tendency for the trailer to jack-knife during backing. If backing up the short wheelbase trailer continues to be a problem, a fixed tongue extension of several added feet is probably the best solution.

frontier
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2016 8:26 pm

Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby frontier » Wed Oct 16, 2019 4:08 pm

Take a look at Fulton part number FHPB3530301 Fold Away Coupler Kit. It includes a 34" tongue extension (for 3 X 3 tongue).

Sifd324
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Joined: Fri Aug 23, 2019 4:09 pm

Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby Sifd324 » Thu Oct 17, 2019 12:36 pm

I have a 130 Sport on a LoadRite trailer. I used the swing modification to add a 5 foot extension to launch at the neighborhood ramp with my golf cart. I also have a 2 foot swing modification I use for towing and launching with the truck. I just swap the extensions out depending on what I’m towing with. Justified it because they keep the vehicles out of the saltwater to launch. My trailer tongue is 2x3 stock and I ordered the all the parts online including the tongue stock.

charlg
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Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:42 am

Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby charlg » Fri Oct 18, 2019 4:49 pm

frontier wrote:Take a look at Fulton part number FHPB3530301 Fold Away Coupler Kit. It includes a 34" tongue extension (for 3 X 3 tongue).


There was conflicting info on the internet about that part number, so I contacted Fulton. That 'kit' does not include the tongue extension.

charlg
Posts: 17
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2019 11:42 am

Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby charlg » Fri Oct 18, 2019 4:54 pm

jimh wrote:Backing up with a short trailer can be difficult. Adding an extension to the trailer tongue might be a solution. For the cost of adding a swing-away tongue, I don't think the added length will be hugely effective in reducing the tendency for the trailer to jack-knife during backing. If backing up the short wheelbase trailer continues to be a problem, a fixed tongue extension of several added feet is probably the best solution.


Thanks. Probably the best solution is just to add a couple of feet to the tongue. Overall length wasn't the reason for thinking of the swing-away, but thought it could act as a splice.

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Phil T
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Re: Extending Trailer Tongue

Postby Phil T » Fri Oct 18, 2019 6:41 pm

On 2 of my 3 boat trailers I have modified the tongues to allow the trailer to set further down the ramp or keep the tow vehicle from making contact with the salt water.

On my Royal branded galvanized trailer I purchased a stock tongue that was longer at a local trailer supply house. I removed the existing tongue, reinstalled the winch post, trailer jack. I installed a new coupler and additonal trailer wiring. I added ~36" to the original LOA. This boat was stored outside without a limitation on space.

Original trailer tongue:
ROYALORIGINAL.jpg
ROYALORIGINAL.jpg (241.39 KiB) Viewed 17686 times


New Tongue Installed:
ROYALNEWTONGUE.jpg
ROYALNEWTONGUE.jpg (270.3 KiB) Viewed 17686 times




On my Load Rite trailer, I purchased a 3' tongue extention with hinge kit. I cut off the welded coupler and bolted on the kit. I added a 3' trailer wiring harness extention. This boat was stored in an area with a space limitation.

LOADRITENEW.jpg
LOADRITENEW.jpg (240.02 KiB) Viewed 17686 times


Note - Fulton does not show this kit (hinge and tongue included) available any longer. If one wants to go this route, purchase the hinge itself from fulton and the tongue from a local boat trailer supply store. Also needed will be the longer safety chains and trailer harness extention. It is a DIY effort that just takes a little planning, part sourcing and some standard tools.
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