2ND TONGUE

[ProduceMan]

The trailer I have is really short forward of the winch stand. I have to really back in deep to float the boat, no bueno in salt. The angle of my driveway will not permit a permanent tongue extension. My idea is to buy two 12"L receiver tubes and weld them 2 ft apart to the bottom of the existing tongue hanging 2" below. Using an 8'L x 2 x 2 x 1/4" sq steel tube fabricate a 2nd tongue with its own coupler that can be pinned either retracted to use the existing coupler on the trailer when towing then unpinned and slid forward the 4' needed to launch without drowning my truck. So I'd get to the launch, block the trailer wheels undo the coupler and drive forward, slide the 2nd tongue into position hook up that tongue and launch. Any other suggestions?

 

[huntinfool]

Swing away tongue?

 

[Ictalurus]

Swing away tongue?

X2

 

[earl60446]

Sounds like a good idea to me. Swing away tongue won't work because he needs a short tongue to back it down his driveway from what I am reading. Long tongue at the ramp.

What might also work is a adjustable sliding tongue setup with two "pin holes" although that might be hard to get to work depending on your current tongue setup.

Tim

 

[Clint KY]

I have a trailer with an extendable tongue. A square tube fits inside the outer tube and has a pin through both to secure it. Pull the pin, extend the tongue and put the pin back in.

Here is the trailer as I tow it on the road.



Here is the pin through the tubes



Here is the tongue extended - you can see the additional holes for the pin in the inner tube. I normally lower the jack, pull the pin, push the trailer back and reinsert the pin in the extended hole and then raise the jack and then back the trailer down the ramp. I can just pull the pin and push the trailer back if where I am parked is very flat.



btw: With a tongue this long the trailer is very easy to back as the longer the distance from the axle to the hitch the slower the trailer reacts, making small adjustments to the angle the trailer is traveling very predictable.

The hardest thing will be finding a square tube that fits inside your existing tongue tube. The hitch then just attaches to the inner tube the same way it does to the present tube. You may have to add some spacers to each side to keep it centered as the inner tube will be narrower that the outer.

Good luck - take pictures and keep us posted on how it goes.