Extending Trailer Tongue

[Jim McC]

I want to extend my trailer's tongue by 1-2 feet. The tongue is 2" X 3" galvanized, and just under 11' long. Can I safely add on 1-2 feet, or should I replace the whole tongue? It's a tilt trailer, so there is no welding involved. The boat is not real heavy, it's a 16' flat bottom jon, with a 25 hp outboard. Any suggestions? I'd prefer to just add on a piece somehow. Thanks.

[Wayne P.]

http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Magneta/RRTX2.html

[Jim McC]

Thanks Wayne. That seems to be for a specific brand Sports trailer. I wonder if it's heavy duty enough?

Has anyone out there extended your trailer tongue?

My second choice would be to replace the whole tongue.

[Jig Man]

You didn't say why you want to extend it. Unless you move your boat forward you run the risk of haveing too little tounue weight which could cause trailer whip lash when towing.

[Jim McC]

You didn't say why you want to extend it. Unless you move your boat forward you run the risk of haveing too little tounue weight which could cause trailer whip lash when towing.

There are 2 reasons. The trailer's always been a little short for the boat, but I've lived with it. But 1) I recently put my trolling motor on the bow, and now I can't raise my tailgate all the way. From the front of boat to trailer ball is only about 2 feet. 2) It will be easier to launch at certain lakes.

[RobertBG]

I extended the trailer on my 14ft checkmate with no ill affects,actually it tows better now.I weighed the tonge weight before hand and after and in my case the 18" decreased it very little.Then I added a battery,box and eletric winch.All in all the weight it increased about 25-30lbs.I will warn you though I was VERY cautious towing it the first time,but in the end I'm quite pleased with it.

[Jim McC]

I extended the trailer on my 14ft checkmate with no ill affects,actually it tows better now.I weighed the tonge weight before hand and after and in my case the 18" decreased it very little.Then I added a battery,box and eletric winch.All in all the weight it increased about 25-30lbs.I will warn you though I was VERY cautious towing it the first time,but in the end I'm quite pleased with it.

What method did you use to extend it?

[RobertBG]

the redneck method all kidding aside

mine was 2x3 if I remember corectly,basicly I cut it in a chop saw (sawzall and a steady hand should do) Took the cut end to the local metal fab supply and found something that fit inside nicely to make a slug,so I had some internal support.In my case it was 2 peices of 1/8th thick angle iron that I made a box out of with my mig and grinder that was 6 inches longer on the tonge side and 8" longer on the trailer side(would have went 8 on both but couldnt).I then slid a 17.5" or so (again it was a few years ago but I did acount for room to weld) section of 2/3 box over the slug I made.Before I cut the trailer I drilled 2 1/2 inch or so holes on each side about a inch or so from the cut,on assembly I inserted the slug,tacked it all and checked to see if it was true before plug welding the holes and finish welding the seams.When i finish welded the seams i first welded each cut to the plug/slug then did the same too the new 2/3 section and on the last pass after cleaning/grinding I burned the 2 together.I then ground everything smooth and had it all powder coated(it was a resto project on a little old speedboat).

WARNING:your trailer is galvanized be sure to clean that crap off before getting any real heat in that metal,if it burns (torch/welder etc)the smoke it gives off can be deadly,it looks like a green cloud of gas.

another thing I'd recomend (not familiar with your boat)but to be carefull you could clamp a section of steel to the existing trailer and measure the tonge weight when it is extended before extending it

[Jim McC]

Thanks Robert. I finally decided I'm going to install the Fulton swing hitch, and add on 2 feet. I just need to wait for it to arrive from Amazon.

[Jim McC]

UPDATE: After reading the installation instructions online for the Fulton swing hinge, I don't think it's going to work. It says that my trailer tongue has to be at least .188" thick(3/16") and mine is not that thick. It's less than 1/8" thick. I can't get a hold of them until Monday. Any thoughts? It looks like I'll have to sleeve it after all.

If I sleeve it, my first choice would be to do it on the front of tongue. That way I wouldn't have to get the boat off the trailer. But the problem is I would only have about a 13" overlap on each side of my splice. Does 13" sound like it would be enough overlap? I'm going sleeve it on the outside with 3/16" thick steel tubing, and I'm extending it 2 feet. Thanks