23.5 Trailer Hitches April 04, 2015, 12:43:03 am Yahoo Message Number: 152077We'll be beginning our adventure in about a month, trailering our 22' sailboat all over the country. Looking at the factory trailer hitch, it was fine for towing a small car, but wouldn't cut the mustard towing the boat and trailer with a couple hundred pound tongue weight. Express Performance Center in Santee, CA was highly recommended to fabricate a stronger hitch assembly for the rear. I was impressed with these folks from the start. I even had them install a receiver hitch on the front of the motorhome. This will make maneuvering the boat and trailer easier in a tight launch ramp situation. The rear hitch assembly is massive! And the workmanship is beautiful. They even painted it, and it looks like it came from a hitch factory. We sure won't have to worry about any hitch problem on our long trip. Just on thing less we'll have to worry about. Checkout the photos just uploaded. AWESOME JOB!
Re: 23.5 Trailer Hitches Reply #1 – April 04, 2015, 12:05:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 152082"Looking at the factory trailer hitch, it was fine for towing a small car, but wouldn't cut the mustard towing the boat and trailer with a couple hundred pound tongue weight"Anyone considering towing a boat or trailer with a high tongue weight should have the hitch beefed up. The bumper is really only good for pulling toads with light towbars. Many bumpers have been damaged even when pulling a heavy toad, when the hardware fails or the towbar has a long extension (the long leverage can rip the receiver out of the bumper).Our LD's rear bumper has required major hardware upgrades after almost losing our Jeep a few years ago. The following upgrades are suitable for anyone pulling a heavy toad. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157605167526411/show https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157647765653660/showLarry
Re: 23.5 Trailer Hitches Reply #2 – April 04, 2015, 01:51:29 pm Yahoo Message Number: 152083Hi Larry,Quick question. I noticed in the first set of pictures you posted that the first picture on the Left side and then the second row middle picture looks like the frame is a 2x4 piece of wood. Im not familiar with how they attach or build the RV. for some reason I assumed ( you know what they say when you "assume" lol ) they built it on a metal frame. Just curious about that..Thank Larry,JO
Re: 23.5 Trailer Hitches Reply #3 – April 04, 2015, 03:03:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 152084" I noticed in the first set of pictures you posted that the first picture on the Left side and then the second row middle picture looks like the frame is a 2x4 piece of wood. Im not familiar with how they attach or build the RV. for some reason I assumed ( you know what they say when you "assume" lol ) they built it on a metal frame."JoI assume you are referring to the photos below. https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/2509943764/in/set-72157605167526411 https://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/2509123661/in/set-72157605167526411 The view is of the bottom of the bumper. The seam on the left side is where the bumper's top is sealed to the rear piece, after welding, it's sealant, not wood. To the right in each photo, there is a 2" X 2" piece of wood, that's the bottom of the rear wall. It is one of the few things exposed and not covered with sheet metal. It can rot if there is a leak above in the rear wall, such as a leaky window or spare tire bucket.Larry
Re: 23.5 Trailer Hitches Reply #4 – April 04, 2015, 09:30:24 pm Yahoo Message Number: 152091In order to protect that exposed wood from road spray, I coated it with rubberized auto. undercoating. Now that does nothing about water coming from the top, but it keeps the wood dry from road water. Ditto with the wood around the stairwell.Ed
Re: 23.5 Trailer Hitches Reply #5 – April 04, 2015, 10:19:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 152092Thank you Larry and Ed ...Jo
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Topic: 23.5 Trailer Hitches (Read 16 times)
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