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James Thomas, Belen, New Mexico
Hitch Extension Beef Up
2013 Ford F-350
2020 Northern Lite 10-2 EX CD LE
My hitch extension is 48 inches and the maximum trailer tongue weight is 500 pounds. While this has been fine for towing our Jeep, I felt like the extension could use a bit of improvement for stability and safety once I started towing our aluminum cargo trailer.
Luckily, the trailer has a spread axle design to it. The tongue weight is held to a minimum by keeping my cargo weight distributed evenly over the two axles.
I enlisted my neighbor, who happens to be a welder. We fabricated three steel tabs. A tab was welded to each end of the factory receiver hitch on the truck. A third tab was fabricated and welded behind the far end of the hitch extension to attach the safety chains and turnbuckles.
As required by most State Departments of Transportation, I made-up safety chains to attach between the truck hitch and the trailer end of the hitch extension.
Additional safety chains/cables are attached from either the tow bar on our Jeep or the cargo trailer to the hitch extension.
All pieces of this mod are firmly attached by hitch pins/locks and everything is tied together by safety chains/cables.
The extra stability and safety this mod adds to the hitch extension have been incredible. There is absolutely no side-to-side or up-and-down movement to the hitch extension. The turnbuckles have worked great to keep everything nice and tight and give us extra peace of mind when towing our Jeep or the cargo trailer.
Materials Used:
2- Safety snap clips – Lowes Home Improvement
2- Safety chain links – Lowes Home Improvement
2- 1/2 inch turnbuckles – Lowes Home Improvement
2- 3/8 inch single clevis -Local trailer parts store
2- Double ended clevis – Local trailer parts store
12 foot of 3/8 inch safety chain – Local trailer parts store
1- Reese Model 45018 48″X 2 1/2″ hitch extension – Amazon
1- 1/4 inch steel plate cut for the truck receiver tabs and hitch extension tab (scrap metal on hand)
It took me three hours to complete this modification and cost me $210.
Disclaimer: The modifications above are submitted by Truck Camper Magazine readers. It is your responsibility to make sure that any do-it-yourself modification project you undertake is safe, effective, and legal for your situation.
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