Bobbie, How far out is further out? In addition to extending the trailer tongue, another possibility is to move the winch post and axle back on the trailer. Or, have an extended drawbar made up. Or, do both! Again, it depends on how far you have to go. I have a long drawbar that I use with my tongue extension. I think it is 3 feet long. Since I have a 2 inch hitch it is made of 2 inch square tubing. I did a stress calculation prior to having it made up and it was well within the margin of safety. I tow my boat with the extendded drawbar and tongue extension about 5 miles to the launch ramp, and have not had problems. However, with a 1 1/4 hitch, I would use solid square stock, not tubing, which runs about $10 a foot, and you would need two or three feet. This would go in the receiver, and it would need a piece of 1" x 3" bar stock welded to it for the hitch ball to go in. It also is about $10 a foot, with one foot being plenty. Welding would take maybe one hour. Most places around here have a minimun of about $40. Holes would need to be drilled for the hitch pin and the ball, which again would like be $40. I would start by calling a metal supplier and saying you want to buy stock to make an extended drawbar for a trailer hitch. Tell them you want square bar stock for strength not tubing. Buy the two peces of metal and ask them where you can have it welded and drilled. They will know, because those shops buy steel from them. Take you old drawbar, hitch pin and ball to the shops and show them what you want done. Walk out to your vehicle if you have to. Most of those guys either have trailers or have worked on trailers before, so it should not be a problem for them. You can either paint the drawbar or have it powder coated. You may need longer chains and trailer light wires. And finally, make a test run of your new towing set-up at low speeds with you vehicle lightly loaded. If you are comfortable, try higher speeds and more weight. If not, use the drawbar as an anchor. :) steve Steve R. M-15 #119 Lexington, KY Bobbie Mayer wrote:
After only moderate setbacks this year I did get UHaul to install a hitch. It has a 1 1/4 receiver and is a Class II hitch. I want to put a tow ball on it that extends out further from the car than the one they had at UHaul, though. I realize this reduces the tongue weight and towing capacity of the hitch- does it affect the capacity of the car? Any suggestions on where to get one? I also need a new wheel for my tongue jack and am not sure where to find one of those.