trailer hitch

[beach bum]

beach bum again, i am also thinking about putting a trailor hitch for the sole purpose of mounting a cargo carrier to the receiver, hence extra cargo space, a guy i met at phoenix rv told me that it was a bad idea, it would cost a lot of $ to mount a reicever hitch and it would not be secure enough. i dont understand? he said it would bounce all over.true or not true?

i need the extra cargo space for all my boards and kites, i am a kite surfer and travel often down into mexico.

please advise, thanks again.

beach bum.

[WME]

Basic idea is bad. BUT many of us have done this. What ever you do DO NOT BOLT THE HITCH ON THE BUMPER.

The hitch must be welded on the frame, but the frame itself is weak and so are the welds that connect the extension to the original truck frame. SO you have to weld reinforcements to the extension before adding the hitch. Even so only very light things go in the cargo box.

Rember leverage if the wheel bounces an inch the cargo box is going to be moving 3-4" and if its too heavy there is a LOT of strain on the frame and the stuff in the box

[Foxy]

I added a Class 3 universal RV hitch to my 91 Winnebago and have now towed a trailer almost 4000 miles with it. The trailer with 2 sailboats on it weights around 700-800 pounds with tongue weight of about 50-60 pounds. We have hit some pretty bad pot holes & bumps along the way. We have traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway which has some pretty steep grades. No problems at all and yes, I've checked out the frame a number of times especially after hitting the really bad potholes.

To install the hitch, I had to cut off the metal skid brackets to bolt the hitch to the frame but the cross bar of the hitch is a little lower than those brackets were so we are not going to bump the tanks. Not sure what others have, but the extended frame is 3" Channel and looks to be reasonably welded to the truck frame with maybe 8 inches of overlap.

While none of our RV's are rated to tow, I think most people are making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.

Foxy

[beach bum]

I added a Class 3 universal RV hitch to my 91 Winnebago and have now towed a trailer almost 4000 miles with it. The trailer with 2 sailboats on it weights around 700-800 pounds with tongue weight of about 50-60 pounds. We have hit some pretty bad pot holes & bumps along the way. We have traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway which has some pretty steep grades. No problems at all and yes, I've checked out the frame a number of times especially after hitting the really bad potholes.

To install the hitch, I had to cut off the metal skid brackets to bolt the hitch to the frame but the cross bar of the hitch is a little lower than those brackets were so we are not going to bump the tanks. Not sure what others have, but the extended frame is 3" Channel and looks to be reasonably welded to the truck frame with maybe 8 inches of overlap.

While none of our RV's are rated to tow, I think most people are making a bigger deal out of it than it really is.

Foxy

thank you gentlemen for your quick response.

beach bum...

[T.A.J.]

beach bum again, i am also thinking about putting a trailor hitch for the sole purpose of mounting a cargo carrier to the receiver, hence extra cargo space, a guy i met at phoenix rv told me that it was a bad idea, it would cost a lot of $ to mount a reicever hitch and it would not be secure enough. i dont understand? he said it would bounce all over.true or not true?

i need the extra cargo space for all my boards and kites, i am a kite surfer and travel often down into mexico.

please advise, thanks again.

beach bum.

I've got an '84 Dolphin. It had a receiver when I purchased it. The previous owner towed a VW Beatle and hauled a Honda 125 on a rack above the rear bumper. He said it was never an issue with the RV's handling or performance. I've not yet towed but I did build a rack to go into the receiver. I now haul a small generator, two coolers, and a gas can on the rack above the bumper. I haul four bicycles on the receiver rack. It works well. I also think if a person is to use common sense and secure a receiver well and not get carried away with wieght, there's plenty of useful space behind the Toyota RVs.