[Rhodes22-list] Trailering question for Roger

[Roger Pihlaja]

Todd,

Please refer to the attached photo.  Note over on the right side of the
picture, in-between the tongue jack and the trailer's bow arm, there is a
vertical steel strut welded onto the tongue.  On the top of that strut is
welded a piece of 2" square steel tubing.  A class 3 trailer tow bar with a
2" diameter ball is installed in that piece of square tubing & held in place
with a pin & hairpin clip.  Note that the tow bar is inclined at about a 10
deg angle pointing downward towards the trailer hitch.  Not visible in the
picture just to the right (towards the trailer hitch) is a 2nd vertical
steel strut with a similar piece of square steel tubing on top.  These two
pieces of square steel tubing are on a straight line with each other at that
10 deg downward angle.  To use the tongue extension, which is visible in its
storage position in the lower left portion of the photo, you would remove
the tow bar from its illustrated storage position & install it in the tow
vehicle's class 3 hitch receiver.  Note that this tow bar has about 12"
total rise.  This tow bar rise is to raise up the front of the trailer's
tongue to prevent high-center scraping when backing over the lip on a steep
launch ramp.  The tongue extension slides out of its built-in holders on the
trailer & slides into the two pieces of square tubing on the trailer tongue,
where it is held in place with a pin & hairpin clip.  The geometry of this
mounting arrangement allows the tongue extension to clear the top of the
surge brake master cylinder on the end of the trailer tongue & also be at
the standard tongue height 8' out at the extended tongue position.  I like
this tongue extension better than the OEM sliding design because the
pieces/parts are all out in the open where they can be maintained.  Thus,
this design is not prone to corrosion & jamming.  It's also much easier to
extend, retract, & line up the retaining pin holes because these operations
are performed when the tongue extension is unloaded & thus free to move.  My
tongue extension is also much lighter weight than the OEM sliding design, so
it's much easier to precisely move it that last +/-1/4" to get the retaining
pin holes to line up properly.  It turns out the tongue weight is so low
with the tongue extension that the tongue jack is not necessary.  I can just
simply pick up the extended tongue & set over the ball.  Thus, although the
over-the-road trailer hitch & safety chains must be disconnected, & the tow
vehicle must be moved forward, there is no backing up/moving
forward/jockeying around to get the trailer hitch to line up with the ball.
Note, that there are no safety chains with the tongue extension.  I consider
this acceptable because this setup is only intended to be used for low speed
maneuvering, launching, & retrieval in the immediate launch ramp area &
definitely not over the road.  I built this tongue extension in 1988.  It
has dozens of successful boat launches & retrevals on it.  It's been
absolutely bulletproof.  I'm pretty happy with it.

Hey, I know its crude, but it works.  It was also a heck of a lot easier to
build than a sliding tongue design like on the OEM Triad trailers.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

----- Original Message -----
From: "Todd Tavares" <sprocket80 at mail.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2003 9:34 AM
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Trailering question for Roger


>
> Roger,
>
>      I noticed in one of the pictures you posted that you have a separate
tongue extention carried on the right side of your trailer.  How do you
attach this tongue extention when launching?  I also have a separate add-on
extention but have not figured out the best method.  Also, do you hook
safety chains between the tongue and this extension when in use?
>
>
> Todd
> --
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