Thread: Tow ball tongue replacement - slightly longer tongue - is it an issue?

Originally Posted by josh.huber

And no. Don't drill holes in it.

Thansk for the info. It was mostly a rhetorical question...

And I've already come to the same conclusion! The main reason for a 2nd drawbar was to avoid swapping between my camper hitch fitting (O'Brien coupling) and the ball for my box trailer.
Camper = large, heavy loads (weight plus shock loads on rough roads)
Box trailer = much smaller loads (green waste to the tip)

So, I think I'll use my new H-R bar with the ball fitted for my box trailer, and keep the camper trailer coupling on the original LR drawbar.
Didn't think it was going to be this complicated - but I guess it's not. But I know a lot more about my hitch/drawbar than I did before!

Thanks for the input, team!

Originally Posted by josh.huber

Surely it all depends on the weight being added..

I have a super long draw bar that I use just for the bike rack. Helps it clear the tail gate.. the longer the bar the more weight on the rear axle.. But if your talking a 1t trailer with 100kg ball weight. The extra length shouldn't cause concern aslong as it doesn't allow the trailer to over load the axle.. if you were close to the 250 kg mark and started making it longer then more thinking is required.

That spec says "recommended" I read it as if you go over this you'll need to re-check your ball weights effect on the car.

The longer the bar, the more leverage at its mounting point. Which with the removable hitch could easily overload and damage the housing.

Not just at the axle.

Originally Posted by Tombie

The longer the bar, the more leverage at its mounting point. Which with the removable hitch could easily overload and damage the housing.

Not just at the axle.

Yeah but it's acting on the same parts of the housing as before.
So it comes back to the weight you apply to it.
I know it's not the point, but I would back the housing to outlast my replacement Hayman Reece insert. It looks like it's made from sheet metal. It's 3.5t rated bit I wouldn't put any more then a 750kg box trailer on it.

And wouldn't a Mitch hitch hang out more then a std bar?