Hitch for camper pulling 22

D

Doryman

New member
When I was talking to the Everett dealer he was pushing me hard to go with this Torklift hitch. The way he was pressuring me and the blanket statements he was making about the hitch requirements for the 22, combined with how he tried to bully me into buying from him, have made me suspicious.

So, for those of you with experience in using a hitch extension to clear a camper, any advice on what is adequate and what is not? I currently have a class 5 hitch (2.5") that has pulled the Tom Cat to Florida and back without problems. I was hoping I could just buy an extension that would be sufficient for the load a 22 would apply, even taking into account the leverage of the extension.

Thanks.
Warren
 
Hi Warren,

That Torqlift Hitch looks pretty nice. It sounds like the hitch you currently have will work, but keep in mind that most hitch extension manufacturers say that you have to reduce the hitch weight and tongue weight allowed by 50% when you use an extension. Still, sounds like you would have enough with your current hitch, considering the weight of the 22.

The biggest problem with extensions like a Stinger is the the side torque that is put on those. You could have brackets welded to your current hitch to use stabilizing chains or bars on that. Brent had made a "trident" type of receiver when he towed the TomCat with his truck camper, that was better looking and beefier than anything I've seen marketed. With any kind of extension, more structure is better, IMHO.

Dry weight on the 8' Arctic Fox models is 2,600+ to 2,800+, before you add any accessories, water, and stuff. I would expect that you are going to be pushing 3,500 pounds, before adding the tongue weight of the 22. No doubt you have figured this... that's a lot of bed weight for a 3/4 ton. That's also a lot of truck... even so, you are going to feel that high weight back there... watch your tire wear and give yourself plenty of room to stop.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Warren,

On the RV thread you said the camper you were looking at is an 8' Arctic Fox. With an 8' camper you should not have to have much, if any of an extension to the receiver hitch. Maybe a 12" extension at the most. The class V hitch is adequate in my opinion. The Torklift hitch may be overkill, and an unnecessary expense that the Dealer is trying to steer you toward.

Brent
 
Warren, we have the Super Hitch, and I believe it is everything that it's advertised to be. Our camper the Cari-boo-boo, although called a 10 footer, is just as big as the 11 foot campers. Our stinger is a 3 footer. With the stinger and hitch, there is plenty of room. I like having the chains that give additional side to side stability. Going from memory here, but as I recall, the use of the stinger brought our tow capacity down to 6500 pounds, with 600 pounds tongue weight.

All that said, if you don't need a long stinger, I suspect that your current class 5 is sufficient. If there is any doubt, go talk to someone who specializes in hitches and trailers.
 
Discovery":30c2eyck said:
Warren,

On the RV thread you said the camper you were looking at is an 8' Arctic Fox. With an 8' camper you should not have to have much, if any of an extension to the receiver hitch. Maybe a 12" extension at the most. The class V hitch is adequate in my opinion. The Torklift hitch may be overkill, and an unnecessary expense that the Dealer is trying to steer you toward.

Brent
Click to expand...

Brent, it's an 8' camper on a 6.5' bed, so there is 18" of extension required. Does that change your thinking?

Jim, totally agree on driving conservatively with the 2500 non-dually. That is one of the compromises I alluded to.

Warren
 
Warren,

Another option might be to put the extension on the trailer tongue end. I'm not an engineer but I did that with a sailboat because I needed to get it farther into the water, and farther from the back of the tow vehicle, and it worked out well. Just a thought.

Some tongues are made to swing out of the way, if that works better, and can still give the length needed to move it back.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon
 
Just for conversation sake, the shortest AF 8' model (811, with a slide out) has a 9' floor length. The 865 (without a slide out) has a 9'4" floor length. You may find that the rear overhang is more than 18".

Not sure why RV manufacturers don't standardize the "model lengths" with the actual lengths. When we were looking for a 5th wheel, one manufacturer's "29' model" was over 34'.

Good luck with the search (and research).
Jim
 
Warren,

I was assuming that your truck had an 8' bed. Being a contractor and hauling 4'x8' material, I never have owned a short bed truck. You will need an extension, and as the others have indicated, the Torklift may be a good choice. I welded up my own 32" extension to pull the TomCat behind a 10'-11" Lance Camper.

Brent
 
Warren,
I have a lot of experience with towing a 22 while carrying a camper. Although my truck has an 8 foot bed I carry a 9' 4" Lance camper which requires a 26" extension. I have the Reese "Titan V" hitch which takes a 2.5 inch receiver. Reese sells an extension bar. I had mine set up by a local welding shop here in Spokane. I have found this simple extension to be quite adequate for the task. Every summer since I have owned the C-Dory I have towed it from Spokane to Ucluelet or to Neah Bay. I would think your short-bed with a slightly shorter camper overhang up would be fairly comparable to mine. You may find that your Center of Gravity is a little more to the rear because your camper was designed for an 8 foot bed. I think you are wise to question your dealer. I would check with several hitch dealers and RV dealers that sell a lot of campers before you make a final decision. Since you already have a great hitch on your truck I think you would be fine with a simple extension.
 
Doryman":1epoitpd said:
When I was talking to the Everett dealer he was pushing me hard to go with this Torklift hitch. The way he was pressuring me and the blanket statements he was making about the hitch requirements for the 22, combined with how he tried to bully me into buying from him, have made me suspicious.

So, for those of you with experience in using a hitch extension to clear a camper, any advice on what is adequate and what is not? I currently have a class 5 hitch (2.5") that has pulled the Tom Cat to Florida and back without problems. I was hoping I could just buy an extension that would be sufficient for the load a 22 would apply, even taking into account the leverage of the extension.

Thanks.
Warren
Click to expand...

Hey Warren,

For whatever this is worth, I towed my CD 22 with a 48 inch extension on my Reese Titan 2.5 inch hitch for years without issues behind my F-350 dually with a 11.5 Eagle Cap truck camper on the back. I think the Super Hitches are better, but the Titan did the job just fine. I hope this helps.....

Tim
 
Hi Warren,

We had a 9.5' Camper on a 8' bed Chevy once. My rear bumper was extendable to match the rear of the camper. I welded two L brackets to the bumper. They flanked the 18" extension from the 2.5" box. A single pin through the extension, ball mount and L brackets tied the whole package together. Worked well with an 8800# boat & trailer. No photos from those long bygone days, sorry.
 
Warren,
We use the Torklift super hitch with the 26" extension. With the 9' Summerwind camper the rear step folds down on the hitch making it rock solid.
 
I have the torklift with a 42" stinger. Works great. I have a 10' camper on a full size dodge. I had to go a little longer to preserve the camper steps. I too tow a 22 cruiser. The torklift is a great hitch. The installer maintained the use of my torklift tie-downs as well. But I believe the Reese is fairly comparable. If you have to go with much of an extension you should go with a quality hitch built for it. The hitches seem kind of expensive but you are asking a lot of the hitch and a failure would be catastrophic.
 
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