May 2005 - montgomery_boats - mailman.xmission.com

trailer lights...
by Bobbie Mayer 29 May '05

29 May '05

Tried hooking up the lights. Everything works except the right blinker. So, here's the question- what is likely to be wrong? (I knew it was too good to be true when the tail lights worked!) Bobbie

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trailer...
by Bobbie Mayer 29 May '05

29 May '05

It's an old Trailer-rite trailer from 1984, if that makes a difference. Bobbie

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Thanks, guys..
by Bobbie Mayer 29 May '05

29 May '05

I'm towing 1000 miles and don't have time to make modifications to the trailer now. So I guess I'm stuck. I do think I'm going to order a hitch extension that can be used for launching only- this type of thing- if I can find one that works with a Class II hitch. I guess I can have one made if I can't. http://tinyurl.com/c5rvd Next question: how high should the hitch ball be for me to tow an M15? I've never really worried about that before as I had a hitch ball in the pickup bumper and didn't have a choice, but I have a choice of heights so can get one that is closest to ideal. Bobbie

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re: got the hitch...
by Steve R. 29 May '05

29 May '05

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.

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Re: M_Boats: Trailer hitch...
by Rik Sandberg 29 May '05

29 May '05

Bobbie, It kinda depends on how your tongue is made to begin with. On my trailer I could simply pull out the tongue that is there and replace it with a longer piece. Redrill it for the coupler mounting bolts, lengthen the wiring and I'm done. If your tongue is made in one piece, you could probably just take off your coupler and insert and weld in a doubling piece for strength, then add a longer piece to the front. This would take a good welder/fabricator about an hour, maybe less. It's not real tough. Rik -----Original Message----- From: Bobbie Mayer <barbaram(a)csufresno.edu> Sent: May 28, 2005 9:29 PM To: montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Trailer hitch... How would you lengthen the tongue of the trailer? Bobbie _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats

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Trailer hitch...
by Bobbie Mayer 29 May '05

29 May '05

How would you lengthen the tongue of the trailer? Bobbie

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Re: M_Boats: re: M15 hitch
by Rik Sandberg 29 May '05

29 May '05

Bobbie, If you want to get your boat or trailer parts back further from your tow vehicle it would be much better to do it by lengthing the tongue of the trailer. Rik -----Original Message----- From: Bobbie Mayer <barbaram(a)csufresno.edu> Sent: May 28, 2005 9:40 PM To: montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: re: M15 hitch Rik, I wanted the liftback door to the wagon to open. I think I'm giving up on that, though, and will just load things so that I can get the dogs in and out of the passenger doors (they can duck under the grate.) I don't think I can get it back far enough to do any good anyway, the way the mast holder/winch pole bends forward on my trailer. Bobbie _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats

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re: M15 hitch
by Bobbie Mayer 29 May '05

29 May '05

Rik, I wanted the liftback door to the wagon to open. I think I'm giving up on that, though, and will just load things so that I can get the dogs in and out of the passenger doors (they can duck under the grate.) I don't think I can get it back far enough to do any good anyway, the way the mast holder/winch pole bends forward on my trailer. Bobbie

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Re: M_Boats: got the hitch...
by Rik Sandberg 28 May '05

28 May '05

Bobby, Why do you want your hitch head to extend back further? There is usually not much to be gained by doing this. Rik -----Original Message----- From: Bobbie Mayer <barbaram(a)csufresno.edu> Sent: May 28, 2005 7:00 PM To: montgomery_boats(a)mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: got the hitch... >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. > Hopefully this post will go through; tried it once before and it said I was not registered at this email address. Bobbie _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats

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got the hitch...
by Bobbie Mayer 28 May '05

28 May '05

>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. > Hopefully this post will go through; tried it once before and it said I was not registered at this email address. Bobbie

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