Trailer Extension Hitch - Ideas?
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Category: General Forums
Forum Name: The Boat Shed
Forum Description: Discuss all things boating.
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=100959
Printed Date: 03 Jul 2026 at 8:17am
Topic: Trailer Extension Hitch - Ideas?
Posted By: johnybegood
Subject: Trailer Extension Hitch - Ideas?
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 6:20pm
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Hi All, Well, the time has come whereby the Territory (4wd) is up for sale. It looks like it will be replaced with something a little more practical (station wagon) and as such, I don't see a specific tow vehicle being bought either. This has had me thinking, and googling.... Has anyone made/bought an extendable tow hitch that you hook up when your at the ramp? Having looked at the weights and the way it puts pressure on the trailer, I don't think there are too many things to worry about.. I have come across this website, and am contemplating drawing up plans of something similar http://xtend-a-hitchnorthwest.com/" rel="nofollow - http://xtend-a-hitchnorthwest.com/ I've put a photo in below, so what are everyone's thoughts? Do-able? Or wasting my time?.. 
------------- I just want to jig |
Replies:
Posted By: Get in behind
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 6:38pm
| Blackdog cat do a cool folding extension bar. It folds back towards the mudguard when towing as per normal |
Posted By: Kevin.S
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 6:41pm
| Sounds like a bit of a hassle. Tow to ramp, take trailer off, attach extension, put back on vehicle, launch, then reverse it all after fishing. Why do you need to be so far from the trailer when launching, is it a very shallow ramp? |
Posted By: Southern_Jez
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 7:05pm
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What we are doing is engineering a swing mount to hold a spare tyre which can also act as a jockey wheel. Specifically this is for beach launching - Oreti Beach near Invercargill is very flat - We also have a small boat, so pushing it by hand is not a big issue. I did consider a extendable drawbar, but as Kevin said, seemed like a hassle. Once ours is built it would be: Tow to ramp, drop third wheel, unhitch trailer, push into surf for launch, reverse for retrieval, using a snatch strap to get loaded trailer out of surf if necessary. Has the added bonus of launching at the beach bow first so you dont have to worry about turning boat in surf.
I posted a picture of what we are going to make in 'The Pontoon Club' thread. |
Posted By: Catchit
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 7:50pm
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G,day Johnny, I have a very similar thing to your photo on my trailer except it is the main drawbar which is pinned. Remove the pin, extend the bar and re-pin at the desired length. very simple and can put up photos if you want.. ------------- "We gave Sir Peter a knighthood," Mr Key said, "And if we could give him a second one, we would." |
Posted By: Time_Bandit
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 8:02pm
this was on the mudgway trailers website ------------- “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 08 May 2014 at 8:40pm
| My farther inlaw had one on his bonito many years ago, worked real well. Used it down at manly at low tide. His one wasn't mounted permanent, it had a toe ball half way along on top of the box section that goes into the trailer coupling, then a a channel that came up under the trailer with a pin through it. |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 9:23am
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When I had my boat back in the 70s and 1/2 moon bay ramp just opened, it was pretty steep. 4x4s where not really avalible as they are today no way could a lot of old EH holdens/ falcons get a grip .....and most still had cross plys to. So we would back the trailers down, unhitch, roll back to the boat.... while doing that , driver would, pull the tow rope/ strope out of the trunk...one end over the tow ball , other on the trailer.... boat on... then tow the trailer up the ramp, and clear in the car park. Yep the good old days  |
Posted By: Sufishent
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 11:01am
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That's not just for the good old days - it's what I do today! (and I use a Ford - but with decent tyres) ------------- You can never have enough fishing tackle |
Posted By: johnybegood
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 12:19pm
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Hi All, The main reason the extra length is required/needed. We launch from beaches 60% of the time, and then there are the shallow boat ramps (omaha etc) that we go to regularly. The 4WD has been great, but even that has had some serious water damage and I don't think we want much, if any salt water going all over the brakes etc of this new wagon. We have used tow ropes to pull her out on occasion, but I thought if a simple extension could be made (say 6-8 foot) it would make launching a breeze, and a small amount of time to pay given the $$ saved on the car. That swinging design by mudgway trailers looks good, as well as the one that's permanently fitted below the front of the trailer.... Given the new vehicle will be a lot lower, it's something I want to tinker with over winter and see how well it works before next summer... Not sure on cost yet, but a permanently fixed extension seems the best solution for me... I'm going to get the cad software out and start tinkering with a design that hopefully a welder can throw together in an afternoon ------------- I just want to jig |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 1:06pm
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I'm going to get the cad software out and start tinkering with a design
that hopefully a welder can throw together in an afternoon Hmm... gone are the days of a pencil paper and a sketch of the setup T_B has a pic of.... hand to the engineers , cut out and weld up???? Its a bloody simple extension , not An appllo spaceship.. it a "welder "cant do it from a basic sketch I would defiantly be going somewhere else.... Really it would be simple to 'kitset it' draw up the bits, head off to the local steel supply shop the cut to measure... hire a mig for the morning and weld it up.... Or buy a 160 amp mig with gas ...basically that come fre because the cost to weld up will be about the cost of a welder or a bit more. And mig welding doesnt require a Phd.. basically turn the feed down , turn the heat up so dont quite blow holes, take your time...done. "old school" |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 1:08pm
| The extenda hitch you show above is actual not a bad idea. I will be very interested to see what you come up with. |
Posted By: Kevin.S
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 1:32pm
| I think Catchit's solution sounds great if you can accommodate it in your existing trailer. Undo the pin and pull forward to extend, put pin back in and launch. Take pin out and reverse to shorten it when you're done -bloody brilliant! |
Posted By: MikeAqua
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 2:46pm
+1. I've seen one of these in use and they are very efficient. The only question is can you get one long enough. |
Kevin.S wrote:Posted By: johnybegood
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 2:51pm
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Completely agree Kevin!, Catchit's sounds brilliant! - would you be able to throw up some pics mate? having looked at my trailer, I don't think I could modify it to have a single link, so will probably need to bolt this one on underneath ------------- I just want to jig |
Posted By: Sufishent
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 2:54pm
Yes please for pictures ------------- You can never have enough fishing tackle |
Posted By: Southern_Jez
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 3:02pm
| I question if the "6 to 8 foot" extension will be enough to keep your car dry when beach launching. Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fskmAjHmVA - it's where i got the idea for the swing mount spare/beach launching wheel for my trailer. |
Posted By: johnybegood
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 3:17pm
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Southern_jez - I do love that jockey/third front wheel on the trailer. Don't get me wrong, I think that is extremely useful at some of the places I launch. And is something I am contemplating adding onto this design. At the same time, I think if I could extend the trailer tongue (length tbc) it would be far easier. The main reason I say that, is that we have a 6m boat, which isn't light at the best of times. Most of the gradient ramps we use seem ok, but there are some where that extra length would go a long way in keeping the car dry as well as not having two tonnes rolling freely down the ramp. ------------- I just want to jig |
Posted By: of2fsh
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 3:33pm
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Good jockey wheel and a rope ,way quicker and less parts to loose ------------- 2009 and 2010 BERKLEY SOFTBAIT COMP CHAMPS,Runner up 2013 ( solo),winner 2013/14 longest kingfish nz fishing competition |
Posted By: EarlyRiser
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 4:01pm
| Is there any reason why the extension can't be sleeved with a securing pin rather than hinged? This would save having two tow couplings etc. Trailer would always be attached to vehicle so no run aways. |
Posted By: MikeAqua
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 4:09pm
I think that is what Catchit is referring too. That's the system I've seen in use but only allowed about 1.2m extension. I've also seen a very basic solution which was a piece of RHS steel about 3m long with a tow ball welded to one end and a coupling to the other. Still has the problem that you have to unhitch and rehitch, and seemed to take a bit of skill to reverse with. |
Posted By: EarlyRiser
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 4:19pm
Sorry Catchit, just what I had in mind, any confirmation on regulations re pin size, draw bar length? Would be very keen to see a pic of it.
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Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 4:26pm
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Yep that was my thinking reading down posts And with sleeved one then also has the option of pinning at different lengths if need be |
Posted By: of2fsh
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 5:28pm
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None of the draw bars mentioned or in the pics are long enough to keep a car or even a 4x4 out of the water,I beach launch 90% of the time,low tide and waves dont mix on most beaches... ------------- 2009 and 2010 BERKLEY SOFTBAIT COMP CHAMPS,Runner up 2013 ( solo),winner 2013/14 longest kingfish nz fishing competition |
Posted By: johnybegood
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 5:48pm
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Hey of2fsh - as an example, I launch at army bay a lot. At high tide, I can get the boat in now problems, without the car getting wet. Last time I was there, had the trailer been 1.5 - 2m further back, then it would have stayed perfectly dry. I agree that at most other beaches, which are really shallow; unhooking and running it into the water can work really well. This is more a, get something built and it's there if the situation calls for it to preserve the car... As an aside, i've drawn up some basic ideas with some galvanized steel framing sizes I found online/in auckland. I'm thinking of adding the idea of a spare wheel holder/beach launching tyre onto the side (hence that square box on the side) - it's still early days yet though!   ------------- I just want to jig |
Posted By: EarlyRiser
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 6:08pm
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Sliding extension bar adding 1-2m would cover 80% of my needs. Like the jockey/spare wheel combo for the rest. How about the winch/post being attached to ball end of bar for retrieval, once locking pin removed, you could winch trailer with boat on it back into position and lock with out having to chock the trailer and back down on it?
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Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 7:13pm
| I wound look at mounting a pull out extension under the existing draw bar then you can make it longer and not run into problems at wof time. I like your drawings but the draw bar you have drawer with the mounting plate on the top, I would weld this plate on the bottom of the box section, this will give you room to mount the coupling so when you push it back under the existing draw bar it will have plenty off room to fit. |
Posted By: EarlyRiser
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 8:19pm
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Any ideas what the issues/regs could be? |
Posted By: Catchit
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 8:36pm
no worries, tomorrow morning. ------------- "We gave Sir Peter a knighthood," Mr Key said, "And if we could give him a second one, we would." |
Posted By: of2fsh
Date Posted: 09 May 2014 at 9:43pm
Yep gotcha,used to launch there a lot,use hatfields now ,guess you have to weigh up tne cost vs use side of things as well,good luck ------------- 2009 and 2010 BERKLEY SOFTBAIT COMP CHAMPS,Runner up 2013 ( solo),winner 2013/14 longest kingfish nz fishing competition |
Posted By: Catchit
Date Posted: 10 May 2014 at 8:35am
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The drawbar is 80mm x 80mm, the total length is 4.5 mtrs long, the first pin (where I tow) is 1.2mtrs. It has 2 more pin holes for adjustment. Boat is quite heavy but Ive never had any issues launching/retrieving when Ive extended the drawbar. cheers.       ------------- "We gave Sir Peter a knighthood," Mr Key said, "And if we could give him a second one, we would." |
Posted By: Busted!
Date Posted: 10 May 2014 at 4:48pm
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Bearing in mind the requirement for any trailer over 750Kg to be braked, you will need to be pretty careful how you go about setting up any extending hitch and still allow braking systems to work. Also, it doesn't take much to knock a boat and trailer over 750Kg... That said, the separate extension bar is fairly easy to achieve and be easy to use with it. |
Posted By: Kevin.S
Date Posted: 10 May 2014 at 5:22pm
| The rules say that a trailer doesn't require brakes unless it is 2000KG or over. But you do need to be able to stop from 30kmh in less than 7m though, so a smaller car would probably need a braked trailer at less than 2000kg. |
Posted By: Steps
Date Posted: 11 May 2014 at 9:46am
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Yep a braked trailer could be an issue....which goes back to that folding design a few posts back, and have that as suggested as extendable. Another issue is the load on the drawbar (bend) so other issues like is the trailer duel axle, how the load is balanced on the trailer and the feasibility of using the jockey wheel to take front load ... and how that may effect going over a ridge or speed hump. |
Posted By: Kandrew
Date Posted: 11 May 2014 at 11:11am
| Problem is on my trailer I would only get an extension of 1.5mtrs using a fold out one. Which would be to short for army bay, tindalls and manly where I normally launch. So a 3 mtr long take on and off extension would be the best, I could hook it up under my trailer and lock it on when towing and at the ramp in case these any tea leafs around. Could also leave it at home when not needed. |
Posted By: Busted!
Date Posted: 11 May 2014 at 2:29pm
Yeah, brake rule 32014 does say that but the standard for towing connection ratings on light vehicles appears to suggest 750Kg max unbraked towing weight. If you are the insurance company about to pay out what are you going to be quoting as the relevant rule (given that your otherwise-compliant 1999Kg unbraked trailer didn't get there by itself)? |