Towing Pop-up Camper with tailgate down

[CrashDBad]

I have a shortbox truck that can only haul bikes with the tailgate down.

I want to buy a pop up camper to tow behind with tailgate down.

I've seen receiver extensions that move the ball out 7" to 24".

Ayone done this? propsed camper weighs 1450 lbs.

Has to be small enough to fit in garage (rules out toy hauler/po ups)

Any one tried this?

Rick

[triplenickel]

Never tried it with my long assed SE but with dirt bikes I just pop the tailgate off and the back wheel centerline sits just forward of the back edge of the box.

[K7MDL]

It does depend on your hitch and truck payload ratings, but 1450 is very light, and the tongue weight is likely so light that any of the hitch extensions will be more than fine. The extensions have the weight ratings on them, and most will reduce the limit.

The key is knowing your tongue weight and your chosen extension ratings.

The other option is to modify the trailer tongue for an extension. I have seen swing-away types used on a boat trailer (much heavier than your trailer) that help it fit in your garage better.

The thing to watch for if you choose the trailer tongue extension option is the clearance between your tailgate and the tongue when starting up an incline, such as an uphill driveway entrance to a home or gas station. For example I once left a restuarant and the only way out was to go down a short steep hill and turn right onto a level street. That could take out your tailgate. A hitch extension prevents that. In my case I dragged the back of the trailer.

[Geoff3DMN]

I would definitely investigate the trailer extension rather than the tongue extension since the tongue extension would increase the leverage on your hitch increasing the effective load on it.

I've got a swing away trailer extension on my boat trailer and it was fitted after I bought the trailer and it works very well, it gives me extra length for beach launching the boat so I don't have to back the truck down into the surf.

[crash50]

I was told that using a trailer tongue extension caused or will cause flex and slop in the trailer tongue.
They will break and then it goes like a train wreck.

Here where I live, there is a welding shop that will extend and reinforce the trailer tongue. They do a great job I have heard, but I still leave the trailer tongue alone.
I just took off the tailgate on the older short-bed truck, but I now have a medium length bed F-250, so it's a moot point.

[barnyard]

I hauled our popup with the gate down for 3 years. No extension on either the hitch or the trailer. Worked fine.

[Ogre_fl]

No issues with a hitch extender and the gate down for me.
Been doing it for a few years now.
The latest pop-up is a slide out type at around 3100#



My 1st one was about 1200#, felt the bike in the back more than the camper

[perterra]

I've really thought about one of these. http://www.jumpingjacktrailers.com/features

I currently have a Palomino 2100 pony and you don't even know it's back there (1400 lb dry weight) in the Tacoma. You should be fine with a receiver tube. I've used them before and other than noisy I didnt notice any problems.