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Tired of dragging hitch

v6toy4x

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My current rear driveway has a bit of an uphill slope, combine it with a 42" tork-lift hitch extension and you get a dragging hitch when I use my WD hitch with the car trailer.
So I added some roller wheels, they ride right below where the load bars ride.
The wheels are solid steel with caged roller bearings and seals, the bolt is gun-drilled with a zerk fitting for easy lubing.
So far so good??


hitch 2.jpg
hitch 3.jpg
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hitch 1.jpg
 

BLOWN HOWARD

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Might need to try this out on the motorhome hitch since its so dam low for the enclosed trailer
 

Sherpa

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I need to make something like that for my drop hitch…

Your car trailer: Are those duramax wheels on it??? Did you have to use wheel spacers to run those wheels??
 

v6toy4x

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I need to make something like that for my drop hitch…

Your car trailer: Are those duramax wheels on it??? Did you have to use wheel spacers to run those wheels??
Yes Duramax wheels, I ordered 7K trailer axles wider to accommodate the shallow offset and the 8 lug pattern
Netted me some significantly larger brakes
 

D19

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I already knocked out some asphalt on the driveway of our new home from backing in car trailer and flat bed. I think I'm going to change the slope when we repour.
 

v6toy4x

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I already knocked out some asphalt on the driveway of our new home from backing in car trailer and flat bed. I think I'm going to change the slope when we repour.
That is the best plan if you can accommodate it. My problem comes right at the back of the city side walk so to lower the grades I would have to get an encroachment permit to work in the easement and I ain't going down that road!!
 

D19

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That is the best plan if you can accommodate it. My problem comes right at the back of the city side walk so to lower the grades I would have to get an encroachment permit to work in the easement and I ain't going down that road!!

I had that problem at our old house. Put some deep gouges in the street.
 

rivermobster

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Hieght of truck doesn't matter it is the height of the trailer tongue that drives it along with the length of hitch extension. I am not exactly dragging tail and my trailer is sprung over axle and I still drag! View attachment 1078581 View attachment 1078579

Right?

The top of the ball is supposed to be at 16 inches for most trailers. We always wanted to do something like that for towing my friends flat, but never got around to it.

Hope this works for ya!
 

v6toy4x

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Right?

The top of the ball is supposed to be at 16 inches for most trailers. We always wanted to do something like that for towing my friends flat, but never got around to it.

Hope this works for ya!
I take the approach that when loaded and hooked up the trailer frame should be as close to level as possible and then match the tow ball ht. to that.
I don't have a huge problem with the boat be cause I don't need the WD hitch. Just when I pull the car trailer loaded heavy and the WD hitch.

I have ran it a couple times and it works great on a straight line but will scuff if you turn sharp while heavy on the rollers. I will just have to adjust my "line" for those times!
 

braindead

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That is the best plan if you can accommodate it. My problem comes right at the back of the city side walk so to lower the grades I would have to get an encroachment permit to work in the easement and I ain't going down that road!!

find a contractor, or Jose A and Jose b, who work on the weekends to demo on Saturday and pour on Sunday, but u didn’t hear it from me
 

v6toy4x

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find a contractor, or Jose A and Jose b, who work on the weekends to demo on Saturday and pour on Sunday, but u didn’t hear it from me
I am a GC, not worth risking your reputation in a town you do work in.
Now work behind my fence may be another story, but you didn't hear that from me;)
 

braindead

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I am a GC, not worth risking your reputation in a town you do work in.
Now work behind my fence may be another story, but you didn't hear that from me;)
So am I, unfortunately for me, most of our local inspectors are washed out contractors or employees who couldn’t cut it in the construction world and got a gub-ment job for the guaranteed buck. Lucky for me our building department gets every other Friday off, FML!
 

Sherpa

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Yes Duramax wheels, I ordered 7K trailer axles wider to accommodate the shallow offset and the 8 lug pattern
Netted me some significantly larger brakes
now you've got me going........ I plan on building my next car hauler... I bought (6) duramax wheels just for it. can you give me all the details of your axles? torqueflex or springs? hub to hub face measuremant? trailer deck width? I've been collecting materials for some time for this project.
aluminum diamond plate decking, aluminum perimeter frame channel, and even using 4" alum under-deck channel for cross supports. I thought
the duramax wheels would look cool on it. I plan on carrying 2 spares since this trailer will be running used pickup tires most of the time.

--Sherpa..
 

lbhsbz

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now you've got me going........ I plan on building my next car hauler... I bought (6) duramax wheels just for it. can you give me all the details of your axles? torqueflex or springs? hub to hub face measuremant? trailer deck width? I've been collecting materials for some time for this project.
aluminum diamond plate decking, aluminum perimeter frame channel, and even using 4" alum under-deck channel for cross supports. I thought
the duramax wheels would look cool on it. I plan on carrying 2 spares since this trailer will be running used pickup tires most of the time.

--Sherpa..
If I was doing a trailer like this, here's how I would do it.

Find a couple of full float 14b rear axles with disc brakes at junk yards....blown up gears will be cheaper (2000 and later silverado 2500/3500). Pull the shafts out, chop the center section out. Get some tube (might have to do a bit of lathe work) that you can use to sleeve the original axle tubes to put things back together at whatever width you want. Add a fill and drain plug to keep the tube 1/2 full of oil for the bearings. Chop the ends of the axle shafts to seal the holes and keep the oil in. Now you've got stout bearings that were designed to go 150K miles or more, you've got OE GM truck brakes, OE wheels, OE bearings, OE everything that you can get at Autozone whenever you need them....more importantly, none of it is "trailer grade", which is typically shit. Whatever the max rear axle weight is on the donor truck is your trailer axle rating.
 

v6toy4x

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So am I, unfortunately for me, most of our local inspectors are washed out contractors or employees who couldn’t cut it in the construction world and got a gub-ment job for the guaranteed buck. Lucky for me our building department gets every other Friday off, FML!
Must be a thing, several local jurisdictions take off every other fri!
I have an electric sliding gate at the top of the grade so if I lower it i have to re do the whole gate. We are moving this summer so it is what it is!
 

v6toy4x

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now you've got me going........ I plan on building my next car hauler... I bought (6) duramax wheels just for it. can you give me all the details of your axles? torqueflex or springs? hub to hub face measuremant? trailer deck width? I've been collecting materials for some time for this project.
aluminum diamond plate decking, aluminum perimeter frame channel, and even using 4" alum under-deck channel for cross supports. I thought
the duramax wheels would look cool on it. I plan on carrying 2 spares since this trailer will be running used pickup tires most of the time.

--Sherpa..
So you are going to recycle your truck tires through the trailer, I did that the first round and then found a deal on a new set of actual trailer tires.
I stayed with leaf springs because that is what it came with and running the springs on top will give you a fair amount more ground clearance. Our trailer pulls a rock crawler or motorcycles so ground clearance is nice. Hot rod guys definitely like the torsion stuff ran low for easier loading of cars.

I wont be at the trailer until this weekend, I will get you all the info you need.
 

v6toy4x

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If I was doing a trailer like this, here's how I would do it.

Find a couple of full float 14b rear axles with disc brakes at junk yards....blown up gears will be cheaper (2000 and later silverado 2500/3500). Pull the shafts out, chop the center section out. Get some tube (might have to do a bit of lathe work) that you can use to sleeve the original axle tubes to put things back together at whatever width you want. Add a fill and drain plug to keep the tube 1/2 full of oil for the bearings. Chop the ends of the axle shafts to seal the holes and keep the oil in. Now you've got stout bearings that were designed to go 150K miles or more, you've got OE GM truck brakes, OE wheels, OE bearings, OE everything that you can get at Autozone whenever you need them....more importantly, none of it is "trailer grade", which is typically shit. Whatever the max rear axle weight is on the donor truck is your trailer axle rating.
Funny you mentioned this route. We built an equipment trailer several years back, needed to be stout.
3" DOM tubes with 14B spindles, ruff stuff weld on caliper mounts, 14 bolt hubs with GM 3/4 ton rotors and calipers but never could get the surge master to push enough fluid. I needed a brake parts guru to help me out ;)

Where were you when I needed you?
 

Bigbore500r

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Truck is lifted. I don’t have that problem lol
Lol.....irrelevant if your guys are both towing the same trailer! Youd have to drop your hitch to same height assuming he has the trailer attitude correct, which would also cause your hitch to drag :D
 

braindead

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If I was doing a trailer like this, here's how I would do it.

Find a couple of full float 14b rear axles with disc brakes at junk yards....blown up gears will be cheaper (2000 and later silverado 2500/3500). Pull the shafts out, chop the center section out. Get some tube (might have to do a bit of lathe work) that you can use to sleeve the original axle tubes to put things back together at whatever width you want. Add a fill and drain plug to keep the tube 1/2 full of oil for the bearings. Chop the ends of the axle shafts to seal the holes and keep the oil in. Now you've got stout bearings that were designed to go 150K miles or more, you've got OE GM truck brakes, OE wheels, OE bearings, OE everything that you can get at Autozone whenever you need them....more importantly, none of it is "trailer grade", which is typically shit. Whatever the max rear axle weight is on the donor truck is your trailer axle rating.

thats a great idea, out of curiosity, why would you go through the extra trouble of removing the center section?
The only thing you will gain is GC, unless I’m forgetting something?
 

Sherpa

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a GM 14bolt center chunk is big.... I wouldn't worry about the bottom of it, but the top of it might/would hit the underside of the trailer deck.
I'm kind of considering going rube goldberg on my trailer axle suspension. buying leaf spring type axles, but making "arms" for mounting and
then using air bags...... for a few reasons. the trailer deck will be a tilt deal to get stuff as low as possible. thus letting the air out of the bags
it will almost sit on the ground. and airbags also allow raising up the deck as high as the bags will lift to be able to get out of the stupid car
i once it's on the trailer......... (i found that issue out the hard way last november hauling an older honda accord I couldn't open the driver door
since it hit the trailer fenders...... crawling out the window wasn't much fun that day.

--Sherpa
 

Angler

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added one of those to the rack on the back of my 5th wheel, that carries my BBQ, works great.
 

lbhsbz

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thats a great idea, out of curiosity, why would you go through the extra trouble of removing the center section?
The only thing you will gain is GC, unless I’m forgetting something?
Ground / deck clearance, and the fact that in stock configuration, it would undoubtedly be too narrow anyway. Also gives the opportunity to add some camber in the process.

Edit…and if you use later (2000+) axles, you’ve got a built in parking brake. Could rig up a locking actuator as another in deterring theft.
 
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