[Rhodes22-list] Trailer Extension Replacement

[ROGER PIHLAJA]

Chris,

My homemade tongue extension uses 2-1/2” X 2-1/2” X 3/16” thick square cold rolled C-steel tubing.  I have a short stub of 3” X 3” X 3/16” thick square tubing welded onto the end to provide a mounting point for the trailer coupling.  The 3” square tubing with a 3/16” wall thickness will slip fit over the 2-1/2” square tubing.  You will be able to do a very strong overlapping weld joint.  I built mine like this in 1989 and have dozens of launch and retrievals on the system with zero issues.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium 
Sent from my iPhone

> On Apr 21, 2021, at 4:58 PM, Chris on LBI <cknell at vt.edu> wrote:
> 
> While hauling out last fall, the square extension on the trailer bent
> severely (kinked, really) due to the weight of the boat on the extension.
> The boat was a little more forward on the trailer than it had been for the
> previous 3 haul-outs; the bow was in contact with the stopper. On the
> previous haul-outs, the bow was about 3" short of the stopper. This
> additional weight forward combined with severe rust on the interior of the
> extension and the change in incline of the ramp seem to have combined to
> cause the failure.
> 
> The extension that came with my used trailer is 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 1/8" thick
> steel. The coupler is marked "Class 2". Does this seem right? It would seem
> to me that Class 3 would be more appropriate for the Rhodes, no?
> 
> So I need to replace this extension and coupler. I'm thinking that I'm going
> to upgrade to 3/16" thick steel. But I can't seem to locate a suitable class
> 3 coupler. It seems the class 3 couplers require a 3" extension bar (rather
> than the 2 1/2" extension that fits the trailer). 
> 
> I'm interested to hear what the community thinks about this.
> 
> Thanks,
> Chris
> 
> 
> 
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> Long Beach Island
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