HF Tongue Modification - 2x2 tubing wall thickness?

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Question for everyone who did this mod:

Did you leave the steel tube open on both ends? I was thinking about spraying some expanding foam in each end to cap it off and keep water out, and then painting it.

[Nobody]

Question for everyone who did this mod:

Did you leave the steel tube open on both ends? I was thinking about spraying some expanding foam in each end to cap it off and keep water out, and then painting it.

I put my trailer wiring (running lights, charging wire, etc.) into a heavy plastic 'sleeve' & ran 'em thru the tongue extension. Separated the light wiring & an individual ground wire for each side of the trailer where the wires emerge from the rear of the tongue. I left the tube 'open' so water can drain out should any get inside. Chances of water getting in the tube while parked are probably negligible, & any that gets in while moving should drain/dry pretty quickly. We drove thru a deluge last year, with standing water up to 18" deep at several intersections & a foot or more on some streets in Hobbs & Carlsbad, New Mexico. Along with approaching vehicles that 'sprayed' sheets of water higher than our TV, it was deep enough that some water migrated into the TD & soaked the bottom of our mattress but, we had no problem with the trailer wiring or lights. Unless you're doing it for esthetic reasons, I'd leave the ends open, just paint the steel. Unless you can seal very well around the bolts you used to fasten the new tongue, there's probably no way you can prevent moisture from getting into the tube just from humidity/temperature differential, & it seems to me that the foam at each end could (would?) hold the moisture long enough to allow rust to start??

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Question for everyone who did this mod:

Did you leave the steel tube open on both ends? I was thinking about spraying some expanding foam in each end to cap it off and keep water out, and then painting it.

I put my trailer wiring (running lights, charging wire, etc.) into a heavy plastic 'sleeve' & ran 'em thru the tongue extension. Separated the light wiring & an individual ground wire for each side of the trailer where the wires emerge from the rear of the tongue. I left the tube 'open' so water can drain out should any get inside. Chances of water getting in the tube while parked are probably negligible, & any that gets in while moving should drain/dry pretty quickly. We drove thru a deluge last year, with standing water up to 18" deep at several intersections & a foot or more on some streets in Hobbs & Carlsbad, New Mexico. Along with approaching vehicles that 'sprayed' sheets of water higher than our TV, it was deep enough that some water migrated into the TD & soaked the bottom of our mattress but, we had no problem with the trailer wiring or lights. Unless you're doing it for esthetic reasons, I'd leave the ends open, just paint the steel. Unless you can seal very well around the bolts you used to fasten the new tongue, there's probably no way you can prevent moisture from getting into the tube just from humidity/temperature differential, & it seems to me that the foam at each end could (would?) hold the moisture long enough to allow rust to start??

Thanks Harvey. Your very last sentence addressed the one concern I had. I think I'll just let it go then.

[absolutsnwbrdr]

Did anyone bother to weigh their tongue, at the coupler, before and after the modification?

I wish I would have weighed it before, but it now weighs 106 lbs.

Then I moved the scale back to where the coupler used to be. I know that the steel tube obviously added some weight, but the scale read 142 lbs. What a difference!

[angib]

I know that the steel tube obviously added some weight, but the scale read 142 lbs. What a difference!

7 feet of 2"x2"x3/16" weighs about 30 pounds, so that's most of the difference.