Stick out your tongue!

[fornesto]

I'm gonna be building a 10'er on an 8' frame and want to extend over the tongue a bit. I think I have plenty of tongue, but don't want to seriously compromise my turning ability. So, how long is your tongue from the nearest verticle plane? What should I leave out front?

[SteveH]

I had the same question about tongue length, so I measured the tongue on my commercially built 5' X 10' utility trailer and it is 39" to the center of the ball hitch. I made the tongue a little longer on my frame because I plane a rounded body and a tongue storage box.

[George T.]

Greetings from Colorado!

I have appx 38" from the front of the trailer body to the center of the ball. A longer tongue has two advantages. It makes backing the trailer a lot easier. The trailer does not react as quickly to steering wheel motions.

And secondly, you can can turn tighter without contacting the bumper or body of the tow vehicle. Some teardrops [such as Larry Sorenson's "Outback Teardrop http://www.outbackteardrop.com/]" have a straight tongue that is long enough that they can actually "jack-knife" their trailer 90 degrees to the tow vehicle for manuevering in tight places.

Just remember that an extended tongue will change the balance of the trailer and the amount of tongue weight that you have. Plan you axle position accordingly.

George T.

[Ken]

For best results your tongue should be a little longer than ½ the width of the tow vehicle.

[angib]

But remember that the longer you make the tongue, the stronger it needs to be, as the bending moment increases in proportion to the length.

Also as the tongue gets longer, it gets 'whippy-er' (less stiff) and more prone to vibrations that can cause cracking.

Why are commercial TT builders always so mean with the drawbar length? I suspect it's mainly because they want the maximum accommodation within the total length (as that's what's quoted in the adverts), but I suspect it's also to minimise the loading on the frame (and so its size, and so its cost).

Andrew

[Big Guy with a Little Guy]

A longer tongue puts greater leverage on the buckling point (where the tongue meets the trailer frame). Be certain the tongue is beefed up enough to prevent buckling/breaking, which would of course happen at the worst possible moment.

[Dave Nathanson]

I made my TD tongue long enough to I can still open the gate door of my Jeep Wrangler. Since it's a single square shaft, it's not in the way as much as an "A" frame style TD tongue would be. It's also as short as I could make it and still open the Jeep door. I can totally Jackknife it, which makes it really great for maneuvering it around in a tight area. I do that all the time.

From the frame to the tip of the hitch is about 52". But due to the front curve of my TD, the frame is actually tucked under the frontmost part of the TD cabin by 12". Look at my icon to the left, and you'll get the idea. I'm very pleased with the performance of this setup. Very maneuverable, and it tows great on the highway too.

[fornesto]

macmedix,

do you think 2"w x 3"h rect. tube will suffice. It says there's a maximum tongue weight of 300 lbs., but it looks a little light.

[Dave Nathanson]

Sure! - Well depending on how long it is, and the wall thickness, of course. 1/4" is good. I used a 2x2x0.25 square tube for the tongue, and it slides inside a square tube with an inside diameter of 2x2 (+ or - a little) and an OD of 2.5". Here's more photos:
http://www.roughwheelers.com/montego/TD/OurTearDropConstruction/index.html

My tongue weight is... Well I don't know really, but I can lift it fairly easily and I don't work out or anything. Probably under 120 lbs.