Teardrop with foldable/removable/retractable tongue?

[Freddy the Element]

Hi,

Anyone know of a manufacturer that offers a removable/foldable/retractable tongue?

I saw a member ("Warpony") here built one like that. I don't have those sort of skills, but I would like that feature as my storage space is very limited. Hoping that a manufacturer in the Southwest (I'm in L.A.) offers something like that.

Thanks.

[grant whipp]

Greetings, Freddy!

I'm not aware of any current mfgs. that offer that feature ... I have built several like that (removable tongue), but since I am no longer building commercially, I can't help you with a complete build. I do, however, have two frames already made up and powdercoated, ready for Dexter TorqFlex axles (I also have two of those, as well), and the tongues are set up for swing-away castered jack-stands (I even have those) ... they're 45-1/2" wide by 84" long, designed for a 4'x8' flat front body, similar to the Benroy or KIT, with 6" "Roll Pans" front & rear. If you think one of them will get you started on your build, or provide the foundation for someone else to build one for you, drop me an e-mail at [email protected] and we can discuss things further.

Good Luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

Grant

[angib]

Grant, it sounds like we all need to see photos of this tongue arrangement, if you have experience of what works like this.

[Freddy the Element]

That's very nice of you. Not ready to plunge into making one myself, and at any rate, I am 6'6" and need a longer one than a 5x8 I think.

Would still enjoy seeing the photos though. Thanks for responding.

[grant whipp]

There seems to be a little bit of interest, here, so here goes ...

... here's the basic frame:



Just a basic "ladder" frame with a 24" long 2" receiver tube welded in between the 1st & 2nd cross-members ... the removable tongue is 2"x2"x.125"x60" long ... it is "pinned-in" here with two 1/2" Grade-8 bolts, but to be easily removable you can use two standard 1/2" hitch-pins. If you look closely, you can just see the two studs under the forward part of the receiver tube where a fold-away jack-stand mounts so the front oF the trailer can be supported when the tongue is removed.

Here's a pic of my personal trailer, LB#23, right after I brought it home from its original owner:



You can just see the fold-away tongue-stand, but also you can see the swing-away castered tongue-jack. I have not kept track of the total miles I've pulled this teardrop over the last 6+ years, but in those same years I've logged some 103,000 miles on my Saturn Wagon, and easily half of those miles were pulling this teardrop ... from dead-empty as you see here, to fully-loaded ice-chest on the tongue along with fully-loaded roof rack & basket and a chuck-full galley. I'm not a fan of tongue-weights (for teardrops) of much over 100#, but I can assure you that this one has been well over 200# on many occasions, and on all manner of roads, and it has never shown any signs of stress, let alone failure.

I've built at least 6 teardrops using this type of frame, including a 10' model that has cross-crossed this country at least four times (not including the 6,300 miles I put on it in 2005 when I went out to the 1st ITG and then extended the trip another three weeks), and a utility trailer that I use for everything, including hauling a couple of thousand pounds of building materials over a couple of thousand miles!

I can imagine there could be the possibility of a liability issue if a major Mfg. were to offer this kind of chassis, but I can see no reason for the typical home-builder (or even small mfg.) to come up with and use something similar and not have any problems ... just like me. I'm sure I'll get some naysayers, but my record speaks for itself.

Good luck, and as always ...

CHEERS!

[angib]

That's really interesting, Grant.

It's another successful 'data point' on the tongue strength calculation, as follows:

There's 36" of the tongue tube sticking beyond the receiver. Add 4" for the coupler and that's a 40" tongue length. A 2"x2"x11ga square tube has a 15600 lb-in bending capacity so the Australian trailer rules would say this was strong enough for a 780 lb utility trailer. I think that rating can be doubled for a teardrop, so 1560 lb - which I would guess is no more than Grant's trailer weighs, even loaded.

For those interested in tongue strength, I've just obtained the International (though I think of European origin) tongue strength standard ISO 7641 and that agrees with twice the Australian rating for unbraked trailers - though it reckons tongue strength needs to be 50% higher for braked trailers. Anyone who wants a copy of this standard for personal study, send me a pm.

And for anyone that is thinking of copying Grant's design, two features that I particularly like are:

1) The 24" receiver tube - this transfers the load into the tongue tube gradually over that 24" and so reduces the 'pinch' load on the tongue tube where it leaves the receiver.

2) The bolts (or pins) holding the tongue in the receiver are at least halfway back along the receiver tube, so they are not weakening the tongue tube where it comes out of the receiver (like happened to Dave Nathanson who had a similar receiver tongue with the locking pin 1-2" from the front).

[cuyeda]

Not mine, but have always liked this one.

[Roly Nelson]

On both of my trailers, I cut off the tongue, flush with the front of the tear. I then installed a smaller square tube with the hitch bolted onto it, then slid it about 18 inches into the larger tongue square tube and pinned it in place. Now I can remove the tongue and store it in the trunk of the car, when I am out and about. So far, no problems with this set up. Just for kicks, I carved a duplicate wooden tongue and hitch, complete with wooden safety chains, and some folks think I actually pull the trailer with it......Hmmm.
Roly ~~ (I just saw my pic in my 1950 HS yearbook, and it says "I can resist everything but temptation", how true!

[cuyeda]

While browsing the West Marine catalog, I spotted this...



It is made by Fulton, and can be purchased via several outlets.

Click here for more info