After Market Tongue Modifications

Hal,

Thanks for clarifying what you meant. I'd never heard of "twist" before in regard to a trailer. I will make sure that there is equal lift on the jacks when I store it. So many new things to learn about these rigs!

Thanks again for the info and the drawings.

Collette

We bought a 2720 which measures 20'3" end to end.  Our garage can fit 19'11".   A simple way to gain four inches to make the rear bumper removable.  We also have the spare tire fitting into a square socket to the bumper adapter since removing the bumper with the tire together would be quite heavy.  The bumper has welded plates that slide into the 2"x5" frame members.  There are pins which secure.

We lay the rear bumper and spare tire down on the garage floor underneath the TM.  The rear bumper serves as a tire travel stop so that the tail lights are a mere 1/2" from the rear wall of the garage.

We also made a swiveling wheel adapter for the hitch end post so that we can push it around in the driveway, into the garage.  But don't consider this unless you are strong enough to control 3000lbs on whatever grade is present and have help for guidance.

Glad to hear that you only had to modify the rear bumper to fit your TM in your garage. The dealer said that they could modify the rear bumper and/or the tongue depending on how much space I need. I just need to clean out the  garage to see how much I'll need to take off the length. My garage is about 19 ft 6 inches, so I think I'll need to modify the tongue.

You mentioned you had made a "swiveling wheel adapter for the hitch end post ." What does this look like and how does it operate? I only have a slight incline up into the garage; but, I am concerned about the strength it would take to move the TM into the garage. I looked at the website for the Powercaster recommended by Jon. Looks pretty handy...

Thanks for the info.

Collette

Unfortunately, the taillights become the contact point after the four inches gained by rear bumper removal. To go under 19'6" you're looking at a hitch mod.

I bought a 6" caster with a polyurethane wheel from a caster supply house.  It did require an insert in the cup of the caster to make it slip fit over the end of the post.

I, however, would not advise this unless you're exceedingly strong, not afraid of great exertion, and you know well the grades on which you'll be pushing.  While it rolls nicely on concrete, the trailer weight is enormous and can easily get away from you.  The first time we pushed it the front caster wheel slipped off the driveway edge into the grass and I had a lever it back on with a long steel bar.

The motorized dolly sounds like a good idea if cost is in range for you.  

Received an e-mail from TrailManor yesterday.

"See the new swing-away tongue at:

http://www.trailmanor.com/garage.htm

WOW!

TrailManor has email?

The swing hitch link worked great, but I can't find access to it from the main web site. Can anyone else?

Are there any other non-linked web pages of interest?

Thanks!

I guess I'm on their email list because I requested a brochure via their webpage and I'm on the distribution list. I see the link to the swing-around hitch on the bottom left of their homepage:http://www.trailmanor.com/index.html
I think they just added it; I don't remember seeing it there a couple of days ago.

I like being on their distribution list; I've received notices of sales and most recently of the big RV show in Pomona, CA. It does have info at the bottom of each message about how to get off the distribution list--so far the traffic on the list has been very light.

BTW, my trailer is at the local dealer having the after market tongue modification made--as well as having some other minor, I think, things fixed. For the tongue modifications, they do exactly what Hal's drawings show in an earlier message.  Thanks, Hal!!! Will let you know how the modification works when I get it back...they've been busy at the RV show...and I'm not in a hurry.

Wow, the tongue modification that Custom RV in Anaheim, CA, made on my 1999 TM is great!!! The craftsmanship is surperb; everyone I showed it to on my Thanksgiving camping trip was very impressed with it! It looks much like Hal's drawing, except my TM tongue has a spare tire underneath and two horizontal propane bottles, which had to be moved slightly. They welded the sway control bar to the front piece of the tongue frame since it needs to be right where the tongue splits. In addition, they welded pieces of metal on each side of where the tongue splits to which they attached safety chains; these chains are joined by a bolt [that I don't know the name of.] It seems very safe! I was pleased with how very easy it was to take apart and that the front of the tongue was not as heavy as I expected. Now, the TM fits into the garage.

Collette

Collette,  I am glad the removable tongue works for you and that you can get your trailer into your garage.  It is the only way we could get ours into the garage as well.  By the way, the new swing around idea looks nice.  It would appear that by the fact it "hinges" and swings around, that it is no longer necessary to have to lift the heavy removal part when removing or reinstalling it.  I do notice that the removable style does shorten the trailer considerably more than the swing around.  Our set up shortens the trailer by 36 inches, while, if I recall, the swing around is considerable less  (18"??) Thus the swing around may not be for everyone as in our case, it would not shorten our trailer enough to get the garage door shut.  

By the way, our spare tire does hang under the tongue framework that is back under the trailer.  It will be a bit more difficult to get at if I have a flat and the trailer is lowered by the flat.  But then, I don't expect to have a flat.  Also, because the tire is hanging down, its clearance is much difference, especially for tops of ramps or other high points such is in backing it into our garage.  It is necessary for us to back our car tire onto a couple 2x6s in order to rase the trailer for enough clearance.  While this is a problem, we would not be able to store our trailer at home without the removable tongue.


Hal

I should have checked my own drawing for measurements.  This drawing was posted in this thread a bit earlier.  According to measurements I made when making this drawing, the removable portion shortens the trailer by 33 inches.  I checked the TrailManor site and found that it removes 24 inches.  While the latter is a few inches more than I stated in my last message, it would still not be enough to get my garage door closed.  As a matter of fact, there is a one inch clearance for the door as it slides past my trailer front.  For those of you that have the proper clearance, it is a great idea.  You should take measurements before expending the money for it.  By the way, my trailer was shortened by removing the spare tire from the rear and shortening the overhang of the rear bumper.  My spare tire is now hanging horizontally under the front of the trailer box.  My batteries are in an angle iron box that allows the batteries to be low enough for clearance when the front section is closed.

Hal