OK I saw this a long time ago and never forgot it. The guy had his reciever or ball ( can't rember which ) mounted to his rear axle and the tung was a little longer. I wish I hade a picture but I saw this many years ago...

Advantages:
It is almost imposible for the trailer to steer the truck.
Tung weight virtually doesn't affect the tow vehicle suspension or steering.
Trailer can't rock truck on expansion joints.

Disadvantages:
no suspension for the trailer tung.
Trailer can't have tool boxes and stuff up front..
Requires some thought to fabricate it right.

Anybody else here have experience with this set up?

Thats a pretty crazy idea........bad idea IMO.

but off the top of my head I see the trucks load carrying capacity being removed instantly from the equation....IE the trucks suspension.so you;re defeating the trucks GCVW and only useing the tires load rating. for the whole trailer and load.

It would put stress on the axle mounting due to the twisting effect of the ball being significantly behind the axle centerline. The pivot point would make the trailer pull more like a gooseneck, but without loading the truck's suspension. Sounds like an interesting idea, but I wouldn't try it on my truck.

I would think for long term hauling it would tear the trailer apart.

Mike

IMO, if your truck can't handle the tongue load then you shouldn't be towing it....

I would think for long term hauling it would tear the trailer apart.

Mike

Why?

I could see it tearing the axle housing apart if not done right... but the trailer?

Thats a pretty crazy idea........bad idea IMO.

but off the top of my head I see the trucks load carrying capacity being removed instantly from the equation....IE the trucks suspension.so you;re defeating the trucks GCVW and only useing the tires load rating. for the whole trailer and load.


That seems to be the good part about it to me... Obviously you don't want to over load it too much but yeah you have taken the load off the suspension.

I can't really picture the twisting of the ball being anywhere near the twisting the brakes and engine do to the rear axle all the time...

It would put stress on the axle mounting due to the twisting effect of the ball being significantly behind the axle centerline. The pivot point would make the trailer pull more like a gooseneck, but without loading the truck's suspension. Sounds like an interesting idea, but I wouldn't try it on my truck.


Yes it seems it would be more like a gooseneck but with a much lower CG.

It seem like it would make the tung weight a much less critical thing - within reason obviously.

Just about eliminates "whipping" too.

How about a frame mounted reciever but tucked up near the rear axle?

Why not just get a Pullrite (http://www.pullrite.com/pullrite_70.htm)

I would think for long term hauling it would tear the trailer apart.
Very true. Most light duty trailers aren't strong enough for a rigid mounted hitch. A lot of trailer tongues will crack if the rear suspension is too stiff, such as a semi or toterhome.

Mike

IMO, if your truck can't handle the tongue load then you shouldn't be towing it....
It would handle the same load, just much better.

Thats a pretty crazy idea........bad idea IMO.

but off the top of my head I see the trucks load carrying capacity being removed instantly from the equation....IE the trucks suspension.so you;re defeating the trucks GCVW and only useing the tires load rating. for the whole trailer and load.
Tires are usually the limiting factor anyway. The idea is on the right track, but not quite there. I have designed the perfect 'bumper pull' type hitch, but I'm driving and it will take too long to describe at this time.

not to mention every time the trailer hits a bump, it will give him axle wrap big time due to the weight of the trailer trying to rotate the pinion up

youd prolly need a special trailer in most cases,unless the truck had very little over hang. i know my tongue is way too high to slide under the bed and keep the trailer level,not to mention,id have to move the jack back :eek:

Cool for "outside the box" thinking, but it's a retarded IMO.

What happens when the tongue makes contact with the rear bumper? Broken tongue? Will it lift the ass end of the truck up?

What about making sharp turns? I wouldn't want to be in a situation where the rear tires make contact with the tongue, and stop forward movement.

All I'm saying is that the "window" of trailer movement is substantially decreased mounting it to the axle instead of regular bumper pull. The side to side movement is limited to the tire location and the upward movement will be limited by the overhang of the truck. Not to mention the problems you'll have with a solid mount on the axle.

Why not just get a Pullrite (http://www.pullrite.com/pullrite_70.htm)

i have seen one of these on a truck w/o a trailer, but do you modify the trailer to use it or is there a "dual pivot" going on here... if so how would you back it up???

What about making sharp turns? I wouldn't want to be in a situation where the rear tires make contact with the tongue, and stop forward movement.

All I'm saying is that the "window" of trailer movement is substantially decreased mounting it to the axle instead of regular bumper pull. The side to side movement is limited to the tire location and the upward movement will be limited by the overhang of the truck. Not to mention the problems you'll have with a solid mount on the axle.

You really wouldn't be loosing anything there, probably gaining. Make the tongue a little longer and it'll pass right under the rear corner of the truck. At that point you would have more turning ability than your standard trailer as you could almost jacknife it.

The hard part would be having a ~6' long beam of a tongue for a 7' trailer. Would need a fairly substantial piece of steel to support the tongue weight without flexing like crazy.

Worst case, tire makes contact with tongue and rubs.

rear overhang of truck makign contact with tongue. Yeah, this would be a problem, but not one that couldn't be worked around by design.

leaf spring suspension, I can see pinion angle becoming a problem as well as sheering center pins or quickly wearing out springs due to weight induced axle wrap. This would probably be best left for a beefy 5-link.

IIRC, on the PullRite, you do need to modify the trailer.
You could always get the Hensley Arrow.

damn that pullrite is wicked expensive