Vehicle Change

D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Hello all, new to everything boating and was looking for some advice! About a year or so ago I purchased an old Backtroller 17' fishing boat. I used a Honda element 2w to tow it with a reese aftermarket hitch. The hitch had a 4" rise / drop on it and I had it in the rise position and everything worked fine until one day they dropped the lake 7' - getting the boat out was nightmare. Any way, luckily my wife destroyed the Honda by hitting 3 deer @ 70 mph - (all were OK cept for the deer) and it allowed for me to get a new tow vehical.

I ended up getting a 2001 I6 Jeep Grand Cherokee. There are no issues pulling the boat, but launching and retrieving the boat have become some what of a hassel. I no longer have the 4" rise, and everything is so close to the Jeep the I cannot open the hatch without hitting the Winch (have to open only the glass). So I am wondering if I need an extension for the hitch or maybe another 4" riser might make a difference launching (probably not opening the hatch though). Along with some side mirror extensions or something, as I really feel blind with the Jeep in comparison to the Honda.

Any suggestions are greatly appriciated.
 
cpubud

cpubud

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Messages
468
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

the boat trailer is suppose to be level .that where you get into a rise or drop in the hitch. if it is level then you can have the trailer tongue extended
 
A

Angrywasp

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
101
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

Why not get some guide posts that attach to the trailer? Not sure if that's the correct id for them. I normally just open the door on my truck and hang out with a hand on the wheel and foot on the brake.
 
D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

Outstanding thanks to all - I will check theseout and post back
 
D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

Well I got a small 18" extension with a step, and it looks fine and everything hooks up well. Need to lengthen my chains a bit, and it seems a bit un-level now. Seems either the rear suspension of the Jeep needs a boost or I may need a rise in the in the ball as described earlier. I am also scraping the ground as I pull out of my yard into the ally - which is making me think I need to boost my rear suspension. Any suggestions - this is getting to be quite costly to haul a small fishing boat!
 
T

Titanium48

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Apr 24, 2008
Messages
303
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

By extending the hitch from the vehicle, you have moved the load point further back from the rear axle. This results in more weight transferred from the front wheels to the rear wheels of your tow vehicle. You have also decreased the angle between the rear tires and the end of the ballmount. Together, this is causing the ballmount to drag when you try to leave the yard. The solution is to get rid of the hitch extension and extend your trailer tongue instead, like roscoe suggested. Fulton also made a 22 inch version of the fold-away coupler kit if you don't want to add a full 3 feet, or you can cut off 12 - 18 inches of your tongue before bolting on the 34 inch kit.
 
D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

I am thinking that I did not actually provide enough information in my original post or any of the follow ups. While I totally agree with you that the way to go would have been to get an extension for the trailer rather than the receiver extension (which would have kept the ball closer to the tow Jeep) - adding the receiver extension only cost $20 while the other was considerably more and my wife is starting to take notice of this project which could end things rather abruptly! I also got the feeling from this post that with the load I am dealing with, that either option should work sufficiently without causing any problems.

The Hitch and Trailer was rubbing the alley even before the extension was added. After doing some more investigation last night, it appears to me that the aftermarket Rigid hitch is about 2" to low and 2" too deep into the bumper. On a stock Mopar hitch for this make of Jeep (2001 Grand Cher)- they require that you cut the bumper and purchase a molding piece which would put the hitch receiver just about 2" higher and almost even with the rear of the bumper so 2" further out.

So by adding the extension, that has takes care of (and then some) the shortness, but I think I am still fighting the low-ness. I think my biggest mistake (aside from being uninformed about the initial purchase) was relying too much on the Jeep reseller. I told him my intention was to haul a boat with this and I hoped that he was advising me correctly with the hitch set up and now all these issues are coming from an aftermarket hitch when he should have been getting me the Mopar setup.

So now I am thinking to gain my two inch height loss back, I will either need to install 2" spring lifts [have no idea what that will do overall to the Jeep if anything] or scrap everything I have now and look at getting a stock Mopar hitch that is coming out of the bumper. Originally I did not experience anything like this with the Honda. Just purchased an after market hitch and added it myself and as luck would have everything worked. While I had issues (a friend of mine said I looked like a monkey fornicating a football when I loaded or unloaded my boat) I dont think any of the issues where Hitch related like these are.
 
D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

I suppose I could get a hitch and ball with a 2" lift and see if that cleans things up a bit - but I expect I would be back to no being able to open my hatch.
 
lostinboat

lostinboat

Seaman
Joined
Oct 18, 2008
Messages
63
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

you might try one of these from Harbour Freight Item # 95991. I use one to tow my boat with and it works great. It has 8 different setting on it.
 
D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

Checked with my neighbor - he is a bit of a Jeep mod guy building roll bars etc... and lifted climbers. He suggested I add a 4" or large rise on the hitch (went to Auto Zone and found a 5 1/4) and this allows for me to clear the Alley when I am getting in or out, but does not address the closeness to the gate. So he also suggested I increase the length of the trailer tongue 18 - 24" so I can keep the ball close to the Jeep but still get the boat deeper into the water so it will float off the trailer. (He also said I could just use the 18" receiver extension I already had, but he and I both felt it would look silly especially with the 5 1/4 sitting 16" away from the jeep - and that it might mess up the alley again by moving the ball back out into the way. He has everything needed (welding stuff and the skills) so I think that will be my final solution to this really troubling setup.

Really wondering if this is just the way things are with a Jeep, or did I just get really lucky with my Honda? Another friend of mine says that while he understands the reason for everything [even agrees with the final solution] he has never seen such problems with pulling a small fishing boat. So he too thinks it must just be a Jeep thing [he suggested from the beginning I get a truck].

So if anyone else out there considers this a "Jeep thing" or has had difficult time setting up a Jeep - I sure would like to know!
 
D

DAXQ

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2011
Messages
7
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

All done, the guy painted it and put some anti slip stuff on it. I personally like the looks of it and cannot wait to get it to the dock and try it out. Driving it is much easier now, backing up seems to be easier, and the hatch easily clears things now - getting the dog in and out much easier as well. Hope any issues I may have at the dock are much better issues than the issues I was having before!

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Volphin

Volphin

Lieutenant
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
1,405
Re: Vehical Change

Re: Vehical Change

DAXQ said:
I am thinking that I did not actually provide enough information in my original post or any of the follow ups. While I totally agree with you that the way to go would have been to get an extension for the trailer rather than the receiver extension (which would have kept the ball closer to the tow Jeep) - adding the receiver extension only cost $20 while the other was considerably more and my wife is starting to take notice of this project which could end things rather abruptly! I also got the feeling from this post that with the load I am dealing with, that either option should work sufficiently without causing any problems.

The Hitch and Trailer was rubbing the alley even before the extension was added. After doing some more investigation last night, it appears to me that the aftermarket Rigid hitch is about 2" to low and 2" too deep into the bumper. On a stock Mopar hitch for this make of Jeep (2001 Grand Cher)- they require that you cut the bumper and purchase a molding piece which would put the hitch receiver just about 2" higher and almost even with the rear of the bumper so 2" further out.

So by adding the extension, that has takes care of (and then some) the shortness, but I think I am still fighting the low-ness. I think my biggest mistake (aside from being uninformed about the initial purchase) was relying too much on the Jeep reseller. I told him my intention was to haul a boat with this and I hoped that he was advising me correctly with the hitch set up and now all these issues are coming from an aftermarket hitch when he should have been getting me the Mopar setup.

So now I am thinking to gain my two inch height loss back, I will either need to install 2" spring lifts [have no idea what that will do overall to the Jeep if anything] or scrap everything I have now and look at getting a stock Mopar hitch that is coming out of the bumper. Originally I did not experience anything like this with the Honda. Just purchased an after market hitch and added it myself and as luck would have everything worked. While I had issues (a friend of mine said I looked like a monkey fornicating a football when I loaded or unloaded my boat) I dont think any of the issues where Hitch related like these are.
Click to expand...

You have a few options to help with the rear end drop. The easiest is to add a 2" rear shackles. (About $30) You could also add an "Add-a-Leaf" setup. It adds one more small leaf spring to your leaf spring pack. ($60?) I actually have both for more lift. It took me about an hour to install one saturday.

V
 
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