Trailer tongue math help

[Spudy]

Ok everyone
Starting to put some plans together to build my trailer. But unsure on what i want to do with the tongue. I want it be adjustable because i plan to haul my kayaks on the top sometimes and I have one that is 14' long. Figuring on using an A frame design welded right on the front of the main square but am unsure on whats the best angles to use and what not.

Is there any calculators out there or formulas to help figure out how much steel and what to cut my angles off so it sits flush on the trailer side without a bunch of trial and error. I think i am going to be using some 2.5 by 2.5 in .125 Square tubing i have left over.

BTW i am still unsure of how wide my frame rails are going to be. Without narrowing my axle it is going to be 52" to the ouside of the rails. (free axle ~72" wms to wms) But i am thinking about removing a chunk of the center and sleeving it to bring it down closer to my jeep.

Thanks

 

[EuroJoe]

Pythagoras theorem will give you lengths, Sin, CoSin and Tan can be used for angles, a sketch would help as well.

 

[Trail100]

50 degrees is the standard for angle mount couplers and most tongue boxes. Using that angle though would force you to make your tongue a predetermined length based on the width of your trailer box. The calculating part isn't hard, just hard to explain. With a 50 degree tongue the angles at your trailer would be 65 degrees and the length of the tongue sides is determined by the width of your trailer. I'm just making this confusing, maybe someone else can explain it better......

I made my tongue extendable as well, either right at the end of the a frame or 1.5 feet forward.

^That's a 50 degree tongue.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

Hey Jesse,

Not to drop a shameless plug here :elkgrin:, but this is the AT tongue bracket I'm selling because the receiver tube is too short for use with my military trailer (fixed length with the Max Coupler). I have another on the way...should arrive this week.

This bracket is designed for your standard 50-degree A-frame angles, and you could use a couple different receiver tube lengths for the flexibility you're looking for with general utility & towing longer kayaks. If it's something that would work for you, I actually have an old (homemade) hitch-mounted bike rack that I don't need, and could throw in. It has a ~3.5' section of 2.5" square (0.25 thick) that you could use for your receiver extension. Just an idea...

You know where to find me if it's something that would work for you.

Craig

AT tongue bracket & receiver:

You could use an extension tongue piece & coupler similar to this (posted above):

 

[ntsqd]

The 50* tongue tube angle only forces the tongue length be a function of the frame width if the tongue is improperly attached to the front of the frame structure. If you attach it to the underside of the frame structure you get a much stronger tongue/frame assembly and the width of one doesn't drive the length of the other. Notice the diagram at the top of the third link in the thread linked below. None of the tongues shown are butted to the front of the trailer frame, they all under-lap the frame. That is not an accident.

If you are not using something that needs the 50* angle then there is no reason not to use what ever angle works the best for your use.

Amazon trailer building book link:
http://www.amazon.com/Trailers-How-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1275930182&sr=8-1

A design thread:
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32330

 

[Spudy]

thanks guys for the information. Found what i needed. The more i think about it the more likly it will be mounted underneath the most people do.