Need drop receiver and receiver extension

[lthrneck689]

Just bought a Class C, and I'm planning on towing an '03 Jeep Wrangler. Have the base plate on, got it wired, bought a Demco tow bar, and now the issue. The RV is way low, and the jeep is way high. There's a 10" difference between the Jeep base plate hitches and the RV receiver. ALSO, the distance from centerline of the RV receiver pin hole to the edge of the RV bumper is 9". There's not enough room to hook up the reversed drop receiver to the RV receiver, so I need a receiver extension, probably 6". I spoke with Camping World and they suggested I weld the drop receiver and extension to eliminate a breaking point. I spoke to Blue Ox, and they don't recommend welding, and instead sell immobilizers. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks!

[lthrneck689]

Correction, fender is aluminum.

[lthrneck689]

[lthrneck689]

[lthrneck689]

I guess I don't know how to insert a pic to this message. It's looking for the pic's URL.

[lthrneck689]

A half inch-can you believe it? When it gets light, I'll take a pic. It butts right up against the license plate, which would give me about 1/8". Material is fiberglass, so it will bend a bit I guess, but might crack. I was thinking maybe about having the whole hitch moved, since it's bolted. There's enough room on the chassis to drill another hole.

[BurmaShave]

B & W Hitch at e-trailer.com - lengths up to 12 inch drop, 3 balls that rotate

[ron_dittmer]

lthrneck689 wrote:
It's 10" on the dot. Just got my brand new Blue Ox riser delivered - it weighs a ton! Now, I knew I needed an extension, but for kicks I put it in the receiver. It's short by a half inch!! Half the pin hole matches to the receiver pin hole. I couldn't be the only one that had this issue. Anyway, there's a six inch extension coming in the mail.

A half inch?

What is your rear bumper made of?

Can you insert the riser and then slowly back up the motor home into something to force it in further by that 1/2"? Maybe your rear bumper can suffer a dimple or slight bow.

A half inch is nearly nothing considering it is across a long dimension like that.

Do you have a picture to clarify your situation?

[lthrneck689]

It's 10" on the dot. Just got my brand new Blue Ox riser delivered - it weighs a ton! Now, I knew I needed an extension, but for kicks I put it in the receiver. It's short by a half inch!! Half the pin hole matches to the receiver pin hole. I couldn't be the only one that had this issue. Anyway, there's a six inch extension coming in the mail.

[pauldub]

If your Demco tow bar is like mine, it does have some amount of adjustment so that you can angle the head to somewhat compensate for the height difference. If it's really 10", that may be more than the adjustability it may be able to compensate for.

[ron_dittmer]

lthrneck689 wrote:
You make excellent sense. I have All Terrain type tires, so will heed your advice. Thanks!

Given my experience, you might want to try over-inflating your Wrangler A/T tires to the max stated on the tire to minimize tire-to-street contact. You run the risk of wearing the center of the tires more quickly, but that is so much better than seeing the edges of the threads scraped away.

[lthrneck689]

You make excellent sense. I have All Terrain type tires, so will heed your advice. Thanks!

[carringb]

Re hitch height....

Blue Ox sells some very well built extensions on eTrailer. The one I bought is a dual-height dual receiver extension. When flipped more max drop, I can still use the top receiver for a bike rack. But it's also nice because it expands flexibility for leveling various tow bars and trailers.

Another thing to consider is ride height of the motorhome. If it has a saggy butt, restoring a little bit of spring height will raise the bumper roughly twice that height. I just added some Sumo springs, and I'm very impressed with their ability to soften harshness and reduce bounce, since they have self-damping properties.

[ron_dittmer]

lthrneck689 wrote:
FYI - a Wrangler "expert" told me to deflate the Jeep tires to lessen the erratic ride - and it works. Tires call for 50 PSI and I have them at 30.

The tires might have 50psi molded into them, but the actual required psi is stated on the Wrangler itself, inside the driver door frame, or on the edge of the door itself.

Regarding your tire inflation for towing......

Towing our Liberty with stock wheels and tires, I dealt with front tire thread damage caused from making sharp turns with the motor home. The Liberty tires follow along, but in sharp turns they skitch until the Liberty steering wheel catches up with the change in direction. It is especially bad making a sharp turn in one direction followed by an immediate sharp turn in the opposite direction. This is most commonly done in tight spaces like gas stations. The Liberty front tire thread damage is greatly reduced by having MORE air in the front tires. Also an aggressive tire is more easily damaged than standard street tires.

I assume the condition will worsen with non-stock, big tires with big offsets as many Wranglers are equipped with for off-roading. Hopefully people towing Wranglers will reply with applicable data.

The damage to the tires on our Liberty is not minor. Years ago I had installed a new set of Firestone Destination A/T tires on the Liberty. Before our vacation the tires were nice and quiet. After the trip, the tires were very noisy, and they got worse with every trip. Today I have street tires on the Liberty for trips and the tires are inflated for trips 4 psi more than recommended by Jeep. I have a second set of wheels and tires with a replacement set of Firestone Destination A/T tires for winter use around town. I won't put them on the Liberty for a vacation because they will get ruined.

adding since posting.....
Our problem is made worse because like most motor homes, ours has a significant overhang rear of the rear dual axle which creates the following scenario. When turning the motor home in one direction, it's large rear over hang swings out in the opposite direction, making our Liberty initially turn the wrong way, then cut sharp into the correct direction. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it is enough for me to actually see the phenomena occur in my RV rear view mirror.

I combat tire damage by over-inflating the front "street tires" to minimize tire-to-street contact resistance. Our aggressive A/T tires got beat up badly, but our street tires see minimal damage by comparison.

[lthrneck689]

The solution that Ron suggested above seems to be the most highly recommended from the sources I've researched. I've ordered all the necessary hardware, including the Quiet Hitches, but I also plan on replacing the pins with steel bolts. I still don't like the idea of multiple break points, but the Wrangler is relatively light. FYI - a Wrangler "expert" told me to deflate the Jeep tires to lessen the erratic ride - and it works. Tires call for 50 PSI and I have them at 30.

[lthrneck689]

Thanks to all for the responses!