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Extend your trailer hitch receiver opening so that your can clear your spare tire when using your hitch-mounted bike rack or so that your trailer won't hit a rear-mounted propane tank when you make sharp turns. Powder coated steel resists rust.
Features:
Specs:
Note: Using a hitch extender will reduce your hitch's overall capacity by 50%.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, John with etrailer. If you have a vehicle that has a rear-mounted spare tire, then you know all too well that there's a lot of accessories that just don't want to work with your vehicle. Well, now they can. Today we're gonna be taking a look at the CURT line of hitch extenders. Now these come in a variety of sizes, anywhere from eight inches, 14 inches, up to 18 inches in length. Now having different size hitch extenders is gonna help you for different situations.
You know, our situation today, we have an H2 that could never have a bike rack on it from the factory, and so we use CURT's 14-inch extender. We now have a bike rack. We don't have to shove the bikes right off the trail into the back of it. We can put it on here, and this 14-inch fits the Hummer nicely. Even when the bikes are off, we can fold this up into the stowed position, something that, again, previously we couldn't do.
We've had a lot of questions for like special cases like this, or even Jeep owners, that also have rear-mounted spare tires. There's also situations with SUVs and some minivans where they have a recessed hitch, and so they're running into the same situation. Will this fit on my one vehicle It might fit on another vehicle, but you don't wanna buy two different bike racks or two different cargo racks. If you can get one nice rack or one nice carrier, and use it for both vehicles, then that's the way to go. Now, another reason for the different size hitch extenders is a situation like this, where towing would be either very difficult or nearly impossible to do without an extender.
You can see just in this instance, we're using the eight-inch extender, and that's gonna bring our hitch ball almost dead even with our spare tire. So getting the jack up and down, hooking up, all of that stuff is gonna be much, much easier. One thing to keep in mind when you are looking at hitch extenders is with your safety chains, realize that you're pushing your trailer however many inches back, depending on the extender size. So you may need to lengthen your safety chains to be able to make sharp turns and such. So we're back in the shop, and we've got the three solid shake options laid out for you here.
Now let's talk about some of the weight capacities, and how this could affect your towing performance. Each of these is rated at 3,500 pounds gross trailer weight rating, and 350 pounds maximum tongue weight rating. Now, the one thing you need to keep in mind when using hitch extenders is that if there's anything under 12 inches, such as our eight-inch extender here, then this is gonna reduce your tongue weight rating on your hitch by 25%, just because of the mechanical advantage and the leverage that we're putting on the hitch. Anything over 12 inches, such as the 14 and 18 here, this is gonna reduce your tongue weight rating on your hitch by 50%. Also, how does this affect your gross trailer weight rating Even if your hitch is rated at five or six or 7,000 pounds, we have to abide by the lowest number. And on these hitch extenders, that lowest number is gonna be 3,500 pounds. Now, a few options you may wanna pick up with your extender is an extra pin and clip. Since you're gonna have an additional piece of equipment back there, you'll need an additional pin and clip. These are gonna take your five-eights inch pin and clip, probably recommend possibly a locking one. We have those here at etrailer. Also, there's gonna be an anti-rattle clamp that may do you some good. These sometimes tend to be a little sloppy, once you start hooking up equipment back there, and you're gonna get some noise and possibly vibration out of it. The anti-rattle clamp is going to eliminate a lot of that movement, and just make for a nicer ride. So how do you know which hitch extender is gonna be right for your particular situation Well, CURT measures these extenders from pinhole to pinhole. So for instance, this eight-inch is gonna read eight inches from the center of the pinhole to the center of the other pinhole, and so on and so forth. So it puts a 14 and the 18. So for instance, when we hook the camper up to the H2 here, we measured from the center of the pinhole on our factory hitch, and by the time we added the extender and our drop ball mount, it put us exactly where we wanted, which was out at the edge of the spare tire here. So in the end, no matter which hitch extender you choose to alleviate your situation, I just don't think you're gonna go wrong. Whether it comes down to the welds, the powder coat finish, or the reinforced collar, I think CURT's quality is second to none. One thing is that these shanks on here, on all three of them, they're solid steel. This is something that's just gonna last, and it's gonna be a great addition to your towing equipment. So that's gonna complete our look at CURT's line of hitch extenders.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
96% were satisfied with this product
4% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Brad
4/5/2026
the 14 Curt extension i ordered from you a year ago has worked well, man is it ever built strong. The 2 square extension is so strong there is no chance of if flexing, it is solid metal not tubular. I use it when towing with the slide in camper in the truck bed and need to get the trailer away from the extended camper. I also bought two of these devices that clamp down on the hitch and extension to eliminate the chance of a rattle between the two parts when driving over bumps in the road surface. One went between the trucks receiver and the extension, the other between the extensions receiver end and the hitch with the ball.
Mike L.
3/4/2019
Keep in mind that using an extender such as this will lower the capacity of the hitch both towing and tongue weight capacity by half.
Jim R.
7/25/2018
Just great! I tow without a worry. The set up quite often becomes the topic of conversation at the boat ramp when others see it.
Patrick
7/20/2018
Thanks for asking, I’m very satisfied with it but don’t use my extension apparatus all that much. It was for my boat trailer and I had to deal with a ramp situation that had me concerned. It solved the problem and I keep it stored safely away for the next time. I only trailer once or twice a season and sometimes not at all as we have the boat at a slip. But, if a hurricane is coming and there is a need to pull it quickly the extension will make all the difference in the world. Thanks again.
Dan S.
12/1/2018
The extender is working out great, I have used it many times, I like it even better after each use. Fantastic product and company to deal with.
Frank S.
6/19/2018
Still enjoying the product, working out great
Mike P.
10/25/2017
Fantastic!!! This extender will be here long after a Atomic bomb goes off. Very well built!!!
Mike L.
5/23/2018
Please keep in mind that using the # C45796 Hitch Extender will decrease the towing and tongue weight capacity of the hitch by 50.
Gwendolyn Y.
3/27/2025
We’ll always be there for you, because you only deserve the best, Mark!
Jeff L.
6/8/2014
Will that pull a small camper it is a 2007 layton model 151 ltd
Patrick B.
6/10/2014
Do you have a question about this Hitch Adapter?
Info for this part was:
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Ron M.
3/22/2018
It’s a quality product and I highly recommend it if you need an extension on your ATV.