How Does Hitch Extender Typically Affect Trailer Hitch Tongue Weight Capacity

Updated 03/04/2019 | Published 03/03/2019

Question:

Just curious how much hitch weight increase on the truck in lbs using a 12 and/or 16 inch extension. For example, a normal 650 lbs tongue weight using a 12 inch extended drawbar or a 16 inch extended drawbar .... what additional load would the extension create ?

asked by: Neil M

Expert Reply:

I wish we had an exact figure we could give you on that. But the general rule of thumb is that anytime you use a hitch extender you end up cutting the capacity of the hitch by 50 percent. This is due to the added leverage like you mentioned as well as the added movement created in the hitch. The length of the extension does not typically change that much of that figure. We've seen some shorter ones reduce the capacity by only 30 percent but that's pretty far and few between.

expert reply by: Jameson C