TorkLift SuperTruss Hitch

[NorthMNSledder]

Does anybody have one of these hitches and if so are you happy with it? it's a lot of money to spend on a hitch set-up but it sure looks like a solid product. The reviews online seem good also.

I have a 5,000 Lbs travel trailer (550 lbs tongue weight) and I need to push the camper back about 12 to 15 inches to clear the tailgate on the power jack and also to clear the rear ATV on a diamondback cover. I looked into just moving the power jack but there is no other room on the camper hitch to move it so the SuperTruss hitch looked like the way to go. It's either that or extend the trailer hitch but I figured this would be a better solution just in case we buy a different trailer down the line.

http://www.torklift.com/index.php/products/towing/superhitch-supertruss

 

[Pro-8250]

Cost of this truss? Steel or aluminum trailer?
If it were me two things come to mind.
#1 Extend the tongue like you said.
#2 Get some square tube and build my own double truss. Weld a second receiver under the receiver you have on the truck. Beef up the cross member on the truck.
I bet LoudHandle or Joshkolts would have better ideas than me.
That thing just looks sketchy. $.02

 

[MORSNO]

There is not a better hitch extension available than the Torklift. I get by with just a 22" extension in my 2-1/2" receiver, but I'm only towing a 16' open aluminum trailer.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

Cost of this truss? Steel or aluminum trailer?
If it were me two things come to mind.
#1 Extend the tongue like you said.
#2 Get some square tube and build my own double truss. Weld a second receiver under the receiver you have on the truck. Beef up the cross member on the truck.
I bet LoudHandle or Joshkolts would have better ideas than me.
That thing just looks sketchy. $.02

About a grand with the new hitch and receiver. Camper is a steel trailer. My enclosed trailer has a much longer tongue on it so the tailgate issue is not a problem.

I'm going to get a price to extend the tongue of the trailer as my welding skills are not up to this job. Plus keeping everything perfectly square.

Why does that look sketchy to you? I was looking at it as it looked very over built. Heck, it's rated at 20,000 lbs and this is the "medium" size one they make.

There is not a better hitch extension available than the Torklift. I get by with just a 22" extension in my 2-1/2" receiver, but I'm only towing a 16' open aluminum trailer.

And that is what all the reviews say from all the camper sites and forums I have been looking at. Even with the 24" one they have it's still rated higher then my 3/4 ton truck is.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

My other thought would be to try and find a longer receiver hitch. I really only need about 15" of length from the center of the ball mount to the center of the pin on a 6" drop receiver.

I picked up one for my other trailers but it's only about 10 1/2" from the pin to center of ball. It's close but just not all the length I need.

I have not been able to find a longer receiver like this that has a decent weight rating. Everyone I have seen is for a 6,000 capacity and a 500 tongue weight. Which is what got me looking at the Supertruss set-up.

 

[Pro-8250]

Just it sticking out that far seems a little bit over the top for me I guess. The chains provide side to side strength but I'm skeptical of vertical pressure. My backhoe with trailer is about 12,000 pounds and there is no way I would use that thing. I just see it as a weak link. I guess I am a glass half empty on this.

 

[Summitseeker]

I have one for towing my enclosed sled trailer when I have two sleds on my deck.



I also use it in the spring to tow by 8300 pound travel trailer when I have two sleds on my deck. My Supertruss is 48" long and it works slick!

Here is a pic with one sled on the deck

 

[NorthMNSledder]

I have one for towing my enclosed sled trailer when I have two sleds on my deck.



I also use it in the spring to tow by 8300 pound travel trailer when I have two sleds on my deck. My Supertruss is 48" long and it works slick!

Here is a pic with one sled on the deck

I have yet to find anybody that owns one that does not like it or has had issues. And I'm only looking at the 24" length. Do you notice anything goofy when your travel trailer is on it? Does the truck still seam to ride OK or does the trailer seem to bounce more?

BTW that's a sharp looking set-up!

 

[whitefish]

I had a 24" and loved everything about it. It works and it is proven safe. I wouldn't recommend fabbing one up yourself unless you get some engineering on it. Leverage on a hitch is not your friend.

 

[summ8rmk]

Mine is 48" because i have a 12ft camper.
Very well built. The truss is great the hitch is super strong.

I have made 2 for my brother.
They are not as strong as this unit but my brother didn't want to pay $$$. His has worked fine for over 100,000 miles of towing and i know torklift will last longer than that!

GS6

 

[LoudHandle]

I was going to not comment, but it appears some SW'ers think I'm worthy of weighing in.

For the typical smooth roads in the lower 48 and most of the populated portions of Canada that setup would likely be fine.

That said; we get a few requests to fab these every year at work and we decline the request due to the liability of fabricating it and all the ways the end user can misuse it and exceed the safe limits of the extension. IMO the ratings that are attached to these are very misleading. Basically the rating says in a static state it will support said weight, but it is never used in a static state. The truck and extension as well as the trailer are always in motion. Which adds cyclic fatigue to the extension as well as the truck and trailer. As someone pointed out, the extension adds a huge amount of leverage to the receiver, as well as the frame of both the truck and trailer.

I personally would re-do the trailer tongue and make it the correct length for your end use. With our frost heaved roads here in Alaska and Northern Canada, I would not chance that extension for any amount of money! I've just seen too much. We get a dozen rigs come into work every year with either the hitch broke off the tow vehicle or the tongue broken off the trailer, even without any extensions in play. I've even seen a few truck frames broken in half between the cab and the bed of the pickup while towing things on our roads. So to add another weak link in the mix is just silly if you want my honest opinion.


The pic of the rig above is a nice looking setup, but if it was a long bed truck instead, the extension would not be needed and it will drive much better year round. But I'm too old to worry about looking cool. I've progressed to function and performance, and Fu_k what anybody else thinks about me and / or my viewpoint. Take it or leave it. FWIW

 

[Pro-8250]

I had a 24" and loved everything about it. It works and it is proven safe. I wouldn't recommend fabbing one up yourself unless you get some engineering on it. Leverage on a hitch is not your friend.

I will back track on building it because whitefish makes a good point. I am sure there is a liability factor involved.
I guess being in residential, commercial, and industrial construction for 40 years there have been times when something that was engineered, approved for the purpose, or UL listed had failed miserably.

 

[die hard poo]

I have a superhitch as well and used it with a sled deck pulling a 10,000# camper. I had the 48" extension too, worked great. Very stout hitch and engineered correctly to handle the weight they advertise. I recommend doing it right and get this hitch.

 

[DAKOTAKIDD]

I run the super hitch with the 21 inch extension and it's fantastic. It's a sold se-up. I tow my approx 8000 lbs travel trailer and run 2 quad up on the deck. It's awesome.

Reason I bought it was so my 8ft deck wouldn't hit the trailer when turning sharp. I probably could have used a 24 inch extension though.

Cheers

 

[Mafesto]

I agree with the concerns mentioned by Longhandle.
Look at it this way, lift up a cement block, it's easy. Now set it on a shovel and try to lift it from the end of the handle, same weight, very different forces needed to lift and support it.

This same amplification is exerted upon hitch and frame as mentioned, and the handling effects are also amplified. An engineer could tell you how much for a given length, but regardless a hitch closer to the vehicle will handle much better for the same reason as a gooseneck handles better than a bumper hitch trailer.

It is simple geometry.

 

[AZ800]

Just it sticking out that far seems a little bit over the top for me I guess. The chains provide side to side strength but I'm skeptical of vertical pressure. My backhoe with trailer is about 12,000 pounds and there is no way I would use that thing. I just see it as a weak link. I guess I am a glass half empty on this.

Lol, they're not really made for hauling 12klb trailers. Yes the hitch may hold up but do you really want 2000lbs plus tongue weight cantilevered that far off the back of your truck? Right tool for the job. This isn't for construction equipment IMO.
And they're considered the strongest hitch extensions available.

 

[AZ800]

My other thought would be to try and find a longer receiver hitch. I really only need about 15" of length from the center of the ball mount to the center of the pin on a 6" drop receiver.

I picked up one for my other trailers but it's only about 10 1/2" from the pin to center of ball. It's close but just not all the length I need.

I have not been able to find a longer receiver like this that has a decent weight rating. Everyone I have seen is for a 6,000 capacity and a 500 tongue weight. Which is what got me looking at the Supertruss set-up.

Not saying what I'm suggesting will not overload the "on paper" rating of your factory hitch, but IMO you don't really need that hefty of a hitch/extension for 600lbs tongue weight based on my experience.

My 07 dodge 2500 with the factory receiver has held up to many miles of towing my 6000lb boat or a similar weight utility trailer with pretty heavy tongue weights with a 12" solid bar extension plugged in.
Including a trip up the Alcan with a large camper in the bed and trailer on the extension.
I've also used a 24" extension to fit a 2 place enclosed behind the same truck with a sled deck on it. About half the weight of the other trailers.
I wouldn't go much if any longer than an 8-12" extension with the size trailer you have though.
No engineering data behind my setup, just didn't feel sketchy to me and it's worked fine thus far. But looking how my hitch receiver is designed, it appears it would bend or twist down if overloaded to that point and it's still straight!

Just a suggestion. But the super truss or even just a heavier hitch like a Curt would be bulletproof for sure.

 

[AZ800]

It held this setup on a 12" extension, so every bit of the length you said you needed. trailer felt like it was around 6klbs loaded kind of tongue heavy as the last 4' was walled off and became a temporary kennel for our dogs on the 8 day trip up to Alaska.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

Not saying what I'm suggesting will not overload the "on paper" rating of your factory hitch, but IMO you don't really need that hefty of a hitch/extension for 600lbs tongue weight based on my experience.

My 07 dodge 2500 with the factory receiver has held up to many miles of towing my 6000lb boat or a similar weight utility trailer with pretty heavy tongue weights with a 12" solid bar extension plugged in.
Including a trip up the Alcan with a large camper in the bed and trailer on the extension.
I've also used a 24" extension to fit a 2 place enclosed behind the same truck with a sled deck on it. About half the weight of the other trailers.
I wouldn't go much if any longer than an 8-12" extension with the size trailer you have though.
No engineering data behind my setup, just didn't feel sketchy to me and it's worked fine thus far. But looking how my hitch receiver is designed, it appears it would bend or twist down if overloaded to that point and it's still straight!

Just a suggestion. But the super truss or even just a heavier hitch like a Curt would be bulletproof for sure.

I thought about the simple 12" extension but I think that is about an inch or two short of what I need. Plus I worry about the "play" in those two connections, but maybe that is not that big of deal. BUT I was looking at the jack on the camper and I might be able to turn it 90 degrees to gain that couple inches. For the same reason that I always buy the forged 17,000 lbs receiver hitches I like the plan about the supertruss being very overkill for what I'm going to use it for so once I have it I never have to think about it again. I may have also found a company that makes an extended forged hitch like the picture above that might work also.

The camper is sitting up at my Parents for the winter and I just picked up the new truck a couple weeks ago so it might be a bit before I can hook them together and see just how much I need. Even if the tailgate clears by a 1/4" inch I'm good enough as the ATV deck sits higher so once the tailgate clears the jack the ATV deck will clear the corners for turning.

My uncle gave me one of these the other day:

He said he got tired of lifting it around all the time. But this one might be long enough to clear the tailgate so we shall see. Sure is a heavy unit, 50 some pounds. Rated at 10,000 with the 2-5/16" ball and 1,000 tongue made by Curt Manufacturing.

 

[Summitseeker]

I have yet to find anybody that owns one that does not like it or has had issues. And I'm only looking at the 24" length. Do you notice anything goofy when your travel trailer is on it? Does the truck still seam to ride OK or does the trailer seem to bounce more?

BTW that's a sharp looking set-up!

Thanks! When I do go over a dip or rise in the road I definitely feel the difference when the using the supertruss.

I actually just upgraded by truck and went with another short box only because i live in the city.

It is also a PITA to put on and off and is very heavy but it is by far the best solution for me.