chimmike

Something like this (really, really rudimentary) drawing?

MikeD134

That would work. Just need to be sure the materials and welds are strong enough.

chimmike

Fortunately the trailer tops out at maybe 1200lbs fully loaded, but is usually around 1000lbs. So some decent chain with some thicker wall square tube should suffice for limiting movement.
In order to prevent the chain from dragging I'm thinking I'll run bungee through the middle of it and tie off, so the tension will keep the chain up but have enough stretch to allow trailer movement.

arshooter

I've tried that and it doesn't work. First you need to widely separate the two points where the chains attach to the truck. Attaching both chains to the hitch mount won't work. But more inportantly when trying to stop the trailer from turning, when it reaches the limit of the chains, something has to give! Either the tires have to slide (NOT LIKELY!) or the chain breaks and the trailer rams the truck anyway or the attachment points rip out and the trailer hits the truck or the trailer tongue bends or breaks where the chains attach to it and then the trailer hits the truck. Ask me how I know! It's all a matter of simple mechanics.

I don't think that there's any way around it, your dad is going to HAVE to (1) learn how to drive with a short trailer or (2) else lengthen the tongue to make it more controlible. Backing a short trailer in the F-150 is a super PITA since the truck is usually wider than the trailer and I can't even see my trailer behind my truck, Also the top of the rear of the truck is so high that I can't see the trailer over the back of the truck. Adding a few antennas with flags to different points on the trailer helps since you can see when it starts to turn, even if you can't see the trailer itself. But it still takes practice and a close eye on the flags/trailer to correct the steering well before the trailer gets too far out of line.

My advice is that I strongly recommend that you go talk to a welder about lengthening the tongue on the trailer. Specialty made or not, there's no reason that the tongue can't be lengthened even if made of stainless steel or aluminium. Just use the same material for the extension that the trailer is made of and there shouldn't be a problem. Clean the weld WELL and then paint over it to protect the metal. Lengthening the tongue will help with the controlability but you'll probably still have a problem with the visibility of the trailer behind a large F-150 and that's really where the problems start since the trailer starts turning and you can't see it until it's gone too far and it's too late to straighten it up.

Flamingtaco

If you're going to use chain to limit movement of the trailer, you will have to move the attachments on the hitch further towards the side of the truck, and they will have to be a lot more stout than the bracket on the hitch, and the trailer tongue will have to be a lot more stout than it is now, or you will just end up with broken chain mounts or a bent tongue.

The original idea of lengthening the tongue accomplishes two things: it moves the front of the trailer back so you have to swing it further to it the truck. And it places the wheels further back so that once you notice it's going too wide, the trailer is at less of an angle. This gives the driver a better chance of getting the trailer back in line.

A good example of this is my small utility. Can't make out the wheel fenders at night, so I have to rely on seeing the rear swing out past the truck. As I couldn't see the fenders, I figured others couldn't, either, and replaced the standard frame rail light housing with a mount I made that places the lights higher, and flush with the outside edge of the fender. The extra 6 inches/earlier warning made a difference... instead of pulling forward every 20 or so feet, I can now back the trailer continuously without having to make corrections. This is the same as lengthening a tongue... you can see the trailer is moving out of line earlier.

You can also do like I did with the lights... mount some kind of marker to make the trailer visible in the side mirrors at all times, like the fluorescent markers they make for plow blades.

chimmike

So I had the idea of some thick wall square tubing to extend at least halfway to the sides of the truck, at which point would be the chain mount. I'd probably weld it on instead of using a heavy duty eye. Then I'd have to figure out sturdy mounts on the galvanized trailer. You don't think extending half way would be enough?

I'm also going to call a couple shops to get quotes on lengthening the tongue. The visibility idea is solid. I'm thinking we could build a couple out of PVC for the front portion of the trailer, extend them laterally so it's wide enough for him to see in side mirrors, then extend vertically to see above the tailgate of the truck. Back end of that ranger has some height to it, even for a 2wd.

2018LLB4x2

The chain idea would probably work out just fine as long as the trailer is on ice and slides well. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the pool trailer isn't really likely to see much use in those conditions

Given that the trailer is going to function like a big pry bar, it's going to have quite a bit of mechanical advantage when trying to pull the chains. It's hard to tell how many tons of force you can generate before the trailer tires start to slip, but I'd guess a few.

I suspect the longer beefier tongue is a much more practical solution.

chimmike

Thanks. I'm no engineer, so I'm not familiar with forces, force amplification due to things like tire friction, etc. and honestly was hoping someone would come in and explain why it was a bad idea, lol.

Flamingtaco

I can't really comment on how far out you would need to mount the chains, what size chain, etc. About the only thing I can say is that the force is going to be a whole hell of a lot if the trailer has any weight to it.

I had 2500lb on the small utility this weekend. I don't think the frame itself is strong enough to weld chain to it at a single point except at the corners, if I tried to slide those tires across dry pavement. And I'm not sure the tires and/or suspension won't go belly up trying to force the trailer to swing off the path of the tires.

Might be easier to set up a cable system that depresses the brake pedal should as the trailer gets too wide.