Shortening a Ute Tray - Any Hints????

[Herby13]

Bought a Metal tray yesterday from a guy in town and it will bolt straight onto my ute no worries, but the problem is its a good 350mm longer then the styleside tray i had on my ute to start with. So if i wasn't to shorten it my towball would be about 200mm back in under my tray.

Is shortening the tray the easiest option or should i just extend my tow ball? And if so how long can you extend a towball leagally?


Any info would be apprieciated.

Cheers Herby.

[FNQCairns]

It's a hard one, contact the towbar manufacturer to see what they advise and can supply, do you have enough room above the towball and below the tray structure to get away with only a 100mm increase (say?).

I have seen utes with their tow ball tucked under, the drawbar length on trailers can make the problem a nonexistant one, 200mm sounds a lot though.

You always have the option of consulting a DOT approved engineer and commisioning one that suits you, if he believes it is possible.

good luck.

cheers fnq

[Noelm]

depending on what sort of car and towbar, lots of extra long "goose necks" are available, but to shorten a tray can be a breeze or a nightmare depending on what it is made out of and what sort of tools you have.

[SeaHunt]

Don't shorten the tray, everyone with a tray probably wants a longer one. 350mm isn't much. Modify or get a different towbar. My towbar has the ball on a removably tongue with two or three pin positions, slid right in it is probably 200mm in from the back of the tray and that is how I normally tow the boat, no worries.

[finga]

A question first.
How far out the back of the original body did the tongue/ball combo stick out??
If the answer is around the 200mm mark then I wouldn't worry about a thing.
The ball will be just under the tray and an extra loss of 150mm wouldn't really worry the drawbar length of any trailer.
And as a bonus you'll never shin yourself on the tongue and ball again :)
My tonner has the ball about 50mm inside the outer edge of the ute and I've never had a problem.
I suppose you could bung the tray on and see if it suits and go from there.

[Kleyny]

What sort of tow bar is on your rig now?
If its a removable square type you can buy longer tongues.
To keep on the good side of the law ensure you buy it from the same manufacture as the bar. Ask the dealer if the size tongue you are buying is ok for the type of vehicle and bar fitted. (this way the towbar and tongue combo are still within manufactures specifications. This will cover the legal/insurance side).

whether you need to lengthen or shorten all depends on what you are towing. if its just a boat i would say 200mm would be just ok but if you were towing a van with a short drawer bar you could be in strife.

neil

[tunaticer]

Both opf my previous 4by utes i made the towball under the back of the vehicle for two reasons. First it will never become a shin breaker if its under the tray and secondly you can tow a heavier ball weight trailer because the ball is closer to the rear axle so it can take more load.

I didn't have any trouble with the drawbars on the trailers i towed, boat, car and box trailers. Even offroad it didn't ever hangup on the tray or anything and i got in some very awkward positions and reversed some nightmare situations offroad.

I also noticed that mates towing their boats with conventional towbars and locations were dragging the towball and tongue along the ground and often fairly ploughing with it. I never had that problem.

I would leave the tray at its current length and make sure i mount it properly to the chassis to accomodate for the overhang.

Jack

[OISTA]

I shortened the try on my old hilux for 4x4ing. I cut off the rear plate/bar, then cut out the length i wanted it shortened by nd rewelded the rear section back on. You will have to shorten the dropsides as well. Ohh, if your chopping on the vehicle, make sure to cover the body and fuel tank with leathers

[Herby13]

Finga: Yer the ball sticks out about 200mm out now from the styleside that i have on at the moment, so it would be about 150mm under the end of the new tray.

Honky Dory: Thanks heaps for that info, i will have a look tonight to see what brand it is and get onto the local 4x4 place here and see what they can do, went out to on of the work cars here and i see what you mean by the extendable bars, i rekon i would only need one with 3 holes on it and i would home and hose, but thanks again.

Tunaticer: How far is the ball from the end of your tray? Backing it in akward positions was my biggest worry, cause the bar on my boat trailer where the winch is attached too sticks up and i was worried it would hit my tray when reversing.

Thanks everyone for your replies but, i have many options to look at now that i wasn't aware of or thought i could do. I will be sure to post pics when im finished the job (maybe this wknd, fingers crossed).

Herby.

[Noelm]

my old Landcruiser ute had the towball under the tray and it was a real pain to get the trailer on (big boat) you had to wind the jockey wheel down first so it would clear the tray, then back up again after it was under the tray near the ball, so it would not hit it, then if it was perfectly lined up, you could wind it down onto the ball and hitch it all up

[wombat 100]

Leave the tray alone, as others have said many me included would give up their first born kid to have a longer ute tray . Mod the tow hitch and mounting plates before thinking about the tray shortening option Haym en Reece have extensions to suit if thats the type you have on now

[tunaticer]

Herby, My tray overshadowed the towball by at least 200mm and it was not a drama at all. Mind you it was a 4by and had lots of room to get the hotch over the top of the ball. How much height above your ball will you have for attaching the trailer?

My drawbar was 800mm from hitch to the winch post and did not have a drama with it hitting the tray came close but never hit in some very ugly creek crossings offroad.

Jack.

[Herby13]

Wombat100: My towball is TRAILBOSS?????? ever heard of that?

Tunaticer: Yeh well i haven't measured that yet, but it is a fourby so i would imagine i shouldn't have any troubles at all.

Does anyone know who would stock TRAILBOSS?

[finga]

Mate, try one of the work ones to see if it fits right ;)

[Kleyny]

just done a google on trailboss and redlands 4wd centre is a dealer (if your on the southside)

neil

[shayned]

You may find trail boss comes from the hayman reece factory anyway, of course my crap memory may be failing me again.

[Handyman]

I had exactly the same problem, but there was no way I was shortening the tray as I deliberately bought a longer one. I had an engineer modify the towbar and it worked fine, but I used it as is for a few months before I got around to changing it.

Towed the boat and various trailers fine, but getting them on and off under the tray was less than ideal.

Also, I had a mate who did quite a bit of damage to his hand with that sort of set up. Hooked his well balanced boat up fine, then threw some extra gear in the back of it after he pulled it in from the water which made it back heavy. As soon as he released the trailer from the ball, it flew up and smashed the back of his hand against the tie rail of his tray :-/ resulting in some nasty bruising and tendon damage. Ok, so your boat or trailer should always be well balanced, but we all make mistakes. Especially if you're in a hurry or just in after a long day's fishing.::)