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Thread: Tow hitch accessory for hauling sheet goods in an SUV?

  1. #1

    Tow hitch accessory for hauling sheet goods in an SUV?

    Hi all,
    Frequent reader, infrequent poster here.

    I have a 4Runner SUV, plenty big enough for daily use but a little lacking for hauling sheet goods, even with the rear open and the seats down they hang out quite a ways.

    There has got to be an accessory for a tow hitch that will act as a support
    bar for the stuff being hauled that extends beyond the interior. Anyone have one/seen one/know where to get one? I could probably make one but experience has taught me that I can usually make things for 2-3 times the price and 50 times the effort to just buy them off the shelf.

    Thanks,

  2. #2

    Truck Bed Extender

    If I understand your question correctly I think that the item you are after is called a truck bed extender. Harbor Freight has these with the item number 39168-4VGA. This is fastened into your trailer hitch and is height adjustable.

  3. #3
    Bingo! That is it exactly. Thanks a million Gene, because of you I will be making a trip to harborfreight tomorrow.

  4. #4

    Truck Bed Extender

    Glad that I could be of help. Good luck.
    Gene

  5. #5
    Rob Will Guest
    ........or a small utility trailer(?)

    Rob

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
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    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,688
    I had the HFT version of the receiver hitch support and it worked just fine. (Bought a trailer now and sold the support thingie to another SMC member)
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    St Marys, West Virginia
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    597
    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Will View Post
    ........or a small utility trailer(?)

    Rob
    This is my solution. I have a 5'X10" trailer I use for most of my hauling. I have a Dodge dakota, and can haul some wood in the bed, but the trailer is the way to go.

    I'd seriously do the trailer idea if I had to haul inside the vehicle like this.

    But that truck bed extender is gonna be less cost and at least you won't have to find a place to park it.
    One good turn deserves another

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Upstate NY
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    I have a 1.25" hitch on my SUV. The only thing I have ever used it for is to tow my boat, and it only weights 500 pounds so I guess it is adequate; but all the accessories like this are only available for 2" hitches. Is an adaptor made? I know my capacity is limited, but it ought to handle a few dozen 2x4s...

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Western NY
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    225
    When using an extender, what do people do to avoid backdrafting carbon monoxide into the truck?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Thundering Waters - Niagara Falls
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    41

    fumes

    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Pavlov View Post
    what do people do to avoid backdrafting carbon monoxide into the truck?
    Being designed for pickup trucks, that's not usually a problem.
    I'm not sure how well this would work for sheet stock as IRRC there are the raised loops on the sides of the horizontal support bar for tie down use and they aren't 48" apart and the width isn't adjustable. I may be mistaken - it's happened plenty.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wade Lippman View Post
    I have a 1.25" hitch on my SUV. The only thing I have ever used it for is to tow my boat, and it only weights 500 pounds so I guess it is adequate; but all the accessories like this are only available for 2" hitches. Is an adaptor made? I know my capacity is limited, but it ought to handle a few dozen 2x4s...
    Wade.

    Go to the middle of the page.

    http://www.bageco.com/hitchaccess.htm

    and another,

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000COAVUI?...0&linkCode=asn
    Last edited by Mike Cutler; 12-02-2007 at 9:05 AM.

  12. #12
    As has been mentioned, the units that are commonly available are designed to support loads extending beyond a tailgate. I couldn't get 4' sheets into the back of my "truck", so I came up with an alternative. If I had room in the garage/yard for a trailer I would have one.

    The plywood carrier I came up with consists of front and rear "outriggers" which attach to, and extend from a 2" rear hitch receiver and a similar receiver mounted beneath the passenger door. The final attachment point is a clamping mechanism which slides over a roof rack crossbar. The vertical distance between the outriggers and clamping screw on the top bracket is either 48.5" or 49.5", so when sheet stock is clamped between the 3 points, it is essentially captive. The clamping mechanism is basically a 1/2" bolt squeezing 1-1/2"x 3/8" steel bar stock around the top of the "stack" of sheet stock.

    The pockets on the outriggers are only 5.5" so the capacity is somewhat limited, primarily due to the load limit of the vehicle it is mounted to. If I need more material than I can haul with this, I've probably exceeded the minimum order for free delivery from the local lumberyard.

    I'm in town, so the system is used primarily for short runs from the lumber yard/borg to the shop. I have had as much as 5 sheets of 1" MDF on the carrier... 600 lbs?? no problem. I've been on the freeway with a full load and it's basically un-noticeable that the stock is there.

    This system is exponentially easier to load than a roof rack and doesn't present the aerodynamic "lift" problems that can be an issue with stock up top. I find this system easier to load that the pick-up I used to drive. It's easy to slide the stock forward from a vertical cart into the outrigger pockets, or to tip the stock off of a horizontal cart. The system is especially easy to load because some passerby will usually stop to check it out in the parking lot and they'll lend a hand as they ask where I got it or if it came with the truck or whatever.

    I've driven by several law enforcement personnel with the system loaded and have not been pulled over to date. I did get a thumbs-up from one of them.

    At this time the system is not commercially available.
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    Last edited by Kevin Groenke; 12-02-2007 at 8:08 PM.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
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    Very cool.

    I'll take one if it hauls sheetrock.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Randolph County NC
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Curry View Post
    Being designed for pickup trucks, that's not usually a problem.
    I'm not sure how well this would work for sheet stock as IRRC there are the raised loops on the sides of the horizontal support bar for tie down use and they aren't 48" apart and the width isn't adjustable. I may be mistaken - it's happened plenty.
    The one I have adjusts in width, plus they rotate so the vertical members can be laid down or even turned upside down. Very versatile. I just leave them in the bed of my truck. Never know when you may run across a few boards you want to haul.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Greg Pavlov View Post
    When using an extender, what do people do to avoid backdrafting carbon monoxide into the truck?
    Run the fan on flow through on the highest speed setting. Air can't come in the back if there is a lot of air entering the cabin from the fan.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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