Anyone Tried An Articulating, Off Road Style Hitch?

Had a great 6000 mile trip across the south inc some boondocking and soft-roading inc one road that involved a few instances of close to 40 degree tilt between TV and CI verical centerline. (Or so it seemed in rearview mirror...a little busy keeping a line and moving along so as not to get hung up...)

Noticed one time earlier on the flats where I'd been close to the coupler popping off, (prob my inattentiveness hooking up)
and then there's the benefit of the normal clunks and thunks that would be lessened with something along this line.

Articulating Hitches: Why you should consider upgrading to one! - Girl Camper

Anyone with experience with these?
Not a rush, next trip will be flatter but afterwards this might be worth the effort of cutting and welding the tongue, amiright?

Might be overkill 75% of the time but might be a trip-saver for the one event that otherwise would spoil your whole day...if one were pushing the off-road envelope a bit.

 

thank you so much for posting this and starting this thread. Quite possibly one of the most relevant threads I've seen here in some time. We truly need more post like this.

I've never understood why many are unable to look thru the archive and used the search function? How many times can we discuss whether or not to order the sink and the A/C unit?

 

I'd be curious what Bear would think --- He's probably the most off-grid of all of us. Personally, I'd want another coupel inches of height before ever taking Serenity off road. I do have the SUV kit --and realized the extra 2 inches makes a BIG difference for a person who is 6'3" in the galley when trying to cook --- I've even started taking a couple leveling chocks to raise it a few more inches...it makes a BIG difference....

Of course all of this is separate from the main thread

 

Not sure who Bear is, but its all good. IMHO, this is definitely the point of online forums, everyone has different thoughts and inputs. And different use cases and so-on.

I know I've posted about this adventure previously, but we (me + wife) at one point had taken our vehicle + 550 up to and generally off-road in the rocky mountains in New Mexico. I don't want to paint a false picture of what we did, but FWIW, this was (after the 1st mile or two) a vehicle created trail. That means I wasn't necessarily crawling over giant boulders, but in no way was it a road. More than anything, it was a trail that had been created by off road people, and also locals out cutting down trees/gathering firewood. 17 Miles in, or 34 miles round trip.

It was an accident free/breakage free trip, but in hind-site, and especially after looking at the prices from the two web sites provided, If I could go back in time prior to that trip, definitely a purchase I wouldn't have had to think twice about.

 

Just wondering how you know you were close to the coupler popping off?

When I was still shopping trailers I came across the articulating hitch via another manufacturer. Doing some basic, rudimentary online research I concluded that for my type of usage, it wasn't necessary. IMO, you really have to be traversing some serious up/down/twisty kind of roads to really need that.

But I would probably ask Cary if you really think you might need it.

 

In all honestly, the probability was close to none. Outside looking in, although I've never had any issues, I'm always a bit paranoid when pulling a trailer, and deal with that by becoming (probably a bit too much) safety oriented.

Possibly another detail I could share from that trip, I had the transfer case shifted into 4 wheel drive low, and spent most of that trip driving 5 MPH, maybe topping out at 10 MPH. For many parts, it was just a rocky, uneven driving surface.

I understand that my comments and concerns here will not line up with many, but it is always my intent to go out and explore, discover things not seen by many, and above all, plan for going offroad when the opportunity presents itself.

 

Actually Jerry, I was referring to grashopper's original post. I was too lazy to quote it and you responded in between while I was creating my post. Sorry about that. But for the record, I don't think I'd drive 17 miles on the road you described although I understand others might.

 

Jerry:
Thanks for your observations: your description of the road you described in NM was inspirational and its on my to-do trips lists along with others in the NM area- beautiful countryside!

Also thanks for reminder of search function on Xenforo software; here is the one result I found:

Hello From New England

BTW: "Bear" refers to the fellow who full times in his 550, now being replaced with a newr used one per Cosmo Weems youtube and Cary's reference. Interesting guy, lots of experrtise and lessons learned if you read thru his recollections posted as "Mahkwa".

I'm experimenting with "pushing the boundary envelope" you might say in tow vehicle equipped with AWD and minor lift, towing the OEM 560ultra SU height. As some note its the tow vehicle thats road clearance limited, first.

And I'm paying close attention to my elders who counsel KISS and reduce weight if u can.
So I'm trying same in tow vehicle and gear:" do I really need it?"

I'm learning lessons as I go including how well the CI axles and wheel/tires hold up: a very minor rub mark on outside edge of tire from fender inner edge suggests I 'should tone it down slightly...'

More to follow...

To cut to the chase: yes, I think it more prudent to tow with a 4x4 with low-low (like your truck(?), Bear's Jeep, and others I see with true 4x4.

My take is that AWD (like old 2wd) will get you to 90% of the places you can go car camping (having done quite a but of same in SWUS desert and baja, and some camping in snow, hunting, etc in the high plains) and remember that all those tracks in baja were used by 2wd pickups, along with WW2 jeeps or trucks.

And 4wd in the hands of a newby will get you just that farther back and REALLY stuck, without care and experience, plus self recovery gear AND a wingman or someone to call. ( back to Mikes post on ham gear comms by cellphone app connection- another innovation I'm looking into to help the peace of mind while pushing SUV option in "soft-roading" CampInn use.)

The bottomline- (coomon sense by most here, with much more experience here)
I can get further back than most might expect, towing with AWD, but not as far as with 4x4, nor the same safety margin.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I know that, at least from many online posts I see, people from my state aren't frequently well liked, but I've never had anything other than friendly encounters from those I've met and interacted with in New Mexico. Just a lot of beautiful country, assuming you're in the right place. Very similar to Colorado IMHO, beautiful mountains and trees and so-on, while one is in the mountains. But a bulk of the state is just arid desert that isn't excessively photogenic.

I should probably also do a better job of stating why I had the transfer case in 4 wheel drive low. 90% of the time, it wasn't because I was in need of traction, nor anything else. Even after airing down the tires (always the #1 offroading tip!), it was just extremely rocky && bumpy road, and if you let your speed get too high, it just made things worse. We were there, out with the wife just for a good time and to take in all the great views. The slow speed just kept everything nice and smooth.

We had a great time, saw great things, took lots of awesome pictures, and burnt an entire day (12+ hours) just driving 34 miles. Ultimately had no problems and would repeat that trip again in a heartbeat if I could.

If you have the chance to make that trip, I would still highly recommend it.

 

John, I noticed the ball wasnt fully seated even though I muscled it tight earlier.

It had not come loose (i think) but might have-
the solution is be more attentive plus fiddle with adjustment of coupler ball clamping nut.

Plus tone it down on bouncing around on rutted forest service roads in my enthusiasm!

PS: I just love your photography- pls keep posting!

 

Theresa (Girl Camper) and Chuck (her hubby) are close friends of ours. We often camp with them. They are great people!

 

Betsy: Small world!

 

Indeed, it is! Especially in the teardrop world!

 

I know a couple of times I wasn't too sure if I had the ball seated correctly on my maiden voyage home until I spoke with Cary upon getting home. But fortunately didn't ever have it pop off on the 3 weeks home.

Sounds like you're more adventurous than I on the forest service roads. On my trip home I made a few trip with just my car on some gnarly forest service roads. I thought once I might have broken something backing into a huge rut about 8 miles in. That cured me of going off roading even without the trailer! lol

Thank you. Glad you enjoy the photos. Most of my trips are driven by places I'd like to photograph. I've been looking forward to a Yellowstone/Grand Teton trip this fall but that plan may have just come undone.

 

Hi Grasshopper, It looks like the VW is squatting a little in the profile pic you posted, and wondered if you had considered some airbag helper springs for inside of your rear coils. I put them in the Passat, and they work quite well for keeping the car level with a heavy trunk/hitch load. Here is a link to where I bought ours : Volkswagen Firestone Air Bags - Suspension Air Bag Helper Springs for VW Jetta, Passat, Tiguan I measured the inside diameter of the coil, and ended up using the model 4176 in the 2015 Passat.

 

Hey grasshopper, it sounds like you have been a lot more adventurous than we have been with our setup, and you are way ahead of me in figuring out the possible combinations of suspension mods to address the needs that has presented for you! So, while I agree that flipping your hitch will probably address the slight sag of the CI (but not the VW), I will humbly back away from this conversation, and in this case, I as the grasshopper in the presence of the master. Thanks for the additional education!

 

Bringing this "wondering if" thread up-to-date with a real world install:

Fender Modification And Max Coupler For Ground Clearance

Sweet!