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Part 7 — Coupler, hitch and sway control
How to Build a DIY Travel Trailer - Coupler Install, Hitch, Sway Control (Part 7)
Source: How to Build a DIY Travel Trailer - Coupler Install, Hitch, Sway Control (Part 7) · 2019-02-16 · 13:55
What Joe did
- Rebuilt the tongue end to accept a Bulldog-style coupler.
- Layered steel over the existing square tube and stick-welded it in sections.
- Added weight during top welds and waited between sections to limit heat distortion.
- Installed weight-distribution hitch and sway-bar components.
- Raised the battery box with rubber bushings and added a safety-chain mounting plate.
Numbers
| What | Value | Where in the video |
|---|---|---|
| Coupler tubing needed | 3-inch square | “smallest size tubing ... three inch square” |
| Original tongue tube | 2-inch square | “tongue is a two inch square tubing” |
| Added steel | two ¼-inch pieces | “two extra pieces of quarter-inch steel” |
| Cooling wait | 15–25 minutes | “15 20 25 minutes in between” |
| Target total weight | 2,500–2,700 pounds | “2500 maybe 2700 pound total weight” |
Materials and parts
| Item | Detail as Joe says it |
|---|---|
| Coupler | Bulldog style. |
| Welding | 7018 rods and Forney 190 multi-process welder. |
| Hitch equipment | Weight-distribution hitch, sway bar, safety chains, rubber bushings. |
| Finish | Rust-Oleum Smoke Gray and aluminum trim. |
Tools Joe used
- Forney 190 multi-process welder in stick (arc) welding mode.
- Grinder and drill.
Tips and mistakes
- Joe says this hardware should have been handled during the base-frame build.
- He first welded 7018 rod downward, then ground it out and rewelded upward.
- He divided long welds and let them cool to reduce pulling.
For my build
- Nathan’s note: decide tongue hardware before the frame is complete; retrofits add welding and rework.
- Nathan’s note: do not copy Joe’s weight target; calculate Nathan’s own finished design and power system.