cost of retro fit removable tongue

10-08-2010, 11:22 AM

Can anyone tell me what the approximate cost of having the removable tongue modification would likely be? I've read the posts about it, but haven't seen any mention of cost.

**Bill** · 10-19-2010, 01:57 PM

I seem to recall that the cost of the option from the factory is a bit north of $400, so I would expect something on that order for a third party install. A better idea is to simply call one of the dealers that does the mod, and ask them. I'm thinking of the Car Show in Colorado Springs, and Custom RV in California, but there may be others.

By the way, the option from TM is not truly removable - it is a swing-away affair, but I don't think you can actually remove it. FWIW.

Bill

10-19-2010, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill

By the way, the option from TM is not truly removable - it is a swing-away affair, but I don't think you can actually remove it.

The swing-away hitch that came with mine from CustomRV is truly removable. It is held in place by two cotter-pinned shear pins. Remove one pin and it swings. Remove them both and you are completely free. I suppose if you have a power tongue jack you would have some more complexity but I don't.

I do not know if my install was factory or a dealer-installed option by CustomRV.

10-19-2010, 09:12 PM

Thanks for the replies. I did call the Car Show out in Colorado. They called me back and said that would get with the person who does it for them and get back to me, but they never have.
I contacted a couple of certified welders in the local Maryland area, sent them photos of how it had been done -- one didn't want to do it, the other never replied.

ThePair · 10-19-2010, 10:07 PM

The nose of the factory option can be removed completely, if you pull out both pins. With the power jack, there will be one wire still attached, but it has an inline fuse, so you can (if you want) disconnect it there and remove it completely. That's how I store it over the winter in my garage.

10-20-2010, 11:03 AM

We looked at a 2007 2720SL last year at an RV dealer here in St Louis. Not having the swing away was a deal breaker and it didn't have one. They had a trailer shop that would do a mod. The estimate was $1200-1500 as I recall. We didn't go that route, so no direct experience.

(We could never get to a total price that didn't move too close to just looking at a new one. Eventually we found a nice 2004 for a $ that worked and it had the swing away. The owner, like us, needed to store it in a garage.)

**Bill** · 10-20-2010, 01:54 PM

M&M, ThePair -

It is removable? Good deal - that's a nice touch. My early 2006 (from the factory) has two pins, but only one is removable. The other is pressed in so tightly that I can't get it out - the hole must have been made deliberately a bit undersized. I suppose I could beat it out with a big hammer, but I've never seen the need.

Bill

ThePair · 10-20-2010, 02:28 PM

The hinge pin seems smaller, insofar as there are washers on top & bottom to allow for the swing. This might be a part of the problem. Mine's a 2009, you have a 2006, I can't imagine they've made that much in the way of changes between the two. I do remember the first time took more effort to remove, I would just recommend getting a second person, taking all the weight off the front (via the jacks/stabilizers) and seeing if there's any reason the pin physically won't come out. Once I pulled the cotter from the bottom and gave it a wiggle, I was able to pull mine.

The only reason I take mine off is because of how I have to store the TM -- it has the potential to block the fridge door (in the garage) and sometimes I have to climb over the tongue to get to some cabinets; with the "nose" removed, the power jack isn't in my way, and it's a lot easier for me to maneuver when I need to get by.

This year I managed to get the TM into a more favorable position, so I may not need to remove the nose. We'll see. It's not a big deal either way

10-20-2010, 03:44 PM

My garage space is a "tight" 21 feet. If I could remove the tongue, I could save myself almost $1000.00 in storage fees, so I would hope that "investing" in getting the tongue modification made would "pay for itself" in just a very few years.

10-20-2010, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim&Joan

We looked at a 2007 2720SL last year at an RV dealer here in St Louis. Not having the swing away was a deal breaker and it didn't have one. They had a trailer shop that would do a mod. The estimate was $1200-1500 as I recall. We didn't go that route, so no direct experience.

(We could never get to a total price that didn't move too close to just looking at a new one. Eventually we found a nice 2004 for a $ that worked and it had the swing away. The owner, like us, needed to store it in a garage.)

DW reminds me (and she is always right about this kind of thing) that the estimate was closer to $1000 than $1500.