Swan outback extended drawbar

I googled a Swan. There is a good picture of a drawbar with a 2003 Swan with beds extended. It seems the end of the bed is directly above the towball. Another 300mm would be handy for a wagon tug set up imo.

I had an extended drawbar on a camper and it made balancing more difficilt so keep it to a minimum.

An extended drawbar means less downforce on the towball. Good for a Kluger I would think. You may even be able to open the rear gate while still hitched too. Not sure of sizes or actual clearances involved there!

Unsure what the above comment means with balancing. If moving by hand it would be easier to some degree.

The longer drawbar may also be beneficial when backing the unit as it will be slower to react to steering input, but might also be restrictive into tight circumstances.

Dear Jonnykluger

Suggest you visit your local Jayco dealer with your tug and check out the clearance issues.

I had a look at the Outback specifications on the Jayco website and it looks like the forward bed extension covers the tow ball. But it's hard to determine. Link

I have a Prado with the big swinging rear door so a tow bar extension was needed otherwise access to the rear, whilst towing, would have been impossible.

The extension will give you better manoeuvrability when reversing. However your towball weight will increase. Jayco states the Tow ball weight for the Outback is 109kg. The distance from the tow ball to the van axle looks to be about 3m. If this is the case an extension of 400mm will increase the lever arm by approx 12%. So your towball weight will increase by the same amount plus the actual weight of the extension. If the extension weighs 15kg (just guessing) then your final towball weight will be 109kg + 13kg (12% of 109) + 15kg = 137. Calculation is not precise but will do as an approximation.

Cheers John