| A couple mods to my trailer hitch [message #264161] |
Mon, 13 October 2014 19:55  |
kerry pinkerton
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
Karma: 15
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Last year I made a receiver style trailer hitch similar to the one that Ken Henderson showed. It bolts to the back crossmember at the spare tire holder and goes through a hole I cut in the frame and also bolts to the frame.
It's really solid and I'm pleased with it but I noticed that the toad would cause the tow bar to rattle around a bit in the receiver. Not a problem but something I heard that I didn't want to hear. Since I had a 4" drop receiver adapter to level out my tow bar, the receiver adapter stays in the hitch all the time.
Here is how I fixed the problem.
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/misc/p56232-mods-to-lock-up-hitch.html
If you look close, you can see a 1/2" bolt head on the top and side behind the rear bumper. I drilled a 9/16 hole and welded a 1/2" flange nut over the hole. Now when I put my towbar in the hitch, I just give the two bolts a turn with a 3/4" wrench and it locks everything down. No more thunks. The longest part of the project was drilling the holes. The welding took 60 seconds. This was all done on the coach. I hung a piece of leather over the rear hatch paint to protect it from MIG splatter.
While I was at it, I welded a short receiver tube to the top part of the adapter. Now I have two ports and can put my tow bar in the bottom where it's level and use the top for an aluminum carrier I got from HF. One day, I'll build an nicely streamlined aluminum box that goes there when we need extra space.
Kerry Pinkerton - North Alabama
Had 5 over the years. Currently have a '06 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
[Updated on: Mon, 13 October 2014 21:21] Report message to a moderator |
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| No picture. [message #264164 is a reply to message #264161] |
Mon, 13 October 2014 20:03  |
werewilfs
Messages: 329
Registered: July 2012
Location: Rappahannock County, VA
Karma: 0
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No Message Body
Jared & Stefanie Kohl
Rappahannock County, VA
1973 Painted Desert "Onslow"
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| Re: [GMCnet] A couple mods to my trailer hitch [message #264170 is a reply to message #264161] |
Mon, 13 October 2014 20:50 |
k2gkk
Messages: 4452
Registered: November 2009
Karma: -8
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Is something amiss with that URL, Kerry? Wouldn't work for me.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~~ ~ D C "Mac" Macdonald ~ ~~
~ ~ Amateur Radio - K2GKK ~ ~
~ ~ USAF and FAA, Retired ~ ~
~ ~ ~ Oklahoma City, OK ~ ~ ~
~~ ~ ~ "The Money Pit" ~ ~ ~~
~ ~ ~ ~ TZE166V101966 ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ '76 ex-Palm Beach ~ ~ ~
~~ k2gkk + hotmail dot com ~~
~ www.gmcmhphotos.com/okclb ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
______________
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*--OO--[]---O-*
> Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 18:55:36 -0600
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> From: Pinkertonk@MCHSI.com
> Subject: [GMCnet] A couple mods to my trailer hitch
>
> Last year I made a receiver style trailer hitch similar to the one that Ken Henderson showed. It bolts to the back crossmember at the spare tire
> holder and goes through a hole I cut in the frame and also bolts to the frame.
>
> It's really solid and I'm pleased with it but I noticed that the toad would cause the tow bar to rattle around a bit in the receiver. Not a problem
> but something I heard that I didn't want to hear. Since I had a 4" drop receiver adapter to level out my tow bar, the receiver adapter stays in the
> hitch all the time.
>
> Here is how I fixed the problem.
>
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/uploads/21803/IMG_20140914_182934_7701.jpg>
> If you look close, you can see a 1/2" bolt head on the top and side behind the rear bumper. I drilled a 9/16 hole and welded a 1/2" flange nut over
> the hole. Now when I put my towbar in the hitch, I just give the two bolts a turn with a 3/4" wrench and it locks everything down. No more thunks.
> The longest part of the project was drilling the holes. The welding took 60 seconds. This was all done on the coach. I hung a piece of leather over
> the rear hatch paint to protect it from MIG splatter.
>
> While I was at it, I welded a short receiver tube to the top part of the adapter. Now I have two ports and can put my tow bar in the bottom where
> it's level and use the top for an aluminum carrier I got from HF. One day, I'll build an nicely streamlined aluminum box that goes there when we need
> extra space.
> --
> Kerry Pinkerton
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| Re: [GMCnet] A couple mods to my trailer hitch [message #264174 is a reply to message #264172] |
Mon, 13 October 2014 21:34 |
k2gkk
Messages: 4452
Registered: November 2009
Karma: -8
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NICE!
Any plans to build/sell the Azure air pump brackets?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~~ ~ D C "Mac" Macdonald ~ ~~
~ ~ Amateur Radio - K2GKK ~ ~
~ ~ USAF and FAA, Retired ~ ~
~ ~ ~ Oklahoma City, OK ~ ~ ~
~~ ~ ~ "The Money Pit" ~ ~ ~~
~ ~ ~ ~ TZE166V101966 ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ '76 ex-Palm Beach ~ ~ ~
~~ k2gkk + hotmail dot com ~~
~ www.gmcmhphotos.com/okclb ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
______________
*[ ]~~~[][ ][|\
*--OO--[]---O-*
> Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 20:21:03 -0600
> To: gmclist@temp.gmcnet.org
> From: Pinkertonk@MCHSI.com
> Subject: Re: [GMCnet] A couple mods to my trailer hitch
>
> Let's try this:
>
> http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/misc/p56232-mods-to-lock-up-hitch.html
> --
> Kerry Pinkerton
>
> North Alabama, near Huntsville,
>
> 77 Eleganza II, "The Lady", 403CI, Manny Brakes, 1 ton, tranny also a 76 Eleganza to be re-bodied as an Art Deco car hauler
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| Re: [GMCnet] A couple mods to my trailer hitch [message #264186 is a reply to message #264172] |
Mon, 13 October 2014 22:50 |
GMC.LES
Messages: 505
Registered: April 2014
Karma: -2
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I did a similar mod to the hitch on an old pickup I had, only I drilled diagonally through the top corner of the reciever tube and welded on a nut. This allowed me to use one bolt to clamp down on the hitch and prevent the rattling. The principle is like clamping square stock in a v-block.
Les Burt
Montreal
1975 Eleganza 26ft
A work in Progress
On Oct 13, 2014, at 10:21 PM, Kerry Pinkerton wrote:
Let's try this:
http://www.gmcmhphotos.com/photos/misc/p56232-mods-to-lock-up-hitch.html
--
Kerry Pinkerton
North Alabama, near Huntsville,
77 Eleganza II, "The Lady", 403CI, Manny Brakes, 1 ton, tranny also a 76 Eleganza to be re-bodied as an Art Deco car hauler
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| Re: [GMCnet] A couple mods to my trailer hitch [message #264200 is a reply to message #264186] |
Tue, 14 October 2014 05:52 |
kerry pinkerton
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
Karma: 15
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Les Burt[1 wrote on Mon, 13 October 2014 22:50]I did a similar mod to the hitch on an old pickup I had, only I drilled diagonally through the top corner of the reciever tube and welded on a nut. This allowed me to use one bolt to clamp down on the hitch and prevent the rattling. The principle is like clamping square stock in a v-block.
Absolutely. The reason I did not do that is because this 4" drop adapterr stays in place all the time and is a tight enough fit in the hitch that I was afraid if the edge got boogered from the pressure of the bolt it would make it difficult to remove. My buddy with an SOB had a 2" ball hitch stuck in his receiver and it would NOT come out. He tried heat and even snached on it with his backhoe. He ended up cutting it off and welding on a new receiver tube.
While our setup is more or less permanent, if I ever had an issue where more rear end clearance was required, I could remove the drop down adapter and gain those 2 1/2" inches. That is why I didn't just build the hitch to have a lower receiver below the bumper.
Kerry Pinkerton - North Alabama
Had 5 over the years. Currently have a '06 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
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