Quick trailer hitch

[TDI_ftw]

Make sure you get quality grade bolts for that, standard crap you get from home depot that isn't grade 6+ will stretch/break on you with the side loading how its mounted.
I would think a little bigger bracket for support on the back side as mentioned.

[skimsucka]

All the above is true Karl.

And I would love to have a less obtrusive hitch!

But I can put my "Big hitch" on in 10 minutes and remove it in less time.
And can pull another Festiva with it.

Plus, Kartracer can make one and ship it for a reasonable sum.

Which is not to belittle Skims work, not at all, his hitch will likely cover 80% of the need most of us would have for a hitch.
I especially like his "saw horses", I have the exact same chair in my basement which I will promptly move to the garage.
Now that I see a great use for them.
They were too good to throw out but too small for an adult to sit on.
Now they have another use.
Thanks Skim, see you at FMV.

Ahahhaha i have had four of these chairs since i was born they have been through everything you could imagine one of the best american made things i have left and they were perfect for this cya at fm5 John!

[TominMO]

Yeah for pulling the boat or jetski that'll work fine. I'm gonna go with the normal Curtis one that bolts to the spare tire well. I would get Kartracer's, but I want to preserve the possibility of reinstalling my rear turbo in place of the muffler--either with this B6 or maybe a B8. Kartracer's will def pull more weight tho, but I just need a hitch for a small trailer and load, probably no more than 300 lbs total.

[Oren09]

I completely agree with safety guy. Recessing the hitch a but more to make it flsuh with the bumper would be cool, too. Cover it when not in use, too. Welding some angle stock in the shape of the interior of the rear and some big grade 8 bolts will make a hitch as strong as the unibody, plenty to tow another festiva. Thumbs up!

Sent from my FESTIVA on Droid 2.

[neanderpaul]

Tom asked:

"What about adding some strength by bolting a strip of metal the length of the thin metal bumper?"

There is the limiting factor of a slight curve in the bumper beam. I suppose you could use some washers to even out the difference between the straight angle iron and the curved beam, but that method also has some limitations on raw strength.rce the bumper beam with more metal, but it'd take some more designing and welding. It might work well and have a good payoff in strength.

1/4" thick 1.5"x1.5" angle iron. Notched and curved to match the curve of the bumper. Then every notch welded in.

Back view.



When not in use.


Load capacity.

[skimsucka]

I was waiting for you to chime in i looked at your previous post but it didnt explain how you did it i see this now ! Did u use a 220 welder?


Super nice job !

[neanderpaul]

Jack (festar and fessup builder) made it. He has made 3. He is the man. His "wind up car" AKA FRX is STUPID involved. He is putting a first gen RX-7 engine and transmission in an 88 festiva. The engine and trans are sitting in place. He cut the whole firewall, Trans hump, etc out of the RX-7 and has laid them in the FRX. Just mocked up but it's in place.

[Safety Guy]

Paul, I remember seeing your bumper thread. It looks really nice and I'm sure the bumper and hitch together are really strong.

However, is your bumper still attached to the car by way of the six stock 14mm nuts on the threaded bumper studs? If so, do you think this is strong enough to pull other cars and heavy trailers?

I'm thinking that our bumpers were designed mainly to resist impact upon the car, for which the mounts should be fine. But what about forces PULLING on those six bumper studs and nuts? Did you at least use some large washers under the bumper mount nuts to prevent pull through in the event of a strong jerk upon the whole assembly?

Or am I just not understanding how strong this needs to be?

I only have as a good reference the Curt Class 1 hitch like I have on Luxstiva. It uses three bolts under the spare tire well and two (or four) bolts into the underside of the bumper.

Thanks,

Karl

[neanderpaul]

The 6 bumper bolts definitely seem like the weak link to me. I did add washers. I contemplated making a plate that would go between the nuts and the car. I put washers and have really tested it with the big utility trailer with no signs of wear. I floored it and threw it around close to home. That way if I wanted to go on a festiva hauling trip I would have peace of mind.

[neanderpaul]

From what I've put it through I trust it.

[Safety Guy]

Hard to argue with "real world testing" Paul.

What's the empty weight of your large trailer and how much do you think you "stress tested" it at?

The goal for my next hitch is to haul other cars, up to around 323/Protege size (about 2500 pounds).

Thanks,

Karl

[neanderpaul]

I think that cargo trailer is about 1000 lbs. Not sure though. I put a motorcycle on it at about 500-600 lbs. I ran it hard like that. So I'll feel good hauling festivas behind it. To haul larger cars up to 2500 range I would like to incorporate the tow hooks into the load distribution.

[CharlieZ]

Hitch torque

IMHO, the concern of a "bumper only" hitch is the torque or twist imposed on the body structure through the bumper attach points. Like repeated bending in any material, something's gonna give. You may be able to maintain a reasonably steady pulling force but you sure can't avoid the repeated up and down motion of the draw bar. A lot of good ideas to spread out this torque have been used.

[Safety Guy]

Reinforcement plates spreading the up and down forces at the rear bumper mounts would help. but I'll think about something that will spread those forces to the immediate underbody and be similar to a lower bar with "arms" hooking onto the "frame rails" as well.

Might even be able to do that within the trunk area itself and not interfere with the spare tire or jack.

I'm thinking 1/4" angle iron plates cut and shaped to fit, bolted down in two planes and possibly with some stiffening gussets welded to them.

My other idea is to attach the hitch receptacle to the rear bulkhead itself. That will need some reinforcement plates.

With the proper design, this will be capable of being transferred to another car in the future. Not as quickly as the tow hook bar style, but it won't have to go to a junkyard with the car body if and when the car has to be junked.

Karl

[M3NTAL]

Poor clutch