Non-OEM Tow Adaptor / Mount / Bar

[Mountains4Fun]

I unfortunately didn't order the tow hitch as a factor mount and need the female portion of one for my bike rack. Is anyone else in a similar situation? I'm planning to manufacture a hitch and would be happy to make a couple, if there is interest.

 

[Asnes]

If I were doing one from scratch for the US market it would be a simple 2” receiver without the face plate w/ 6 holes. Nobody in the US leverages this euro-standard face plate. It will also improve rear departure angle. I would consider swapping my factory receiver for a design that deletes the face plate.

 

[DaveB]

I unfortunately didn't order the tow hitch as a factor mount and need the female portion of one for my bike rack. Is anyone else in a similar situation? I'm planning to manufacture a hitch and would be happy to make a couple, if there is interest.

View attachment 7850431

Surely you are not allowed to manufacture your own tow hitch??
It surely must need to be designed, engineered, tested and approved before it can be installed.

 

[Mountains4Fun]

Surely you are not allowed to manufacture your own tow hitch??
It surely must need to be designed, engineered, tested and approved before it can be installed.

I mean someone has to and the dealership won't sell one unless it came equipped from the factory. Pretty sure that design (even simplified per the suggestion) will be plenty strong to carry a few mountain bikes.

 

[Mountains4Fun]

If I were doing one from scratch for the US market it would be a simple 2” receiver without the face plate w/ 6 holes. Nobody in the US leverages this euro-standard face plate. It will also improve rear departure angle. I would consider swapping my factory receiver for a design that deletes the face plate.

I'll let you know what we come up with. After a second look, it appears that there would be a design consideration about how much of the originally designed "ears" (where the chain hooks would go) to keep. I like simpler too.

 

[Tazzieman]

Surely you are not allowed to manufacture your own tow hitch??
It surely must need to be designed, engineered, tested and approved before it can be installed.

 

[anand]

Surely you are not allowed to manufacture your own tow hitch??
It surely must need to be designed, engineered, tested and approved before it can be installed.

Welcome to the US, you absolutely can

 

[255/85]

If you manufacture one that keeps the OEM design elements and is welded by a certified fabricator then I'm in.

 

[Shawnpalmer]

I mean someone has to and the dealership won't sell one unless it came equipped from the factory. Pretty sure that design (even simplified per the suggestion) will be plenty strong to carry a few mountain bikes.

My dealership sold me the factory one…

 

[DaveB]

Welcome to the US, you absolutely can

That's scary as hell.

 

[Tazzieman]

That's scary as hell.

It looks sort of adjustable for height. Probably a whole weekend of thought and developing went into this.

 

[NQ94]

Surely you are not allowed to manufacture your own tow hitch??
It surely must need to be designed, engineered, tested and approved before it can be installed.

Not in Australia at least. The new rules will not let a boilermaker/certified weldor make a basic trailer without an engineering sign off. It is still possible to have one off tow connections made as long as it is engineered and welded to code.

 

[Mountains4Fun]

This is what we're thinking for a simplified US version (that avoids the European plough). Let me know if anyone else is interested.

On the engineering point: the smartest Mechanical Engineer I've ever met is helping me design/build these. So it's not totally a garage solution.

 

[[ Adam ]]

I'd be interested

 

[Tom109]

This is what we're thinking for a simplified US version (that avoids the European plough). Let me know if anyone else is interested.

On the engineering point: the smartest Mechanical Engineer I've ever met is helping me design/build these. So it's not totally a garage solution.

View attachment 7851091

One consideration, since you mentioned bike racks, is insertion length - this one looks very short. My hitch extension (for bike rack use) has two holes in the shank at 7" and 9" extension. I could clear the spare tire at 7" but the factory hitch will not accommodate insertion to that point.

 

[Tom109]

That's scary as hell.

Not in Australia at least. The new rules will not let a boilermaker/certified weldor make a basic trailer without an engineering sign off. It is still possible to have one off tow connections made as long as it is engineered and welded to code.

You can home-build and register a trailer here as well!

 

[NQ94]

You can home-build and register a trailer here as well!

Could also build a trailer in Australia too, but the rules changed last July. The Australian Central Bureaucracy attempting to protect us from ourselves again.

 

[Mountains4Fun]

One consideration, since you mentioned bike racks, is insertion length - this one looks very short. My hitch extension (for bike rack use) has two holes in the shank at 7" and 9" extension. I could clear the spare tire at 7" but the factory hitch will not accommodate insertion to that point.

Great call Tom. We're going to mock one up and play with it. I will buy an extension to play with and ultimately use with my rack.

 

[Mountains4Fun]

Enclosed is the mock up of the low profile “bike rack adapter” that we are putting together. Hitch extender fit well, so we are going to move onto making these in metal.

 

[MarkgreSC]

View attachment 7852701
Enclosed is the mock up of the low profile “bike rack adapter” that we are putting together. Hitch extender fit well, so we are going to move onto making these in metal.

Are you also adding the 7pin wire hookup to your truck? If so and you have done it, what does the wire situation look like there for turn signals feed, etc? Is it that big loom right above the hitch mount area? About 1" think loom or in corner, etc?