Trailer hitch on a bay

[deschutestrout]

Anyone have a trailer hitch receiver on their bay? I want to be able to tow a small trailer and am curious where you all have attached them to. Photos if ya got 'em.

[dtrumbo]

I have one on mine. Perhaps you noticed the bike rack attached to it when we rolled into the RendezVW. It's made by Jamie Rivers in Canada. I'm very pleased with mine. It bolts between the bumper brackets and the frame. It's super-easy to install... or uninstall if you care to. I can put mine on or take it off in about ten minutes.

Here's the info.

http://www.globalserve.net/~jrivers/latebayhitch.htm

This give you an idea of the concept.


I got this kind.


I'm planning on buying this trailer to tow behind the bus so everything doesn't have to be unloaded just to use the bed.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive ... -2948.html

[MeyerII]

Check to see if there are any recommendations out there to add reinforcements to the rear body around the sub-frame at the corners. I welded in some extra steel on my T3 when I put in the trailer hitch. The ineffable Tram insisted, saying that's what the dealers did back in the day.

 

[deschutestrout]

Thanks Dick! That's what I'm looking for. I'll have to check the piggy bank and order one up. Funny how much shit you carry with a couple of kids on board...and now they're into four wheelers (our choice...where we live they have friends with bikes who will ask "wanna ride my four wheeler?" figured it smart to teach them at our own pace how to ride safely) I'm gonna make sure Zane pulls close to Hammy's bus before he fires it up at 6am

[MeyerII]

Oh ... and I just got done researching, buying and building a Harbor Freight trailer - the bigger, foldable one.

1. The bearings are likely to be junk. Plan on replacing them eventually with bearings from somewhere where they make good bearings.

2. If your trailer comes with 8" wheels, see about getting a set of 12" wheels. It increases your load capacity, saves the bearings, and allows you to travel at reasonable highway speeds. (8" wheels are good for about 50mph and even then they're spinning like crazy.)

3. If you leave your trailer outdoors, plan on the hubs not being perfectly sealed, so you want to add grease frequently. My hubs have a grease fitting, so I assume yours probably will too.

4. To avoid potential frustrations, buy a spare wheel and tire, a spare tire mount, and a folding tongue stand for the trailer. And if you don't have a cheap scissors jack, it wouldn't hurt to get one. All are available at HF.

If you do get 8" wheels and decide to stick with them, I may be able to provide you with a cheap spare, as I'm replacing mine as soon as I get a chance.


 

[hiwaycallin]

I have one on mine. Perhaps you noticed the bike rack attached to it when we rolled into the RendezVW. It's made by Jamie Rivers in Canada.

Hey Dick, what kind of muffler do you have? I've bought a Jamie Rivers hitch but haven't installed it yet. I'm planning on converting my '78 exhaust to '72-74 style with a Thunderbird muffler. Looking at it all I'm not sure if the hitch will work with that setup. Any thoughts?

Mike

[LiveonJG]

I like that hitch Dick, very nice.

I went stock, for a Canadian Westy. Mine's like this:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/ ... ?id=890306

It's a fixed ball though, the reciever would be nice.

-John

[Hippie]

Oh ... and I just got done researching, buying and building a Harbor Freight trailer - the bigger, foldable one.
........ 

Good info. Thanks! I thought about getting one of these.
A friend of mine bought one like this from Menard's back in the '80s for $300...same style, red, 4' x 8' folding trailer and has used it ever since with no problems to haul a 16' aluminum canoe and miscellanous junk.

Offhand, I don't remember the whell size, but I think it came with 12" wheels.

[Randy in Maine]

My welder buddy made this for the "79 project bus" for when it comes out of the paint shop. He is good though.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... ight=hitch

[yondermtn]

Here is the best shot I have of my non-receiver style hitch. I'll probably be taking it off at some point as I don't plan to tow anything. A receiver hitch would be more useful to me for a bike rack.

[dtrumbo]

Hey Dick, what kind of muffler do you have?

My bus is a '78 with the stock exhaust.

Photos if ya got 'em.

Here's a few thousand words.

As you can see, the receiver tube (which is a standard 2" btw) isn't long so if the hitch or bike rack or whatever, has a long tube, it will smack the muffler. I cut off a bit of my bike rack tube so it wouldn't stick out from the back of the bus as far. Besides aesthetics, you really don't want the hitch to stick out too far as it becomes a lever and could flex the whole hitch downward.


The pic isn't great, but it shows how the hitch bracket sandwiches between the frame and the bumper bracket.


The hitch crossmember actually tucks into the bumper. Very efficient.



Apparently, I have an exhaust leak to deal with.


The only "issues" I had to deal with, which weren't really anything, was adjusting the bumper in relation to the hitch to keep the bumper from rattling. Keep in mind, my engine is mostly shot and isn't the smoothest thing in the world making for a very shaky bus. Jamie provides oval-shaped mounting holes in the hitch bracket as there are in the bumper brackets so there is some ability to move the hitch and/or bumper forward or backward as necessary to make things work properly. The other issue was the hole in the receiver tube for the lock pin wasn't large enough. I believe "standard" is 5/8" and the hole was only 1/2". A Unibit in my drill fixed that easy enough. As I said, I'm very pleased with it.

Here it is in action!

[spiffy]

Mark, Westy78 might still have his that he is getting rid of because of his choice exhaust system. It is the type that bolts to the frame rather then the mustache bar and bumber. I have the bar/bumper version if you would like to borrow it but I wouldn't put too much weight on it.

[Westy78]

I sold mine to Joseph just a couple months ago. It was one of the Jamie River's receivers. Great hitch but won't work with the T-bird or Tangerine system. I'm still trying to figure out a system to use with my exhaust. I think I may have to do some bumper reinforcement with some tube steel and cut a hole for a receiver.

[Hippie]

My welder buddy made this for the "79 project bus" for when it comes out of the paint shop. He is good though.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... ight=hitch

That is nice. Best of all how it comes through the bumper with a snap-in plug.