Maytag's Trailer Hitch

[maytag]

Several of you over the last several months have asked me for details of how I built my trailer hitch. I keep forgetting to take photos when I've got the bumper-cover off. So this is the next best thing.

I started with this:



You can see how that went together. Worked great... until those aluminum tabs broke-off. After that it was just the pull-out of the bolts, and I didn't trust that at all. So I had to come up with a better idea.

So here's a spare rear bumper I had. Imagine it with those bumperette brackets gone.

I cut the red square out, front / rear. (sized correctly for the receiver, of course). I then moved the threaded insert for the tow-hook several inches to the side (that's the red line with a circle at the end).



Then I took some 1"x1"x3/16" angle, two pieces approximately 24" long, and put one on the bottom front and one on the top rear (faint blue lines) Then I welded them to the receiver. And then I thru-bolted them (down from the top, and up from the bottom) to the aluminum bumper.




So where's the weak-point now? The anchors for the bumper, to the body.

The real kicker on this is that you won't have access to the hole for the pin, so you have to have the fancy-schmancy draw-bar that locks from the front. I paid around $150-ish for mine, with a ball. as I recall. When I'm towing, I put the tow-hook into the tow-hook hole and attach my safety chain there.

[Qingdao]

Nice. Now weld a manual tire mounting post and an air compressor to the trailer and you'll be all set.

[NewArt]

Thanks! I think I will pull the bumper on mine and take some measurements to get a good grasp on the fabrication. What holds your tow hook in? Is the removal of the bumperettes necessary or rather an aesthetic choice?
This should be a fun project and doesn’t appear too complicated. I’ll be sure to document it. It will make for a great new video for my channel!

[maytag]

Originally Posted by NewArt

Thanks! I think I will pull the bumper on mine and take some measurements to get a good grasp on the fabrication. What holds your tow hook in? Is the removal of the bumperettes necessary or rather an aesthetic choice?
This should be a fun project and doesn’t appear too complicated. I’ll be sure to document it. It will make for a great new video for my channel!

When you get into it, you'll see that the two bolts hold a threaded insert in place, for the tow hook. So you'll drill three holes (2 for the bolts that hold the insert) and move that down.

If you can get that tow hook in place with the bumperettes still there, go for it. I wanted them gone anyway.

One thing I didn't detail, that you'll discover: the hinge on the license plate holder is VERY stiff. So much so, that when simply attached the same way the license plate was, it would just deform the plastic bumper cover. So I put a peice of steel strap on the inside / baack side, that the hinged holder bolts to.

You'll probably come up with something much cleaner.


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[maytag]

Originally Posted by Qingdao

Nice. Now weld a manual tire mounting post and an air compressor to the trailer and you'll be all set.

Ooohhhhh...... another project before spring!

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[steved0x]

Very cool! On my Boxster I took the bumper bar off and had those two bumperette tabs welded to the bumper bar for reinforcement, my tow bracket looks very similar to your first photo.

For the Cayman I want to do something like your new project. It looks great.

[Nine8Six]

Nice job! useful too, from the look of it!

[Van914]

Exactly how I did mine.