986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - This is crazy, and the paint near matches my car

Lowski · 07-02-2019, 07:50 AM

It’s amazing all that stuff fits in that thing.

I imagine it depends on the trailer weight and type of hitch you install on your car. I have been looking at making a hitch so I can install a bike rack on the back of my Boxster. As Porsche doesn’t offer a factory hitch or provide OEM numbers for towing capacity, I have found it’s a bit of crap shoot of what the car/hitch is rated for.

I have found at least two different hitches on the internet that attach to the tow hook threads and the bumperette brackets. One was a custom made hitch selling on eBay. It was made from a company called Torklift which is 30 minutes South of Seattle. Their hitch had a sticker on it saying tongue weight of 75lbs and 500lbs towing. The second is currently for sale on eBay. They are claiming a tongue weight of 100lbs and 1000lbs towing. Mind you neither of these attach to the frame of a car like most trailer hitches.

I figure if the tow hook is strong enough to pull a 3000lb car onto a flatbed that towing capacity from that aspect is going to be ok for light loads. The brakes on the car are probably strong enough to withstand some abuse form the trailer load.

I worry more about tongue weight. Each bumperette bracket is attached to the bumper beam with 4 blind rivets. While the rivets are loaded in shear for forward or aft loads, I don’t know how well they will handle the loads in the vertical direction. You will getting a bending moment due to the offset nature of the bracket and may start prying on the rivet heads. Secondly the tongue weight on the tow hook would induce a bending moment due to the length of the hook and its unsupported nature.

The other option I have seen is the Willwood / SporTows system. They offer a stouter looking option that is advertised as a Class I hitch (2000 lbs. gross trailer weight, tongue weight of 200 lbs). Looks like they are towing a lot behind Porsches in the photos on the websites. Willwood System - Porsche Hitches and Bike Racks & https://www.sporttows.com.

07-02-2019, 07:50 AM	#3
Lowski Registered User Join Date: May 2018 Location: Seattle Posts: 44	It’s amazing all that stuff fits in that thing. I imagine it depends on the trailer weight and type of hitch you install on your car. I have been looking at making a hitch so I can install a bike rack on the back of my Boxster. As Porsche doesn’t offer a factory hitch or provide OEM numbers for towing capacity, I have found it’s a bit of crap shoot of what the car/hitch is rated for. I have found at least two different hitches on the internet that attach to the tow hook threads and the bumperette brackets. One was a custom made hitch selling on eBay. It was made from a company called Torklift which is 30 minutes South of Seattle. Their hitch had a sticker on it saying tongue weight of 75lbs and 500lbs towing. The second is currently for sale on eBay. They are claiming a tongue weight of 100lbs and 1000lbs towing. Mind you neither of these attach to the frame of a car like most trailer hitches. I figure if the tow hook is strong enough to pull a 3000lb car onto a flatbed that towing capacity from that aspect is going to be ok for light loads. The brakes on the car are probably strong enough to withstand some abuse form the trailer load. I worry more about tongue weight. Each bumperette bracket is attached to the bumper beam with 4 blind rivets. While the rivets are loaded in shear for forward or aft loads, I don’t know how well they will handle the loads in the vertical direction. You will getting a bending moment due to the offset nature of the bracket and may start prying on the rivet heads. Secondly the tongue weight on the tow hook would induce a bending moment due to the length of the hook and its unsupported nature. The other option I have seen is the Willwood / SporTows system. They offer a stouter looking option that is advertised as a Class I hitch (2000 lbs. gross trailer weight, tongue weight of 200 lbs). Looks like they are towing a lot behind Porsches in the photos on the websites. Willwood System - Porsche Hitches and Bike Racks & https://www.sporttows.com.