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Trailer hitch.


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Looking for a lead on a trailer hitch.

Fifty years ago I bought one at Uhaul for about $37.00 installed. Back in the day, they were pre-manufactured for the car and easy to find.  Six to eight bolts and you were on your way…..The Uhaul dealer in a local town will no longer manufacture,  but will install one if it's factory made…

As I recall , I could still find one on the internet about 4 years ago, but can't seem to find one now.  

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Thanks for the pic Bruce… If my memory is correct, this is exactly like the one I had.. It was nicely chrome plated… I'll use this pic to show him what I want made… I see a couple of mods I'l make and have it made. 

Ed C

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Mine is for a 1971 Monte. Just silver or gray paint on mine but the ball was chromed! (more pictures if it helps)

 

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1 hour ago, MC1of80 said:

It bolted right up to my brothers car. If this is the one he purchased from you. He did purchase it from a member here. 

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I got the one from Bruce several years ago. That one bolts up to the bottom of the bumper instead of the face like that one. That may be chevelle hitch if memory serves me right. I used to sell and install Them back in the day many moons ago.

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I really appreciate the pics…

This gives me a few ideas as how to possibly make a better one that will bolt to the frame, bumper,, and use two strong points in the trunk floor. The one I had restricted the gas opening a bit , but I think that can be overcome while minimizing the fulcrum effect from  the ball….

The one I had was ok,,, but using it to pull a Harley cross country would be out  of the question now. 

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If you plan to bolt to the bumper be careful on your tongue weight, you really don't want much more than a couple hundred pounds of down pressure on the ball. If it's going to be more than that you may want to go frame only. I've seen trailer hitches break.

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5 hours ago, MC1of80 said:

Strong points in the trunk?!? 🤔 Not! Lol. What do you plan on towing? 

 I'm sure we will figure it out… May weld it to the gas tank .. 

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5 hours ago, MC1of80 said:

Strong points in the trunk?!? 🤔 Not! Lol. What do you plan on towing? 

Actually when I put my hitch on it was harder to drill the trunk holes than the bumper holes which kind of suprised me a bit. Thinking it may be an aftermarket bumper. It needs to be replaced again anyhow. Just another thing on the list 😂

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I had one on my original Monte back in the 70's.  It had one brace that bolted in two places to the trunk, another brace that bolted to the support between the trunk and bumper and then it also had a saddle brace that was not attached to the hitch but it saddled over the hitch and the saddle was bolted to the bumper.   This meant downward pressure was supported in two places and front to back support was supported in two places.  The support by the saddle brace allowed that if you accidently backed into something with the hitch, it did not bend the bumper in because the saddle allowed the hitch to move in a little without damaging the bumper.

Not sure if all of that made sense but that is how it provided extra support.

rob

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On the serious side,,,  Trailer hitches as we all know can be and are dangerous. My son-in-law wrapped a Uhaul into the side of his 72 Chevelle.. He just purchased it from me and installed a home made hitch… It my was wife's car and was the same color as my Monte .. Sort of a matched pair.. vinyl top and all …. 

He was in the in the AirForce at the time and headed to Offutt AFB ,Nebraska… I inspected his hitch and told him it was total garbage..Being young and stupid he seemed to be insulted that I'd say that…So in a huff,,, he loaded all of his heavy tools in the front of the trailer and the rest is history … Hitch failed and dropped down on the back side.. The  weld at the bumper failed ,dragging the trailer around and ruining his car… 

Snow storm in Wyoming, freezing weather and a broken Uhaul, tools all over the road and bent up quarter panel and passenger door… Naturally,,, he didn't purchase the Uhaul insurance,, so they happily billed his credit card for the damage…. 

Expensive lesson … The car has been repaired, but his ego still gets him into trouble.

The below pic tells it all.. proper teaching and learning from others pays off… 

My son and I …. Yokota AFB Japan… 1829279539_untitledfolder-10.jpeg.f456726354915277b6aef7276de0feef.jpeg

I was newly minted Tech Sgt USAF… My Son is a retired Lt Col now..  Still wants dad to fix his cars… 

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9 hours ago, Rob Peters said:

I had one on my original Monte back in the 70's.  It had one brace that bolted in two places to the trunk, another brace that bolted to the support between the trunk and bumper and then it also had a saddle brace that was not attached to the hitch but it saddled over the hitch and the saddle was bolted to the bumper.   This meant downward pressure was supported in two places and front to back support was supported in two places.  The support by the saddle brace allowed that if you accidently backed into something with the hitch, it did not bend the bumper in because the saddle allowed the hitch to move in a little without damaging the bumper.

Not sure if all of that made sense but that is how it provided extra support.

rob

Rob, I was looking at that saddle brace idea myself … I think we may able to reinforce that and make the hitch in an  ,,,, < H > design ,,,, of sorts and perhaps not use the bumper as a connecting point.... Thank you .. I really appreciate everyone's thoughts and ideas here.. 

Hopefully, I'll be able to build a hitch that will be good enough to share with everyone...

 The tongue weight will probably be less than a 150 pounds , and trailer will be less than 1500 loaded ...

Ed C  

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I've seen an heard a lot of horror stories of hitch failure so yes safety first. My girlfriend's son is a master sargent in air force he's stationed at Hill AFB in Utah, he'll retire in a couple years. We went out to visit him a couple years ago and towed our trailer, its a 30 foot camper so I know just a little about towing. A little over 6000 miles on that trip. Also thank you for your service to our country!

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8 hours ago, cny first gen 71 said:

I've seen an heard a lot of horror stories of  hitch failure so yes safety first. My girlfriend's son is a master sargent in air force he's stationed at Hill AFB in Utah, he'll retire in a couple years. We went out to visit him a couple years ago and towed our trailer, its a 30 foot camper so I know just a little about towing. A little over 6000 miles on that trip. Also thank you for your service to our country!

So very right you are Steve …. After I retired I bought me a big toy box .. It was for business purposes and I averaged 70 thousand miles a year with two pickup trucks.. Yes.,. I've dropped a trailer because the hitch failed ..

It was a "Valley Hitch"  and it failed in Stockton Ca……. right at the hitch manufacturer door almost… . It was almost unbelievable.. I looked up and saw their big sign ….

Needless to say they were happy to see me dragging the hitch on the ground,,, with the trailer still attached, to their door … It was like a miracle…. 

An hour later I was back on the road with big smile on my face… A story too good to be 

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This is my old Cadillac .. used for fun and rescue if I broke down.. The whole car is one big hitch .. LOL

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Edited by EVC
typo
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Here is my hitch i just ordered and installed direct from UHaul. You can order one from their site, just put in Chevelle since the frames are identical in the rear. 

 

I think I also have that smaller hitch someone posted earlier in the thread if anyone wants it. I have no use for it any longer

Hitch.jpg

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3 minutes ago, cbolt said:

Here is my hitch i just ordered and installed direct from UHaul. You can order one from their site, just put in Chevelle since the frames are identical in the rear. 

 

I think I also have that smaller hitch someone posted earlier in the thread if anyone wants it. I have no use for it any longer

Hitch.jpg

That's a nice looking hitch, and probably rated for 3500 pounds too. Plus removing the ball mount is very nice.

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I forgot to mention, UHaul offered to create and install a hitch, free of charge, if I was willing to drive the car to their AZ factory and leave it for a couple of days. 

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13 hours ago, cbolt said:

Here is my hitch i just ordered and installed direct from UHaul. You can order one from their site, just put in Chevelle since the frames are identical in the rear. 

 

I think I also have that smaller hitch someone posted earlier in the thread if anyone wants it. I have no use for it any longer

Hitch.jpg

Thanks… I'll call Uhaul and see if I can order one.. The Dealers near my home don't want to manufacture… I made a cardboard template for the outer plate and planning to design one myself.. . Good looking hitch… 

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25 minutes ago, EVC said:

Thanks… I'll call Uhaul and see if I can order one.. The Dealers near my home don't want to manufacture… I made a cardboard template for the outer plate and planning to design one myself.. . Good looking hitch… 

Just checked their site.. I think it's what I need … 

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