[Caddylack]

The big deal I see here is Michael sells pieces so a guy can make his own hitch .
The guy making his own hitch bares responsibility for the safety and suitability of his own hitch.
I have make one off hitches before , sure .

YOU Caddylack , are offereing to bring to market a finished bolt on product.
It's suitability, safety, responsibility , may fall directly on your shoulders.
This is where J684_201405 may come into play.
Especially in this litigation happy society we live in.
Sure a strong trailer hitch is a pretty simple endeavor to make and you think you are just selling some to your buddies on the forum,
But when good neighbor Sam has his Airstream tumble down an embankment you just know he will be looking for soneone to blame even if your uncertified hitch had NOTHING to do with it.

For the most part, all aftermarket car parts are sold for off-road use.

With that said, my hitches are intended for OFF-ROAD TOWING ONLY.

They will be great for towing across corn fields and sand dunes.

 

[91ss]

At the least, a 'use at your own risk' label MAY get you some lega protections. But may loose some customers. 95wagon beat me to it.
Who does only 'off-road towing only'... com'n..

 

[95wagon]

Yeah , just like cheap roll bars are sold as light bars ,
You could sell your hitch as a truck nutz mount.

 

[Caddylack]

At the least, a 'use at your own risk' label MAY get you some lega protections. But may loose some customers. 95wagon beat me to it.
Who does only 'off-road towing only'... com'n..

How many of the people who remove their cats are only driving the car off-road?

When I got my Tahoe tuned, they turned off the rear o2s, and they put in writing that the car could not be driven on public roads. Then I hopped in and drove home. This is life.

I hope that when my hitch is placed next to a Curt of Draw-Tite that you will be able to tell the difference in quality and that the decision between them will be a no-brainer.

 

[91ss]

We are talking public safety here. To the point, you publicly admitted to wanting to skirt the law with your off road statement.
Visual look of 'quality' is meaningless. What grade steel? What thickness? What did the load analysis show as margin, etc etc. It is a no-brainer

 

[Caddylack]

We are talking public safety here. To the point, you publicly admitted to wanting to skirt the law with your off road statement.

No, I didn't. There are 4 attorneys in my family, and I used to work for the public defender's office in my county. I am not naive when it comes to the law.

Visual look of 'quality' is meaningless. What grade steel? What thickness? What did the load analysis show as margin, etc etc. It is a no-brainer

The grade and thickness of the steel aren't going to be a mystery, dude.

If you aren't interested, keep it moving and find something else to do with your time.

"Public safety" is not your real motivation here.

 

[Caddylack]

Potentially the biggest difference between my hitch and the others on the market will be that mine uses 2 pieces where the others use 3. I illustrated this with crayons for familiarity.

 

[Caddylack]

Sure a strong trailer hitch is a pretty simple endeavor to make and you think you are just selling some to your buddies on the forum,
But when good neighbor Sam has his Airstream tumble down an embankment you just know he will be looking for soneone to blame even if your uncertified hitch had NOTHING to do with it.

This is an understandable concern, but this is what it comes down to:

I'm advertising these hitches as what they are. It's a big heavy piece of metal, and you can do whatever you want with it.

Like with all aftermarket car parts, you should review your local laws and regulations before making a purchase or modifying your vehicle.

Guys, keep in mind that these regulations vary wildly by jurisdiction. For all I know, you guys all live in Mexico and you're just here in America shopping for tow hitches.

 

[95wagon]

So theirs have two welds in shear , yours are in tension ?

 

[Caddylack]

So theirs have two welds in shear , yours are in tension ?

I'm just telling you what I was told by someone who has never done anything else in his life besides work with metal. His dad was also a career welder.

 

[Caddylack]

So theirs have two welds in shear , yours are in tension ?

Can you elaborate on this?

I understand your point that in my design, the entire load is basically pulling on the one weld. What is the actual difference here, and how does it weigh against the additional strength of having one big crossbar?

 

[Caddylack]

OOPS, I misunderstood.

This is actually what the guy meant:

The receiver tube does not get welded to the face of the crossbar. The receiver tube goes UNDER the crossbar, and is welded on all 4 sides.

THEN, there will be 2 opposing gusset plates welded in, as well as the plate for the chain hookups.

MUCH stronger than the original Draw-Tite that I dropped off.

 

[91ss]

That's an improvement over your first design, which had 8" of weld in tension vs 12" in sheer and 4" in tension on the original. As drawn and assuming the whole perimeter of each tube is welded.
Now you have 6" in sheer and 2" in tension for pulling, better, but also puts the welds in tension again to handle the vertical tongue weights. Without picturing how the gussets go.
So, without testing or a loads analysis, is it good enough? Maybe. And retains some margin (engineer overkill), Maybe

 

[Caddylack]

More details:

Right now we are weighing two different options as far as material. One is high-nickel alloy steel, the other is DFARS-compliant steel dipped in hot zinc.

I want these hitches to resist rust, and thus last longer.

The end brackets, gusset plates, etc. will all be water-jetted.

 

[Z09B4U]

The receiver tube does not get welded to the face of the crossbar. The receiver tube goes UNDER the crossbar,

Please clarify this. Are you effectively lowering the receiver tube 2" by placing it under the cross bar?

The last "travel trailer" I towed needed a 10" raised hitch. Most new trailers are jacked up to match the new pickup trucks.

Your "new" design is just easy for the welder.

The higher the receiver tube is the less it is noticed when not towing.

Every inch higher the ball is in relation to the cross bar adds more twist to the crossbar every start/stop.

By placing the receiver tube under the crossbar you are increasing the torque on the crossbar.

 

[95wagon]

DMARS-compliant steel

M ?

New stuff for me to learn

 

[Caddylack]

M ?

New stuff for me to learn

Good catch.

DFARS

 

[Caddylack]

Please clarify this. Are you effectively lowering the receiver tube 2" by placing it under the cross bar?

The last "travel trailer" I towed needed a 10" raised hitch. Most new trailers are jacked up to match the new pickup trucks.

Your "new" design is just easy for the welder.

The higher the receiver tube is the less it is noticed when not towing.

Every inch higher the ball is in relation to the cross bar adds more twist to the crossbar every start/stop.

By placing the receiver tube under the crossbar you are increasing the torque on the crossbar.

View attachment 206784

I assume he isn't actually lowering the receiver tube. Maybe the crossbar will be higher, I have no idea. I will find out.

There is a reason why I'm not making these myself.

 

[96 Black]

I finally got under my driver for something else, and here's the setup for my hitch if it adds reference to design options. Not to (further) complexify things, but while this Class II is more than ample for my requirements there are no manner of limits for how one even two gusset plates could add valuable weld inches of strength to a Class III application. And with adding literally nothing more visible from behind.

 

[Caddylack]

Okay, take a good look at the picture @96 Black posted.

We are going to tuck the crossbar up inside the bumper so you can't see it. This allows us to mount the receiver underneath the crossbar, and have it still locate right at the bottom of the bumper.