Eagles International Forum

All-

Thanks for everyone's thoughts, pics, and recommendations. . .the hitch is finished. Attached are a couple of photos of the work in progress and finished product. What I ended-up doing was going to "etrailer.com" and ordering an extra-wide universal hitch, which gave me a 72" wide assembled bar to work with, as well as some mounts that were used in the finished project. The extra-wide bar allowed an offset mount without having to section the main bar.

We (neighborhood think tank & fender lizard crew) fabricated the frame mounts with 1/4" steel, followed Jim's idea and used a good arc welder (thanks to one neighbor who had the welder and the other who is an aircraft welder by trade), and welded the frame mounts.

I'll have to see how it works, but I've got enough Grade-8 bolts to sink a battleship, with the bolts going through the tube frame, as well as the 1/4" plate that's outboard of the tubing. Hopefully, this will be enough to tug the 3,000 pound Honda around.

I'll see if I can talk Cindy into posting more pictures on the Sunchaser website (or if she's feeling really creative on a project thread!) in the next couple of weeks.

Art
www.webcove.com/eagle

Hi Art. Looks to me like you have a top notch hitch. I can't tell from the pictures, but I would guess that the attachment to the frame goes forward and attached in another location so that you have a total of 4 large vertical bolts through the frame. If that is the case, you have done a great job.

I am glad that you had access to a good welding process and a good welder.

Thanks for the great photos.

Jim

Looks great Art. You shouldn't have any problems with that one. Keep an eye on your frame for any cracking that might develop. What is the bracket to the left of your receiver? Your light cord plug?

First Class Job Art!

High quality and all that good stuff!

Jim-

As far as the bolts go, I have four vertical bolts (1/2" grade 8) on the passenger side and three on the driver side (all I thought I could fit in without causing metal fatigue). Two of the bolts on each side go through the tube frame, with the others going through the solid 1/4" plate that's outboard of the frame rails. In addition, I put two horizontal bolts through the 18" sections that extend forward along the frame rails.

Mark-

I'm going to be watching closely for frame wear (tube collapse or cracking) in the areas where the bolts go through the square tube. I gunned the bolts on with some good rattling on an Ingersol-Rand impact, but I'm guessing there may be some frame compression with prolonged use. If I detect some stress fracture, I may end-up sectioning the tube frame and putting some 1/4" square tube stock inside. . .hopefully, I don't need to do that unless I forget to put the car in neutral! And yes, the bracket just left of the receiver is a plug mount that came on the RV bar. . .

Thanks again for everyone's input on this project!

Art