Blake

Anyone interested in a 1st gen receiver hitch for towing a tire/tool trailer to the track? It would go underneath the stock bumper cover, so it would be really stealthy when you are not pulling a trailer. This is basically the same thing I made for myself for the "RX-Sevenandahalf" project:







The construction will be a lot less crude; I'm having them professionally fabricated using mine as the template.

Price is not firm yet, but we are targeting around $150 - $175, plus shipping. Obviously, you have to provide your own trailer. We are, however, thinking of coming up with a slick trailer of our own, but we can't beat the prices for those ultra-cheap Harbor Freight ones that most people seem to use.

If there is interest, we might even get a GB going. If I can sell five, things start looking good. I've already committed to making ten, so it would be really nice to sell some before I have to front the money. A Group Buy price would be, say, $120 or so.

Let me know if you are interested, either as a group buy or individually.

Gregs

2 problems, 1 i dont like the idea of cutting my bumper and having have it held on by 4 screws/pop rivets, other than that its pretty nifty

Blake

You mean the bumper cover? It's not structural. The hitch becomes the bumper and the bumper cover just makes it look stock. It's not like you can't just find a junk yard bumper cover and use that...

1985_RX-7

i like those wheels on the black fb.

cosmicbang

Didn't you say it would go underneath the stock bumper cover? I though you meant below the cover and behind the licence plate, which would be fine with me provided the height is correct.

I already have a ball-type hitch (which I never use) that places the ball in front of the licence plate. I do not need a hitch for towing, but in order to use a receiver-mounted bicycle carrier.

Please clarify whether this would require cutting the bumper cover, or if it would be underneath/below the bumper and simply require moving the licence plate. I would rather not cut the cover (don't they cost ~$700?). If it was necessary to cut the cover, what would cover the resulting hole, and how would the cover be held on? Would it be easy to swap covers (albeit at the risk of paint damage) between a "real" cover and the holed out one?

I need to carry two bikes and would probably use a Thule bike carrier. Some models are for 2" and some are for 1 1/4" receivers. Which size reciever are you making?

Thanks.

Blake

This replaces the actual bumper and re-uses a stock bumper cover to camoflage it, with just a small opening to mount the hitch. If you don't want to remove and cut your existing bumper cover, just get a used one off of a parts car...anywhere from free to $25 tops. It is a 1 1/4 hitch, which is more than enough for anything our cars can tow. If you need a 2-inch receiver, then you buy a standard adaptor, which are sold expressly for the use of the bicycle racks.

cosmicbang

Thanks for the info. It sounds like I would need to acquire an extra bumper cover, cut a chunk out of it, and paint to match the car. The 1 1/4 size would be ok. I would prefer to have a normal-looking bumper cover whenever the receiver is not in use, and I am concerned that switching bumper covers frequently might be rough on their paint and finish. A few more specific questions:

1. Do you have anything in mind to cover the hole in the cover when the hitch is not being used, or would it always expose the raw female recepticle?

2. What holds the cover on the hitch frame? (Your picture looked like some external fasteners.)

3. Would a stock unmodified cover fit over the hitch structure, or do you need to unbolt the entire hitch assembly and replace with stock rear bumper assembly?

4. How difficult would it be to swap back and forth between the intact cover for non-towing use, and a modified cover for use with hitch?

4. What is the possibility of mounting the receiver a little lower so it sticks out at the top of the licence plate area, without needing to cut the cover?

Thanks for thinking of this. Even though I don't plan to actually tow anything, it would be nice not having to drive a large SUV just to carry a couple bikes, esp. with the cost of gas.

steve84GS TII

Pretty slick.
Price is competetive with a Brophy or Uhaul hitch and its much more stealth (and probably stiffer) than the "loop around" hitch I used to have.

Blake

This is not the sort of setup to go switching back and forth. I'm not even sure why you'd want to...the whole point is that there is just a 1.5x1.5 inch hole in the bumper cover, over an area that is black anyway, regadless of body color. You can get a plastic cover for the receiver from Valley or one of the other suppliers. The bumper cover is held onto the hitch by a few pop rivets. To remove the hitch, you would have to drill out the pop rivets.

If you did use a spare bumper cover, you just remove the stock bumper and the cover is attached to that...no separate removal of the cover is necessary. You also remove the bumper shocks. The wiring goes through the bumper shock hole and up through a pop-out cover in the floor of the hatch (the access holes to the nuts for the front of the bumper shock).

I will not be offering any other versions, including ones with receiver tubes mounted in other positions. Please don't ask. I had to order 10 identical units to get the price even remotely reasonable, not to mention a lot of haggling. if you wanted a one-off hitch, go ahead and design one and my fabricator will build it for you at a cost of $68 per hour...figure four or five hours, at least.

I don't know...perhaps I should just put this in the race car section. This hitch is intended primarily for track cars. If you have a concourse-quality show car that cannot be defaced by a bumper-flush, well-camaflaged inch and a half square receiver tube that hardly anyone will even notice, then this is not the product for you.

cosmicbang

Oh ok thanks for clarifying. The number on the side of the white car should have indicated that intention, but seeing the black car I thought the hitch was more for a general purpose trailer or small watercraft (and I am more accustomed to also carrying the cars on the trailer). Sorry I got kind of excited because it is very close to what I need, though for a different purpose. It is a good idea at any rate.

Thanks for the idea. Since I actually do need a more show car oriented version, I'll look into that. By the way that is a nifty "1/2 RX7" trailer you have there. Have you seen the one made by someone else that is about 2/3 of an RX-7?

hammmy

Offering a good-looking black plug for the hitch receptacle like cosmic suggested would probably help sales.

trochoid

iTrader: (6)

I've been thinking about the need for a hitch so I can carry tires and tools to the track. I was looking at doing one like the 2nd gens have, which mounts from underneath on the frame rails. Your method has more appeal and I wouldn't have to drop the fuel tank, again.

Would you post up more pics showing better detail? I am unsure of how the hitch is actually afixed to the body, and I tend to be **** when it comes to safety.

The other question I have is: Is the hitch built in such a manner that I could modify it so that the reciever sits behind the plate?

Kudos for putting a product out like this for frllow rotorheads.

Slammed_GSL

iTrader: (14)

I already am working on this same idea, I'm getting tired of having 4 wheels and tools stuffed in my car when I go to drift practice/events. I forgot about the sevenhalf....might be a good fate for my parts car.

Good luck Blake!

Blake

Well, I don't see why you can't just keep the material you cut out of the bumper cover and use that to plug the hole when you aren't towing, if it's that important. Besides, I really have no intention of selling these to people who put function behind form. This is a functional thing that is, at best, discrete. It will not be invisible. If I sell 100 of them, I will strongly consider developing the James Bond Edition retractable hitch with integral machine gun, hidden behind the plate. Until then, this is all I've got.

Blake

It's attached by those four big studs that secure the bumper to the frame. You can see it in one of the pictures above, if you look close. More than strong enough. I towed my "half" trailer from Portland, Oregon to Gainsville, Florida and back, Via LA (the long way). 8,000 miles in a week and a half. It had 12 gallons of fuel in the tank (yes, I kept the tank so I could extend my range), another three 5 gallon containers of fuel, an 80lb floor jack, a bunch of spare parts, all my tools, 4 mounted road race tires, a set of massive slicks, and a regualr full-size spare tire. At least 600 lbs. I've also taken it on a couple full laps around Portland International Raceway...not at full speed, but not exactly limping along either.

I suppose you could do anything that your fabrication skills would allow. The license plate is actually mounted to the hitch, a bit lower than stock. This allowed room for the 7-way connector I use as well as for getting my hands in there to insert and remove the hitch pin.

cosmicbang

I found a picture; have you seen it? What do you think, Rx-7 and 2/3?

MattG

iTrader: (2)

Thats some wacky *** stuff right there.

hammmy

I'm just pointing out that the appearance seems to be a sticking point with the posters in this thread who presumably are your target market. A cheap black plug, like the type used by many new SUVs nowadays, pictured with your prototype might help you sell that first batch faster. Using the cut-out bumper material would likely look jagged, while a hitch cover might cover the entire cutout. Something like:

http://mazda.autowebaccessories.com/...5_378_2928.php

I dunno, I always thought the products that provided form with function and value sold best, but it's not like I run a business or anything.

-dave

Pen_Two

That's a waste of a car.

ascott

but what if was hit in the front realy bad then i think it would of been a good idia exeps i would of done somthin a little different in the front

Zyrano

wow, i completely missed this thread the first time, i'm looking at a tire tail (at tiretail.com) to carry race tires to events, this looks interesting but with is the tonge weight?

I might be interested, though i don't know if i want to cut up a bumper... and how heavy is the part itself relative to the parts that are removed (if any), just looking at the weight increase...

Alvin

smnc

Wow!
I missed it too...?

I'd love to get in on this...

How much weight can the thing haul?

Does the new bumper have any "give" or is it completely rigid?

Thanks!

Lt. Dan

This is exactly what I need. Payment instructions? Delivery time?

Dan

cosmicbang

Dan,
Did you ever talk to Mitch Piper about making a hitch? I need one that comes out behind the licence plate, and was intending to ask him.

Lt. Dan

Nope, I actually planned on going by there first thing in the morning. I need to get an estimate on the new roll bar, and I was going to ask him about this at the same time.

Dan