This one I had made a long time ago. As you can see, it bolts to the bumper bolts and it goes on and off rather easily. The tongue for the ball sticks out under the lic. plate.

 

I was talking about on a car. LOL

 

Bringing this back from the dead. Looking for a hitch. Any update or feedback on a hidden hitch?

 

Dead thread doesn't bother me. I'm about to build a hitch for this '83 I'm working on. Just picked up a new bare receiver 6" long for 1.25" stingers. $28. Haven't yet figured out what support structure I want to fabricate, but it needs to be strong and hidden. After all, with a 200 HP 3.8L V6, a GM 7.625" rear axle, and 11.75" Brembo brakes up front with Trans Am rear discs, this thing will be ready for more than a mere 1000#.

 

I will be doing one soon as well. I like the idea Blake has, it looks like it will work with my lowering springs. Other designs are usually coming out underneath the plate.

 

I just sold a SE to Inspector71 and it had a nice hitch. I think he was planning on removing it. So, maybe contact him and see if its for sale.

 

 

How does this look installed? I might have to steal the design!!

 

It can't be stolen since I'm offering it freely. The main tube is 2" x 2" x 0.187" x 40", the top triangle is just 1/4" plate, I sized it with a cheap plastic little "speed square", the inner top brackets are 1/4", the outers are 1/8" x 1.5", the holes are 1/2", and the centers need to be 7/8" up.
I haven't finished the install yet, pic when I do. I did a test fit, then sprayed it black. That's why it isn't installed, waiting for it to dry, then when it was dry I was elsewhere.

 

 

that looks amazing! but where is your license plate going to go?

 

 

That's a problem for another day.

 

Gmc Sierra Flip Up License Plate Mount Installed Photo 9

Flip up plate, just like the old cars like mustangs that have the fuel filler hidden.

I might have to do this myself!

 

This is where im at now. Grabbed a tow bar from a jeep Cherokee at the junk yard. Chopped off the two ears and did a little cutting on the lower valance to fit everything in snug. Ill be centering it and adding tabs on today so it will bolt up to the bumper supports.

 

Eh, I just ordered a Curt hitch from Summit. No big deal.

The biggest PITA was finding out that I had to wire relays into the brake/turn signal multiplexer if I wanted to tow a trailer with incandescent lights.

 

Finished!

Total spent...

$22 plus ca tax on the original tow receiver from a cherokee

$ 3 per cutoff/grinding wheel - x4

Free tow ball and arm... Score!

Not a bad deal for a fun useful project!

 

This would get cited, around here. They'd want a flip-down that kept the whole plate vertical.

 

I thought it grossly overpriced, even from Amazon or etrailer, especially considering what a low rating Curt gives it. Same thing with my Camaros. Why make a 1000#-rated hitch for a car rated to tow 2000#? Curt are stupid. But so are Reese for not taking advantage.

 

How do I edit this to say it's not free to Curt or Reese? Or any Pacific-rim copy "artist". Them I'll happily sue for billions.

 

My plate sits in the same exact spot and angle that it did before the hitch. I only flip it up for towing, in which the plate is blocked anyways. My trailer will display its own plate and that is totally legal.

How did your plate turn out? I tucked my hitch back a few inches compared to yours just so that I could keep a stock appearance.

 

The car isn't rated to tow 2000lb.

But the real important thing is, by buying a trailer hitch and installing it by the book, IF I were ever in an accident while towing, I don't have to worry about someone's insurance company suing me with the claim that my hitch was not engineered properly.

That's worth $160 to me. (Which is how much I paid for it from Summit, with free shipping since it was over $99. And it knocked me over a 500-point threshold so I got a $15 rebate in the mail, too.)

 

'82-'92 Camaros are rated to tow 2000#.
And when your hitch is massive overkill, like all the ones I've built, it makes liability a non-issue.

 

Maybe. Legalese may not see it that way. If you design and build it, it's your liability and your insurance may cancel. on you.

It's not like $160 is all that expensive given how expensive these cars are to buy and maintain.

 

First, why are you crashing when towing? I've done over 100,000 miles with a "bumper-hitch" ( non-gooseneck ) trailer attached, never a glitch yet.
Second, not only can't my hitches fail, but they're overkill enough by the time I pronounce them tow-ready, that the vehicle they're attached to really can't be ripped apart in the hitch area, either.
This RX-7 hitch I'm showing isn't tow-ready yet, I just haven't yet had a chance to add the attachment to the bottom left, nor the hidden angle bars in my sketch. As is, it's more than adequate for my Harbor Freight trailer to haul tree branches to the local recycling center's mulching area, and that's about all a rotary should ever tow anyway. I have a real American torque engine, plus serious brakes, wide wheels, and much more to let me tow more.
Sorry your skills don't approach mine, but stop crying to me about it.