hitch/trailer install - pics
08-10-04, 11:46 PM
#1
hitch/trailer install - pics
ok, another installment of the 'install by damian dela huerta' :-)
there has been a lot of info posted on this already, that is where i got the part numbers, et, and i have had great responses from the guys who had done this already years ago... here is a regirgitation of that data with pictures :-) (hehehe)
First, the trailer.
NOTE #1: it does not come yellow, it comes in a red/orange color, i painted mine yellow (you saw that coming huh)
NOTE #2: it does not come wiht the plywood floor, I purchased a 40x48 peice of plywood at homedepot, sealed it, primed it, then painted it black.
here is a pic of my trailer:
Northern Tool Item# 12542
Snipped from Northn's site:
****
Complete road-ready kit with fenders! Easy assembly with basic tools. Includes 1 7/8in. coupler assembly with safety chains, approved lighting, wiring and connector, tail and turn signals, side running lights, high-speed wheels and tires, and slipper springs. Gross vehicle weight 1180 lbs. Load capacity is 1060 lbs. Coupler capacity is 2000 lbs. Bed size: 48in. L x 40in. W; overall 55in. W x 78in. L. You add plywood.
****
link to it as of today:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...productId=7262
HarborFreight sells a similar deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90153
MAKE SURE TO GET THE 12" TIRES version, not the 8" version...well, it probably dosnt matter much but supposedly the bigger tires help the stability/drivabilty. (or whatever)
Ok, now the hitch.
Pic of parts you need to order (with part numbers):
NOTE #1: You can have Uhaul install it, HOWEVER, I just told them i wanted the hitch parts and was going to have my shop do the install, so I was able to pick the part up do my thang.
Note #2: some of the peeps working at Uhaul are not the smartests cats in the playground, so MAKE SURE they order the right parts, it will be hard to get the hitch part because it will not be in their local system, they have to special order it, have it made and shipped to the store, they messed mine up a few time, so double check their work!!!
The hitch will come with the hardware needed for install and some crude instructions.
Basically it bolts on it 2 places, the diff frame and the bumber frame. The diff frame part is easy, you do that first (dont tighten all the way yet) and it will hold it in place to do the bumber frame part. The bumber frame part is a PIA!!! First of all you have to drill some holes (no biggy) including a pilot hole ont he right side of the bumber frame mounting location to fish bolts and u-bolts through, not a big deal but I did make another 'hole' on the other side to get stuff in that side easier. You can see them in the pics.
NOTE #1: We needed to grind down the middle bolt for the bumber frame connection because it was too tall to snake in and get verticall enough to slide in the hole, we took about 4-5 threads off it and then it fit in there. ITs a hassle you relly have to mess with different ways of snaking it up in the pilot holes, keeping it vertical, and gettin it to drop correctly in your drilled holes.
NOTE#2: We used aluminum sheeting to make a long 'tool' that could lightly hold the bolts so we could snake them in the pilot hole, keep it vertical, and get it in the drilled holes, then once the bolt is down int eh hole we pulled on the aluminum and it would 'bend' off the bolt and come out of the pilot hole. This took many failed attemps and semi-curse words before success :-)
Once you have the bumber bolts in place you can tighten eveything up.
Pic of me drilling:
Pic of hitch installed (notice pilot holes)
Pic of me torqing the bolts up, Andy's (GooRoo) car on the left ebing worked on by Noah:
and thats about it... I'll have more shots of the trailer once i get the toolbox/wheel mounts on it and some shots of the entire setup when i get it hooked to the car.
Thanks to Noah at spleedlab for the help.
there has been a lot of info posted on this already, that is where i got the part numbers, et, and i have had great responses from the guys who had done this already years ago... here is a regirgitation of that data with pictures :-) (hehehe)
First, the trailer.
NOTE #1: it does not come yellow, it comes in a red/orange color, i painted mine yellow (you saw that coming huh)
NOTE #2: it does not come wiht the plywood floor, I purchased a 40x48 peice of plywood at homedepot, sealed it, primed it, then painted it black.
here is a pic of my trailer:
Northern Tool Item# 12542
Snipped from Northn's site:
****
Complete road-ready kit with fenders! Easy assembly with basic tools. Includes 1 7/8in. coupler assembly with safety chains, approved lighting, wiring and connector, tail and turn signals, side running lights, high-speed wheels and tires, and slipper springs. Gross vehicle weight 1180 lbs. Load capacity is 1060 lbs. Coupler capacity is 2000 lbs. Bed size: 48in. L x 40in. W; overall 55in. W x 78in. L. You add plywood.
****
link to it as of today:
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...productId=7262
HarborFreight sells a similar deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=90153
MAKE SURE TO GET THE 12" TIRES version, not the 8" version...well, it probably dosnt matter much but supposedly the bigger tires help the stability/drivabilty. (or whatever)
Ok, now the hitch.
Pic of parts you need to order (with part numbers):
NOTE #1: You can have Uhaul install it, HOWEVER, I just told them i wanted the hitch parts and was going to have my shop do the install, so I was able to pick the part up do my thang.
Note #2: some of the peeps working at Uhaul are not the smartests cats in the playground, so MAKE SURE they order the right parts, it will be hard to get the hitch part because it will not be in their local system, they have to special order it, have it made and shipped to the store, they messed mine up a few time, so double check their work!!!
The hitch will come with the hardware needed for install and some crude instructions.
Basically it bolts on it 2 places, the diff frame and the bumber frame. The diff frame part is easy, you do that first (dont tighten all the way yet) and it will hold it in place to do the bumber frame part. The bumber frame part is a PIA!!! First of all you have to drill some holes (no biggy) including a pilot hole ont he right side of the bumber frame mounting location to fish bolts and u-bolts through, not a big deal but I did make another 'hole' on the other side to get stuff in that side easier. You can see them in the pics.
NOTE #1: We needed to grind down the middle bolt for the bumber frame connection because it was too tall to snake in and get verticall enough to slide in the hole, we took about 4-5 threads off it and then it fit in there. ITs a hassle you relly have to mess with different ways of snaking it up in the pilot holes, keeping it vertical, and gettin it to drop correctly in your drilled holes.
NOTE#2: We used aluminum sheeting to make a long 'tool' that could lightly hold the bolts so we could snake them in the pilot hole, keep it vertical, and get it in the drilled holes, then once the bolt is down int eh hole we pulled on the aluminum and it would 'bend' off the bolt and come out of the pilot hole. This took many failed attemps and semi-curse words before success :-)
Once you have the bumber bolts in place you can tighten eveything up.
Pic of me drilling:
Pic of hitch installed (notice pilot holes)
Pic of me torqing the bolts up, Andy's (GooRoo) car on the left ebing worked on by Noah:
and thats about it... I'll have more shots of the trailer once i get the toolbox/wheel mounts on it and some shots of the entire setup when i get it hooked to the car.
Thanks to Noah at spleedlab for the help.
08-10-04, 11:53 PM
#2
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
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I am guessing you take it off once at the track? What is the angle and clearence of the tongue when it is rolling down the road? Entry into parking lots may be a bit trickier now. 
Damn i want a lift sooo bad. !!
Damn i want a lift sooo bad. !!
Last edited by BigIslandSevens; 08-11-04 at 12:13 AM.
08-11-04, 12:11 AM
#4
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
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cool I was just wondering. these cars are pretty low. And i see a ton of hooptie set-ups out here on all types of cars. Looks like a big V driving down the road from the side. And if there is a speed bump,they are screwed!! 
08-11-04, 12:21 AM
#6
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Do you do this to your track car just to tote around spare wheels and what not? Because I really don't understand why you would do this to a track car when I see, from your sig, that you have another one that doesn't look race prepped. Don't get me wrong or anything... A lot of us have seen your videos and your car is damn wicked, but if I was following a car on the track with a U-haul hitch on it... It may give me a little chuckle or two.
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08-11-04, 12:54 AM
#9
Originally Posted by BigIslandSevens
cool I was just wondering. these cars are pretty low. And i see a ton of hooptie set-ups out here on all types of cars. Looks like a big V driving down the road from the side. And if there is a speed bump,they are screwed!!
08-11-04, 12:57 AM
#10
Originally Posted by tookwik
Do you do this to your track car just to tote around spare wheels and what not? Because I really don't understand why you would do this to a track car when I see, from your sig, that you have another one that doesn't look race prepped. Don't get me wrong or anything... A lot of us have seen your videos and your car is damn wicked, but if I was following a car on the track with a U-haul hitch on it... It may give me a little chuckle or two.
now puttin it on teh street car, THAT would be a crime!!! LOL HAHAHA
here is a pic from another thread to get the idea:
old thread link:
https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...hlight=trailer
08-11-04, 01:02 AM
#11
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hitch
i work at a trailer hitch shop and that looks like grap. i build a vertical mount that you cant evren seen behind the car. email for pics and i will show you a real tailer hitch 4 the 7. rjensky1306@comcast.com
08-11-04, 01:08 AM
#12
Eats, Sleeps, Dreams Rotary
Originally Posted by ryan35/40
i work at a trailer hitch shop and that looks like grap. i build a vertical mount that you cant evren seen behind the car. email for pics and i will show you a real tailer hitch 4 the 7. rjensky1306@comcast.com
anyways, nice write up as always Damian. And that's DamonB rig....thats a nice set up that he has, as I got to see him unload and set up at a local autocross event.
08-11-04, 01:19 AM
#13
yeah, i have seen a pic of a vertical style hitch that connected only to the bumber frame, didnt like it, passed on it... so im good but post pics so we can see it.
by the way when the drawbar is off, you can barely see the hitch, unless I dip down and look (and im not tall either) I cant even see it. its all good for me in that respect :-)
...the bigger deal for me is weight, you want to reduce weight to a track car not add it!!!!! so i though of doing all kinda stuff like drillin holes it in or whatever, but its not that big of a deal and a fine compromise for the ability to trailer stuff around to the tracks
by the way when the drawbar is off, you can barely see the hitch, unless I dip down and look (and im not tall either) I cant even see it. its all good for me in that respect :-)
...the bigger deal for me is weight, you want to reduce weight to a track car not add it!!!!! so i though of doing all kinda stuff like drillin holes it in or whatever, but its not that big of a deal and a fine compromise for the ability to trailer stuff around to the tracks
08-11-04, 05:21 AM
#15
Oji San
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I put the same hitch on my car back in January. I have the same trailer too. I'll post some pics when I get home. That trailer sure beats trying to find someone to carry my tires for me to events.
08-11-04, 07:03 AM
#16
Lives on the Forum
I've been using the same trailer for years now and I have two recommendations. First, replace every single nut on the trailer with a locking type (I used the ones with the little silicone o-rings in them). The trailer vibrates and bounces like crazy (don't feel it much inside the car) and will loosen parts quickly. Obviously if the trailer falls apart that would be bad After one season of use I found many loose nuts so I replaced them all.
On the same note I constantly blew side marker bulbs due to vibration so I replaced all the marker and tail light bulbs with LED types that don't have a filament to vibrate and break. Be certain you get high quality ones because the cheap ones aren't bright. I also like my presence to be more easily known when behind me in the dark so I added a pair of dual bulb red marker lights to the rear crossbar of the trailer.
One other thing I did that's very handy. If you look at my pic closely you can see a pair of eye hooks at the rear of the floor; I used these instead of plain bolts to attach the floor. There is another pair in the middle hidden behind the fenders. I keep a bunch of tie down straps in the trailer and I can lash all sort of stuff on top of the toolbox or tires if need be. It's quite a sight when I'm headed out to get tires swapped as I have the four wheels/tires in the rack and four more tires strapped on top. My current record is 8 wheels with mounted tires and two unmounted tires for a total of 10. Had to carry the last two tires in my girlfriend's Jeep
I don't use the eyebolts often but they are really handy to have when buying new racecar parts from other racers at the site
Other than that the thing tows easily when fully loaded, just pay some attention to how the trailer is balanced. You do want the tongue heavier but my tongue weight when fully loaded is only about 25 pounds. The car really hardly knows it's there and the trailer pulls great on the highway.
Wheels wider than 8" won't fit the trailer like mine do. You can easily build an A-frame type rack to hold the wheels but first you need to attach a pair of crossbars to the trailer wide enough to support the wheels as they will overhang the trailer a few inches on each side. The Miata guys have it made. Their wheels are so small they just leave the floor off the rear half of the trailer and the wheels sit right up all by themselves down between the crossbars
After one season of use I found many loose nuts so I replaced them all.On the same note I constantly blew side marker bulbs due to vibration so I replaced all the marker and tail light bulbs with LED types that don't have a filament to vibrate and break. Be certain you get high quality ones because the cheap ones aren't bright. I also like my presence to be more easily known when behind me in the dark so I added a pair of dual bulb red marker lights to the rear crossbar of the trailer.
One other thing I did that's very handy. If you look at my pic closely you can see a pair of eye hooks at the rear of the floor; I used these instead of plain bolts to attach the floor. There is another pair in the middle hidden behind the fenders. I keep a bunch of tie down straps in the trailer and I can lash all sort of stuff on top of the toolbox or tires if need be. It's quite a sight when I'm headed out to get tires swapped as I have the four wheels/tires in the rack and four more tires strapped on top. My current record is 8 wheels with mounted tires and two unmounted tires for a total of 10. Had to carry the last two tires in my girlfriend's Jeep
I don't use the eyebolts often but they are really handy to have when buying new racecar parts from other racers at the site Other than that the thing tows easily when fully loaded, just pay some attention to how the trailer is balanced. You do want the tongue heavier but my tongue weight when fully loaded is only about 25 pounds. The car really hardly knows it's there and the trailer pulls great on the highway.
Wheels wider than 8" won't fit the trailer like mine do. You can easily build an A-frame type rack to hold the wheels but first you need to attach a pair of crossbars to the trailer wide enough to support the wheels as they will overhang the trailer a few inches on each side. The Miata guys have it made. Their wheels are so small they just leave the floor off the rear half of the trailer and the wheels sit right up all by themselves down between the crossbars
Last edited by DamonB; 08-11-04 at 07:08 AM.
08-11-04, 10:09 AM
#19
Lives on the Forum
Originally Posted by Rated R1
Good catch Damon. When are you going to send me those Scuderia Perverto stickers?
"Scuderia Povero" translates to "The Impoverished Racing Team".I need to make new numbers and stuff for the car soon so I plan to do some decals then too. I work for a printing and graphics company so I don't bother to clean my numbers. When they get bad I just make new ones
08-11-04, 10:41 AM
#21
Originally Posted by Rated R1
I put the same hitch on my car back in January. I have the same trailer too. I'll post some pics when I get home. That trailer sure beats trying to find someone to carry my tires for me to events.
heheh, exactly ...cant wait to see pics.
08-11-04, 10:49 AM
#22
Originally Posted by DamonB
damian, your ball is upside down. On this car you want the drawbar to place the ball higher, not lower. Just remove the ball and mount it from the other side.
heheh, yeah, i realized that before i left the shop and put the ball back on the other way and flipped the drawbar around... :-)
I have updated the pic with a note on that.
Last edited by damian; 08-11-04 at 11:04 AM.
08-11-04, 10:54 AM
#23
hey DamonB, good suggestions in your post above, the northern trailer came with locking nuts so that was already there, I'll definetly have to get some eye-hooks into the sides for tie down ability, and I like the idea of led lights and n extra rear light.... and my rims are 18x10 so ill definetly have to make a wider 'tire rack'
08-11-04, 12:48 PM
#24
No no no, you've got it all wrong dude, a car this nice should be riding on a trailer, not pulling one!!!
Seriously though, I really dig the yellow paint. A few of the autocrossers I know swear the added rear weight or a hitch affected the balance of their car in a good way. They went out looking for heavier hitches.
-s-
Seriously though, I really dig the yellow paint. A few of the autocrossers I know swear the added rear weight or a hitch affected the balance of their car in a good way. They went out looking for heavier hitches.
-s-
