Rear Bolt-on Trailer Receiver

[elkivory]

Looks great. Thanks for the good pics. I will be building one like it after Thanksgiving. Will the hitch be oriented like you show in last picture, with receiver tube on top and end brackets with the radius cuts down. Looks like it would work for me. I just have to be sure cross piece clears hose for grill gas pipe that bolts to frame at back. I would also like for tube to be against bottom of rear bumper.

[Darin]

It is finally done and installed. Here is the finished project:

[Darin]

Originally Posted by elkivory

Looks great. Thanks for the good pics. I will be building one like it after Thanksgiving. Will the hitch be oriented like you show in last picture, with receiver tube on top and end brackets with the radius cuts down. Looks like it would work for me. I just have to be sure cross piece clears hose for grill gas pipe that bolts to frame at back. I would also like for tube to be against bottom of rear bumper.Attachment 45456

elkivory, I am building a second one for my friend who has a 28RLS. I would advise you to triple check the distance between the two brackets and then cut your crosspiece short enough to allow the finished receiver to fit. Tack weld your ends and then test fit it. I learned this the hard way, welded it up and then found it to be too long. I had to cut off one of my trailer brackets and re-weld it back on. This was the easier option as opposed to cutting my receiver back apart. Good luck with your project!!

[PlayersZ28]

Nice job. I keep measuring and looking at the back of my fiver to make a hitch.

The brackets that it bolts to are yours and welded to the bottom of the I-beam? Did you drop any coroplast before welding to the beam? What are you planning to put onto the hitch?

I was looking at making mine with two cross tubes and then using the existing brackets that are welded to the frame for mounting.

[Darin]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

Nice job. I keep measuring and looking at the back of my fiver to make a hitch.

The brackets that it bolts to are yours and welded to the bottom of the I-beam? Did you drop any coroplast before welding to the beam? What are you planning to put onto the hitch?

I was looking at making mine with two cross tubes and then using the existing brackets that are welded to the frame for mounting.

Players, the brackets that it bolted to were already there. When I re-welded the bracket I had to cut off, everything was enough distance from the welding that it didn't cause any problems. I am planning on using it for a bike rack and a cargo rack. Once I gain trust in it, I'd like to carry my generator back there (Yamaha 3500EB) as it is close to my electrical plug-in.

[Darin]

I installed my bike rack this morning to see what it looked like all together. Here it is:

[elkivory]

Darin
I finished mine a little while ago. Thanks for the good pics and design work. I had to weld my receiver tube to the back of cross piece because my bumper is lower. The bottom of my bumper is level with the bottom of the frame. Looks like yours was higher in pics. I tacked the receiver on top of the cross piece yesterday evening and found out it would not clear bumper. I did like you suggested and tack welded the end plates, tested and sure enough had to cut about 1/8" off cross piece. After that all fit good and now my wife will paint next. Thanks again

[Darin]

Originally Posted by elkivory

Darin
I finished mine a little while ago. Thanks for the good pics and design work. I had to weld my receiver tube to the back of cross piece because my bumper is lower. The bottom of my bumper is level with the bottom of the frame. Looks like yours was higher in pics. I tacked the receiver on top of the cross piece yesterday evening and found out it would not clear bumper. I did like you suggested and tack welded the end plates, tested and sure enough had to cut about 1/8" off cross piece. After that all fit good and now my wife will paint next. Thanks again

elkivory, do we get some pictures from you? I'd like to see how yours turned out.

[elkivory]

I will try to tomorrow evening. Been raining here. You mentioned maybe carrying a generator. Back around 2001-2002 I had a carrier plugged into the back of a carrilite fifth wheel that I carried a Yamaha TW200 motorcycle on. About 250 pounds. Made couple of trips to Colorado with no problem. I would guess I hauled it over 5000 miles. Between Corsicana and Waco Texas road was real wavy. Constant up and down motion actually caused 2” cross piece to separate along one corner. I didn’t think possible. 1/4” tubing. Luckily we stopped for fuel in Waco and I walked behind trailer. Motorcycle was within a couple of inches of ground. Welder in Temple, Texas beefed it up and never had any more trouble. My point is the leverage on a carrier at back of trailer can be really exaggerated on bouncy road. I plan on monitoring closely.

[elkivory]

Here are a couple of pics. Will post more after paint and mounted to trailer[ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Darin]

"Here are a couple of pics. Will post more after paint and mounted to trailer"

Looks good elkivory. Good job!! Now I'm wondering if I need to build my friends that way?

[elkivory]

You might want to look at where bumper sits in relation to yours. I clamped one plate to trailer and used level pointed back to mark plate for welding cross piece. I wanted tube close to bumper. Ended up with about an inch or so under bumper to tube. I got some grade 8 bolts to bolt on trailer. I feel if it fails it will either be where Jayco welded plates to frame or bolts shear. Really not worried about it for my use, but I will keep and eye on it.

[Darin]

Originally Posted by elkivory

You might want to look at where bumper sits in relation to yours. I clamped one plate to trailer and used level pointed back to mark plate for welding cross piece. I wanted tube close to bumper. Ended up with about an inch or so under bumper to tube. I got some grade 8 bolts to bolt on trailer. I feel if it fails it will either be where Jayco welded plates to frame or bolts shear. Really not worried about it for my use, but I will keep and eye on it.

This weekend, I'm going to look into tying the receiver tube to the Jayco bumper above it. I know the bumper is weak, but I feel that it will add rigidity to the receiver hitch. I'm also going to get a camera so I can watch it while going down the road. I will start with light cargo and build my way up before I will trust my generator in it. I can't seem to find a cargo tray that looks trustworthy to me and will probably end up building my own.

[PlayersZ28]

What wall thickness are you guys using for the cross tubes? Did you buy the receiver tube (drilled for pin and reinforced opening) or make one?

I figured 1/4 wall would be too heavy for the side to side tube, maybe 3/16. The receivers are 1/4 though. I could make my own and weld on a strip to dbl up the opening.

[elkivory]

I used 1/4. If I had it to do over I would probably go with 3/16 due to weight. I used 1/4 because of failure I mentioned earlier in this thread. Wall of tubing actually split at corner. I bought tube at harbor freight, 12" only $15.99. Many years ago I used to make my own receiver tube, but getting hole aligned with insert was always hard for me.Tube doesn't line up flush top and bottom with cross piece. I added small piece to cross tube and then put a plate across it to receiver tube. This is on bottom. I may also tie mine to bumper just for a little added support. If I tie to bumper I will remove spare tire from bumper when I tow. I will only be towing relatively short distances from my house in Pagosa Springs, CO to places in Colorado.

[PlayersZ28]

My fifth wheel has 3 brackets on the bottom of the frame each side that I think are used to mount the cargo tray that was an option. They are like an inverted U with wings. The rear two are used to mount the rear stabilizers. The inside of the U is 2.5" so my plan is to put a 6' tube along the bottom of the frame and in the U and then weld to the brackets and a couple of spots on the frame. I'll put two cross tubes between them and the the receiver tube from those to the back. I need to notch the receiver into them so that the cross bar for the stabs will fit back in. Up here a 24" pre-made receiver is ~55$ from Princess Auto (our Harbour Frt). Just need to figure out when I can get to it, got 8" of snow last night

[elkivory]

Here are final pics[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[Darin]

Originally Posted by PlayersZ28

What wall thickness are you guys using for the cross tubes? Did you buy the receiver tube (drilled for pin and reinforced opening) or make one?

I figured 1/4 wall would be too heavy for the side to side tube, maybe 3/16. The receivers are 1/4 though. I could make my own and weld on a strip to dbl up the opening.

I also made mine out of 1/4" tubing and bought the receiver tube from Amazon. My end pieces and gussets are also made from 1/4' flat plate. It is heavy, but I'm not worried about it bending or breaking. Eventually, I'd like to potentially haul my generator on this thing. I've always fabricated using the theory that "Overkill is better than Underkill".

[Darin]

I built my second accessory hitch today for a friend with a 2015 Jayflight 27RLS. On this one, I had to weld the receiver tube on to the bottom of the cross tube to allow for bumper clearance.

It's nice to have a friend/ neighbor like you. I have one also and we do each other favors all the time.

[spoon059]

If any of you are near Maryland, I have a factory hitch from my 2015 Jayflight that I am selling. I think its in the classifieds still. I love it, but my driveway is too steep, so it would drag and gouge my driveway.