Civy tow bars

[Somemedic]

I do keep some very large washers in the truck for when I use the homemade towbar. A shim, so to speak.

They could come in handy for tailgaters to I guess, not that I encourage that sort of thing...

 

[BobM]

As I posted before, I towed my 1008 from Ft Mead, Md to west-central Indiana a total of 644 miles. I posted the story with pics here http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/25643-644-miles-towbar.html

 

[mark69k20]

same problem

I used this setup for 400 miles to recover a M1009. It worked great but noticed the 1009 seemed to 'walk' back and forth on the 1" bolt as the receiver tubes are larger than the lift hooks. I'm not sure if others had this issue but I would recommend using washers or some other filler to keep the vehicle from walking back and forth on the 1" bolt. This wasn't a big deal but thought I would share my experiences....

I tried the "slip over and pin" style as described above and as described above the trucks walked, jerked, slamed scared the bujeezus out of me! Would be fine for short trips and slow speed but i was on the highway for 350+ miles.
I found that if you use the 5000lb tow bar with two home made bushings where the d-ring pins go, and some grade 8 bolts and bashers the tow bar will still pivot up and down w/o all the end play. I logged over 1000 miles over the past 2 years.... no issues! I will shim up my reciever tubes some day to see if i can get the play out of them. Also for those going on a recovery.... think bent "lift hook" tubes... what ever system you come up with remember these trucks are occasionally beat and the tubes may be tweeked.

Hope this helps someone out...

 

[BobM]

I tried the "slip over and pin" style as described above and as described above the trucks walked, jerked, slamed scared the bujeezus out of me! Would be fine for short trips and slow speed but i was on the highway for 350+ miles.
I found that if you use the 5000lb tow bar with two home made bushings where the d-ring pins go, and some grade 8 bolts and bashers the tow bar will still pivot up and down w/o all the end play. I logged over 1000 miles over the past 2 years.... no issues! I will shim up my reciever tubes some day to see if i can get the play out of them. Also for those going on a recovery.... think bent "lift hook" tubes... what ever system you come up with remember these trucks are occasionally beat and the tubes may be tweeked.

Hope this helps someone out...

Do you have any pics of this offending hookup? I can't imagine where you got all that play from. The towbar I used had no unwanted play in it. There are pics in my thread above that shows the bar that I used and that tlm uses. And my big tow was 644 miles.

 

[mark69k20]

My set up looked just like the pics of tlm47201 I almost think this is the thread I built them after.
I bought the tubes at Harbor Freight and am now wondering if the are 2.25" or 2". If I recall the issue correctly the lift tubes are taller then they are wide. Maybe bad machining on my part but the adapter just seemed real sloppy when it was finished. I also recall very little tolerance between the bumper and adapter once pined (i used the lft ring pins not 1" bolts). If the lift tubes were bent sideways at all mine would not work.

I guess my overall advice to anyone designing this set up would be to ensure close tolerances, shims if need be, and have a way to bend the lift tubes if they are bent at all.

 

[mark69k20]

trying picture

 

[ryan77]

I started making one like you guys did, when i tow it i leave the steering wheel unlocked correct?

 

[BobM]

I started making one like you guys did, when i tow it i leave the steering wheel unlocked correct?

Yes.
The column has to be unlocked to allow the front wheels to turn on the corners. Otherwise you would have to drag the front end around the corners. And I still say that the worrying I did before the actual deed was all unfounded. With a little caution, you should be fine.

 

[ryan77]

Sounds good i just finished it today and tested it my m1009, the brackets came out good went through 3 hole saw bits ended up using a step bit for the 1 1/8 holes. Hopefully my euc comes through soon so i can get my next money pit...

 

[BobM]

Sounds good i just finished it today and tested it my m1009, the brackets came out good went through 3 hole saw bits ended up using a step bit for the 1 1/8 holes. Hopefully my euc comes through soon so i can get my next money pit...

Good luck with it!

 

[ryan77]

My euc just came through im going to try and get it next monday the 12