Built me a towbar

[jjfricko]

make sure you heat up them 7018 rods in a rod oven

 

[m16ty]

This project had been on hold because of other projects but I finally got time to fab up another towbar. I'm going to post this one up in the classifieds for sale.

 

[goldneagle]

Very Nice Job!

 

[jrou111]

Looks good man!

 

[Sundance]

Not to pile on but... MIG welding is fine. As with any welding process including stick if its not done properly you are prone to failure. Plus you are correct that if your using seies 70 low hydrogen rods they better be coming out of an oven.

If any of you have ridden any of the steel mega coasters around the country you are riding on mig welds. Talk about dynamic and impact loads along with stress reversals.

The picture of the failed GI tow bar is a perfect example of higher strength tube failure due to fatigue.
Have seen this on coaster columns.

 

[GoHot229]

No critisism here....but........yea there's always a but, the liability issue is a concern that I would be warry of. Just as alot of automotive resto parts are sold as offroad only items, you may skirt the legaleese.. They look fairly simple. The pintle loop might be suspect....mabe, mabe not. Good luck, and its about time someone came up with an aftermarket bar. Besides liability, nabe the DOT or Highway patrol might cast a wry look at the homebuilt aspect of it and call you on it.

 

[atankersdad]

Good job at taking the time to do this.

 

[m16ty]

No critisism here....but........yea there's always a but, the liability issue is a concern that I would be warry of. Just as alot of automotive resto parts are sold as offroad only items, you may skirt the legaleese.. They look fairly simple. The pintle loop might be suspect....mabe, mabe not. Good luck, and its about time someone came up with an aftermarket bar. Besides liability, nabe the DOT or Highway patrol might cast a wry look at the homebuilt aspect of it and call you on it.

I'm calling them "off road only" just to cover my butt. Use them however you like .

The pintle loop is made of 3/4" steel with two 3/8" reinforcement rings welded around the hole to give a total of 1 1/2" of meat. The first one I made the pintle is only made out of 5/8" plate. I've pulled several trucks with it without problems including a deuce that didn't want to track and gave the towbar a workout. I decided I'd beef up the ones to sell so I'd be sure there wouldn't be any problems. Every fabed part has a "weakest link" and I can assure you the pintle isn't it .

 

[docfarmall]

Even still you sell it with off road intentions but "you no just as well il be out there" i wouldn't trust the squaire tubing either

 

[3dAngus]

It looks like a good towbar for personal use off road, but there is NO WAY I would EVER sell something like that. The Hunter towbar for the military is so superior in every way, breaks down in pieces, feet are better and stronger for the 5 tons, unlikely to break when you hit the brakes, and will pull evenly on a flat pull. I like it, but selling something like that knowing people will take it on the road, then have problems with insurance if something does go wrong, where are they going to go if a third party gets hurt?

Of course, in my area, I still see people pull cars with chains and a tire between the cars threading the chain. LOL

 

[m16ty]

I have sold a couple without compaints. The guy with the water-jet that was doing my cutting went broke so I never did build but just a few.

I've ran the square tubing by a engineer and he said it is more than strong enough. I've got one that I use personally (it's the first one I built and isn't as strong as the ones I've sold). I tried every way in the world to tear it up but it's held up. From what it's been through I'm more than personally confident it will hold up to anything I should encounter out on the road (short of falling off of a cliff).

 

[colelkhunter]

M16 you are only about an hour from me on I-40. If you need anything waterjetted give me a shout. I have access to one here in town at a friends machine shop. After hours is project time.