Deuce removeable hitch

[roscoe]

Recht71, were your trucks in the Auburn museum last year? I thought your guntruck looks like the one I saw there. Really like your hitch idea, mainly because its removable. If you don't mind someone stealing your idea, what would it cost to have Matt make me one?

 

[wldrbob]

straight pull that hitch will work great . in compression not so good . think of the flat bars as a chain great to pull with not so good to push with. add 2 more pieces change it to an angle iron and your good to go . i made one almost the same used 1/2 x3 flat great for years till i tryed to haul 25 round bales up hill tractor spun out and slid back thats where i found out that you should build for the worst thing you can think of. looks nice though.

 

[roscoe]

For my use, I would prefer some overkill also. This would be a neat option as you could use it on more than one truck.

 

[jesusgatos]

I agree, the flat plates are almost definitely going to be the weak-link. Especially if/when the hitch is subjected to any serious side-loads. Using round of square tubes instead of those flat plates would make the whole assembly a LOT stronger, but I love the idea and it looks plenty strong as-is for the intended application. I'm going to steal this idea and build something similar, but it's got me thinking that I might be able to design a hitch that would pivot on the frame bolts and tuck up out of the way when not in-use. Thanks!

 

[wldrbob]

yes one more hinge point lift up, out, then down, fold back, hook into another piece of pipe the same size as your pintal hitch opening . hummmm could work good. might be more trouble than its worth though

 

[Recht71]

Roscoe Yes The WILDTHING 's winter home is Auburn at the Military History Center. I live north of there Snow Lake . The trucks are up here in the summer , gets a little tight up here in the summer . I have five ,there all kept inside M-54 5 ton (Wildthing) ,m-35 ( I'm not happy), m-715,m-37 and 151A1 jeep. I'm starting on the jeep in a couple weeks then the M-715. Randy

 

[roscoe]

Roscoe Yes The WILDTHING 's winter home is Auburn at the Military History Center. I live north of there Snow Lake . The trucks are up here in the summer , gets a little tight up here in the summer . I have five ,there all kept inside M-54 5 ton (Wildthing) ,m-35 ( I'm not happy), m-715,m-37 and 151A1 jeep. I'm starting on the jeep in a couple weeks then the M-715. Randy

Do you know if the museum is ok financially? Considering some of the things I've heard on the news about the auction park, it would be to bad if the collection got sold off. Is it a complete restoration on the jeep and 715?

 

[cbvet]

Sloppy design, poor construction!

I think you should just give up & give it to me at the Kokomo Reunion.

Eric

 

[Brian Thomas]

Very nice job and great looking too.

Every one has an opinion, good or bad. But i wonder just how many that do have an opinion could build one?

I am sure for its intended purpose it will work great. If it should bend, you will know how to improve it.

99% of hitch failures are from improper use and loading.

 

[jesusgatos]

If it should bend, you will know how to improve it.

99% of hitch failures are from improper use and loading.

That's very true. I had a recent experience with a trailer tongue that I modified (extended). I was lucky that I had a chance to fix it before it failed catastrophically.

 

[wldrbob]

well we make tounges like that quite often you have plenty of heighth add 2 gussets one on each side and make it as wide as the pintal hitch holder. triangle shaped and 3/8 in thick and then it will bend the tubing, not crack off the weldment. oh ya not wanting to diss your welding but it lookes like it broke down the center of your weld? re grind it and reweld it gussets are for extra not instead of weld.

 

[tm america]

brain thomas you are right but what is the weight rating of this hitch he made .whats the tongue load it can handle and what's the total towed amount? see the problem here if it is a custom built hitch you dont know these numbers .so how much do you put on it how much is safe .i could easily build it this is the one i built for my truck right now. i want to make a removable hitch that doesnt get me stuck offroad .the one i made for my truck is 1/2inch plate for the back 2.5x2.5 inch 1/4 wall tubing for the reciever tube the side rails are frame rails from a ford f6 they are more than 1/4 inch thick. and the tube that runs from side to side that the reciever tube ties into is 2x2 1/4 wall tubing it will hold over 40000lbs safely . it is held onto the frame with 14 1/2inch grabe 8 bolts 5 down each frame rail and 4 across the rear cross member

 

[Recht71]

ERic You already have a hitch , You SEABEE"S ain't right anyways , See you in Sept

Till Later Randy

 

[wldrbob]

wow you guys worry lots how do you sleep? i was in reserch and developement for years mostly farm implements .you know the fancy formula for hitchs and frames? well there is none, lol you build one then test the crap out of it till it breaks. if its under whats deamed as its lifetime it goes into production. no matter what you think thats what actually happens .same way as they came out with the deuce i bet.

 

[Recht71]

Roscoe The museum is ok I 'm on commitee's at times ,they are not connected to the auction park people anymore. The jeep will go down to bare bones as did the M-35 and M-37 the M-715 was a rare find it only needs a main seal , sanded and paint Till later Randy

 

[tm america]

i worry about nothing i think he did a great job with it and it will work great for what he is using it for and thats all that matters..i would do mine a little different as i would be towing more weight . but the basic idea is there and looks quite nice might i add .i bet there will be several of us making something similar done to suit our needs ..there are several ways this idea could be modified to do slightly different things that's what makes it so great.now if i could get some more green to go on my trailerno body is critizing the work he did or how well it will work for him we're just throwing ideas out there of how it could be modded to meet our needs .

 

[wldrbob]

well it got a nice paint job thats for sure . but if he got it custom made and if( big if ) they designed the hitch then they need some new design guys. if he brought in the drawings and they built it to his specs thats different .customers always right except when it could get your shop sued . anyways like i said before i had one like that for years . the next model was a lot stronger. and yes i sure like the 1/2 in plate

 

[jesusgatos]

well we make tounges like that quite often you have plenty of heighth add 2 gussets one on each side and make it as wide as the pintal hitch holder. triangle shaped and 3/8 in thick and then it will bend the tubing, not crack off the weldment. oh ya not wanting to diss your welding but it lookes like it broke down the center of your weld? re grind it and reweld it gussets are for extra not instead of weld.

Yeah, it cracked right down the middle of my weld. First weld I've ever had fail. It was a single-pass and I welded it downhill. Ground it out, burned in 3-passes uphill and put 1/2" plate gussets on both sides of the lunette-eye mount. It's overkill-to-the-max now.

 

[wldrbob]

yup good job

 

[roscoe]

Roscoe The museum is ok I 'm on commitee's at times ,they are not connected to the auction park people anymore. The jeep will go down to bare bones as did the M-35 and M-37 the M-715 was a rare find it only needs a main seal , sanded and paint Till later Randy

Thats good news. I thought I heard the collection was used as collateral on a loan. Saw the hitch up close today and its well made. A lot heavier than it appears in photos. As a side note, man does Randy have some nice trucks!