LMTV Hitch Extension Kit installed!

[Third From Texas]

Ive been pondering on this hitch problem you have ! Yes its ugly and really takes away from the looks of your truck ! And everybody that you drive by make fun of you and your truck and that awful hitch . So as much as it pains me to take the burden off your shoulders i am willing to pay the freight from your driveway to mine at no cost to you in any way ! Yes i would do that for you and i know folks like me dont come along that often doing kind things for the down trodden so when you get it out from under there just give me a holler and you can go back to holding your head up high again when driving your truck no more heckling from the locals .

You'll have to fight Geo for it. He's been eyeballing it for a looooong time....

 

[chucky]

apparently there is more to this hitch than just the green shown here.... did you install the whole kit including the new cross member that goes behind the main plate it bolted too?

Awesome and beefy !

I'm pondering how to add a civilian 2" receiver hitch to mine.

The trick with that is the fact than mine extends (when the truck gets excited).

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I would take the four bolts out of the pintle and put 3/8 or 1/2 plate with longer grade 8 bolts back thru the plate into the threaded holes with the plate hanging below with your 2 or 2 1/2 inch tube for civilian hitches cause thats what im going to do with it ! I talked to geo and he thinks its ugly also so hes good with you sending it to me!!!

 

[Awesomeness]

apparently there is more to this hitch than just the green shown here.... did you install the whole kit including the new cross member that goes behind the main plate it bolted too?

Yes, I installed all of it. See bullet #4 from the original post.

 

[Third From Texas]

I would take the four bolts out of the pintle and put 3/8 or 1/2 plate with longer grade 8 bolts back thru the plate into the threaded holes with the plate hanging below with your 2 or 2 1/2 inch tube for civilian hitches

Yep, that's what I sort of have planned.

Part of me was concerned that there was no additional bracing at the base (like most folks add to their civilian receiver mods). But I figure that it's it's tough enough for the pintle it should hold a little receiver slung under it.

My only hesitation is to what degree if any am I willing to forego some angle of departure. You inherently lose some simply by extending the hitch.

I pondered (still am) making the pintle removable. So just slide it out and swap. That opens up the possibilities of replicating the pintle receiver on the front of the truck as well. Then, winches and the whole nine yards can be used in either position.

 

[chucky]

Yep, that's what I sort of have planned.

Part of me was concerned that there was no additional bracing at the base (like most folks add to their civilian receiver mods). But I figure that it's it's tough enough for the pintle it should hold a little receiver slung under it.

My only hesitation is to what degree if any am I willing to forego some angle of departure. You inherently lose some simply by extending the hitch.

I would drop just enough to clear the pintle with you square tubing and put a drop hitch out of that for different height trailers

 

[chucky]

Yep, that's what I sort of have planned.

Part of me was concerned that there was no additional bracing at the base (like most folks add to their civilian receiver mods). But I figure that it's it's tough enough for the pintle it should hold a little receiver slung under it.

My only hesitation is to what degree if any am I willing to forego some angle of departure. You inherently lose some simply by extending the hitch.

I pondered (still am) making the pintle removable. So just slide it out and swap. That opens up the possibilities of replicating the pintle receiver on the front of the truck as well. Then, winches and the whole nine yards can be used in either position.

If you wanted to brace the square tubing is put the next sise up tubing under the factory cross member and the 2 in reciver tube would slide in the frame mounted tube cross drilled with pin slid thru at different spots.

 

[coachgeo]

never mind..... mod. please delete this post (why folk cant delete their own post makes no since...... but it is what it is

 

[miataking]

We've been taking advantage of the coronapocalypse to get some work done, and we finally got the hitch extension kit installed.

1. I have the rear step bumper, and with the bumper on the trailer neck hits the bumper, so I'm hoping this gives it enough clearance. Is that what this extension is actually for, or is it for something else?
2. Everything is covered in TM 9-2320-365-34-2, 18-2. M1078/M1079 PINTLE HOOK EXTENSION KIT INITIAL INSTALLATION
3. Under INITIAL SETUP - Equipment Conditions, it says "Cargo bed removed, if equipped (para 15-.". Yeah, we did not remove the bed! Some parts are a bit of a hassle, but it's still totally doable. Taking the bed off would be a huge pain, so I don't understand why they would even suggest that. At the end, you have 16 bolts left over, that I assume were to reinstall the bed, but interestingly they are NOT huckbolts (thank god).
4. It has a lot of bracing and stuff, a ridiculous amount actually (150lb worth). The pintle goes from being installed through a 1/2" steel plate on the truck, to inside a 1/2" plate box, plus a new frame cross-member and bracing. I wonder if the kit is a "one size fits all", including MTVs and trucks with heavier towing capacities? We installed it all anyway.
5. The instructions have you remove 4 huckbolts. An easy way to do this is to use a cutoff wheel into the side of the huckbolt, just where the smooth collar meets the hex head. In this area of the fastener there are no threads, so once you cut through the bolt inside it just falls off (some needed a whack from a hammer).
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6. You need to drill 4x 3/4" (or 19mm) holes in the back plate cross-member of the truck. We rented a mag drill, and used a 3/4" hole saw. The mag drill took a little careful positioning to be able to reach all the holes, but worked. The 3/4" hole saw wobbled some and actually cut holes about 13/16" (~0.050" oversized), mostly because the rental drill has been abused, but the holes worked fine. This metal drilled fine, and did not appear to be hardened... the bit is still nice and sharp.
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7. After that it was mostly bolt together. Putting the L-brackets that hold the wiring in place back on was a bit of a hassle, because it's hard to reach up in there. (Still not worth taking the bed off! Are they nuts?) Looks good complete, though I'll have to get the CARC out and paint it. I haven't been able to test it with the trailer yet.
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Next project is the winch!

Did you have that hitch box fab’d or was it an off the shelf kit. I need to get my trailer away from the truck some same as you. If you can direct me towards a kit I would most appreciate your guidance.

 

[Third From Texas]

Did you have that hitch box fab’d or was it an off the shelf kit. I need to get my trailer away from the truck some same as you. If you can direct me towards a kit I would most appreciate your guidance.

The OP hitch is an surplus OEM addon kit. Pretty rare find these days but could be fabbed up with the right shop.

You would have a bit of leeway with the design, really (as long as the pintle holes all lined up with the frame) . If I were making one for a truck, I'd go the extra mile and have a 2" receiver hitch made into the assembly below the pintle. win/win

 

[wheelspinner]

The OP hitch is an surplus OEM addon kit. Pretty rare find these days but could be fabbed up with the right shop.

You would have a bit of leeway with the design, really (as long as the pintle holes all lined up with the frame) . If I were making one for a truck, I'd go the extra mile and have a 2" receiver hitch made into the assembly below the pintle. win/win

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Had a chance to get a bunch of these but had no idea they were unobtanium-got two just because. Then when I got an A1r truck I offered them up and WOW did they go fast. Live and learn

 

[Awesomeness]

Had a chance to get a bunch of these but had no idea they were unobtanium-got two just because. Then when I got an A1r truck I offered them up and WOW did they go fast. Live and learn

It's not so much that they were unobtanium, but rather that surplus parts are often either feast or famine. These were up for sale on eBay for years, with the prices dropping and dropping, and got as low as $150+shipping. The buyer probably bought an entire lot of them at auction. Then, once everyone who [barely] wanted one had them, they are gone and haven't been seen again since.

The same has been true of the CTIS wheel guards, the step bumpers with "barn door" tailgates, hydraulic jack pads for the axles, FMTV seal drivers, and many other parts.

My personal takeaway: When you see something neat that you haven't seen before, buy it. You may not get another chance.

 

[Third From Texas]

It's not so much that they were unobtanium, but rather that surplus parts are often either feast or famine. These were up for sale on eBay for years, with the prices dropping and dropping, and got as low as $150+shipping. The buyer probably bought an entire lot of them at auction. Then, once everyone who [barely] wanted one had them, they are gone and haven't been seen again since.

The same has been true of the CTIS wheel guards, the step bumpers with "barn door" tailgates, hydraulic jack pads for the axles, FMTV seal drivers, and many other parts.

My personal takeaway: When you see something neat that you haven't seen before, buy it. You may not get another chance.

Never saw the barn door tailgates. Did run across this a few years back.

 

[TomTime]

Sorry, I know I old but I must be missing something. Barn doors on the truck? I see a truck bed with the front drop down sides down and the rear drop down sides up, and a missing tailgate and hinges…or are my old eyes the problem or again, am I missing something?

 

[Third From Texas]

Sorry, I know I old but I must be missing something. Barn doors on the truck? I see a truck bed with the front drop down sides down and the rear drop down sides up, and a missing tailgate and hinges…or are my old eyes the problem or again, am I missing something?

Replying to me?

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was replying to Awesomeness. Reread the above. He brought up the barn door tailgate and I said I'd never seen one. He also brought up the step bumper and I'm not sure it's the same, but the image I posted is of an S&S OEM step bumper for the troop trucks (I've only ever seen one truck with that bumper come thru auction). Like the wheel covers, I suspect most that were made were never installed.

 

[TomTime]

Replying to me?

Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was replying to Awesomeness. Reread the above. He brought up the barn door tailgate and I said I'd never seen one. He also brought up the step bumper and I'm not sure it's the same, but the image I posted is of an S&S OEM step bumper for the troop trucks (I've only ever seen one truck with that bumper come thru auction). Like the wheel covers, I suspect most that were made were never installed.

Ahhh, like I said, I was missing something! Thanks for the clarification!

Yeah, I never seen those steps on the back either. I was wondering about those myself. Kinda cool.

 

[INFChief]

Never saw the barn door tailgates. Did run across this a few years back.

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What is this set up?

 

[Third From Texas]

What is this set up?

Troop step bumper?

Vending machine mounting point?

Or built-in bar-b-que grill for bonfires?

 

[INFChief]

Troop step bumper?

Vending machine mounting point?

Or built-in bar-b-que grill for bonfires?

All good options!

 

[chucky]

Troop step bumper?

Vending machine mounting point?

Or built-in bar-b-que grill for bonfires?

A nice place for your elderly friends to sit !

 

[chucky]

Ahhh, like I said, I was missing something! Thanks for the clarification!

Yeah, I never seen those steps on the back either. I was wondering about those myself. Kinda cool.

Man your loosing it!!!