Tow bar designs

[73m819]

i see a problem with the hitch (pic 12) the pivot will went to fold ether over or under at stopping, this action would put a lot of load on the whole hitch

 

[skark_burmer]

with only a single pivot on horizontal i dont think its going to fold anywhere. The square portion of the receiver is directly in line with the center line of the two bars so braking or accelerating will not result in up or down twisting. also the tow bar is completely flat so that was a nice coincidence.

thats one thing i should have mentioned, you want to make sure the center of the axis on each pivot is aligned as closely as possible to the center of the bars.

 

[4bogginchevys]

the shackle pins on mine are 15/16+, probably because they were punched not drilled like you said. thanks for the pics, now the only thing I need to figure out is the distance between trucks that is correct, and how to design this tow bar to go up or down hill toward truck in tow while minimising leverage that will cause a crash.

 

[skark_burmer]

the horizontal pins allow for vehicle heigth and angle changes, thats why you need one in the front and back of the tow bar.

Mine are 4' long, at that length my Duramax bumper will contact the tow bar and CUCV bumper at the same time allowing me for max turning angle without being overly long.

 

[timntrucks]

ok here is a pic of my light duty or regular duty might be a better word for it... its still in its original yellow color.

 

[4bogginchevys]

timntrucks, i'm confused how it hooks to a CUCV, shouldn't the pins insert horizontally?

 

[timntrucks]

oh i took off the feet.. there not in the pic... i have the large 1 in ones and the smaller 3/4 in ones as weill as the offset jeep .. double feet that is... i am cleaning them up and paining them.. this week i should be able to put it in the duece bed... dont know where maybe chained down in front.

 

[4bogginchevys]

If you get a chance i'd really like a couple pics of a "foot", soon i'll be off to get supplies to build a bar!

 

[timntrucks]

the foot is the same as reg med tow bar... i can get them all together and post a group pic.

 

[BobM]

Here are a few shots of my recovery last week in Richmond. I built on a thread from BOB M. Check out his thread 644 miles on a towbar. It worked great for me, I drove 7 1/2 hours towing a M1009 behind my 2008 Super Duty.

Good Luck,
Crownjewel

I'm glad that you made it alright. This towbar worked great for me in my 644 mile recovery from Ft. Mead to west-central Indiana. Glad that I could help.

 

[4bogginchevys]

So I went to the local tractor supply store (big R). The only things I could find for my project were a pintle 90.00, the drop pintle hitch thing 50.00, and a bolt on hoop that would need to be mounted to something flat. None of what I saw resembled stuff that I pictured from designs i've seen.

Does anyone have a towbar for sale...a standard issue military style.

I think I can modify one to work for my own purposes instead of building something at 150.00 for materials, then labor to a friend, and gas and BS along the way.

 

[BobM]

So I went to the local tractor supply store (big R). The only things I could find for my project were a pintle 90.00, the drop pintle hitch thing 50.00, and a bolt on hoop that would need to be mounted to something flat. None of what I saw resembled stuff that I pictured from designs i've seen.

Does anyone have a towbar for sale...a standard issue military style.

I think I can modify one to work for my own purposes instead of building something at 150.00 for materials, then labor to a friend, and gas and BS along the way.

If you are just going to tow "local" and not at "70 on the freeway", why go to such expense? The towbar that I and tlm and others used is way cheaper and has towed vehicles for hundreds of miles with no problems. Sometimes we make things too complicated. Just my two cents worth.

 

[4bogginchevys]

If you are just going to tow "local" and not at "70 on the freeway", why go to such expense? The towbar that I and tlm and others used is way cheaper and has towed vehicles for hundreds of miles with no problems. Sometimes we make things too complicated. Just my two cents worth.

It's beginning to look like a good idea to take your advise....so where to get one for "cheaper"

 

[BobM]

It's beginning to look like a good idea to take your advise....so where to get one for "cheaper"

I bought my towbar at Autozone and the 2" recievers from Tractor supply. I just drilled the 1" holes in the recievers and relieved the ends with a simple cut-off tool. And with a ball hitch, I didn't have to put up with the slop of a pintle hitch. (If you've never used a pintle, believe me, there IS a difference!)
You can find a lot of info at: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=25729&highlight=civy+towbars
and at: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/25643-644-miles-towbar.html
tlm47201 is a wealth of info and I'm sure that he would also help you. tlm has used an identical towbar on several recoveries from Indy. They do work!

 

[4bogginchevys]

How much was the bar?

 

[tm america]

m16ty thats a nice looking tow bar i could use one like that myself

 

[BobM]

How much was the bar?

If I told you that I remembered what it cost, I would be lying to you. I'm thinking $79, but like I said.....

 

[m16ty]

m16ty thats a nice looking tow bar i could use one like that myself

I built one for myself and was planning on building them to sell. I built and sold one to dpsmith but after building one to sell I realised that I have more money in them than what they will bring on an open market. I sold the one to dpsmith for $350 ( market value IMO) and there really isn't enough profit in it for the time I have in making them. If I get enough orders to mass produce or times get hard enough I may start back building them to sell but at this time I've kind of put it on the back burner.