Sodo
Elite Member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2012
- Messages
- 3,219
- Location
- Cascade Mtns of WA state
- Tractor
- Kubota B-series & Mini Excavator
This is the build thread. ( research thread here). A smarter man would buy an Ecoboost license plate holder that mounts off to the right but I'm not that man (then I'd have to wait). Nor did I think of simply screwing the plate directly to that plastic rectangle. :duh: These are good options! Anyway yesterday was my project day, and I kinda had a little too much momentum 
but you V8 fellas can use both foresight & hindsight. Could be easier for Ecoboost owners, but I think the intercooler uses that opening?
There are a couple available to buy (Draw-Tite and Curt), and inexpensive but they are too LOW (10"off the ground!). I prefer it the same height as the rear hitch. You can also replace the entire bumper with a heavy-duty bumper that has a receiver feature. I wanted it to blend in and not be visible, so here it is.
Flush with License plate.
Started by cutting a Harbor Freight receiver hitch at the minimum length to hold one of ball hitches.
I use 7018 rod because it makes me weld like a hero. Cross bar is 2 x 2 x 3/16"
Drilled four 7/16" holes in the front plates behind the bumper. I gave a lot of thought to tying it into the frame, accessing the towhook bolts etc. The more I thought about it, it's NOT a trailer hitch, not towing 9,000 lbs down the freeway. Not a towbar receiver. In the end decided to simply bolt it to the front plates. It's going to be used to jockey a trailer around and some other non-towing uses.
Checking access to get to the hitch pin.
This is the nicest sq tube material I've ever seen. I was apprehensive to use it on something so inelegant as a hitch. No scale at all, gun-metal blue, and even shinier than Steve's projects.
Decided to access the pin with an extension thru the hole at left side of the license plate. A solid 1/4" rod is welded to the pin. A peg is welded to the extension that engages a hole to retain it in either pin-out or pin-locked position. The spring-flex of the rod holds the peg in the hole, so there are no clips to lose.
but you V8 fellas can use both foresight & hindsight. Could be easier for Ecoboost owners, but I think the intercooler uses that opening?There are a couple available to buy (Draw-Tite and Curt), and inexpensive but they are too LOW (10"off the ground!). I prefer it the same height as the rear hitch. You can also replace the entire bumper with a heavy-duty bumper that has a receiver feature. I wanted it to blend in and not be visible, so here it is.
Flush with License plate.
Started by cutting a Harbor Freight receiver hitch at the minimum length to hold one of ball hitches.
I use 7018 rod because it makes me weld like a hero. Cross bar is 2 x 2 x 3/16"
Drilled four 7/16" holes in the front plates behind the bumper. I gave a lot of thought to tying it into the frame, accessing the towhook bolts etc. The more I thought about it, it's NOT a trailer hitch, not towing 9,000 lbs down the freeway. Not a towbar receiver. In the end decided to simply bolt it to the front plates. It's going to be used to jockey a trailer around and some other non-towing uses.
Checking access to get to the hitch pin.
This is the nicest sq tube material I've ever seen. I was apprehensive to use it on something so inelegant as a hitch. No scale at all, gun-metal blue, and even shinier than Steve's projects.
Decided to access the pin with an extension thru the hole at left side of the license plate. A solid 1/4" rod is welded to the pin. A peg is welded to the extension that engages a hole to retain it in either pin-out or pin-locked position. The spring-flex of the rod holds the peg in the hole, so there are no clips to lose.
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