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2" Rear Receiver (Brainstorming with Pics!)

Discussion in 'General Truck Info' started by Inane2, Nov 9, 2013.

  1. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    2" Rear Receiver (Brainstorming with Pics!) - UPDATED!

    Good evening guys,

    Needing to add a rear receiver to my 01' Hijet. It's strictly a farm truck so I'll use the receiver for retrieval purposes more than any type of towing. I've found receivers online and the going rate is around $300. I've got enough metal around that I'll have very little in this mod. I did buy the receiver tube from Harbor Freight.

    I'd like to keep the stock roll pan in place and actually have the receiver just below it. I've removed the spare tire and it's brackets so it's out of the way. I plan on making the actual receiver out of square or box tubing. That's the easy part but the mounting and mounting location has my mind going back and forth. I pulled the bed off the truck to get a better idea of what's going on:

    [​IMG]

    If you notice, that last crossmember goes almost to the rear of the frame.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    My first idea is to make each bracket out of flat metal, maybe around 1/2". Cut a hole out to allow the bracket to sit over the crossmember and then bolt it to the frame. At the bottom of each bracket, cut it out to allow the receiver to slide through and weld it on each side:

    [​IMG]

    If I go this route and bolt the brackets to the frame, would you guys drill the frame out and then weld in bushings for the bolts to pass through?

    My second idea is the same principle but attach the brackets to the rear crossmember itself:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I'd thought about attaching the brackets by the way of a beefed up muffler style clamp. My concern here would be if the brackets would possibly twist on the crossmember if pulled on at an angle. I also thought that if I go this route, I could weld two pieces of round tubing running forwards connecting that last cross member to the cross member ahead of it.

    I've debated bolting a simple, small receiver to the rearmost arms that hold the rear of the fuel tank. I have some faith in that crossmember but very little in those metal brackets that hold the tank.

    There are some other variables here to consider but aren't difficult such as the shape of the brackets and the mounting height. Also, with the bed on, the roll pan sits almost up against the rear of the frame rails, there is very little clearance. Those will come easy with more planning and cardboard templates. My main focus here is the brakckets and where to mount them.

    I know we have alot of skilled minds aboard this site. All ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome. Your thoughts on drilling, bolting, metal thickness, etc ..........

    Thanks guys!
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2013
  2. DD51T

    DD51T New Member

    Hi Inane2

    I would go with idea number one with a slight difference.
    I'm not saying this is the best ... but what I did for my rear bumper build was use two brackets that bolted to the frame.
    I shimmed out the brackets to be flush with the outside of the cross tube.
    There is a hole in the bracket to accept a heavy wall round tube that fits inside the cross tube.
    It only has to be about 2 inches long... it is welded to the bracket once it is bolted into place.
    The bolts hold the bracket against the frame but the tube transfers force to the frame rather than relying on the shear strength of the bolts alone.
    The good thing is that the brackets are still removable.

    My crosspiece happened to be a bumper with a receiver in it but you could just have a cross tube if thats all you require.

    I hope the pictures help clarify the above text.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. spaner

    spaner Well-Known Member

    Can I have a shot of your outer shackel...
    Is it 6mm out of line? So, 12mm differential between mounting and leaf?

    Do you like motor bikes, or pedal bikes, or gas cans?
     
  4. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Hello DD51T!

    Thanks for your reply.

    I've had it on the back of my mind all day and decided to go with option #1 and use the frame.

    I love your idea, it incorporates both the frame and rear crossmember. A picture is certainly worth a thousand words! I'll get the caliper out and check the ID of that crossmember. The OD is something funky but it's right at 1.5". The crossmember sticks past the frame a bit, as you mentioned, but I think with a thick enough bracket, I can make the edge of the bracket flush with the end of the crossmember.

    I'm still playing with the shape of the bracket (on the frame end). I'd like to get at least 2-3 bolts in each side. I'll keep you posted of my cardboard designs. Thanks again for the input.
     
  5. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Hey Spaner,

    If I may answer, I'm going to say "All of the above"!

     
  6. spaner

    spaner Well-Known Member

    ...


    Yea, you're almost there dude,
    I'd go with a 3/4" threaded rod, all the way through the tube frame member. (wait a tic, I already did that..;))
    Get some 4130 bushings made up to press into the tube, with a 3/4" hole in it, then smoosh it all down. 2x 1/4" plate with 3/4" holes in the plate bars. You'll bend the entire truck before that moves. Plus, you could make a combo deck out of it, cu'z it will rotate up or down. Pull position, vs deck position. Deck for gas cans, deck for motor bike. I already designed it all for you....let's see if the K-man has the pic thingy working again...

    GASCAN-1.jpg GASCAN-2.jpg GASCAN-3.jpg
    MotorBike-1.jpg MotorBike-2.jpg MotorBike-3.jpg
    PULL-1.jpg PULL-2.jpg PULL-3.jpg

    Well, yes he does...:cool:

    Good for you, cu'z I like mess'in around, but not wit shite dat don't work...:p


    ...
     
  7. spaner

    spaner Well-Known Member

    Well...I think that he has it fixed. The pics seem to be holding...

    I used this tech a while ago, like this...

    moto_0147.jpg moto_151.jpg moto_152.jpg moto_0206.jpg

    and hurry up, cu'z I'm bored wit studying...


    [​IMG]
     

    Attached Files:

  8. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

    Your going to have a lot of tortional stress at the frame with your options. It will in fact appear to be strong with tongue weight from the load. It will be much weaker in terms of pulling/pushing which will cause the frame mount to twist because of the leverage provided by the drop brackets. My vote is for the suggestions that DD51T and spaner provided. The attachment point length on the frame should be equal to the amount of drop on the brackets. Just my .02
     
    Last edited: Nov 11, 2013
  9. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Thanks Greg. I'm going to try and make up some cardboard brackets tonight and will post pics later.

    It looks like the two thoughts are use short rods (couple of inches) on each end, welded to the bracket. I'd probably make the OD of these the same as the ID of the crossmember or make bushings for the ends of the crossmember and run a threaded rod all the way though and then bolt this to the bracket.

    I realize the longer the brackets, the weaker they are. I'm going to keep this to a minimum, just enough to clear the roll pan. I wish I had something to tie the bottom of the bracket to.

    Thanks again guys.
     
  10. spaner

    spaner Well-Known Member

    You do. Use the leaf/shackel mount.
    1/4" plate, one length bolts to the frame tube. The other length of 1/4" plate bolts to the lower leaf bolt.
    Then the two plates bolt together. That's your tensile strength.
    Welding tubing between the left and right sides will provide the main strength against twisting.

    If you weld anything to the frame itself, forget the above, it won't work right due to the movement of the suspension.
    Using one threaded rod, and four grade 8 bolts (with nylocks)...it will work very well.

    later,
     
  11. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Ok, back to it with plenty of pics!

    Took some ideas from the above posts and put them into play. Made a cardboard template of my horizontal straps for my mounting brackets:

    [​IMG]

    Had everything cut out, both the vertical and horizontals are 14" long, 1/4" thick and the plugs were 6" long:

    [​IMG]

    Mic'd the crossmember out for the plugs and they were right on the money, snug but could be removed during the mock-up process.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The head of the plug is just over 1/2", enough to accommodate when both 1/4" straps come together at the crossmember.

    Receiver tube is from Harbor Freight and the "bumper" is 2"x3"x1/4" tubing. Was going to use 2"x4" for looks but I thought it was just too much being that I was already working below the stock roll pan.
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2013
  12. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Welded up and powdercoated:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Decided to use those inside plates with the nuts welded to spread the load and make installation / removal easy for one person. Noticed the head of the plugs are notched slightly now. During the mock up and installing / removing the bed a dozen times, we noticed the taillights were right there against the head. Ground this section out and now have plenty of clearance.

    Mocked up and bolted to frame using four grade eight 1/2" x 3.5" bolts on each frame rail:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Rattle canned flat black:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The brackets (welded to the rear of the bumper) that attach it to the brackets on the truck are 1/2". A little overkill but that is what I had laying around. Decided to set the receiver tube collar flush against the bumper. This kept everything somewhat flush and avoids a possible shin killer. The 5/8" hole for the pin is accessible behind the bumper.

    Installed on truck with the bed back on (for the last time):

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 27, 2013
  13. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    [​IMG]

    This basically took up two good Sundays. I can't thank my brother enough for his help, he's quite the metal artist. I can't tell you how many times we had the bed on and off the truck and we just about wore out a 4' and a 2' level!

    I didn't tie the receiver back to the rear leaf spring shackles at this point but may in the future. It would be easy enough to do on the truck. The receiver will basically be used to secure the truck in transport or retrieve the truck if it gets stuck somewhere. I may pull a small trailer with limbs or debris but that would be rare.

    One other thing we did while the bed was off was relocate multiple wire harness ties and other small items such as ground wires. Basically, when I was ready to initially remove the bed, all the bolts were out but there were all kinds of wires and harnesses holding the bed to the chassis. We relocated all of these and now the only thing connected to the bed is a bracket for the left and right side parking brake cables and the air filter housing has a single bolt going through it into the bed. If I ever need to pull the bed in the future, it will be much easier.

    Thanks for the ideas and I hope you've enjoyed following the thread. Now, onto the front receiver!
     
  14. DYNOBOB

    DYNOBOB Member

    Haven't got on here in a few months... Receiver looks great Jamie! Let me know when I can drop my truck off for fitment :D


    .
     
  15. Inane2

    Inane2 Member

    Thanks Bob!!!! Glad to see you back around the forum.

    Bit of an odd winter in our neck of the woods, huh?
     
  16. DYNOBOB

    DYNOBOB Member

    Will it never end....?

    I've discovered I should have gotten a larger battery for these 0deg days.

    .
     

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