Trailer hitch project for this winter

Since I have been unable to find a receiver hitch for my 1st gen MKII, I decided that I will make one this winter.

I have a Markland hitch that I acquired off of eBay and I will use the two front tubes from that for attachment to the bike.

I have designed a new part to replace the big chrome platform that Markland uses. Once I have this done and am sure that I will not need any dimensions off of the chrome ball mount, then it will be up for sale.

Here are the cad drawings for the receiver to replace the stock Chrome ball mount.

I still have some dimensions to finalize but this is the jest of what it will look like.

I think you are on to something there. Looks good

 

Here are the cad drawings for the receiver to replace the stock Chrome ball mount.

 

I still have some dimensions to finalize but this is the jest of what it will look like.

Great design cad Jeff. Here are a couple of pics of a Bustec hitch that came off an '89. I keep it as a bargaining chip..... Maybe it'll give you a couple of more ideas....

Those pics do confirm one of my ideas, and that was to keep the ball as close to the rear axle as possible for best weight distribution.

I may end up making my own stinger to work with the receiver.

If this works out as planned it will be a bolt on replacement for the Markland hitch.

I know this will sound weird but I just hate chrome and visible hitch balls.

I thought about the possibility of making more than just the one for me, but I am not sure if it will be practical.

We'll see how much work is involved once I get that far.

I plan to fully seal weld all seams so that no water can get into any joint to start corrosion.

It will be some fun, and I will have something unique and different.

I just can not follow a trend.

Hey Jeff, if this works out well for you, I would be very interested in purchasing one for my 86 VR.

Don

I thought about the possibility of making more than just the one for me, but I am not sure if it will be practical. We'll see how much work is involved once I get that far.

I guess if you make welding jigs a mass production process would work and cut down on the labour intensity of the job. I wish I had a bit better skill set and a place to do that sort of work, it could suppliment my pension that's coming up about 6 years down the road...

What would you charge to make one? I have an 89 Venture.

I guess if you make welding jigs a mass production process would work and cut down on the labour intensity of the job. I wish I had a bit better skill set and a place to do that sort of work, it could supplement my pension that's coming up about 6 years down the road...

I am fortunate to have equipped a pretty decent man cave over the years.

I have it figured that I should be able to retire on my 106th birthday and may need to supplement my income at that time.

What would you charge to make one? I have an 89 Venture.

Until I get the first one built, I have no idea what I will have into it as far as time or materials. All of the materials would be much more cost effective in bigger quantities. Maybe I'll look into the cost difference to make a couple or three vs the one that I was going to do. I was estimating around $50 in just material to do just one.

Hmmmm...... This may be a good excuse to go shopping at the tooy,,,, I mean tool store for a nice 8" bench grinder with a coarse wheel and a 20 ton press If I have any intention of trying to make a bunch of these.

It really needs no jigs other than a flat table to work on, I try to always design things to be self jigging, the production guys at work kind of like that.

OK so I now have the Stinger and the Cooler carrier laid out.

See, there was a method to my madness of wanting a receiver hitch.

The Carrier is 12 x 18 and just fits my cooler, I am thinking of making the carrier out of aluminum to save a little weight way back there.

My understanding is that I do not want any more than about 30 lbs total back there. That would be carrier + cooler to be less than 30 lbs.

Woo Hoo

My new Receiver Hitch for my 1st Gen MK II just showed up in the mail.

Well OK, I guess there is still some assembly required.

.

Looks good. What software did you use to make your design?

I used Inventor on this one.

Ill keep an eye on this, as I have a markland hitch and wanted to do exactly what youre doing.

Well I've gotten the basic receiver welded up.

Everything is seal welded so that no water can get into any joint to start rusting.

I have to design, make and add the mounts yet and put in the holes for the safety chains.

I like your ideas, I'll be following this thread for more ideas. I have beed needing a hitch for my 83VR and have not found one yet. I have most of the steel to build one but no set design yet.

Well I made some more progress on the hitch.

The Receiver is done, waiting for the paint to dry.

I still need to fabricate two more brackets for attaching it to the frame.

Then bolt it all up for the last time.

Once the receiver is mounted on the bike I will decide on the final length for the stinger and finish building that.

The Receiver hitch is finally done, painted, and mounted for the last time.

It don't look to bad even ifin I do say so myself.

Ya think I should shorten the stinger some?

Ya think I should shorten the stinger some?

I think I'd extend 'er out another 3-4 feet or so.

Flyinfool you may want to add a wheel to the stinger so it has a little support and don't touch the ground when it whips up and down.

Other than that it looks real good.

The wheel is a great Idea.

I suppose I could add a metal caster and I would double as a wheelie bar......

What is the weight of the hitch including the ball and stinger?

I must admit I never weighed anything.

I do not have a scale suitable for weighing light weight things.

According to my CAD software it should be about 4.5 lbs for the receiver, but my uncalibrated hand says it is less than that.

It may be a little overkill for strength, but I would rather have overkill than under kill.

The ball alone weighs more than the stinger it is attached to. Till I finish building the trailer I do not have the final design for the stinger/ball height to be able to calculate the stingers weight.

Very nice job. Looks to be a lot heavier than it needs to be but great job, I am sure it will out last the bike

Brad

Very nice job. Looks to be a lot heavier than it needs to be but great job, I am sure it will out last the bike

 

Brad

Thanks

Just by feel in my hand, the new receiver hitch feels to be very close to the the same weight as the Markland platform it is replacing, so I was/am not concerned about the weight.

The bike is a 1st gen, they last forever.......

I did do a test by attaching it to the wall and then jumping up and down on the stinger.

I am not skinny either.

And I was very careful to be sure that there were NO cameras of any kind around for that test.

Well this weekend I got to use to new hitch to pull my fully loaded trailer up to the WI MD.

The hitch worked flawlessly. The trailer, well that is a different story and in a different thread.

I also found out that the rear tire can be removed with the hitch installed. It was tight but it did come out.