added 2" reciever hitch on the front of the van (pics)

[batmo]

Bike hauler.. I wanted more cargo room. plenty of room up top on the yakima racks (cant even see what else is up there.. I'll get to that someday but its still a work in progress)

I recently went from sportscar type tires to off-road type and the van grew some and its not the handling machine it was so now I want any extra weight mounted lower.

its not bad handling but far from what it was.. and every little bit (weight jacking) helps



I was given an unkown used reciver hitch.

if you want to try this it has to be a straight one from a truck. sorry I didnt photo the hitch before I cut the ends off now.

anyway.. these are the mounts I made:


the backing nuts (didnt want to hold the nuts while I tightened the bolts but it would have been possible to get a wrench on them thanks to the big round openings in the bottom of the frame they came with.


everything was painted with black epoxy afterwards.


I just slid them over and welded them to the hitch.


made soit can be removed without removing the front bumper if ever needed to.



turned out pretty good. Im working on my hitch hauler now. I think I can fit an ABS plastic box made for a small trailor up front now and keep the extra stuff locked up too while Im out ridin'.

I add some pics with cargo when I can.

whatchall think? its definately more solid up front now with the frame being connected.

[astroturf]

batmo, Very good, I like it. Jim

[astrozam]

Interesting, I know this was discussed awhile ago by a member wanting to use a front hitch for carrying mtn bikes. The problem iirc was that his was a later model van with the airbags so he was concerned about that issue, am I correct to assume your van is pre air bag and this wasn't an issue in your case?

Thanks for the pics, looking forward to more

[batmo]

thanks astroturf.

astrozam, yeah no air bags.. should be able to relocate the sensor without too big of a deal if it has those.

this one was relatively easy. I forgot to mention that the next thing to look for in a donor reciver hitch besides the width between frame rails is how long the extention on it is, that determines how far it sticks out.

the crossmember is flush with the end of the frame and theres not really much room for adjustment there so if you get one that the extention part is too short or long it will end up too far in or out.

I like the option to slide in a winch only when needed now too. something else to buy..

[LiftedAWDAstro]

Great job. Looks like it should work awesome! =D>

[phr1$k37]

That looks great! Have you used the hitch yet? Show us some action!!!

[mdmead]

Very nice!

[Smiliesafari]

Very nice install. Good looking old van.

[batmo]

thanks guys

That looks great! Have you used the hitch yet? Show us some action!!!

HAHaha! not yet man.. hauled 4'X8' plywood on the roof today though. no action shots LOL try this:


couldnt resist.. he said "action"

yeah so Im a show off... but thats not why I do it, Its really just FUN to me. thats the same bike thats on the back.

Very nice install. Good looking old van.

thanx I like it. '86, second year. Ive had it going on 20 years now. its been a great one!

it came with the stripes (Explorer Conv.) I think no stripes would look better but these are painted on. didnt bother replacing them when I repainted the hood, the roof and the hood started fading badly about 5 years back. that was not an easy job.

back to the front fork rebuild on another machine. "Stay tuned and Safe Motoring" have a great weekend folks!

[batmo]

a lil too much action..

heres what Ive ended up with:





I wanted something bigger but then I noticed that would block my headlights so this is what I setled on for now.

plan to add some additional lighting on the roof rack and mabey then get a full width box but I dunno if the hwy patrol would find that unacceptable or not.

I havnt tried this set up at night yet but I think it will be OK, I'll let ya know.