Hey all, i have had this idea in my brain for awhile because I want to be able to tow a small trailor with my truck but I did not want to permanently disrupt the smooth-ness I was going for. So i designed a simple setup to allow interchangable peices like a reciever/hitch setup. I tried to explain it to a few friends and they were lost. I also wanted to get a design just for my own sake to see clearances and just get a better idea of how it will fit. All of the peices are in scale with the majority 2" tube and 1/4 wall thickness. The simulated tailgate/rollpan thing is not to scale and also not positioned properly (until I get the bed back on and measure) but you will get the idea. Just wanted to see what you guys thought and if anyone had an idea to make it better/cheaper/stronger/etc. I do not plan on towing anything maajor (quad/dirt bike is about the biggest I would ever consider) but I will be abusing at least 1 interchangable peice…
This is a simulated shot of the backend of my truck. It’s all smooth with LEDs… blah blah
Here is the peice I will be abusing. It’s a combination drag bar and roll pan protector. Not only will it emite sparks upon contacting the pavement it will prevent me from busting up the rollpan.
Are you planning on raising the bed floor? With the air suspension and this, I wouldn’t think there is very much room for a spare tire. I was worried about ground clearance with the hitch part, but I guess you would try to be all the way up when towing. How much travel do you have in the back, the last thing you would want is that hitch hitting the ground while hauling something. Overall very cool idea.
I saw yours on your website Jeff. I don’t have a plate back there to hide it though. I have my old spare from my blazer (need the 4x4 offset) and I will most likely just put a rubber band tire on it. Unless Brian has a donut from an s-10 or f-body he will donate I’d trade my fullsize s-10 spare that I removed many moons ago.
From the axle back it’s stock frame rails. There is a spare there from the factory so I will find a way to squeeze one in. I am thinking i might need to slap a donut under there though. I have about 6" of travel in the rear. When totally aired out there is about a 2" gap under the tail skin and the ground because of how the frame is shaped. I would def. need to have air in the bags while towing because of the weight/height.
god no. Hence the keeping the smooth-ness part. I went to great measures to keep my back end smoothed out. Here is an old thread on that subject. http://www.pittspeed.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4757 A lot of the pics have been removed but the video near the end is still up.
Since it’s going to be a small spare and room is tight, wouldn’t it be easier to just make a bracket that you bolt the spare up to from underneath? Your current design would involve removing the spare tire bracket from the center receiver in order to remove the spare, then unbolt the spre from the bracket. Also I would tend to think you may end up with a fatigue failure of the welds near the receiver over time with a tire suspended on the end of an arm like that, although I take it this is not going to be a winter driven vehicle where corrosion would tend to aid in attacking the welds.
Yeah, a seperate crossmember would probably be ‘easier’… but also more expensive and possibly more time consuming. I do not even plan to leave the tire in there unless I am going somewhere far like a show or something. Plus that just deminishes the ‘cool’ factor of it all. It will not be driven in winter at all. My valves do not favor freezing air/temperatures. I also planned on all of those reinforcements… so hopefully that will relieve some of the stress and fatique. With 1/4 plating and tubing I think it will sustain some abuse.
i watched that video and now i see why you have to do what you are doing… that tail light thing is cool as hell… i dont know why you get busted for the leds though…
They do not reflect, they do not equal 3.5 inches of red surface area, nor do they have reverse lights. PA inspection guidelines. But they’re bright as fuck.
Here is some progress shots of this beast. I got all of the parts as freebies so I can’t complain. The middle tube is 3" square with 5/16 wall. The other tubes are made to fit around a 2" square tube. 1/4 wall on those but I forget the OD. The one has the re-inforcement ring because my dad was “copying the one from his truck”. I wish he would of done that to them all. I still need to cut and put in the gussets and drill some holes and it’s done! Well, aside from the interchangable peices but i can build them later.
being that the truck is lowered and the trailer isn’t do you think it might become an issue, to tow i always thought they wanted the conection as level as possible. the fact that the tow vehical is lower than the trailer…say you have to spike or slam on the brakes the angle and the force on the hitch might drive the back of your truck into the ground. towing with a lowered truck might not be a great idea.
the trailor will be built to be the same height as the truck… at whatever height the truck is at. It’s going to be small, I know my truck is not setup to tow much. I’m thinking go-kart sized here… or a bbq on w heels… somethin of that sorts.
I’d trade my fullsize s-10 spare that I removed many moons ago.
