Anybody build their own tow hitch?

[Butler]

I went to have one done in my truck last week. I haven't seen one up close for a while and was kind of pissed when it was done. $240 for 30 dollars worth of scrap steel welded together by a hack with a torch. I don't think I'll ever have one made for me again. Anybody made their own?

[Trailer Guy]

I went to have one done in my truck last week. I haven't seen on up close for a while and was kind of pissed when it was done. $240 for 30 dollars worth of scrap steel welded together by a hack with a torch. I don't think I'll ever have one made for me again. Anybody made their own?
I build them for customers all the time. It pisses me off when shops do hack jobs, it makes people feel like they can't trust the general industry. Man, sorry to hear about the hacking. What kind of rig did you have one made for? There are just so many applications out there and for a good price too. At the shop here, when someone wants a custom hitch, that's what they get. Not only does it fit right, but we always do everything we can to give it a really nice clean look when it's done. Man, that really ticks me off.

[Butler]

I should say it wasn't really a hack job. It was ok but I felt I could have done better and sure as hell cheaper. It was done by Eckhart who I've always trusted but it went like this. I was listening to the guy weld and I can hear his welder jumping around so I get under to look at the welds and they're o.k. So I tell him he's either got the heat too low or a wire feed problem and he pretty much tells me to blow it out my ear. Whatever, the welds are o.k. but listening to his welding didn't make me feel good. When I got home I double passed the whole thing. It was a toyota Tacoma 10k. I just thought there was some voodoo or something to it but when I looked I realized it's just two feet of .250 square and some 1/4" flat plate.
Edit; the funny part was the steel surcharge on the receipt that was supposed to represent the increase in steel prices. It was $32.00. I bet there wasn't $32.00 total in the whole thing. Where must they buy their steel? :D

[DavidLH]

I have made about a half dozen for my personal vehicles. Like you say- material cost are cheap, guessing maybe $20? (from materials already in the shop). Before you have another one done, I suggest you shop. My brother needed one for his new truck and we found them in stock at a local aftermarket truck shop. Paid $109 and required no welding or drilling. Wasn't worth my time to build one, we bolted his on in maybe 2 hours?

[Trailer Guy]

A standard Tacoma hitch is rated for 5,000 and you could easily pull 7,000 lbs. with it. They should run $100 to $130 and they are bolt-on. They are made from the same type of materials even, 1/4 side plates with the crossbar. That guy was nuts making you a so called, 10,000 lbs. hitch, for a Taco that isn't rated to tow that much. He is taking on some serious liability. Did he stamp the rating into the hitch or just leave it bare?

[Butler]

I have made about a half dozen for my personal vehicles. Like you say- material cost are cheap, guessing maybe $20? (from materials already in the shop). Before you have another one done, I suggest you shop. My brother needed one for his new truck and we found them in stock at a local aftermarket truck shop. Paid $109 and required no welding or drilling. Wasn't worth my time to build one, we bolted his on in maybe 2 hours?I'll make my own next time, that was what I was driving at. They jump from five to ten thousand at Eckhart. I don't like bolt on factory type hitches, I have seen a lot of them fail In any case.

Here's a pic

http://rcrc4x4.com/gallery/albums/Chris/bvhsbcef_002.sized.jpg

[Eskimo]

Well shit, your trailer is a 7k max capacity anyway...

I'd rather trust a Reese than a local shop... Reese has better liability insurance.

[YellowSub1962]

A standard Tacoma hitch is rated for 5,000 and you could easily pull 7,000 lbs. with it. They should run $100 to $130 and they are bolt-on. They are made from the same type of materials even, 1/4 side plates with the crossbar. That guy was nuts making you a so called, 10,000 lbs. hitch, for a Taco that isn't rated to tow that much. He is taking on some serious liability. Did he stamp the rating into the hitch or just leave it bare?


I've never had an Eckhart hitch fail. I know the guys here used to ARC weld them, not MIG so they are a lot better penetrating, but I haven't got one recently.. sounds like you just got a hack shop. Also did they laugh when you told them what you were towing :flipoff2:


:usa:

[kwrangln]

[color=yellow] I know the guys here used to ARC weld them, not MIG so they are a lot better penetrating,

Sorry, but this is a myth. It is possible to achieve x-ray quality welds with a mig welder. The thought of stick welding gettin better penetration came about from folks who couldnt afford a large enough mig setup to handle 1/4" and thicker material.

[SCOTTS_4X]

you will get better penetration with stick than you will with solid wire short-arc mig welding, which is what 99% of the general public will call "mig" welding.

-Scott