Tow Hitch on my 06 MR SE
Ok let me explain what i did. Yes when I took the bumper cover off i noticed that you can take the crash bar and wiggle it with on hand. I am fully aware of this, how ever i came with a solution for that problem.
Here is what I did
I took the bumer reinforcement off. I made two rectangular brackets, same as on the OEM crash bar. Then I drillef holes in them exactly as in the OEM crash bar.
Then Bolted them up. I bought a tow hich off ebay for $80. I think it was for a chrysler minivan. Its class 1 rated. I cut off all of the original brackets that were welded to it.
Then I cut the ends off to desired lenght.
Then tack welded it in to the tw backets that i made about an .5" under where the bolts go in.
Then I took it off. Welded the brackets to the hitch.
I made brackets that were one 6inhes long (for the left frame rail and 8" for the right frame rail.
Then I welded those two rail brackets to the flat brackets that the tow hich is welded to.
(simply to describe is that the two rail brakets go inside frame rails and they reinforce the frame rails.
Then if you look under the car. you will see .5 inch holes in the frame rails. I marked the areas where those holes are at.
Took off the tow hitch
Drilled the two holes and welded nuts on the other side of that. So when tow hich is reinstalled you have 6 bolts bolting the hitch to the cat.
4 screws where the OEM reinforcement bolted to, and the 2 big one on the bottom of the frame rails.
Then I welded a square turbing going down towards the hook on the bottom of the car. And I used an exhaust clamp to secure it there.
Now when you grab the tow hich or even when i stand on it all you see the car going udown or up. There is completely no flex.
Reinstall the bumper Hook up your lights, and you are good to go.
P.S with out the two brackets going to frame rails i wouldnt pull my R1 with that, that sheet metal is weak as hell and looks like you can ripp it off with your hands
I hope this helps....
Here is what I did
I took the bumer reinforcement off. I made two rectangular brackets, same as on the OEM crash bar. Then I drillef holes in them exactly as in the OEM crash bar.
Then Bolted them up. I bought a tow hich off ebay for $80. I think it was for a chrysler minivan. Its class 1 rated. I cut off all of the original brackets that were welded to it.
Then I cut the ends off to desired lenght.
Then tack welded it in to the tw backets that i made about an .5" under where the bolts go in.
Then I took it off. Welded the brackets to the hitch.
I made brackets that were one 6inhes long (for the left frame rail and 8" for the right frame rail.
Then I welded those two rail brackets to the flat brackets that the tow hich is welded to.
(simply to describe is that the two rail brakets go inside frame rails and they reinforce the frame rails.
Then if you look under the car. you will see .5 inch holes in the frame rails. I marked the areas where those holes are at.
Took off the tow hitch
Drilled the two holes and welded nuts on the other side of that. So when tow hich is reinstalled you have 6 bolts bolting the hitch to the cat.
4 screws where the OEM reinforcement bolted to, and the 2 big one on the bottom of the frame rails.
Then I welded a square turbing going down towards the hook on the bottom of the car. And I used an exhaust clamp to secure it there.
Now when you grab the tow hich or even when i stand on it all you see the car going udown or up. There is completely no flex.
Reinstall the bumper Hook up your lights, and you are good to go.
P.S with out the two brackets going to frame rails i wouldnt pull my R1 with that, that sheet metal is weak as hell and looks like you can ripp it off with your hands
I hope this helps....
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Park Ridge, IL
Another good thing is that this tow hich can be fully removed, and the oem crash bar reinstalled in place. There is nothing welded to a car, its all bolt on. The only thing left will be a square hole behind the license plate.
A nice ball mount in there might be nice for some swivel/up and down action. Other than that, interesting mod!
I'm sure you looked into the AMS TA1 car that had a hitch. They had to install it for one lap of america. (you cannot have a support vehicle, you must tow all tools/parts with the racing car)
I'm sure you looked into the AMS TA1 car that had a hitch. They had to install it for one lap of america. (you cannot have a support vehicle, you must tow all tools/parts with the racing car)
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Park Ridge, IL
A nice ball mount in there might be nice for some swivel/up and down action. Other than that, interesting mod!
I'm sure you looked into the AMS TA1 car that had a hitch. They had to install it for one lap of america. (you cannot have a support vehicle, you must tow all tools/parts with the racing car)
I'm sure you looked into the AMS TA1 car that had a hitch. They had to install it for one lap of america. (you cannot have a support vehicle, you must tow all tools/parts with the racing car)
Nice work! You should post this in the Motorsports forum too. I'm sure a lot of Evo drivers who do track days/autoX/RallyX/whatever would be interested in this for a small tire-carrying trailer.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 51
Likes: 0
From: Park Ridge, IL
First i would like to pin out to you that you will need a welder, to weld this up. (its got to be welded good together.
Here is what i will do first i will describe what you need to make.
Take rear bumper off, remove OEM reinforcement bar.
You will need to get some 5/16 or 1/4 thick steel plate. A piece enough big to made two plates. If you look on your OEM reinforcement bar it has two flat brackets that are welded to the bar you need to make 2 of the same ones. and drill the holes in the same spots as well.
Then when you have your new brackets done bolt them up to the frame rails. Then and this is going to be the hard part. Get an universal tow hitch, or a tow hitch off a chrysler vans. It need to be as long as possible. It has to be long enough to be able to weld it to the flat brackets that you have just bolted. Once you have that you can tac weld tow hitch in place. about .5 inch under the mounting bolt on the custom made brakets.
Make sure that its class1 tow hitch. its the smallest.
The hard part:
As you see evo has a very thin sheet metal on the back, so we need to make 2 more brackets that will bolt up to the frame rails in the back
here is a pic that i made simply to give you an idea
Does that picture make sense to you guys???
After you got this all bolted up, you need to trim the foam behind the plate, and cut a square hole out , so that you can slide in and lock you ball receiver.
As far as lights go, depending on what light the trailer has in the back you might need, 5-4 wire converter. Which alows you to have turnsignals and brake lights running on the same bulb. since our cars have seperate bulb for turn signal where as my trailer has one bulb for, turnsignals, brake, and marker lights. Peolple sell them on ebay for $6.00. Local car stores have them as well
As far as the trailer goes I bought it online for 250.00 plus 100 shipping. Comes with Manufacturers certificate. Simple to assemble. Has a ramp that puls out from under the trailer and attaches to the rail end. pretty sweet setup. The ramp on the trailer can be taken off in fiew monutesm and anything can be put on the trailer like tires, toolbox, fuel.
Thanks
Here is what i will do first i will describe what you need to make.
Take rear bumper off, remove OEM reinforcement bar.
You will need to get some 5/16 or 1/4 thick steel plate. A piece enough big to made two plates. If you look on your OEM reinforcement bar it has two flat brackets that are welded to the bar you need to make 2 of the same ones. and drill the holes in the same spots as well.
Then when you have your new brackets done bolt them up to the frame rails. Then and this is going to be the hard part. Get an universal tow hitch, or a tow hitch off a chrysler vans. It need to be as long as possible. It has to be long enough to be able to weld it to the flat brackets that you have just bolted. Once you have that you can tac weld tow hitch in place. about .5 inch under the mounting bolt on the custom made brakets.
Make sure that its class1 tow hitch. its the smallest.
The hard part:
As you see evo has a very thin sheet metal on the back, so we need to make 2 more brackets that will bolt up to the frame rails in the back
here is a pic that i made simply to give you an idea
Does that picture make sense to you guys???
After you got this all bolted up, you need to trim the foam behind the plate, and cut a square hole out , so that you can slide in and lock you ball receiver.
As far as lights go, depending on what light the trailer has in the back you might need, 5-4 wire converter. Which alows you to have turnsignals and brake lights running on the same bulb. since our cars have seperate bulb for turn signal where as my trailer has one bulb for, turnsignals, brake, and marker lights. Peolple sell them on ebay for $6.00. Local car stores have them as well
As far as the trailer goes I bought it online for 250.00 plus 100 shipping. Comes with Manufacturers certificate. Simple to assemble. Has a ramp that puls out from under the trailer and attaches to the rail end. pretty sweet setup. The ramp on the trailer can be taken off in fiew monutesm and anything can be put on the trailer like tires, toolbox, fuel.
Thanks
Last edited by sewsmr; Jan 22, 2008 at 10:35 PM.
Nice design, good to clamp into the tow hook. Another board member, "rallytrack" used to and may still make a hitch for the Evo. For example see
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=55484
Wayne
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=55484
Wayne
I saw it there and couldn't figure out why