Tow hitch to Barndoor

[vdouglu]

I was recently 'jumped in' to a new gang known as the Heilite Mafia . Scary I know.. I've been looking for a trailer hitch to go with the bus. Well, I'm not too hot on spending $3000 in blood money for an OG Barndoor one so I thought I would make my own. I came up with a design that is nothing like the OG style ones but I think it worked out well.

I thought about using round tubing because I think it looks better but the square tubing had a lot more advantages.

I purchased a EURO style goose neck hitch that mounts inside a western style 1.25 inch receiver which was also store bought. I didn't want the hitch to stick out permanently like all the other OG hitches and I think this works well for that. The receiver does not go farther out than the bottom lip of the apron. The Euro hitch is rated for 3500 pounds towing...I need 300 pounds

The cross bar sticks down a few inches lower than the muffler. Probably not good for a lowered bus, but plenty of clearance for a stock bus.

The hitch has four points of contact. The 'pulling' tubes mount to the torsion tubes with 3.5" U bolts and 1/2 round cutout brackets welded to the long tubes. The other two points (side to side) are sandwiched between the rear bumper brackets and the body. This side brackets slip inside the cross tube and pin with a bolt. The whole system can be installed or removed in approximate 30 minutes. No drilling or welding to the bus.

I added four 45 degree gussets, 2 at the receiver and 2 on the inside the long tubes. The long tubes and cross bar are 1.5" x .125. The side brackets are 1.25" x .125 (horizontal) and 1"x.125 (vertical)

I think it came out okay for a quicky and its way more heavy duty than I need. I can remove the ball when I'm not towing and I have plenty of room to adjust the valves or change the oil / screen. It might fit on later buses but I haven't tried it yet..?

Okay, now I'll go back to making wiper grommets.

[Hellberg]

sick one, make one for me
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Type 2 -53 smooth Gate SC (o\!/o) Type 1 -50 |o\ /o| Type 2 -55 Barndoor kombi
...........Driving barndoor to HO 2017............

[vdouglu]

[zuggbug]

very cool design Doug.

great job.
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SOUTHERN INTEGRITY AIRCOOLERS
58 15 window
56 westy

[vdouglu]

[squareweave]

I recently found an original Ernst Hahn Fahrzeugbau hitch. I purchased it from the original owner. Looks to be complete with original Dera hardware and tag. Is there any more info out there on these specifically?

[squareweave]

I cleaned up the hitch I recently found and revealed original grey paint. Posting the pictures here for reference:

[D-train]