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Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay
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Daverham
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:07 pm    Post subject: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

After much hunting around, it seems there is no such thing as a trailer hitch for a late Bay Window. Bummer.

I found something that looks like it was made and sold only in Germany by Westfalia. But it only has a ball on the end. I wanted a 2-inch receiver for a bike rack. That’s it. I used to put the bikes inside the bus, but bikes are getting bigger… most mountain bikes these days have 27.5 or 29 inch wheels and much longer wheelbases than they used to. They don’t fit anymore! And that’s to say nothing of a camp trip when the bus is full of cooler and firewood and dog, etc. Anyway, I’m trying to keep it a bit nicer/cleaner inside these days. Muddy tires are no longer welcome.

I called around a number of local fabrication shops and even a rack/hitch shop and nobody wanted anything to do with it. So here we go… time to roll up my sleeves!

First I looked at other people’s efforts:

This one looks decent *EDIT* But it's not exactly what I wanted:
http://www.globalserve.net/~jrivers/latebayhitch.htm

The Westfalia tow bar thingy. Cool, but not for me:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5139139

So after I had already mostly designed my own solution, I found this thread. It’s 95% the same as what I was thinking. I ended up doing a 2-inch square tube for the cross bar and a couple other minor differences in how it’s gusseted, etc. But basically the same thing and it was very helpful to see it:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=411840&highlight=hitch

At first I tried to do it with 2-inch angle irons. Don't bother. You do need the 3-inch steel.

Oh, and you can buy a weld-on receiver tube on Amazon. Pre-drilled for the pin and everything. I got the 6-inch length.

I drilled four of the the holes 1/2 inch diameter and two of them 5/8 to allow for some wiggle. Same idea as the oval/slotted holes on the factory bumper mounts.

To further help myself visualize how it would come together, I made up a little 3D file. That’s really helpful for working out how the parts butt up, and working through design problems before you have to deal with them in real life. Here are a few of the renders.

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So here it is, all welded up. I know my welds aint exactly a stack of dimes, but they are solid. Not TOO bad since I haven’t used a stick welder in about 20 years. If it all falls apart, I’ll come clean and let you know.

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I went for white powdercoating and decided to toss the dirty old bumper brackets in there too. They look great! I got all this sandblasted and powdercoated for $35 due to a mistake at the powdercoating company. They were cool and let it slide. They said it should have been more like $150.

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Here’s the entire cost breakdown for this:
- New Bolts (QTY6) $3
- 225 Amp AC Arc Welder $125 (Craigslist)
- Slag hammer $6
- Welder Plug 30A Adapter $16
- White Powder-coating $35
- 42X2-inch square-tube cross bar (local steel shop) $35
- Welding magnets $9
- 3-inch Steel angle iron (hardware store) $50
- 2-inch steel gussets (eBay) $15
- 2-inch ID receiver tube $17 (Amazon)
- Welder electrodes $6
- Half-inch drill bit $7

That’s $324 including the welder! $199 if you don’t count the welder.

I intentionally designed this to require a small notch out of the bottom of the bumper. I don’t like the look of the one that pokes straight through the middle of the bumper - it’s just visually a little odd to me. And I didn’t want to drop the receiver tube another inch or so to make it come out entirely below the bumper - seemed like that would be putting more torsion on the whole thing and just more opportunities for weld failure. So this was what I came up with.

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Bottom line, this was a very doable and straight-forward project and it only took me about a week's worth of messing around in the evenings. I know it can seem daunting to cut quarter-inch steel, but with an angle grinder and a few .040" cutoff wheels, it's not a big deal and it goes pretty fast. Even drilling the half-inch holes in the steel was not a big deal. Use a drill press. Clamp your parts down. Go slow. Keep it cool with water. I just use a little hand-held spray bottle. Lubricate the bit. No problem.

I'm highly stoked. 10 Years ago, I bought this bus so I could use it as my trailhead vehicle for mountain biking. Since then it's become so much more than that to me, and now finally REALLY fulfilling that role in the best possible way!

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If someone else is considering doing it, I hope this helps.

Oh yeah, two important points:

• This works 100% with stock exhaust and even the heat shield is still there. Gravel guard was long gone, years ago. That probably wouldn't fit anymore.

• I'm not making any more of these to sell. I hope this helps you make your own.

Happy Trails!


Last edited by Daverham on Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:37 pm; edited 2 times in total
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SGKent Premium Member
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:18 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

I would have sworn Jamie Rivers made 73-79 hitches with a 2" receiver available if one wants. You did a nice job for a bicycle carrier but i think it would need more to pull a trailer that required a 2" receiver. Be sure to put a sticker on it warning anyone else who comes along and thinks it is designed for that.

http://www.globalserve.net/~jrivers/latebayhitch.htm#Receiver
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Daverham
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:21 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Oh yeah... you're right. I forgot he does have a 2" version on there!

Regardless, there are things about that design that I don't like. Specifically the angle-iron cross bar (I'd prefer the square tube) and the way the receiver tube mounts to that. I'm sure it's great. But when I get a vision in my head... I gotta go with that.

I also wanted to do the 6 mounting holes instead of 4.
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:27 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Daverham wrote:
Oh yeah... you're right. I forgot he does have a 2" version on there!

Regardless, there are things about that design that I don't like. Specifically the angle-iron cross bar (I'd prefer the square tube) and the way the receiver tube mounts to that. I'm sure it's great. But when I get a vision in my head, I gotta go with that.


Yous is fine and it looks nicely made. It would need a sister plate to sandwich the frame box etc if you wanted to pull 2500 pounds or so. 2" receivers are typically rated to 3500 lbs. I don't know if Jamie's will do that or not. I had a similar hitch to yours on a 1971 but it also bolted to the bumper and it had a sister plate near the battery and the other side so that it basically was held by the whole back of the bus. Hopefully you will get a bicycle rack that folds down ot something because you should be checking your oil level every time you fill the gas tank, especially on long trips where you climb grades. I've seen buses suck 1 quart of oil in 100 miles of hard grades when they haven't used 1 quart in 1500 miles before.
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Daverham
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:33 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Don't worry, I'm all over the oil situation. I don't go anywhere without a couple quarts stashed away. I do check the oil almost as often as I gas up.

The rack does fold down (and up) for easy access to both hatches.

Besides that, the bike rack going to be on and off the bus all the time. My wife also bikes every week and we are always trading the rack back and forth between the Kia and the Subaru. Now I can finally get rid of the Subaru and use my bus instead!

I have no intention of ever pulling a trailer. All this trouble was 100% for mountain biking. If I ever do sell this bus (a long long time from now), I'll be sure to mention it.
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 01, 2019 7:15 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Thats a fine piece of homemade work there. You have skills to design, implement, and build out. Nicely done. Cheers
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:06 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

As a fellow mountain biker who switches bike racks between vehicles I understand why you would want a simple solution like this. I was planning on doing something very similar in the future. Yours looks really good! Thanks for sharing.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:16 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

My 1978 double cab came with the original euro hitch, with the permanent ball, so I had a similar problem.

My solution was to use one of Jamie Rivers' front end 2" receivers. That way, the bikes can be up front and no in the way of the engine compartment hatch. It does, however, get in the way of removing the splash pan.

The front end receiver still needs a bit of work, though. My bike rack does not fit snug, and the 1/2" holes in the receiver do not accept the 5/8" pin, but that can get worked out.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:38 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

I do like the idea of a front rack too. Sounds like a good plan. Hopefully, one does not need access to their splash pan that often. This setup is in no way in the way of any hatches. The rack folds up for storage when it's empty and down for easy hatch access, whether it's loaded or not. It takes about 3 seconds to go either way. No tools. It's a great rack and wasn't the most expensive one either. I think I got it for $200 or so at REI. Maybe it was a bit more. I don't remember. I think it's called the "T2" rack. Perfect for a bus Very Happy

Yeah, looks like $450 here. I must have got it on a sale day or something:
https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/bike-rack/hitch-bike-racks/thule-t2-classic-2---2-_-1689772


There's a little hand lever and it pops right up. Same lever and a safety pin if you want it to go down. Most bikes racks these days work this way. I've actually never seen on that didn't.

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I've also heard other people with wobbly hitch or rack problems - local mountain bikers, in my area. One thing I like about this Thule rack is that instead of a cotter pin, there's a bolt. The rack itself is threaded and snugs up nice. So far it has fit the cotter pin hole of every standard 2-inch receiver I've put it in.

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Thanks for your comments, all!
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2019 10:40 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Well done nice stout piece of kit you made there. Cool
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2019 1:58 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Nicely done! We have a similar rack and love getting the chance to get out riding with the bus! We'll have ours mounted next week for our summer holiday trip.
Happy riding!
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:03 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

That is a very nice job man. Keep up the good work!
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:26 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Very nice! I've been rolling around the same idea in my head as well. Pretty much envisioning exactly what you built. Nice work! I've got to get past a few other projects/hurdles before my hitch makes it to the top of the list yet.
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PostPosted: Sun Dec 01, 2019 4:30 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

That looks great
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 11:06 am    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

jtauxe wrote:
My 1978 double cab came with the original euro hitch, with the permanent ball, so I had a similar problem.

My solution was to use one of Jamie Rivers' front end 2" receivers. That way, the bikes can be up front and no in the way of the engine compartment hatch. It does, however, get in the way of removing the splash pan.

The front end receiver still needs a bit of work, though. My bike rack does not fit snug, and the 1/2" holes in the receiver do not accept the 5/8" pin, but that can get worked out.


I use this simple rig in my truck... Just close the knot in the gate and it stays put.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 05, 2019 10:56 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Nice work!

I need to take a pic of the janky hitch thingy on my 78, all it’s ever done is crush my shins when I walk behind the bus in the garage.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Daverham wrote:
Cool pics. There's a great mural in my town... I'll have to swing by for a photo op.

I noticed your hitch rack. Well done! There aren't many of us Bay Windoy guys with hitch receivers. I made myself one last year. Love having it:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=723050&highlight=


I remember this thread, your hitch looks stout. Didn’t you just break down last week? Thought I remember reading a post about it, maybe you hit a wire accidentally? Hope you got it sorted out.

There’s a samba member named Jeremyrockjock who makes hitches for bays. I got mine from him, it was a direct fit.

Here’s a link to the late bay one, I got the early bay one.
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2333456

I went 1 1/4”. It’s clean, the bumper and splash pans attach to it and all you see is the tongue.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 2:09 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Great! Thanks for sharing the link. If that was an option when I did mine, I would have just ordered one up! Oh well, there's pride in doing it yourself, right?

I see his ad was placed December of 2019... I did mine in August of that year! Just a little too eager, I guess. Cool option, looks like a great setup.

Yeah, I was broken down, as of last week. Finally got her running again. I just needed some time to get in there. Turned out to be a loose wire INSIDE the AFM plug. That was tricky to find, but didn't cost anything in the end.

Your hitch and your bus look great. Happy bussin.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Nice home made hitch! Looks great.

I was considering making something myself but came across a hitch from a Nissan Axxis from the late 90s that was free and looked close width wise. I originally thought it was a 2" receiver but it ended being a 1.25" but rated as a Class 3. I cut it and made it wider by adding a 16" piece of square tubing that fit over the 2" tube and welded it. For extra strength, I added 2 U channels just wide enough to sandwich the frame rails and used 4 bolts through the frame and the hitch itself attaches by 3 bolts. It sits perfectly between the bumper and muffler and is hardly noticeable from behind. I use it mainly for a bike rack but also to pull a small sport trailer.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2022 4:29 pm    Post subject: Re: Home-Made 2-inch Hitch Receiver for Late Bay Reply with quote

Wondering what gauge you ended up using for the 3-Inch angle iron and for the 2 inch square tubing?

i am thinking 1/4 inch for both?
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