Need Advice - 2" box trailer hitch

[uberaudi]

This is what I built out of 2", 1/4" wall steel. It was originally intended to go under a factory bumper, but I liked how it looked so I added the side extensions and caps. The clevis mounts are 1" thick and use the two factory bolt locations, while 3/8" strap extends from there to the third hole. Heavy and overkill yes, but shopping at the steel yard remanent rack keeps the costs down substantially. I have about 100 bucks into it and have no doubts about it's strength.

[Jamo7]

For those thinking about making their own rear trailer hitch, here is mine,
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=9118584#9118584
I was inspired by many of the ideas here and am pleased with how it came out.
Take care,
James
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'84 Westy 2.1 wbx

[Zeitgeist 13]

I've long been hoping to upgrade my rear hitch from a bolt-on 1.25" to a weld-on 2" version, so I'm prepping to make that leap. Yesterday I bought a beefy U-Haul hitch from a Dodge Durango for $10 off of FB Marketplace. It even came with a groovy propeller and brake light attachment. I'm looking for guidance from those who have welded directly to the stock bumper mount brackets, to see whether it's advisable to leave the brackets slightly loose, or to have them fully tightened. Thoughts?

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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[connorsvw2]

I’ve been running Dennis Haynes’ hitch for probably close to 20 years. A stout and quality piece from before integrated bumper options were even available. The bomb for stock bumpers.
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'85 Westy Wolfsburg camper/2002 2.5 Subaru since 2003.
'85 GTI 1.8L 1-owner 8v-gave up on 9A 2.0L 16v transplant. Keeping her stock!
'99 Passat 1.8T Variant-AKA "The Money Pit". Still limping along...
'09 Subaru Outback XT 5-speed, 245 hp rocket (wife's car)

[Colorado Yeti]

Due to the underwhelming affordable aftermarket options for box receiver hitches for Vanagons, I decided to build my own. Here it is. Cost a total of $20. A sincere thanks to fellow Samba member Joetiger for donating some of the parts!

[Colorado Yeti]

All great ideas. I've contacted the owner on Craigslist in Boulder and am going that route. He has a high top camper that i'm going to check out . For $75 pretty hard to beat. Thanks Dave for the link!

[Oilline]

Yes it is a bit over engineered !

[MarkWard]

[Oilline]

Here's what i did

[MarkWard]

If you have the skills for making a custom on, I'd go that route. One of the first pictures above shows extended bumper brackets where they go into the frame rail. The vanagon European hitch did something similar. If you look, you will see the extra hole in each frame rail. This helps to distribute the pulling load a little more.

I have some pictures of my custom hitch in the gallery. I was able to mount the bulk of the hitch where the muffler would normally sit. Very clean look. I purchased a universal 2 inch box receiver locally and the rest is from scrap steel I was able to scrounge together.

[bobbyblack]

That add-on box to the stock bar works for me... I don't pull a trailer much tho.

Bike rack bounces a little in the rear view mirror when I have bikes on it... I've come up with a bit of a sling that I attach to the T ends going to the top of the hatch, to keep the bouncing from alarming me too much.

Also, you can flip it over and put the Ball back on, like this:

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'87 Westy 'Flossie','86 Westy 'R1','86 tintop GL - Subi2.2 'J2','83.5 stock tintop L 'ZoomBus','74 Karmann Ghia, '63 Notch

[joetiger]

PM sent.
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Joe T.

'86 NAHT Vanagon GL Syncro/ supercharged ABA 2.0 "Pigpen"
'91 Wolfsburg Carat "Barchetta"
'02 Baja-ish Beetle "Bubbles"

"get metaphysical with it. if it's simply a means to get to and from places, it will let you down. if it becomes your zen, it can't fail you." -dabaron

"Still, it's good to be afield."--VWagabond

Justice for Megan: https://linktr.ee/justiceformegantrussell

[davevickery]

The one on my van was home made and just bolts on to the stock bumper mounts.

I think if I was starting from scratch I would buy a universal receiver hitch (for around $120) and use the that as a starting point. Some have adjustable length tubes. Welding a bar would be pretty simple too, as well as just making completely new bumper mounts out of angle iron like SS Westy did then you can make them longer and reach that 3rd unused bolt hole.

You could do a light duty version with just a bar that mounts on the toe hooks and buy the harbor freight receiver mount adapter. There is one on local craigslist right now. https://boulder.craigslist.org/pts/d/vanagon-tow-hitch-and-2-ball/6611829181.html

[erste]

[erste]

[Colorado Yeti]

All excellent suggestions. Anyone know how to contact Dennis Haynes? Thanks everyone!

[hdenter]

Go to a wrecking yard and pull a receiver hitch from a suburban or similar wide vehicle. Chop it to width and weld it to the bumper mounts.

Hans
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'79 triple white convertible bug
'84 sunroof vanagon
'85 weekender

[erste]

Here are some pics of the hitch Dennis Haynes used to sell (maybe he still does??). First is from the samba image gallery, the rest are pics of the hitch that came with my van.

Two slots need to be cut in the stock bumper so it fits over the vertical supports:

Hope this helps!

[SSWesty]

I didn't find anything and built my own. Here is the thread https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=512668

The great thing about making a bumper + hitch for the back is that it is straight forward to attach it to the frame rails.

You could try a tow hook mounted option if you are towing something less than 1,000 pounds. Others may comment that the factory tow hooks are good for towing 5,000 pounds but I felt more comfortable with just 1,000 pounds back there. As far as I know nothing comes with a 2" receiver that is less than $200 so you could add one to the less expensive aftermarket hitches out there. If you made your own tow hook hitch that would save the time of fabricating a bumper.

I'll be curious if there is a better solution out there, it seems like a common problem to solve.

[Yellow Rabbit]

I was also turned off by the limited choices and cost. I finally just bought a Rocky Mountain Welty hitch and I couldn’t be happier.