M1008 Civvy Hitch Conversion.

[CUCV IRL]

Hi Folks,

I've finally got around to making an attempt to modify my truck to take a civvy hitch.
Basically what I did was to buy a STEP BUMPER RECEIVER from good ol' eBay for $16.99
and modify and beef up the existing bumper step plate by welding a 5/16" plate under the step plate and drilling it to suit the new step bumper receiver. Initially I was going to weld over the existing slots for the trailer safety chains however, I decided against this as the bolt heads would sit too high. They now sit neatly in the existing slots. You will note from the pics that I have ground off a little off one face of two of the bolts in order to allow them clear the slots. However, the upside of this is that these bolts now self lock in the slot once you tighten the nuts on the underside!.

I am very pleased with how this simple but effective conversion has turned out. I intend fitting a height adjustable hitch in the receiver now that the work is done on it. What do you recommend? Any comments, words of wisdom gladly accepted!

 

[CCATLETT1984]

you are putting a lot of stress on the bumper itself. dont expect to be able to tow anything heavy with that, you will tweak the bumper. that plate would need to be reinforced with bracing running to the frame rails to be able to tow anything near the rating of the hitch.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I have a pintle hitch on an adjustable mount I got from the local Tractor Supply. No Tractor Supply's in your neck of the woods but I bet your local heavy equipment or farm/tractor supply place should be able to set you on them. Just a flat plate that is attached to a 2" tube. You have to adjust the height by literally unbolting and remounting the pintle but it works well for what it is.

Still have your bumper and pintle braces mounted? The reason I didn't go with a bumper hitch like yours was that it's rating wouldn't be as high as a conventional frame mounted hitch.

 

[CUCV IRL]

Hi,

I should have mentioned that I intend to still use the pintle on my truck and will be fitting it when I offer up the bumper to my truck after I have blasted and painted it. I will be mainly pulling a military spec trailer with a NATO ring/lunette I just want to have the option to tow a light civvy trailer when the need arises.

CCATLETT1984 I take on board your point about bracing running back to the frame rails. I don't expect to be pulling any more than 4000 lbs gross on the civvy hitch but it would be better to over engineer this job rather than run the risk of distorting the bumper or worse! I will have closer look at the best way to do this when I finally offer it up to my truck.

Thanx!

 

[motorolanut]

I applaud you for your skill and work but I would not tow over 2000 lbs on a bumper hitch....

 

[Bozor1000]

You need to have the hitch connected to the frame of the truck for my stability. That's what I am going to do. I'm going to keep my pintle and put a hitch receiver connected to the frame for reinforcement.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

You need to have the hitch connected to the frame of the truck for my stability. That's what I am going to do. I'm going to keep my pintle and put a hitch receiver connected to the frame for reinforcement.

Bozor, do a search and you can find a post I made last spring about how my FIL and I made a 2" frame mounted receiver hitch that bolted on and didn't disturb any of the CUCV's bracing and bracketry. I also have a write up about it on my CarDomain site.

 

[Bozor1000]

I saw that AJM. That's what I plan on doing myself. Your info on it was very good.