front hitch

[*** YELLER ***]

need to mount this hitch to the front of my Tahoe so I can use this basket.......any thoughts good or bad are welcome
why am I using this 'cause I have it and its free, Im going to cut off the sides and weld it to the frame
its gonna hold this basket with 2 or 3 bikes
maybe my scooter if needed total of about 500 lbs 


AND....DISSCUSS.....

[*** YELLER ***]

The hitch is wider than the frame so if I cut the sides off the hitch I can weld the square tubing to the frame

[79coyotefrg]

sounds good.

[ninja turtle]

why the front and not the back?

[Cheesemaker]

I'm guessing so he can tow a trailer at the same time! 

[*** YELLER ***]

why the front and not the back?

well as you know my knees are shot and getting worse, so I need a scooter to make it long distances, so that is on the back of the Tahoe and the wife likes to ride her bike so I need a spot for that when we go on vacation hence the front hitch yea I know, I could put the bike inside but its a pretty big beach cruiser and we are taking friends with us so there is no room

[junya92toy]

Id try to bolt it to the frame, if possible. Use the mounting plates it came with.

[*** YELLER ***]

Id try to bolt it to the frame, if possible. Use the mounting plates it came with.

Way to much werk its cut down about 5 inches now just gotta weld it tomorrow morning, correct me if Im wrong but wont it be stronger if I weld it to the frame as opposed to bolting it


and discuss......

[jimbo74]

i know my opinion isn't worth much.... but i would make it bolt on, but build it so it can be safe to be bolted on... its a lot easier to weld off the vehicle, then to bolt it on later, than to try and weld it all the way around, while upside down, on your back, etc......

[Blingn]

fwiw I would make sure that when you are welding to your tahoe you look to see what has to be disconnected before welding.  I would not want you to fry an ecm, bcm,tpms or any other electrical that would try to ground out when welding. 

[junya92toy]

Welding wont hurt the electronics but if you want to be safe, unhook the negitive cable.
As for welding vertical and overhead, thats easy, its taking the temper of the frame id be worried about, and having the hitch ripper the frame once welded.  As for the work to make it narrow, just cut the tube and re weld it, dont need to touch the mounting plates

[Blingn]

if you want to dave I can get ya the welding percautions and the frame material sheet on monday.

[Rocksurfer]

I know we have a lot more electronics in our cars here but just to jump them we have to disconnect all of the fuses and then plug them back in before we can start them.

It's not so much the actual welding with them connected it's the initial power surge that will take out the systems including the actual vehicle electronics. It is always best to er on the side of caution and disconnect the battery and remove the fuses.

[junya92toy]

I never unhook my battery on my truck.its a obd1 though

[Rocksurfer]

Chances are you will do no damage but it does happen so why take the risk.

[junya92toy]

dunno, never had a problem why worry

[*** YELLER ***]

Welding wont hurt the electronics but if you want to be safe, unhook the negative cable.

its taking the temper of the frame id be worried about

took that much off to end up with 27" now I gotta clean and bevel the sides, remove bumper and plastic stuff, clean frame, weld hitch to frame and mount basket seen in the other pictures like I said the most this is gonna hold is about 5-600 lbs but 99% of the time its gonna hold that basket with a couple bikes on it, I dont forsee anything going wrong but I can be swayed if the proper arguement is put forth

1) Neg cable will be disconnected thanks

2) we weld on our crawlers all the time like rock rails and shackle mounts, no one mentions the frame temper there not trying to be a smart ass just curious why its an issue now with this particular add on

3) not doing a bolt on because the weld on version (I feel) will be just as structuraly sound as bolting it....wont it


AND DISCUSS....... please 

[junya92toy]

Cuz with shackles and stuff most of the load is being pressed against the frame, where a trailer hitch, is pulling away from the frame.

[Rocksurfer]

So what tow load are we refering to here? I think this is only to carry either bikes or his scooter so it will only be carried weight, no tow loads at all.

[jimbo74]

is this thing mounted yet?

[*** YELLER ***]

So what tow load are we refering to here? I think this is only to carry either bikes or his scooter so it will only be carried weight, no tow loads at all.

you sir are correct at the most 600 lbs thats a guess on the scooters weight with the lift Im not even sure its that much just trying to safe on the weight estimate but it will be beveled and welded with a mig welder on all 4 sides pictures when its done

is this thing mounted yet?

nope doing it next week with a buddy

[junya92toy]

600 pounds is actually a lot, my trailer hitch can tow 5500 hundred and max tongue weight is 500

[*** YELLER ***]

600 pounds is actually a lot, my trailer hitch can tow 5500 hundred and max tongue weight is 500

I agree, its a guess on weight, chances are it wont happen, but just in case, Im concerned fer sure, 99% of the time it will be the basket and bikes maybe 150 lbs max so the front hitch should be no  problem

[jimbo74]

nope doing it next week with a buddy

is the wifey ok with that?

haha, yes... i have been i nthe desert too long, lol

j/k.... i am interseted to see how it turns out.... i have seen your fab work in other places and know that you don't suck... so....... i think your runner is an awesome piece of machinery..... it is what i want mine to turn out like eventually..... now, i just need to get a 4runner first, haha

[*** YELLER ***]

is the wifey ok with that?

haha, yes... i have been i nthe desert too long, lol

j/k.... i am interseted to see how it turns out.... i have seen your fab work in other places and know that you don't suck... so....... i think your runner is an awesome piece of machinery..... it is what i want mine to turn out like eventually..... now, i just need to get a 4runner first, haha

yea I got her permision

keep hydrated Jimmy

thanks will be done sooner or later and I'll post  the pics

[Slolyfe]

Just bring it to Jimmy and he will magically make it work. You'll probably end up with an exo by the time he is done. Hahaha

[Early]

As far as welding straight to the frame i have seen allot of people plate the frame and then welding sliders on. You could do something like that to relieve some metal curing thoughts.

And I love the basket idea. i thought about something like this for rainy season firewood when we go into the woods. Be aware that adding weight to the front will change your handling characteristics. How much on a toy or a 1/2 ton i don't know. But i remember riding with a flat (4 6 packs) of PBR tall boys on the front rack on my bike and it was hard as poo to get home and i hadn't drank yet.


And just for S&G toss some gussets on that there hitch

[*** YELLER ***]

Just bring it to Jimmy and he will magically make it work. You'll probably end up with an exo by the time he is done. Hahaha

hey are you two talking about me at work ......... Exo on the Tahoe thats funny .....

[Unclejarhead]

Ended up getting the front hitch on both my tow rigs