Trailer hitch with a rollpan, but you'll never see it....

2fast55 · Jan 14, 2009

I spent the last 2 days under my truck getting a trailer hitch put on, and with a rollpan, it was no bolt-on affair. I had to cut and reposition the centersection on the brackets, cut and bend the brackets, drill the frame, cut my rollpan, and figure out how to hide a huge 7-way light connector because every trailer we own has one. I'm still working on getting the license plate set up to work with it. It will be mounted on a receiver plug to hide the hitch when not in use.

I've been working on the idea for a while, and this week I got some motivation to get it done. I'm going riding several hours away (east of Bend, 4 corners for anyone who knows) tomorrow, and I needed a way bring someone with me. Instead of paying the huge gas bill to drive a fullsize van and big flatbed trailer, I can now take our small trailer and my truck.

Oh, and I had to take the sawzall to my exhaust to get the hitch on....Its dumped right out the muffler now, and its quite a bit louder in the cab. Lightning-style side-exit is coming next.

dru · Jan 14, 2009

thats a F-in sweet receiver.

97BlackBetty · Jan 14, 2009

Wow very nice, as I was reading your write up I was thinking of several possibilities, but that I did not see coming.

valleyvinyl84 · Jan 15, 2009

Sick!!

Wicked_Sludge · Jan 15, 2009

welding that close to that new paint.... :annoyed:

just messin. top-notch work as usual. one point of criticism, is the gap larger on the drivers side or is that just the angle of the pic?

lets see it in "stealth" mode!

grey ghost · Jan 15, 2009

could i make the suggestion of using one of those flip down license plate holder's from a '70's era car and flip it over so when you need the hitch you just pull the plate up and insert the reciever into the hitch? license

maybe i'm sniffing to much snow blower fumes today but that just poped into my head as i was looking at your work.. :icon_confused:

nice work

KCBFord1 · Jan 15, 2009

very cool! i bet people sure scratch there heads after you disconect your trailer and put your plate back on. (now how the hell did he tow that thing) :icon_confused:

BlackBII · Jan 15, 2009

Sweet!

You oughtta get one of those fold down license plate holders, like previuosly mentioned.

Gotta_gofast · Jan 15, 2009

I hope you have a good spotter. lol, I'd sure hate to have my spotter get lazy then back right into the trailer.

KELLY88 · Jan 15, 2009

That's some sweet fab work there. Very stealthy.

2fast55 · Jan 16, 2009

Wicked_Sludge said:
welding that close to that new paint....

just messin. top-notch work as usual. one point of criticism, is the gap larger on the drivers side or is that just the angle of the pic?

lets see it in "stealth" mode!

If you mean the tape marks, yes its crooked in the pic. I found it and fixed it right after that. All worked out. I could show pics of "stealth mode" but it looks exactly the same as before I put the hitch on.

grey ghost said:
could i make the suggestion of using one of those flip down license plate holder's from a '70's era car and flip it over so when you need the hitch you just pull the plate up and insert the reciever into the hitch? license

maybe i'm sniffing to much snow blower fumes today but that just poped into my head as i was looking at your work..
nice work

That was my original idea, but nobody had one, so i never started the project. One day I got the idea of putting it on a receiver plug, and I was off the the wrecking yard to get a hitch.

Gotta_gofast said:
I hope you have a good spotter. lol, I'd sure hate to have my spotter get lazy then back right into the trailer.

The only trailer I'll tow with this (stupid 3.0 can't pull a bigger one uphill anyway), is light enough and balanced so that I can drag it around and set it on the ball without ever backing the truck up. No fear that way. :icon_thumby:

GoGoPowerRanger · Jan 16, 2009

For those who can't weld Stillen Motorsports made a hitch exclusively to be hidden by a rollpan. They are still available through the Stillen outlet for discontinued parts. They also still have 90's style bodykits and grills! Ordered one up a few days ago will see how it fits. Spring loaded plate bracket off 72 chevelle will hide reciever hole.

Stumpy · Jan 16, 2009

http://www.plateflipper.com/

That's what came to mind when I saw the hitch behind the plate.

5.0B2 · Jan 16, 2009

On my friend's 62 unibody shortbox, we put a spring loaded hinge on the license plate so it folds down to insert the hitch in the receiver.

kid_crash · Jan 16, 2009

Nice work!
I have a step-side ranger, and want to put a reese hitch on it, do the hitches for any ranger work, or is there a special one for the step-side rigs?

Trailer hitch with a rollpan, but you'll never see it....

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