ready to pull

[ekap1200]

Hello from big city Cecil NJ. For those of you who have been following my progress on building my own trailer hitch, here is the finished product. It took a little longer than I was planning but I wanted to be sure the finish was cured before I installed. And I wanted to update my drawing with the revisions I had made. Now all that is left is to clean up the mess in the shop and put the tools away. Haven't decided what I want to do with the trailer wiring yet or what style plug to use. Gene Kap

[Greybeard]

sweet

[Nathan (South Carolina)]

Now that is one 1st class hitch. Great job Gene!

[flip18436572]

Good job.

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

Gene, excellent work you've done there! Good looking as well as functional. But then that's what your were going for!
You set a goal and hit it precisely in the bulls eye!

[David (N. Alabama)]

Very nice. Probably the most expensive hitch out there with the hours you have put in. Here is an idea for you. I saw a pick up truck that mounted trailer lights on either side of his receiver so when he was not trailering he plugged his wires into the lights. More visibility and kept his wires stored away.

[Charlie from Illinois]

Glad to see you got the hitch the way you wanted it. Very good fabrication skills Gene. I wonder what you will come up with next.

[ekap1200]

Thanks for all the kind replies. In response to the time spent, it took a saturday to come up with a few sketch's of what I was looking for in a hitch and the dimension's of components. then a few hours of design on the pc in a few spare nights. Having a machine shop here at home and the new waterjet cutter and brake at work, the actual time spent building and welding took only two hours working off of the prints. The damn finish work took only 1.5 hours , but:prime it then wait until the next day: then paint and wait until the next day: then clear it and wait a full twenty four hour before handling it. Spent half day this saturday installing it but I also had an muffler issue to deal with. The right side exh was always 1/4 inch lower and 1/4 inch inward since I bought it. No one else really noticed it, but me. That took about two hours to solve and repair. So without my labor the materials with paint and hardware came to $58.00 . The new waterjet is so quick If you have the autocad dwg's loading them and cutting the parts needed out of plate steel only took 12 minutes. Bending in the brake at work , I was lucky the right die's were installed so that was a breeze. And I have to admit I just love working on bikes...next up is to replace all the lamps in the trailer with led's and go for a cold ride.

[Chris near Kansas City]

Gene, my compliments on your handywork. I'll admit that I have a tendency to overbuild stuff, but I would sure prefer to have something thicker on your flatstock. My Markland hitch and I'm pretty sure my Hitchdoc, both use 1/4" thick stock on their flat pieces. The round tubes that run forward to the saddlebag mounts on the Hitchdoc are super meaty. I know that after our accident in '08 we would not have been able to continue on if our Hitchdoc had not been built as solid as it was. I would also be concerned about the weight of the trailer during travel flexing and weakening the thinner stock. Also, with the hitch tied to the rear fender support, even something minor might cause some damage to the rear fender.

Otherwise, the only thing I would add, is a piece that ties the crashbar/saddlebag mount area to the long piece that you have running from the hitch to the rear floorboard mount. In other words, it would run 90 degrees to the track of the bike's two wheels. You could run two pieces and bolt them together in the middle, or weld a tab on each piece that you already added and then bolt a bar to them.

Chris

Edit: Do you have a provision for safety chains?

[ekap1200]

Thanks for the input, I am looking at a pic of both the marvelas and hitch doc hitch and have to admit I don't have the spec's of the material used.
But my thought is, are they not both connected at the top to the same bolts? Or do you have to drill the sadle bag mounts and drill out the metric 8mm bolt threads for bigger bolts? I have drilled out the threads and installed two 5/16 grade 8 bolts at the top. All of the fastners used are also grade8. The flat bar I used is 3/16 and based on tensile strength of 10,000psi per sq.inch , the two rearward struts should have 3,750psi of strength. I don't think the crash bar wall thickness is that great. I have seen pics of rear downward struts connected to the fender frame and they are only 4mm I believe. I do have safty chains in the works and have not addressed the wiring yet, Have you looked at my other pics? Thanks for the input guess only time and miles will be the true test. Gene from NJ

[Chris near Kansas City]

Yes, both the Markland and the Hitchdoc attach to the upper frame in the same manner. You do have to drill the threads to run a longer bolt and a nut to secure the uprights. The main purpose of the uprights is really just to hold the back end of the hitch up, so in that respect you might be able to get by with the thinner stock, but I'd still prefer the 1/4". The uprights do, on a smaller scale, help divert the forces exerted during stopping and accelerating, up to the upper frame so that all the force doesn't have to go through the lower saddlebag mounts. This is where your idea shines, because you've tied into the floorboard mount/frame area instead of just the saddlebag/crash bar area. But it also is a concern, because of the material used. Think of it like this. You've got a piece of coat hanger a foot long and a piece 2 inches long. It's the same material, but which one is easier to bend? It's leverage, I know, but that's the problem as I see it. This is also why I think adding in the piece I mentioned might help firm up the unit.

The rear fender support, in my opinion is barely adequate to support the fender. With the amount of potential movement of the hitch, at least as I see it both in your current configuration and what I've seen with a Hitchdoc and the Markland, I'd rather not have anything tied to the fender/bodywork back there. That's one reason why my trailer wiring connector is only attached to my hitch (for both hitches) and not the saddlebag, fender, etc. What you could try, and maybe you have, but without the 2 braces you have going to the fender support, but with the rest of the hitch bolted up solid, put your foot on the side of the ball and push. See if you get any side to side movement. With the saddlebags off, do you get any movement and is it just in the hitch, or is it in the saddlebag mount area as a whole. If you conservatively figure the weight of the trailer and contents at 300 lbs, then do some fancy ciphering, you come up with some big number I'm sure, LOL. I'm betting I was pulling close to 450 when I tried hooking an F150 with the trailer, so I know what the Hitchdoc can take.

I just want to make sure you're safe out there.

Edit: For the wiring, I made a bracket that attaches to the hitch that incorporates the connector for the wiring. You could do the same, depending on how many wires you're using, etc. Since I am using a 6pin connector, the kit comes with a bracket to mount the connector. I used that piece and integrated it into the bracket I made for the Hitchdoc, and for the Markland, I just made the entire unit. Don't have decent pictures of either at my disposal since I'm at work, but could dig some up if you're interested. On the Hitchdoc, it was mounted here:

[ekap1200]

Chris, I have researched this to the limit, there are more hitchs out there than HitchDoc and Markland for sale. I have seen them even made out of aluminum. Bottom line is most of them are still just mounted to the saddle bag lower mount. Talk about flexing I can pull on the crash bar and make it flex. I hooked up the traliler and stood on the hitch while the bike was on the center stand and low and behold it just raised the front wheel off the ground. No flexing, no bending and I weigh in at 245lbs. When you say your hitch tubes are beefy, just what is the diameter and tube thickness? Without the two most reward brackets to the fender frame there is no movement side to side on this design. They are there primarily to keep the 0.032 clearance betweeen the top of the hitch and bottom of the fender from ever changing and also to support some weight. Keep in mind there are eight points of weight distribution. I would like to know if others have had any problems with hitch's and do they have any flex to them ? Gene from NJ

[doug of so fla]

Gene I have made many hitches and yours looks like it will do the job very well. A question I have about your hitch that I could not figure out from your great photos, and you probably already know about this. Is to make sure that when you are on the mc and the trailer is attached that the neck of the ball is lower than the center-line of your MC rear axle. This enables you to stop better by the trailer pushing down instead of lifting up on the hitch when you use rear brake & front in unison. You stop better when the wt of the trailer drives the tire into the pavement. Many hitches omit this little bit of physics and it can be disastrous.. With practice you can stop a MC with a trailer as good if not better than without it. (going straight!!).

[ekap1200]

Thanks Doug, Have not sat on the bike off of the center stand yet and had my wife measure that. Made up a harness and tied it into the bikes harness today and then found some issues with the wiring inside the trailer that I have to take care of. There is a spacer on the hitch's heim-joint pin that I can change to obtain a height adj. if needed. What would you suggest ? A 1/2" or more, below center line of axle. I want 0% problems when I head out this summer. So far with this bike I have taken 3 two week, long distance trips with 0.0 problems. This is the best machine I have owned since I have been riding on the road. The tips I have read here on this forum have helped, such as places the harness chaff or pull, shocks fork protectors and many other helpful hints from people who have had these problems already. Oh and of cource Carl Leo for parts. Thanks for the heads up on this issue, I was under the impression that it was to be on center with the driver seated. Gene Kap.

[doug of so fla]

When MC & trailer are moving it should be below center-line of rear axle, 1/2" + would be fine. Just practice stopping and you will see it for yourself. You will learn to hold the unit firmly straight. With the connection to high it can take weight off of rear tire and push you all over the place if you have to stop hard. The trailer pulling experience should give you the feeling that you hardly know it is back there ,but you know it is!!! Do not use front brake hard, Do not brake hard for a corner, obviously! Common sense should prevail. It really makes traveling 1 or 2 up, much more pleasant if you camp or hotel it. When I first started pulling a Mini Kamper trailer in 1970, I never took it off for about 15 years, it was just to convenient. With the XII we can carry a lot but still have a cargo trailer for the long trips. With the way winter is looking up north you should have quite a set-up by spring!!! lol

[MTN99]

Thanks Doug, Have not sat on the bike off of the center stand yet and had my wife measure that. Made up a harness and tied it into the bikes harness today and then found some issues with the wiring inside the trailer that I have to take care of. There is a spacer on the hitch's heim-joint pin that I can change to obtain a height adj. if needed. What would you suggest ? A 1/2" or more, below center line of axle. I want 0% problems when I head out this summer. So far with this bike I have taken 3 two week, long distance trips with 0.0 problems. This is the best machine I have owned since I have been riding on the road. The tips I have read here on this forum have helped, such as places the harness chaff or pull, shocks fork protectors and many other helpful hints from people who have had these problems already. Oh and of cource Carl Leo for parts. Thanks for the heads up on this issue, I was under the impression that it was to be on center with the driver seated. Gene Kap.

Gene,
You may have found these already but here are a couple of trailering sites that may be of interest.... Take a look at some of these to start....

http://www.mctourer.com

http://forums.delphiforums.com/n/nav/st ... ilertowing

http://www.ibmc.org

http://www.motocampers.com

Hope this is of some help, most sites have a tech section..

Great fabrication by the way....
Happy new year....

[ekap1200]

Delphiforum's ;;; Hi Tony , read for an hour or so on that one and ,whew , some horror stories of trailering mishaps and the dreaded wagging trailer stories. But I should be fine, Iv'e lived thru the Voyager front end wobble , slowing down to light a smoke and wow... there she goes, lost the smoke and lighter on that first wobble. But all this research has made me dot all the I's and cross all the t's. I should have a stable unit when I'm done reading all the do's and don'ts. On my final finishing touch's with safety chains and making sure that if they are needed the trailer won't touch the pavement or the back wheel. Hoping for a nice weekend this week for a test run, even if it is only 32deg.'s What do ya'll do to keep your loads from moving about inside the trailer, (cargo nets:partitions ) ? I do have a cooler rack, should I try to keep the tongue weight on the high side, and what about this weekend for the first run, can I leave the trailer empty and maybe fill the cooler with water to get some weight on the tongue? Gene Kap.

[bikerking.biz]

But I should be fine, Iv'e lived thru the Voyager front end wobble , slowing down to light a smoke and wow... there she goes, lost the smoke and lighter on that first wobble.

Just another way to tell you that smoking is bad for your health!

[Chris near Kansas City]

No need to fuss about tongue weight if pulling it empty. Loaded up, I try to keep my tongue weight around 20 lbs, 25 max.

[MTN99]

Gene,

If I pull empty I keep a couple of 2 ltr soda bottles filled with H2o to get my tongue wt ballanced. (but usually just the wt of the cooler is enough) Like Chris, I try to keep 20-25 lb on the tongue. Depending on how I load it, You will need to experiment a little. I use a digital fish scale, works great & takes just a second...
I also keep the T/P at 25lbs. on our Piggy and with over 5000 mls & have yet to notice any tire wear. & yes unloaded it will bounce some you just have to be aware of the road...
Also to answer your other question on brake pads, I check em before any long trip and always have 2 sets in the saddle bag. EBC FA-85 have been good for me. I haven't changed mine yet but the S/S brake lines are said to really improve responce...

Hope this helps... Ride Safe