Date:         Fri, 11 Jun 1999 16:03:14 EDT
Reply-To:     FrankGRUN@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Frank Grunthaner <FrankGRUN@AOL.COM>
Subject:      My Solution to Ron's Hitch Mounting
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Thought I would send a note about my installation of the trailer hitch from
Bus Depot. I was somewhat apprehensive after following several notes on the
list.

First, I was very impressed with the strength of the hitch. The cross-section
of the cross tube, the thickness of the wall, the quality of the welds and
the reinforcement of the hitch plate all are consistent with a class III
hitch.

Second, I found the frame mounting to be a relatively minor problem (compared
to other things I have done to this vehicle). The three bolt per side frame
mount went in readily. Bolts are one size smaller than stock, but the use of
the front bolt point more than compensates. Again consistent with 5000 pound,
class III aftermarket hitches.

Three, the mounting of the stock bumper was slightly more involves. My '82
Westy has the chrome bumper with rubber bumper strips. I used the two curved
brackets supplied by Ron with a subtle modification. Looking at the curved
bracket, one half (referenced from the bracket bar that bolts to the hitch
tube) follows the curve of the stock bumper. The other half has a s-shaped
configuration in which the end with bolt slot curves back away from the
general curve of the bracket. I cut this half of the bracket off right at the
top of the bolt or brace flange. This results in a bracket with a curved
segment with bolt slot to pick up the lower bumper bolt from the stock
bumper. There is a hole in the bracket in the right plane to bolt the face of
the bumper on. This hole is not quite aligned with the stock bolt hole. I
therefore bolted the bumper mount adapters to the hitch sides, then curt a
small segment out of the bottom of the bumper center to clear the hitch pad,
and bolted the bumper firmly to the hitch brackets using the lower (bumper
bottom) bolt holes. I then removed the bracket/bumper assembly from the hitch
bar and drilled two properly aligned holes through the stock bumper. The
actual offset was about 5 mm for each hole. I then got two bolts of the right
length as to not protrude beyond the thickness of the nut and washer - and
bolted the bumper to the brackets. I then installed the assembly on the hitch
bar. The rubber trim strip went on cleanly as the area over the bolt caps is
sufficiently elongated that it cleared the bolts. The black plastic end cap
mount holes do not align with the body holes any longer, so two new holes
were drilled. The end of the end caps cover the depression in the body, so
the resulting installation looks very clean/stock.

Four, The supplied ball hitch is probably fine for trailer towing, but my
purpose was to mount a receiver hitch based bike carrier for our three
mountain bikes, or a carrier tray for mounting my Honda 500 single off-road
bike on the rear. This requires a 2 inch receiver mount. Looking at the plate
face of Ron's (Bus Depot) hitch, I decided to have a receiver adapter
fabricated which would bolt up to the hitch plate. I went to a local
hitch/trailer/welding outfit and had such a plate fabricated. The end of the
hitch receiver projects about 4.5 inches beyond the hitch face plate. It
follows the exact shape of the hitch plate - that is, the bottom of the plate
has a triangular shape directed to the road surface. We placed the receiver
centered within the 4-bolt pattern, and ran a brace from the bottom of the
receiver tube to the bottom of the adapter plate. I also had four nuts welded
onto the adapter plate to simplify mounting and remounting. The height of the
top of the ball on a receiver to ball mount adapter is exactly 18 inches from
the road surface as required by law or trailer standard. Painted black with a
fired on enamel, the adapter plate cost me $75.  To finish, I bought two
chain plates (hole for 3/8 inch bolt through flat face and large oval hole
for trailer chain on the bracket bent at 30 degrees from the plane of the
mounting hole. These I bolted onto the ends of the hitch tube - on top of the
bumper mount bracket. Didn't even need a longer bolt!

Five, Accessories: Bought a black 3-bike rack for 2 inch receiver mount.
Works perfectly, and readily swaps back and forth between the Vanagon and our
Ford Expedition with factory receiver hitch. Also just took delivery of a
motorcycle carrier for the Honda which mounts to the receiver. A small ramp
on the end of the carrier folds down to load the cycle, and then folds up
behind the rear wheel when moving. The front tire is captured in a rail
extension as well. The Honda mounts readily, and the hitch interface is built
to take the rack mount if so needed. The bike weighs 305 pounds wet, and has
little effect on the performance of the Westy. I am exceedingly pleased.

Final comments: The lack of performance impact is due to my Diesel to '90 8V
1.8 L Digifant (!) engine conversion. I now have more than 48,000 miles on
this system, and well over 200K on the Westphalia. This has proven amazingly
reliable, offering speed capability beyond the design of the chassis. I kept
the diesel transmission (27-8.50x14 tires), and have spent more than 30000
miles with the engine between 5000 and 6500 rpm. At 80 with a full load and
AC running (to and fro Banff from LA) I log 15 to 16 mpg. At 65 the numbers
are significantly better, but freeway traffic in LA moves at 75! I must say
that I am disappointed in the fuel economy at 75 to 80. Had hoped for 20. BTW
the AC actually makes very little difference at these speeds, must be all
wind resistance. I just installed the oil cooler from a Mazda RX-7 with
thermostatic adapter, and the oil temp is not exceeding 240 F. Maybe more on
that later.

Sorry for the length, but I had been meaning to get this into the hitch
discussion for some time.

Frank Grunthaner