Light duty trailer hitch on a Spider

[AndyS]

those hitches are also the very best way to put a bike rack on any car. Hitch mount bike racks are way better than any trunk mount rack.

[BillF]

Thanks Rlux4 for the pictures of your hitch and trailer. I did not know I needed to get an adapter for my tail and stop lights. Thanks AndyS for your information.

[chrisg]

thread back from the dead! (faux pas around here?)

I'm considering putting a receiver hitch on my '71 124 Spider (no towing, want to be able to mount a good bicycle rack)...anyone done this? seen it done?

[4uall]

here is the pulling potential

So in June 1985 my Dad sold his boat. The guy who bought came to pick it up in his Fiat. What are the odds?

[chrisg]

Yeah, I remember selling him a rear diff back in the '90s....just kidding.

Seriously...anyone? And, a hitch or ball mounted is *NOT* what I need...it's the receiver because all I'd be pulling is a bicycle rack with a bike or two on it (100-125lbs tongue weight I guess in the worst case)

[seabeelt]

Didn't read the old post, but..... Hitches have two components, ball or tongue weight ( how much downward force the tongue of the trailer (with max load) puts on the ball of the hitch. Second is towing class ( I.e how heavy is the load that you are pulling, 500lbs, 2000 lbs, 5000lbs) the class of the hitch determines the size of the ball and mounting points to ensure safe towing. Third, related to this is making sure your vehicle has then braking and suspension capable of handling the towed object. As you can see in the picture of the spider and sail boat, the car is heavily weighted toward the rear and probably will have under steer problems over any distance( lifting the front end off the road at bumps and so forth). I have a class lll hitch on my Dakota good for 500lb tongue weight and 10,000 lb towing capacity. It's attached to the frame of the truck and is constructed of 1/4 in x 2 in steel tubing. My bumper ( mind you this is a v-8 quad cab 4x4) has a tongue capacity of 150lb and 1500 lb towing capacity. Ever wonder why you see so many pick ups with mangled rear bumpers.............

Not sure the weight of your boat, but if it weighs more than a couple hundred pounds, I would be thinking twice, even for a parade. Bumper and trunk floor don't sound good. Bumper and frame.... Maybe

[chrisg]

Not sure you followed the later comment I added...I'm looking for a template or model to start modifying to build a receiver hitch for a 124/2000 Spider. This would be only for mounting a bicycle rack...which is where I got the tongue weight #s..roughly speaking 50lbs for the rack/rig & 18-25lbs per bike. My 124 is an early car anyway, so there is not big tube assembly to work with (or around). No boats, no utility trailers, none of that.

[seabeelt]

Hi Chris, I must have confused yours with the other one wanting to tow a boat in a parade. I've seen the pics of your car. Wish mine looked that good. Bikes would probably be ok, but I would sill mount to the frame rails, skip anything to the bumpers, especially the early ones. You could probably use 1 inch square steel tubing and a couple of plates to fab something that cold then be mounted to the frame.
R/

[chrisg]

well, I guess if I do it, I ought to document it reasonably well. Apparently I'll be going where no man has gone before!