So I am going to let the cat out of the bag...

I picked up this rusty beauty off of craigslist on Sunday for $25. Its a rear hitch off of a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The guy I bought it from was actually planning on modding it to go on the front of his Jeep Wrangler, but he decided to just drill a hole in the mount for his plow and put a ball in there. So I drove 25 miles to pick it up.

This hitch works perfect to mod because it has a straight bar, and the reciever is mounted below the bar instead of in the bar. Also the mounts are big enough that I can use them for the new mounts and not need any extra stock.




First I cut off the box that held the trailer wiring harness and the hoops for the safety chains. Since I wont be using this to tow on the highway I wont need safety chains.

After that I went to town with a wire wheel and a sander. I cleaned it up a bit. Its not down to bare metal but I cleaned the powder coating that was flaking off and some of the loose rust. After its all done I will hit it with a rubberized under coating and some por-15.

Trimmed and "clean"



Then I went about cutting the ends off. This is just a ruff cut and the bar is not to lenght yet. I need to do some mods to the front end of the truck before I can start taking measurements to make the brackets and cut the center bar to length.

One mount gone:

Both mounts gone:


The mounts that need to be modded:


Stay tuned for the rest of the build....

 

Good score. Cant wait to see the finished project.

 

looking good! sounds like a good find

 

Got a "dry fit" in to take some measurements before I start trimming the brackets. It will sit about 1/4" lower and about 1/2" further back from where it is. I hope to get it all ready to weld by thursday afternoon. I also need to cut the bar to its final length after I do a bunch more measuring. My motto is "Measure 36 times, cut 4 times"

 

Sweet, is a multi-mount winch plate on the build sheet next?

 

I made a front hitch for mine as well, it pretty much just needs to sit right between the frame to have it come out of the bumper opening. Although it does look like 01+ bumpers have one that is slightly smaller.

 

Looking good. I am hopefully gonna get to mine this winter break. Just keep us up to date man. Your doin good.

 

looking good, i plan on doing this as well.

 

If I had a use for one then I would build one, But im actually building a light bar and a licence plate holder to stick in there.

I'm building it to help move our camper into our back yard easier (8'wide, 9.5' hole)

 

They also sell skid plates that go into a 2" reciever.

 

Ok the latest updates:

It is getting welded up in the morning. I finally got every thing finished, and today I just had to run downtown to pick up the steel for the light bar and the license plate holder

Bar:


Mounts:


Unwelded final product:


License plate holder (needs to be cut down but I ran out of cutting wheels so it will have to wait):


Light Bar:

 

any updates?

 

x2

 

Ya lets see some final pics

 

Heres the welded final product. I still need to mount it but its been so damn cold.





The license plate holder that still needs to be trimmed down.



Light bar. yeah yeah I know its not straight.

 

Your going to paint it before you install right, looks good!

 

haha

Hes just going to drive down the road it will turn white like the rest of the truck then brown awhile after that

 

hahaha thats so true. Yeah its gonna get a coat of por-15 when it gets warm enough to paint it.

 

i really like you idea for your light bar, good work

 

I'm kickin' myself for not building my own. I really should have.


Still dont get the light bar insert though.....all wigglin' around drivin down a bumpty road....all those wires and stuff that are all quick disconnect....are you going to be using trailer 4 prong harnesses for those??

 

Yes I am going to use a trailer wiring connector. Thats how I had my lights hooked up before. I may switch over to a 6 or 8 prong so I can run the grounds too. As for the bumpyness, I think I will just carry a couple wooden shims and jam them in there to hold it.

 

Yeah Shane, i agree. Surprized we didn't. SO.....Lets buy a bigger welder and do it!!

 

thats not a bad idea... I have an old hitch from my gf's ranger laying in the back yard, Im gonna see what I can do with it

 

Thats a damn good idea, I might have to go pick up a trailer connector for myself.

 

If you have your measurements you should post them, especially for the brackets.