Finally got a chance to finish up my front hitch build today, my buddy came over to lend a hand and some tools and we knocked it out fairly quick. I have to say cutoff saws make all the difference when cutting 1/4in steel!

Pics

Cut, Painted and Installed



Front end back on



all done

 

Looks great!

 

Looks awesome. I want your hood.

 

great job!! it really looks great!

 

Thanks guys I am happy with how it turned out, just need to get a winch now.

 

I'd love to find a hitch to do this mod. That looks good.

 

Looks good! Your truck is shinning in that first pic!

 

check craigslist I got the hitch for $20 then cost $22 for paint, bolts and some locktite then its just some time to get it to fit right.

 

Yea, that sounds cheap enough. Thanks

 

Did you flip the crossmember or just weld the hitch in? I have a hitch, been meaning to weld it in, just not sure how I want to do it.

 

I was planning to weld it in but ended up going with a bolt on system because it fit so well. Its held in with 4 1/2 flange bolts and according to the FEA work I did on it should handle about 75,000 lbs before failure. I am not going to be anywhere near that so should be plenty solid.

basically just cut the hitch down to about 32 in then notched each end into an L shape leaving some of the rib for rigidity. The inside dimension is 26in then drilled some big holes in the bottom of the frame and bolted it down. It helped that this hitch was a 3x3 and not a 2x2 so it sits up in the right spot.

Mine is basically this shape but flipped over

http://i.tfcdn.com/img2/-8PrIz8AYyq6...OAA**/fyVMtP8A

 

when i had mine welded i had my buddy push it against the tow hook brackets and up to the crossmember so it was solid for whatever i needed it for...i had 15k worth of weight against it already(2 full size trucks)

 

Nice we thought about doing that but it makes it a PITA to get to the inside bumper bolts if your that close. mine is set back maybe a 1/4in behind the back of the tow hooks.

 

Looks awsome.

 

Looks great!

 

Looks pretty good but only thing that would bother me is the d-ring angled like that. mine sat out a bit just enough to clear the valence. It was welded in though.

 

The D ring wont get used much and is not staying in, it lives in the tool box unless needed, it will have a license plate bracket in it 95% of the time and eventually planning a multi mount winch.

 

Looks good, I need to do this, but when I do mine I think it'll look better w/o tow hooks.

 

Don't think I would want to drive like this but it looks cool!

 

yeah mine never came out. my license plate was on the left side of the dash. i had it on the floor in the back of the truck but i got stopped for no front plate, no ticket or warning though lol