Tow hitch BG chassis

[93BlkOnGreenPro]

I've been needy lately, I know.

Who has one, seen one in a jy on a bg ( 90-94 protege, 91-96 scort / tracer) they want to pull and ship me (that's how I've been getting all my parts lately).

Let me know.

Kthanksbye.


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[AWDXavier]

Not sure what your price range is, but this is always an option.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TRAILER-TOW-PACKAGE-91-97-MERCURY-TRACER-91-97-FORD-ESCORT-WAGONS-24633-/180733636540?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AFord|Model%3AEscort&hash=item2a14906fbc&vxp=mtr

[93BlkOnGreenPro]

i saw that one and the one uhaul sells, but i really didnt want to pay premium price for it.

Not if i dont have too.

[FE3-323]

I've seen the draw -tite for $130 which isnt' a bad price. I have a really old design draw tite ( i think***) i pulled its rusty POS crap pile from the junkyard in minnesota. Its rare to see a BG with a hitch. but if at all possible i would grab it.
having a towhitch on these cars is insanely handy- specially with a small trailer.

I do HIGHLY encourage modifying the hitch & your frame to accept the hitch & be able to support the weight.

[93BlkOnGreenPro]

Modify the frame how exactly?

I only plan on using it to pull a small utility trailer to haul my future motorcycle.


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[FE3-323]

i drilled 2 holes through my frame rail. dropped in 5/8" ID tubes through. & welded them in top/bottom/ then put a plate over & welded the top again. the bolts i used to mount the backmost plates(part of the tow hitch) to the frame rail are 5/8"

My rear strut towers are directly reinforced to the frame rail(highly encouraged for all of us) and also to the roll cage. my towing capacity for the system has seriously increased. Short of bending the unibody rails prior to the strut towers i could likely hold a serious amount.

I use my car with a small H.F. utility trailer & a motorcycle stand bolted to it weekly during the warmer months. Hell I've even used that trailer to transport a 92-95 honda civic coupe cut up in pieces to the scrap yard.
a good trailer in combination with a strong vehicle can get just about anything done.
I don't recommend towing without boost. you'll need the power since the BP alone is gutless.


And yes- i do things in overkill

[93BlkOnGreenPro]

Welp, those reinforcing mods will not get done, and I have a b8, so it is really gutless.

We have towed many motorcycles behind civic sedans, and high mileage early 90's camry's and since most small trailers are fairly light and most bikes are in the 500-600 pd range, it shouldn't be too bad for the times that i will be using it.

We always counter balance the bike over the axle so that the weight is not on the tongue and that tends to help out a lot in pulling and tracking.

[FE3-323]

I went above & beyond. & probably excessive overkill. If you buy one of the draw-tite hitches. you should be alright with light loads.

[deadly_sleeper]

I have one on my daily that I picked up. I'm going to be taking it off here soon. How much of a hurry are you in to get one? Shipping could bite ya, but I only want $50 for the hitch.

[93BlkOnGreenPro]

See how much shipping would be. I'm in no hurry. I prob won't get the bike for a few months but I'll prob get the trailer for little things when we get the house.

Edit: and I found one on a contour in the jy but it doesn't seen like it would work, at all. I was excited, then bummed.

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[billzie]

i drilled 2 holes through my frame rail. dropped in 5/8" ID tubes through. & welded them in top/bottom/ then put a plate over & welded the top again. the bolts i used to mount the backmost plates(part of the tow hitch) to the frame rail are 5/8"

l I've even used that trailer to transport a 92-95 honda civic coupe cut up in pieces to the scrap yard.
a good trailer in combination with a strong vehicle can get just about anything done.
I don't recommend towing without boost. you'll need the power since the BP alone is gutless.


And yes- i do things in overkill

Not intending a pissn match, but...
Those mods are unnecessary (but yes overkill if that floats your boat). The max towing capacity of any BG chassis is 1000 lbs and 100 lbs tongue wt, towing more on any public road is illegal and dangerous. There are two mounting points on each side, the rearward attachments are at the chassis tow hooks and are the pivot points of the hitch and bear nearly all of the load/tongue wt and use grade 8 fasteners that should never fail under the above mentioned wts unless rusted (part of being a responsible tow owner is inspecting your equipment before each use), the forward points usually require drilling holes into the rail and use a larger/industrial driven rivet that as long as the uni frame rail is solid should not fail.
I've tried to install a hitch on every vehicle I've ever owned for safety reasons. I had a family members' life saved because of a hitch installed on his car, according to the DOT investigator. And, more recently a friend (who also took this advice from me over the years) was spared almost no damage during a rear ender (from an uninsured driver).
The BG engine (1.8 DOHC) has more than enough to tow up to those wts, I've done it many many times including long hauls. Just ask Chris Turpro, he bought a set of EGT 7 spokes/tires from me on one of my loaded trip from Chicago to far SE Ohio (aka Appalachia hills) pulling with my unmodified (at that time) Tracer LTS. And yes I've even used it to bring another LTS cut up to the JY, but honestly there isn't much weight to these sized cars once gutted which I assume you case was the same.

Anyway, points are:
1, do it for safety reasons if nothing else
2, easy to do and cheaper if you find a JY unit
3, very versatile and safe if you're mindful of safety

Oh, and I also have one I can spare to sell : ) , surface rust but solid and has mount (but no ball iirc) and no hardware.

HTH, Bill.

[FE3-323]

curious where you get the 1000/100 rating from???
also curious what spare hitch you have to sell? any chance you could PM me some pictures of it??

[billzie]

curious where you get the 1000/100 rating from???
also curious what spare hitch you have to sell? any chance you could PM me some pictures of it??

Unless they've changed their ratings, every hitch manufacturer specs 1000/100 wts for our chassis, and yes that is 500/50 lower than a class I typically is rated at. I have to assume it's based on mfg ratings, iirc somewhere in the past I read the 1000 lb wt in the owners manual as a total load (passengers included, oops time for me to go on a diet).
The OP has pm'd me about the hitch and my brother-in-law might be buying a BG soon, so I'll get back to you on the hitch.
HTH, Bill.

[StealthStyle]

I recently picked on up on Amazon for $130, if that helps. Interestingly enough, the hitch itself says 2000lbs with 200lbs on the tongue. I'm going to be using it for a cargo carrier, and the tow hooks look beefy enough to hold 200lbs.

[93BlkOnGreenPro]

bump! still looking