Hidden hitch (Completely hidden)

F

fdew

:
CX-5
Another couple of threads have mentioned the hidden hitches that are available in Europe, and some made for other cars here in the US so I designed one for the CX-5 (Mechanical Design is what I do for my day job.)

Have a look.
cx-5%20hitch.jpg

cx-5%20hitch-1.jpg


It could be made in 1+1/4 or 2 in (The part bolted to the car is the same for both.)
 
That looks good. As a mechanical designer too, I love coming up with self projects like these.

Is there really that much vertical room for the top of the "+" ?

I just installed a curt hitch in the CX5 the other day and the heat shield for the muffler rests on the top of the horizontal bar of the hitch. So there might be some needed trimming of the heat shield for your design? What's above the heat shield i'm not sure, so I could be wrong about how much room there really is behind the bumper.

I also want to point out that you might need to slot the lower flange of the bent plate on the sides for better access to the mounting holes for the bolts that go to the chassis. The curt hitch had slots so you could have a socket wrench and extension to tighten the bolts when installing.
 
deepfriedsushi said:
Is there really that much vertical room for the top of the "+" ?

I just installed a curt hitch in the CX5 the other day and the heat shield for the muffler rests on the top of the horizontal bar of the hitch. So there might be some needed trimming of the heat shield for your design? What's above the heat shield i'm not sure, so I could be wrong about how much room there really is behind the bumper.

I also want to point out that you might need to slot the lower flange of the bent plate on the sides for better access to the mounting holes for the bolts that go to the chassis. The curt hitch had slots so you could have a socket wrench and extension to tighten the bolts when installing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. There is some more work to do. (Measure twice cut once)

There is crazy room up there, About 8 inches! On my car the heat shield stops right at the hitch. It is bendable with your fingers so it shouldn't be a problem if it is in the way. I need to do some more measurement on the car, and think about the flanges. I note that now on the 1 1/4 in receiver Curt hitch there is no lower flange. There was one on mine. It would be easier to make it without the lower flange as stock steel angle could be used. I will probably go that route, and make the ends a little thicker. Making two or three of these, my welding shop won't have the resources to do custom bending.
 
I confirm, here in Europe the hitch is completely hidden :)
 
Make sure your design accommodates for the weight of the trailer at the hitch. In your design the only thing holding it up will be the pin/bolt holding in your removable ball assembly that slides up into the sleeve.
 
Not trying to be a wet blanket or anything, but I'm pretty sure that if you sell these, they'll have to be certified (as a Class I/II hitch) by the SAE (IIRC). Whatever the organization, I'm assuming there's at least some level of load/torture testing done by independent groups that has to be done to label it safe for highway use.

You might want to check into all of the legal aspects of making and selling hitches. IF... and I repeat IF you sell one of these and it happens to fail... and in the process does a lot of damage to someone's property or worse yet, injures or kills someone, you could be opening yourself up to all kinds of legal/ financial problems from which it might be impossible to recover. There seems to be a lot of litigious knuckleheads out there these days. Just saying... make sure your bases are covered before pulling the trigger.

Good luck with it.
 
Last edited:
L7D4R said:
Not trying to be a wet blanket or anything, but I'm pretty sure that if you sell these, they'll have to be certified (as a Class I/II hitch) by the SAE (IIRC). Whatever the organization, I'm assuming there's at least some level of load/torture testing done by independent groups that has to be done to label it safe for highway use.

You might want to check into all of the legal aspects of making and selling hitches. IF... and I repeat IF you sell one of these and it happens to fail... and in the process does a lot of damage to someone's property or worse yet, injures or kills someone, you could be opening yourself up to all kinds of legal/ financial problems from which it might be impossible to recover. There seems to be a lot of litigious knuckleheads out there these days. Just saying... make sure your bases are covered before pulling the trigger.

Good luck with it.
Click to expand...

I found this for you... http://www.testlink.us/services.html
 
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