Towing hitch

[peterg1001]

I've been looking at the possibilities around how to set up the towing hitch on the Series II for a 50mm towball.

The simplest thing seems to be to drop a 50mm ball into the top hole of the U-shaped thingy where the towing pin would go through, but I'm not sure how that would go for strength.

The alternative is to re-fashion the hitch, probably by welding a Hayman Reese type fitting on somehow.

Does anyone have an opinion?

While I'm thinking of it, does anyone know what size the nut on a 50mm towball is? I'm having an awful job getting one off with an 18" adjustable spanner.

Thanks, Peter

[foz.in.oz]

Dropping a ball into the top hole seems to be pretty common although not totally kosha. My old series 3 was like this when I got it and it did pass the safety cert so maybe the age of the car helped this to fall through the gaps where more modern vehicles may fail (don't know). In theory the method is strong enough provided the hitch isn't rusted to buggery but I can't promise you will pass the safety cert.

[isuzutoo-eh]

Do you perhaps mean like this:
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2009/05/100.jpg

Sorry about the pic size, cropped from a larger one.
The top horizontal part is bent, it would take a pretty substantial force to have done so.
Cheers,
Mark

[peterg1001]

Yes, exactly like shown in the picture. The towball fits neatly through the hole, but the amount of metal around it seems to be much less than on a conventional towbar tongue.

I'm really starting to think of a mod to make a Hayman Reese type towbar. I've got a spare Series hitch, and a genuine Hayman Reese hitch off a Landcruiser, so a bit of cannibalisation should produce something useful.

All I have to do is get the towball out of the Landcruiser hitch . . . back to my previous question, does anyone know what size socket I need to get the towball nut off?

Thanks, Peter

[JDNSW]

The towball in the top of the towing jaw has been used on Series Landrovers for sixty years. I have been using it myself for almost fifty years on various Landrovers, and have never had any problems, as long as you are reasonable with the load you put on it. I have however towed two tons without any problems.

As far as legality goes, it is worth pointing out that certified and labelled tow bars did not exist until some time about 1990, and as far as I am aware, there is no retrospectivity. However, all 50mm balls and couplings are required to be labelled. Not too sure what the deal is if you have a vintage trailer with inch sized coupling (usually 1 7/8", 2" or 2 1/8" - one advantage of metrication was that 50mm replaced a number of sizes!).

John

[Killer]

Nut size should be 1 5/16". Mine has a tounge made out of what loks like 150 x 150 x 12 angle iron bolted on to where the oringinal clevis was. The original clevis now resides on the front bumper (very handy for pushing trailers into tight spots in the back yard). Sorry but I don't have any pics of the set up.

Cheers, Mick.

[peterg1001]

I'll be doing something along those lines. I've already sorted out a front bumper with a Hayman Reese fitting on the front, so I can push things around.

Peter

[peterg1001]

Thanks for the info about the nut size, Mick. I was in Darwin last week, and picked up a socket the right size while I was up there. I was able to use it when I got back to pull apart a towbar from an HJ60 I bought on ebay (for $5.50!!) and assemble the contraption below.

I think it'll do the job, although it'll look a bit better after it's been sandblasted and painted.

Peter

[jimmy86]

Thinking of doing something similar mate so thanks for the inspiration! and the pic

Jimmy

[neophyteguy]

Guys, I have been trying to get this towing arrangement thing sorted out for a couple of months now. I have spoken to a number of people and no one "offline" seems to be able to help.

I have a series 2a (1971_ ex mil) and on the rear cross member it has four holes. When I bought the vehicle, there was a mounting plate for a pintle hook on it. This is pictured on the left below. You can also see the four holes on the cross member where this came from. The truck also came with a military towing set-up which is pictured on the right. I have highlighted all the holes which actually line up in red.

If I try to use the military set-up, only two of the holes line up. I need to be able to carry a normal height trailer with this vehicle. Can anyone inform me as to what I need to do to sort this out?

I have since bought another ex military tow bar---yep you guessed it, the holes don't line up on this one either!

Rovacraft sell a adjustable drop plate kit, but they cant seem to tell me what the hole pattern is.

Any help with this is greatly appreciated!-Ronnie

[Sprint]

as such, there is no "ex military" or "army spec" towbar, all they had was simply the pintle hook bolted to the rear crossmember, and the SIII's had a set of plates either side of the rear crossmember to spread the load

[neophyteguy]

Thanks for the clarification. What I have is two of the tow attachments like the one here http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachments/remlr-items-wanted/15494d1242202649-ser-3-jerry-can-holders-towbar-bracket-sale-003-001.jpg and one pintle hook set up.

Most of the one's I have seen are like the one on the link above. What I currently have wont work, so any options are greatly appreciated.

Surely this has to be attached with four bolts and not just two?

[Sprint]

the drop plate does need more than two bolts holding it on

[neophyteguy]

Is there a bar or something that needs to be welded onto the cross member? The top two bolts of the bottom 4 (the larger ones) are below my cross member and therefore it looks like I am missing something to use the types of tow ball set-ups like the link in my previous post. Cheers, Ronnie

[foz.in.oz]

Is it possible that some one has repaired your rear cross member by removing the normally rusty bottom section. The cross member should have a step of about 40mm from where the end outriggers join the middle section. see attached drawing.

[neophyteguy]

I dont think it has been replaced. This picture shows what it looks like. You can see the stepped down section if you look between the scone cutter bars. All things are possible, but I dont reckon it has been replaced previously.

This picture actually shows the vehicle with the original pintle hook plate still mounted on.

[JDNSW]

The military crossmember does not have the step down, however, the civilian drop plate can be fitted to it.

John

[neophyteguy]

John,
The plate that I have is taller than my cross-member. The two bolt holes at the top do line up, but the bottom two (larger) holes are below the cross-member. I'm not really sure how I could use this set-up. Even If I drilled two holes to match up with the holes currently in the cross-member (and used the two which match up already), I would only be able to use the smaller bolts rather than the larger one's which attach to the step down on the civilian models.

Any help is greatly appreciated!-Ronnie

[JDNSW]

John,
The plate that I have is taller than my cross-member. The two bolt holes at the top do line up, but the bottom two (larger) holes are below the cross-member. I'm not really sure how I could use this set-up. Even If I drilled two holes to match up with the holes currently in the cross-member (and used the two which match up already), I would only be able to use the smaller bolts rather than the larger one's which attach to the step down on the civilian models.

Any help is greatly appreciated!-Ronnie

That is what I have done (or to be more precise the outfit that sold it to me did). It has stood up to use for fifteen years like that. Worth noting that the heavier lower bolts were not fitted until some time in S2a production, all earlier. Also, the military towing hook was supported on these bolts. I have considered adding a piece of heavy angle to the bottom of the crossmember, either welded to the crossmember or with short bolts tapped into the crossmember, but in the absence of problems I have not done this. An alternative would be to drill out the lower holes to a larger diameter and weld in new tubes to fit the larger bolts.

Hope this helps,

John

[neophyteguy]

Hooray! I finally have an easy/inexpensive solution for my towing needs! Thanks heaps John.

Can you please tell me if you would use the backing plates which were used with the military hitch? They look like two rectangular, thin strips of metal and I am pretty sure they were on the leading edge of the bracket on the forward side of the cross member.

Cheers!-Ronnie

[JDNSW]

Hooray! I finally have an easy/inexpensive solution for my towing needs! Thanks heaps John.

Can you please tell me if you would use the backing plates which were used with the military hitch? They look like two rectangular, thin strips of metal and I am pretty sure they were on the leading edge of the bracket on the forward side of the cross member.

Cheers!-Ronnie

Yes - If you are talking about the bits I think you are, they go vertically between the plate and the crossmember; you will find that these are needed because the middle tab that bolts to the body stops the plate from sitting flat against the crossmember.

The crossmember is sufficiently strong that it should not need reinforcing on the front although I think there should be thick washers there. Make sure the bolts are high tensile and as large as will fit in the holes. Cover them with antiseize - you may want to remove them at some time!

John
John