Installing trailer hitch

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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Petros
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Petros »

you might counter sink the nut and washer in that thick steel plate, and use a half high nut (or grind the one you have to lower profile). There will not be any loss in strength since the bolt shank is the same and determines the shear capacity of the assembly. likely the thin metal on the bumper is your weak link anyway.
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jimcrazy
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by jimcrazy »

just went out and took a quick measurement the flat bar you have on the back side of the bumper can only go up about 1 3/4" before it hits the car body
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

Petros wrote:you might counter sink the nut and washer in that thick steel plate, and use a half high nut (or grind the one you have to lower profile). There will not be any loss in strength since the bolt shank is the same and determines the shear capacity of the assembly. likely the thin metal on the bumper is your weak link anyway.
I was thinking of grinding down the nut to about 1/2 of its thickness and that would probably be enough, but then I wasn't 100% sure so I'll just move it down an inch or two on the bumper. The labour involved with grinding down the nut vs drilling a new hole is about the same.
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

I installed the hitch last week and found a small trailer yesterday. I'm going to be removing the plywood on the trailer and putting a longer piece on as a bed for my 10' inflatable.
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Now I just have to wire up the wagon for the trailer lighting and insure the trailer.
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dlb
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by dlb »

great find for your boat. did you get it on usedvic? how much?
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

Yes it was on UsedVictoria. I e-mailed a few sellers, but this was the only one that responded. It was $250, which seemed to be the low end of the standard price. He even delivered it on a bigger trailer to my place.
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

I removed the old plywood from the trailer (it was so rotten, I could break it off by hand in some places) and then wire-brushed and rust-painted the frame:
IMG_5593.JPG
I cut out a new piece of 3/4" plywood for a longer deck:
IMG_5591.JPG
This is turning out to be a bigger project than I originally expected.
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marlinh
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by marlinh »

Looking good Mark! Are those old boats in the background planters?
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

marlinh wrote:Looking good Mark! Are those old boats in the background planters?
That was an old, heavy (200 lbs) fiberglass-coated wooden canoe that I bought off some guy many years ago. I actually used it on the ocean with a little electric outboard for a few years. I'd load up my dive gear and motor up some calm inlets and tie up to the shore and go diving. It leaked of course. Eventually the rot was so bad, it started flexing in the middle. I used it as a planter and then it broke in half from the rot so I cut in in half and stood the halves up and planted wildflowers, jasmine and a lilac bush around it this Spring. It's pretty much being taken over by weeds.
Here's a small old photo from when it was in use:
obj52geo53pg1p53.jpg
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marlinh
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by marlinh »

Must have been something in it's prime.
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dlb
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by dlb »

the trailer is looking awesome, mark. are you going to back the trailer into the water to unload the boat, or will you carry it down to avoid the salt water trailer contact?
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

I'll just back down near the water and pull off the boat into the water so the trailer doesn't get wet. Sort of like what I did when I carried the boat on the roof of my wagon. I'm going away for a couple of weeks so I won't finish the trailer for awhile. I put the plywood deck on today (it was only painted on the bottom so far. I still have to paint the top.) and I still have to put on the fenders/lights and maybe some kind of rails for the boat to sit on since it has an inflatable keel. I'm really just making this trailer up as I go along.
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

I bolted the larger piece of plywood on top of the trailer frame and ended up just coating the top with deck stain. I insured/registered/licenced it which was a bit of an ordeal. I had to get a statutory declaration signed at a notary public to explain where I got the components from. Now the issue is with the lighting. The trailer only came with rear markers, brake lights and turn signals. I found out that now I need front marker lights, a licence plate light and a few reflectors. I'll have to re-do the wiring from scratch and try and figure out where to connect these into the Tercel wiring. I also want to try adding some kind of rollers or bunks to make loading the boat easier and less destructive.
IMG_0436.JPG
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jimcrazy
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by jimcrazy »

you will need one of these for the wiring, makes it real easy
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Mark
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Re: Installing trailer hitch

Post by Mark »

So do you wire the front trailer lights and the licence plate light to the "tail light" wire? I don't think I've ever seen a small utility trailer or boat trailer with front lights or a licence plate light, but apparently it's the law:https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/motorvehiclesa ... _e-414.htm. If I'm reading that right I need 11 lights plus reflectors.
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