Gen in the bus, hitch installed - but I've got a stupid Question

[tnichol]

Greetings folks -

I've been working furiously on my new (old) bus.  Installed the 13K Generator from Wrico, built a hitch on the back. But I'd like to change the oil - and I've gotten conflicting advice.  See the last photo please - there are two locations marked "A" and "B". Which one is the correct location to fill oil?  Or are there 2 spots? If so why?

[dbenck]

"B" should go to top of valve cover for engine oil. "A" should go to reservoir for steering
on engine by air compressor.

David Benck

[grantgoold]

Get some soccer shin guards on when working around the engine!

[Busted Knuckle]

Dave and Grant are both correct!
  BK 

[bevans6]

What are you planning to tow?  I figure a towed car four down, right?

Brian

[gumpy]

Would you please post more info and photos on how you built and attached your hitch and what you intend to tow with it?  I'm kind of concerned.

[NeoplanAN440]

I dont wanna offend you,but please dont have any tongue weight on that hitch.
maybe its the pic,but that frame work doent look safe to put weight on it!!

if you tow a car,with a tow bar it may work!!!
just keep everybody safe!!!!

in order to get enough strenght in the rear of my neoplan,i had to build my own tailsection with extra framework.replaced the rear cap and skinned it with sheetmetal.im towing a 15k trailer,so i had to do a little more work.


just my 2 cents

[tnichol]

I appreciate the concern, but I'd like to hear more about what you are worried about.  My plan is to tow a light trailer (not a car) I've got a motorcycle.  The hitch is welded to the frame with 1/4 inch steel - not to the bumper. Talk to me - what is the concern?

[bevans6]

The concern is the cantilever extension of the hitch not really being able to support much tongue weight, and the ball mount in the middle of a tube not being able to handle much actual tow weight, the hole through the tube for the hitch ball really reduces it's strength in bending.  What material is the tubular structure - outside dimension and wall thickness?



Brian

[NeoplanAN440]

just wanna make sure you wont put much tongue weight on it!!!

even a smaller hitch uses min a 2" square tubing as a crossmember.
look at a hitch (class 3 or 4) from a older 90s chevy van.they are easy to find on the junk yard,and you can weld different mounting plates to the sites to bolt it onto your engine cradle -frame.
you then have a 2" receiver hitch,thats hidden under the bumper.
(NO chinguards needed then)

i have build a few setups from these hitches and was allways hapy with them.you can also get the 2" receiver tube only (from most welding shops or trailer shops) for (last time i got it )less then$25,and build your own hitch around it!

also you will find,that if you have a hitch,it comes handy if you can use it also for other trailers or a tote"

on your hitch,the crossmember is even smaller then the mounting surface of the ball.
that shows me,your framing is a little undersized!

remember,that you wont see your trailer in the mirror,and its hard to feel in a bus what he is doing!!
i have to have all the senses in my "butt"together to feel the trailer and its reactions!
im towing a 15k trailer,and can only see the a fraction of its outside when going straight down the interstate.

[Len Silva]

I have to join some of the others here in expressing concern for the strength of your hitch.  It looks like about 1" tubing.

I would not consider anything less than 2" x 2" tubing with a 1/4" wall thickness for a hitch.

The ball stud going through the square tubing has all but removed it's integrity.  I would expect the ball to rip right out of there in short order.

The other point is that even though you know that it will be lightly loaded, once a hitch is installed on your bus, there is no telling what might be attached to it five years from now.

[tnichol]

I used this as the basic concept for the hitch :

http://users.cwnet.com/~thall/fredhobe2.htm

The flat bar welded to the frame is 1/4 inch x 3. The bar the ball sits on is 1.5 x 1.5 - believe its 3/16th thick.   I roughed it out and tacked all the pieces together - then I took it to a fabrication shop - they did the real welding (I'm an amateur welder and just have a little mig welder). For something like this I always go to the pros.  They didn't like the bar I had there (because it wasn't thick enough). They replaced it with the one on there - and also added those 45 degree angle support pieces out of the same material.

Appreciate the questions, if I did something stupid I'd rather know now.

Tim

[NeoplanAN440]

if thats my hitch,i would at least change the tubing the ball sits on!!
also think about the design,as im sure every time you check your oil and hit your leg on this
hitch you will be mad,you didnt do it right the first time!!!!

(on the funny site,you will always know when you checked the fluid levels)

like i said take a look under a chevy van or a 90s pick up with a class3-4 hitch and you see the difference.

[bevans6]

I can't remember  exactly how to do stress calculations on beams in cantilever, but tried to do a little research.  I found some calculators on engineering sites that may work for this.  I ran through some calcs that lead me to believe that you would be OK with about a 100 lb tongue weight with what I see in the picture, and that is just a guess.

things to  do to improve the design - shorten the stick-out from the attachment point.  Reducing the stick-out to half would increase the strength by 4-fold (I think).  Increase the section area of the tubing - add a piece of angle iron underneath it with the leg pointing down.  That will increase tongue weight capacity.  Best would be to have the ball as near to the bumper as possible, reduce the cantilever out from the bumper to the minimum.  For tow weight strength, don't have the ball in the middle of a bending tube, have it in a joint area.  Don't drill through the tube to mount the ball, weld on a flange.  The hole through the tube weakens in in bending immensely.  

So basically get the hitch back against the bumper and don't mount the ball through a hole in the cross tube.  With what you have, a trailer weighing 1,000 lbs and 100 lbs tongue weight might be acceptable, but I personally wouldn't do it that way.

Brian

[desi arnaz]

i say "BUST A BUCK"  and have a pro make you a proper hitch........ if your insurance company saw that hitch they would S***. and then cancel your policy.