rear hitch installation.

[jenandjon]

Got rained out putting crops in the ground so I had my son and nephew help install my hitch.
It's a weld on modified to bolt on. Rather than weld on we marked the factory holes in the bumper and drilled the brackets to fit.
Removed the tow hook assembly. That had 1/2 bolts. Had to use a bridge reamer to enlarge the factory holes in the frame from up to 5/8. The bumper bracket holes are slotted so had to trim a little off with the plasma cutter.

This is a 20k curt hitch with the 2 1/12 inch receiver. I will never pull that much but I wanted it to be plenty big.

Proud dad moment. My son wearing protective gear without being told to. Should have had sleeves and better shoes that didn't collect sparks but I will take what I can get from this one.

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

Love the bridge reamers, so much nicer then trying to drill a hole bigger with a regular drill bit. Nice job.

 

[Crawlerhauler]

I love it, I am doing the same thing. I was trying to drill out the holes in the frame. But my bit took a crap. So I have to stop by the store and get a new one.

 

[Marceps]

I envy your spacious workshop—with with a helper, to boot. You are going to have a great conversion in no time.

Thank you for sharing.

 

[fo4imtippin]

i used the same hitch. Real beefy guy! I liked how you could squeeze it up to the frame rail to get it high of the ground for clearance.

 

[jenandjon]

I love it, I am doing the same thing. I was trying to drill out the holes in the frame. But my bit took a crap. So I have to stop by the store and get a new one.

Do yourself a favor and get a bridge reamer. They are a little pricey but well worth it. You will need to spray it with some cutting fluid as go to keep it cool. 8 holes took me less than 5 minutes to enlarge.

 

[Booyah45828]

Looks good! Do you plan on pulling a trailer for the scouts?

 

[jenandjon]

Looks good! Do you plan on pulling a trailer for the scouts?

Yes. We are going to the black hills of South Dakota in a couple weeks.

 

[kidharris]

Got rained out putting crops in the ground so I had my son and nephew help install my hitch.
It's a weld on modified to bolt on. Rather than weld on we marked the factory holes in the bumper and drilled the brackets to fit.
Removed the tow hook assembly. That had 1/2 bolts. Had to use a bridge reamer to enlarge the factory holes in the frame from up to 5/8. The bumper bracket holes are slotted so had to trim a little off with the plasma cutter.

This is a 20k curt hitch with the 2 1/12 inch receiver. I will never pull that much but I wanted it to be plenty big.

Proud dad moment. My son wearing protective gear without being told to. Should have had sleeves and better shoes that didn't collect sparks but I will take what I can get from this one.

Nice shop.

 

[Crawlerhauler]

Do yourself a favor and get a bridge reamer. They are a little pricey but well worth it. You will need to spray it with some cutting fluid as go to keep it cool. 8 holes took me less than 5 minutes to enlarge.

Lol I got mad after breaking half the big bits I had. Then I seen reply a hair to late. I pulled out the plasma cutter. Can’t break bits if it’s liquid took a washer clamped it in place. Wish I’d done that in the beginning.

 

[jenandjon]

We are having a hard time figuring out hew wiring for trailer lights. I think we go it now. Had to order a 3 wire to 2 wire box. The only one we could find says not compatible with LED lights. All the trailers have LEDs so I guess we will see what happens when I pull the switch.

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

I need to do the same thing. For now I just have brake lights and running lights. I figure they can see the bus turn signals, as my trailer does not block them.



LED lights often do not have enough resistance to activate turn signals blinkers, would not think they would have an effect on the conversion boxes though. Let us know how it works out.

 

[Sprout.sprocket]

You can get in-line load resistors aliexpress etc pretty cheap, I remember needing these for my motorcycle LED upgrade.

 

[Booyah45828]

You need a tail light converter. Takes your bus's 5 wire system(Lt turn, Rt turn, stop, tail, gnd) into 4 wire (lt turn/stop, rt turn/stop, tail, gnd)

The one I have on the shelf is from hopkins and is PN 48895 and says it's LED compatible. We use these on trucks and buses often.

Ballast resistors can be installed on the trailer to fool the flasher if you need to, but you probably won't so long as it's currently fine. Or just install an electronic flasher($15) and never worry about it again.

 

[jenandjon]

You need a tail light converter. Takes your bus's 5 wire system(Lt turn, Rt turn, stop, tail, gnd) into 4 wire (lt turn/stop, rt turn/stop, tail, gnd)

The one I have on the shelf is from hopkins and is PN 48895 and says it's LED compatible. We use these on trucks and buses often.

Ballast resistors can be installed on the trailer to fool the flasher if you need to, but you probably won't so long as it's currently fine. Or just install an electronic flasher($15) and never worry about it again.

I'm going 7 wire with brake controller.

 

[Booyah45828]

I'm going 7 wire with brake controller.

That's fine, the only difference between 4 pin and 7 pin is a a dedicated 12v power source, brake output, and back up lights(rarely used). I assumed your issue was with the separate turn and stop lights.

If you have a split turn and stop on the vehicle(most buses do), you need a converter/combiner to use the combo turn/stop lights that trailers use. The unit I linked is self contained, supports 2 amps/circuit, and only needs connected to the vehicle lights. You can get fancier modules that are powered and support more amperage(7 or so I think). You can also get creative with a handful of relays and wires to support even more amperage, as I did that once on a straight truck.

However, I wouldn't run without that unit, unless it's an open trailer and your bus lights are visible from behind.

 

[jenandjon]

We got it figured out. Everything is working as it should. We used a combiner and then ran everything to a junction box in the battery box. Grounded everything to the negative post on the battery. Then ran 7 wire all the way back.

 

[mmoore6856]

converted my bus to led (except headlamps) and had no issues with the turn signals as some busses use a electronic or a motorized flasher relay as they rarely fail. i got the motorized one

 

[keganthewhale]

has anyone ever added a hitch after adding one of those rear decks?

 

[fo4imtippin]

has anyone ever added a hitch after adding one of those rear decks?

I added 4ft on mine. I used the same hitch as lazyfarmer.
If you check my post, you can see the main pieces here. There's more detail on the deck on previous posts as to how I covered it.
https://www.skoolie.net/forums/f11/birdie-39089-3.html#post492660


I don't plan on heavy towing with it though. We want to put a toad behind it and a 3500lb boat. It's going to have wicked sway since the ball would be 12ft behind the rear axle. I only have a 12ft wheelbase anyway, so heavy towing with that stickout is a no-go for me.