Front Trailer Hitch
Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 4:33 pm
I wanted to carry my bicycles without tying up the rear hitch. I found a front mounted hitch for my 2003 E450: http://search.cartserver.com/search/sea ... line&GO=GO!
Installation was not quite the 20 minutes the instructions listed, mostly because I did not have or was unable to locate the access hole for the mounting bolts and backing plates that was listed in the instructions.
After some head scratching, I devised the following technique that others may find helpful.
I drilled a hole down the center of the 4 mounting bolts just a bit larger than some household electrical cable I had on hand. I sawed one side of the bolt head off, flush with the square part to allow the bolt to fit through an existing hole in the frame, the one I am pointing at in the photo. I mixed some JB Weld and glued a good inch of wire into the hole I drilled. With an edge cut off, the bolts could now be forced through a hole in the frame a foot or so behind the hitch mounting area. I fed another wire through the front hitch mounting hole and poked it out one of the triangular holes further back, then slid the mounting plate onto the bolt wire and fed the mounting plate on the glued on wire through the hole my finger is pointing at, then forced the bolt through the same hole and connected the two wires together with tape while they were poked out one of the triangular holes, and then pulled the bolt through the front hitch mounting hole. The rear hitch mounting bolt could be pulled through without feeding the separate wire from the front. I put the nut on to seat everything and hold it in place while I did two bolts on the other side. I then got the hitch into place, remove the bolts, fed the wire through the hitch, just in case I bumped the bolt and pushed it back up into the frame (fortunately, because I did) raised the hitch and bolted it on. FINISHED!!!
The hitch doesn't show much when empty, and carries the bike rack nicely, plenty of clearance from the hood.
If your E450 has access plates, you will be much more fortunate than I was, and installation might be listed 20 minutes instead of several hours that I enjoyed.
Installation was not quite the 20 minutes the instructions listed, mostly because I did not have or was unable to locate the access hole for the mounting bolts and backing plates that was listed in the instructions.
After some head scratching, I devised the following technique that others may find helpful.
I drilled a hole down the center of the 4 mounting bolts just a bit larger than some household electrical cable I had on hand. I sawed one side of the bolt head off, flush with the square part to allow the bolt to fit through an existing hole in the frame, the one I am pointing at in the photo. I mixed some JB Weld and glued a good inch of wire into the hole I drilled. With an edge cut off, the bolts could now be forced through a hole in the frame a foot or so behind the hitch mounting area. I fed another wire through the front hitch mounting hole and poked it out one of the triangular holes further back, then slid the mounting plate onto the bolt wire and fed the mounting plate on the glued on wire through the hole my finger is pointing at, then forced the bolt through the same hole and connected the two wires together with tape while they were poked out one of the triangular holes, and then pulled the bolt through the front hitch mounting hole. The rear hitch mounting bolt could be pulled through without feeding the separate wire from the front. I put the nut on to seat everything and hold it in place while I did two bolts on the other side. I then got the hitch into place, remove the bolts, fed the wire through the hitch, just in case I bumped the bolt and pushed it back up into the frame (fortunately, because I did) raised the hitch and bolted it on. FINISHED!!!
The hitch doesn't show much when empty, and carries the bike rack nicely, plenty of clearance from the hood.
If your E450 has access plates, you will be much more fortunate than I was, and installation might be listed 20 minutes instead of several hours that I enjoyed.