Supplier of some intersting Cruiser parts

[Chris]

Chaps, just happened on this website. OK its in the US and I haven't looked at shipping yet, but they seem to have some good stuff, I shall have a full trawl in a moment. But look at this rear hitch for the 80. If you don't want to mod a tow bar and you want to be able to take it on and off easily, this is neat.

Eh? And very easy to copy too.

http://www.man-a-fre.com/pa/receiverhitch.htm

C

 

[Dan W]

I think they had the fabled cup holder in stock last time I looked

 

[Lorin]

We could look at doing a group order...? I notice the ARB bumpers are just over £600 at the current exchange rate. Obviously there would be VAT at 20% and import duty which is 4.5% for vehicle parts, and also shipping but it could still offer some savings....

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

wasn't there some sort of group buy thread going for front bumpers?

 

[Chris]

There were three of us looking at this bumper from TBR. I'm still up for one. Maybe two I dunno. Lorin was up for one and ....?

I like the ARB one best. I have looked at many and I think I'd go with that. The TJM is good too but most of the others? Just not quite there.

Just need the truck to hang it on.

C

 

[Lorin]

I am still getting an ARB - just waiting for the insurance funds to come through.... We tried to get a group buy discount. However, it turned out that the club discount is the best we could get, so we had may as well order them separately.

 

[Chris]

Yes, unless there was a USA purchase discount possibility which sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

C

 

[Bat21]

This receiver type tow hitch is designed to bolt to the existing pre-drilled holes in the rear frame cross brace of most Land Cruisers. 1/2" plate steel mounting flange & gusset. 2" square receiver. Built in chain safety chain loops. Class "2" rating means max 200 lbs tongue weight 2,000 lbs total towed weight, comes with mounting bolts. Painted black.

Does that mean the rear cross member is not really meant for towing given the 2,000 (less than a ton) towing weight given above?

 

[Chris]

Wouldn't that be the rating for the hook thing? They couldn't really tell you what the cruiser was rated for.

Chris

 

[clivehorridge]

IMHO I wouldn't want to rely only on the chassis cross member for heavy towing without some form of strenthening. Mine's still standard, but I'm using an ARB rear and the receiver in that. It's a very strong bumper from ARB, not like the front which I suppose has to be kept thinner to maintain a certain amount of impact absorbsion.

 

[Bat21]

Wouldn't that be the rating for the hook thing?

I have always doubted the strength of that cross member as far as using it alone to tow or recover etc

:Edit: Clive posted the same time as my post above

 

[Chris]

Having chopped mine out, I have to say it's pretty strong. My only concern really is the twisting that it might get with the tow point acting as a lever.

Chris

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

the cross member is very strong in my experience of using it for towing. Probably a combination of leverage, fixing size and liability concerns that gives such a low rating.

 

[Euan McGilp]

the cross member is very strong in my experience of using it for towing. Probably a combination of leverage, fixing size and liability concerns that gives such a low rating.

Jon's absolutely on the button here. If you look at the Class 3 & 4 receiver hitches used in the states, they are designed to transfer the towing loadings into the chassis rails & have relatively long mounting brackets to enable this. Also, the yanks look at towing very differently to us over here - their 'Travel Trailers' have the axles much further back than a european caravan, hence the hitch weight is usually in the several hundreds of lbs. This is usually balanced out by using a weight distributing hitch to transfer loading to the front axle of the tow vehicle, reducing sway (snaking) & keeping the towing vehicle and trailer level.

If it's any help around a group buy, I have been looking into shipping some kit from the US & have been in touch with this chap:

Ron Fenton

STS
Unit 5, Chase Side Nurseries
School Lane, Great Leighs
Chelmsford, Essex, CM3 1NL
Tel: 01245 363800
Mob: 07850 268914
Fax: 01245 550479
[email protected]
Web www.stsimports.co.uk

He reckoned about £50 + vat to ship a 100lb box containing a weight distribution hitch (plus import duty & taxes) if I had it shipped to his partner in the US.

Didn't seem out of order & he's apparently got a container coming over in early April if it's any help. Just to clarify: I have no connection with him or STS in any way except that I will be using him to ship an item for myself.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

got my eye on one of their (STS Imports) tow hitches on ebay for after I've converted my tow bar to a receiver job. They've got some interesting stuff

 

[Bat21]

These 2" receivers..... is the female bit over 2" IE 60mm x 60mm x 4mm box or is the male bit under 2" IE 50mm. Could someone with a vernier check?

 

[clivehorridge]

I have always doubted the strength of that cross member as far as using it alone to tow or recover etc

:Edit: Clive posted the same time as my post above

Sorry gents, but I still don't agree that the cross member on the 80 is strong enough for substantial towing without some reinforcement.

My car has the rear ARB removed at the moment and I'm running without a rear bumper. I can see where one of the previous owners has used the tow hitch without a tow bar fitted, and the four-square-mounting is rotated. I mean at the top it's dented in and it's flush at the bottom. Looks like its been braking with 3 tones behind it and the top of the tow ball has tried to get into the back seat (only my imagination to describe the direction of the bent chassis member).

Bottom line IMHO is that towing mounts should not be bent, irrespective of what caused it. Bent means not man enough in my book, and I wouldn't put more than a bike rack on mine let alone 20 grands worth of luxury boat/caravan.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

do you know that's how the damage was caused though Clive? I used a rear cross member mounted nato style hitch on my old green 80 to pull well in excess of 3500kg dead load many times no problem.

Paul - the male part is 2", the female part has an opening slightly over 2", the outer of the female part will vary depending on wall thickness but the one I'm using has 1/4" walls. All the corners are rounded btw.

 

[Chris]

I have to say that if I had one of those - and I might, I may just tie the bottom end in somehow. I think it's a great alternative to fitting a thumping great full towbar but I can see there is the potential for a twisting moment due to the leverage. A simple tie in lower down would help a lot in my mind. I only pull a small trailer, but of course it's a good recovery point too. Don't want any unfortunate incidents.

Chris

 

[clivehorridge]

do you know that's how the damage was caused though Clive? I used a rear cross member mounted nato style hitch on my old green 80 to pull well in excess of 3500kg dead load many times no problem.

Please don't misunderstand me Jon.

I'm not saying it's too weak, I was just giving my opinion after looking at my car. I have no idea how it was bent, but I've had a tow bar on every car I've owned, and the ball mounting part (and the rest of the bracketry) was always typically something like 8mm thickness. The rear cross member (on mine) is standard chassis thickness, maybe 3 or 4 mm tops. The only time I've seen a bent tow bar is after a hefty crash. The back of my car is probably the only bit that hasn't been crashed, but what do I know of its past. Maybe it had a shunt. But still, I would prefer to see some tidy thickness there 8mm at the least. Only my opinion, it doesn't make me right. Can't photo it tonight, but I'll try to post a pic when I can.