MacGregorSailors.com

As I grow older I find it increasingly hard to maneuver my boat on trailer in really tight situations particularly in putting my boat away in the dark at the marina where I keep it mast up. At home I also have a very tricky uphill track with two 90 degree turns to get it on my parking pad at the back of my house.

Together with a local engineer in Bairnsdale we have installed a tow bar at the front of my Pajero in which I can place a spare hitch and ball mounting very quickly. The tow bar is attached by existing fender (bumper) bolts on the chassis and the safety chain fits straight on to the existing towing ring. The ease of moving the boat around and parking it is absolutely astounding. At night the headlights show you where you are going and as long as the Admiral does not mind walking forard of the boats stern to watch out for any snags it is great.

Here are some pics and video.

[img][IMG]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... Towbar.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][IMG]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... 0Hitch.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][IMG]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... t%20Sm.mp4[/img][/img]

Berber Boy

Cool been toying with that idea for my Challenger but have not figured out where to bolt it to the front yet I have a 90 degree turn at the top of my drive way and have hit the house guttering once, admiral not impressed though only minor dent on gutter and a scratch on the boat

Dr. Dolittle's Push-Me-Pull-Me...
Works for me. I may look into this...

Berber Boy wrote:As I grow older I find it increasingly hard to maneuver my boat on trailer in really tight situations particularly in putting my boat away in the dark at the marina where I keep it mast up. At home I also have a very tricky uphill track with two 90 degree turns to get it on my parking pad at the back of my house.

Together with a local engineer in Bairnsdale we have installed a tow bar at the front of my Pajero in which I can place a spare hitch and ball mounting very quickly. The tow bar is attached by existing fender (bumper) bolts on the chassis and the safety chain fits straight on to the existing towing ring. The ease of moving the boat around and parking it is absolutely astounding. At night the headlights show you where you are going and as long as the Admiral does not mind walking forard of the boats stern to watch out for any snags it is great.

Here are some pics and video.

[img][IMG]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... Towbar.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][IMG]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... 0Hitch.jpg[/img][/img]
[img][IMG]http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv28 ... t%20Sm.mp4[/img][/img]

Berber Boy

A number of manufacturers make front end receiver hitches for big brands (and popular models) like Ford, Chevy, GM, Toyota and Jeep. They are mostly used for 'farm' applications and offloading. I believe WARN makes one for their portable winch and winch plate. You keep the winch and plate inside where its clean and then you throw it into whichever receiver you need (front o back) works well for stringing fence, pulling stumps and just about anything else you can think of. I think the portable winch only goes up to their 8000 series (8000lb) but I could be wrong.

kadet wrote:Cool been toying with that idea for my Challenger but have not figured out where to bolt it to the front yet I have a 90 degree turn at the top of my drive way and have hit the house guttering once, admiral not impressed though only minor dent on gutter and a scratch on the boat

What kind of rig do you tow with; The mod we did could be adapted to most 4WD with regular chassis but a Sedan or regular car would be more difficult I would think.

BB

Hello all, I've quietly lurking in the background for awhile, learning about all the things for my new to me 2000 . Anyhow there are several hitch manufacturers out there that do make front receiver hitches for most trucks and some SUV's. That definitely makes it easier to back trailers into tight places.

A quick search of etrailer came up with a hitch-finder type page for front hitches, similar to the standard rear hitches. Bolt-on or weld-on. Found one for an F150 and a Jeep Grand Cherokee right away, all bolt-on. Good chance at finding whatever you want there, though just about any source should carry the same thing, since there's only a couple of hitch makers out there (many brands are the same item with a different sticker, and even have the same instruction sheet with the part numbers of two or three different brands ).

http://www.etrailer.com/fitguidefmr.htm

Looked at the site for my F150. 9000 pound pull, 500 pound tongue load. Could work.

Berber Boy wrote:

kadet wrote:Cool been toying with that idea for my Challenger but have not figured out where to bolt it to the front yet I have a 90 degree turn at the top of my drive way and have hit the house guttering once, admiral not impressed though only minor dent on gutter and a scratch on the boat

What kind of rig do you tow with; The mod we did could be adapted to most 4WD with regular chassis but a Sedan or regular car would be more difficult I would think.

BB

Um? a CHALLENGER You know the cheaper version of your Pajero

Did you drill out your front rails or was there pre-existing bolt holes, cause I have not been able to find any suitable pre-existing mounting points. Though your photos have helped and given me new inspiration,

kadet wrote:

Berber Boy wrote:

kadet wrote:Cool been toying with that idea for my Challenger but have not figured out where to bolt it to the front yet I have a 90 degree turn at the top of my drive way and have hit the house guttering once, admiral not impressed though only minor dent on gutter and a scratch on the boat

What kind of rig do you tow with; The mod we did could be adapted to most 4WD with regular chassis but a Sedan or regular car would be more difficult I would think.

BB

Um? a CHALLENGER You know the cheaper version of your Pajero

Did you drill out your front rails or was there pre-existing bolt holes, cause I have not been able to find any suitable pre-existing mounting points. Though your photos have helped and given me new inspiration,

There are two bolts that hold front bumper ( fender) to the chassis. they have square washers on mine.We dropped

the two downplates from there and then tacked the Rs crossbar. I would imagine that the plates could be welded onto the rails. I,all see if I can photograph the chassis connection through the cover hole when it stops raining here.

David