Today we are going to show how to build a transferrable RV receiver hitch.

I have two travel trailers. My older one does not have a receiver available from the manufacturer, and the newer one is very expensive. So I took matters into my own hands at the TechShop! www.techshop.ws

Materials:

Used receiver from a Ford truck (You can use any straight bar receiver. (Should be under or at $50))

1.5" by .5" bar stock

4 U-Bolts (I had some lying around from a stock truck that had a lift kit installed. You could use 6" bolts, but I like the U-Bolts because they work as a handle for carrying, and they were free!)

Equipment:

Horizontal Bandsaw

MIG Welder

Angle Grinder

Ironworker (To punch holes)

***Make sure that your bumper is strong enough for this project! (A lot of ultralight trailers, and some inexpensive models have very weak bumpers.***

Step 1: Remove/Modify Mounting Brackets

I had a used Uhaul receiver from a Ford truck, but if you don't have one to work with try a pawn shop, craigslist etc. etc. (They should be under $50 since it doesn't really matter what specific vehicle it's made for)

First order of business was to remove the mounting brackets that were there to hook up to the truck.

To do this, I used a horizontal bandsaw.

Step 2: Making New Brackets

For this step, we cut the bar stock into 8 - 6.5" pieces.

These brackets will fit over and clamp to a standard 4" by 4" RV square bumper.

Once you have your pieces cut, take them to the ironworker and punch 1/2" holes. (One on each end).

Step 3: Welding Brackets to Receiver

For this step, we MIG welded 2 of the brackets to the receiver towards the ends.

Then we spaced the inner brackets to match the size of the U-Bolts. In this case, it was 4 inches on center.

If you are using bolts, you would want them approximately 4-5" apart.

Step 4: Attach Brackets to U-Bolts

Now that we have the brackets welded to the receiver, we now need to attach the brackets to the U-Bolts.

As we started this step, we noticed that our U-Bolts were not threaded far enough down to clamp to our 4" by 4" bumper. To solve this problem, we welded our upper brackets to the U-Bolts, creating the proper spread. (A side benefit of now having handles was accidentally created)

**If you were to use bolts, you would not need to weld the upper brackets to the bolts.**