Re: [VAC] Hitch Replacement on Pipe Frame - Suggestion

[Agrijeep@xxxxxxx]

My 1950 18 footer has the pipe frame and the trailer hitch welded to the pipe 
frame.  Elisa, is your hitch damaged beyond repair?  If so, or even if just 
questionable, it should be replaced with a similar hitch.  Mine hitch has 
straight (parallel) sides as opposed to a "Y" shape like the hitch for "A" 
frames.  A trailer sales company or farm store (Agway still around?) may have 
these hitches.  They are pretty common.
Use your old one as a sample. 

Between the front of the trailer body and the front leg, my trailer has a 
piece of "C" channel open-face-down welded perpendicular across the pipe 
frame to hold the propane bottles.  There is another piece of slightly 
smaller channel or angle iron welded at 45 degrees to both the pipe frame to 
the crosspiece which braces everything. My cross channel only has room for 
propane bottles side by side.  There is no room for a spare tire there either 
behind or in front of the bottles due to the relatively short length of the 
pipe forward of the trailer body.     

It may be a little tricky to weld the hitch into the pipe frame, but a decent 
local welder should be able to do that work.  I'd leave the old hitch on 
there and have the trailer flatbedded to him, or have the welder come to the 
trailer.  He can then see how the factory attached the original hitch and 
duplicate that method with the new hitch.  

The welder might use a grinder with a cutting disc to cut the old welds once 
he sees how everything originally was welded.  I use my rebuilt 4" Makita 
grinders and thin cutting discs for many chores around the house.  I even cut 
angle iron with the little 4" grinders, as I do not yet own a chop saw.  
Whatever your foot size, these little 4" grinders make great stocking 
stuffers.  'Tis the Season is coming up.   

This past weekend I removed a mangled propane bottle bracket that was welded 
to my 1956 trailer by cutting through all the welds with the cutting disc, 
removing the bracket with a small sledge hammer and cold chisel, then 
grinding the "slag" off of the frame with a 4" dia. grinding disc.  Some 
Rustoleum brand aluminum spray paint freshened-up the front end of the 
trailer very nicely.  Wally wouldn't be blinded by this repair, but he'd be 
proud.  

Fred in Denver