Oyaji Posted September 15, 2013 Share Posted September 15, 2013 ... even though the simulations I ran in SolidWorks show very little stress on that last bolt. :hijack: . .Any hint as to how I can get a dirt-cheap or free trial copy of SolidWorks? I have heard nothing but good about it. PM me if you have any help to offer please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 :hijack: . .Any hint as to how I can get a dirt-cheap or free trial copy of SolidWorks? I have heard nothing but good about it. PM me if you have any help to offer please. Sorry man, can't help you find a legal copy... I use it on the computers at school. You might be able to get something from their website (solidworks.com I think). It's pretty decent software, and will run on just about anything (so long as you've got xp, although I've seen it cook lesser computers when loading a complex model) but it's pretty pricey. A single student license is something like $150/year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 No free trials with Solidworks. Cheapest non student copy is around $3500. To get the good simulation package you need to pony up $5500. Not worth the money for the hobbyist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I've heard there's also a $1000+ yearly license/maintenance fee... But back on topic, I pulled my bumper brackets off, and there's no way I'm getting the hitch underneath them (darn) since there's five bolts on each side holding the brackets on, four on the side, and one underneath. Also, because the brackets wrap around like that, there's no way I could use the rearmost bolt for the hitch if I did manage to get a hitch bracket underneath. While I was under there, I discovered I only had eight out of ten bolts holding the bumper on, bottom one sheared off on one side, and the rear bolt on the other side was simply missing (and the rest on that side were loose), and I broke one of the bolts taking it out... So I'm going to need to find new bolts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 I've heard there's also a $1000+ yearly license/maintenance fee... I can answer that question very precisely as I have our annual contract renewal sitting in front of me. It is $1995/year for Premium and $1495/year for Pro. That is just for the subscription service. The $3,500-$5,500 is just for the base software, which you cannot use until you pay for the license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neohic Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 ... there's no way I'm getting the hitch underneath them (darn) since there's five bolts on each side holding the brackets on, four on the side, and one underneath. Also, because the brackets wrap around like that, there's no way I could use the rearmost bolt for the hitch if I did manage to get a hitch bracket underneath.... You've got to think about how a company would go about doing this. If I were to design a bolt on hitch assembly that's user friendly for installation, I'd tie it in to just the side bolts so the installer wouldn't have to pull the entire bumper off their vehicle. All of the bolt on MJ hitches that I've physically looked at been bolted on the outside of the bumper brackets. Same thing goes for the side brackets... has to be easy. If a company were to go with 1/4" material for brackets, there's potentially going to be a little bit of flex in them that you can use to your advantage for getting things to fit without too much fuss. Even in most instruction manuals they're usually going to tell you to get all of your hardware started on each side and then tighten things us. Say if you were to tighten one side and then move over to the other, the bolts just might be long enough to start. That little bit of flex in the brackets can also act to "self centering" the hitch. Anyhow... there I go mentally planning hitch design details... I think you'll be just fine mounting a hitch on the outside of the bumper brackets. Unless you're planning some major hauling with your truck, I really wouldn't worry about tying into every single bolt you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Also, think about where the load is applied to the hitch. Mounting the hitch to those other holes on the frame that are further away from where the load is applied is not going to be of much help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gogmorgo Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 Yeah, the FEA I did showed very little going on at the extra bolt until I increased the load on the hitch to the point where most of the rest of the bracket was beyond yield stress anyway. But as I've already lost three out of the ten bolts, and that's just with the bumper on them, I'd kinda like the peace of mind that a little redundancy brings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwolf624 Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 Reese Adj class 3 - - - $110 & Tax @ AutoZone - - - http://econtent.autozone.com:24999/znetcs/psb/en_US/2/0/489/resn37042.pdf May be worth looking into :wrench: this hitch will mount up yes with drillin some new holes if ya want it in the proper place, however i've seen a trailer hitch off a MJ (shortbed though) and it was 46 5/8inches long, the hitch at auto in the link above is roughly around 48-49inches, when it's light out i'll messure from mount to mount on my long bed to see if the hitch does have to be 46 5/8inches, i don't see why there'd be a difference between two beds though, Redwolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnuck Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 The aftermarket rear bumper mounts go on the sides and not the bottom. Mine is rated at 3500 lbs and I bought a HF bolt on hitch insert that bolts to it (haven't put it on yet) With some extra steel added, it should be pretty strong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krustyballer16 Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 hitch plates available. check out my post in the for sale section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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