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Krustyballer's hitch installed!


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I finally got the new hitch installed this weekend.  

 

Here it is the day UPS delivered it.

 

 

I wanted to paint it with Por15 first so it would never rust.  Here it is after painting with Por15 and some flat black from a rattle can.

 

 

Next, I removed the Fey bumper and brackets.  I knew the Fey brackets had an L shape to them for added support.  This L shape bend will get in the way of the new hitch.  Since I will not be use the bumper for towing (I never would have anyway), I cut the bend off.  I thought I could only cut part of it off.  But, I ended up cutting the whole bend off.

 

 

Here are both brackets cut, ground down to remove the sharp edges and spray painted.

 

 

After some fiddling and sweating, I got the hitch and brackets installed.  This thing is heavy.  I could have used a helper, but got it up with the aid of a jack and the crates you see. 

 

 

I got the bolts that Krusty included.  The original bolts from the Jeep brackets and the Fey brackets are not long enough to fully thread on.

 

Here is the final product, all the bolts tightened down.

 

 

Now, I need to install a 4- or 5-pin wiring harness.

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thanks for the post! I'm glad you like it.   and i got a round plug in mount from rural king or tractor supply and bolted it to the underside of mine. 

 

and it probably would have bolted up nice if it was like another piece on the top side of the cross tube. but the only problem with that is every truck and bumper is different and i can't make everybodys the same (or custom) and have them fit everything. so a "generic" stock option is all i wanted to do. 

 

there is also a post in my for sale ad of my hitch beside a draw tite hitch. good comparison. 

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Not sure if the post above was talking about your work, or what the OP could do for the bumper. Since, not everything is equal, and it seems you know that also that it was more an idea on tying in the bumper to the hitch. 

thanks for the post! I'm glad you like it.   and i got a round plug in mount from rural king or tractor supply and bolted it to the underside of mine. 

 

and it probably would have bolted up nice if it was like another piece on the top side of the cross tube. but the only problem with that is every truck and bumper is different and i can't make everybodys the same (or custom) and have them fit everything. so a "generic" stock option is all i wanted to do. 

 

there is also a post in my for sale ad of my hitch beside a draw tite hitch. good comparison. 

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Me and strokermj talked about it. We were both just stating what all could be done. A lot of people had asked me how the hitch fits with a FEY bumper and I had told them I didn't know .But now I do. But like I said, every truck is the same sso not all fitment will be exactly right so I gotta choose the median and build one that fits "every" bumper. I'm not sure what other bolt on bumpers there are besides FEY and the stock one...

 

And that is what that piece of angle on there is for..the stock bumper sits on it and bolts to it. There isn't a 2" gap between bumper and hitch like with the FEY

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Krusty, you built a good bumper to factory specs.  The Fey bumper is not factory.  So, the modification had to made to the Fey.  I documented what I did to get it to work.  Others may try diff mods.

 

StrokerMJ commented about flipping the L bend around.  I am not sure how he would do this.  (I am not a welder.)  Based on how all the parts bolt together (the Fey bumper fits inside of the brackets) I cannot see how the L bend would fit at all.  The Fey brackets get sandwiched between your bracket and the frame at one end and your bracket and the bumper mount at the other.  There is only room for flat stock metal.

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Krusty, you built a good bumper to factory specs.  The Fey bumper is not factory.  So, the modification had to made to the Fey.  I documented what I did to get it to work.  Others may try diff mods.

 

StrokerMJ commented about flipping the L bend around.  I am not sure how he would do this.  (I am not a welder.)  Based on how all the parts bolt together (the Fey bumper fits inside of the brackets) I cannot see how the L bend would fit at all.  The Fey brackets get sandwiched between your bracket and the frame at one end and your bracket and the bumper mount at the other.  There is only room for flat stock metal.

I think strokermj is talking about the piece of angle on my hitch that connects the cross tube to the receiver tube. If it was like a piece of 2.5" channel instead of angle it would touch the bottom of the Fey bumper so you could bolt it up. Nothing to do with the mounting brackets that you had to cut the leg off of.
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Krusty, you built a good bumper to factory specs. The Fey bumper is not factory. So, the modification had to made to the Fey. I documented what I did to get it to work. Others may try diff mods.

 

StrokerMJ commented about flipping the L bend around. I am not sure how he would do this. (I am not a welder.) Based on how all the parts bolt together (the Fey bumper fits inside of the brackets) I cannot see how the L bend would fit at all. The Fey brackets get sandwiched between your bracket and the frame at one end and your bracket and the bumper mount at the other. There is only room for flat stock metal.

I think strokermj is talking about the piece of angle on my hitch that connects the cross tube to the receiver tube. If it was like a piece of 2.5" channel instead of angle it would touch the bottom of the Fey bumper so you could bolt it up. Nothing to do with the mounting brackets that you had to cut the leg off of.

^^ that's what I was referring to , not the bumper brackets . I just figured in your case that it would give the bumper a bit more strength . It was just an idea , again it looks really good .

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I can't put a tow rating on it for liability purposes. It fits LWB & SWB. (Both explained in my for sale post.)

 

I was also asked what kind of ball combo I used... For my car hauler I use a 1"or 2" drop flipped upside down so the ball is on the bottom side and raised an inch. Perfect height with my 4.5" lift and 235s right now

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