Anyone wanna see a trailer hitch install
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Topic: Anyone wanna see a trailer hitch install
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Subject: Anyone wanna see a trailer hitch install
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 12:39am
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I am thinking about taking the Trailer Hitch off of my 85GT V8 and installing it on my 88GT for the trip down to Oregon. If people want I can take pics of how it is installed, where the holes need to be drilled in the frame and such. I am not going to document the install with pics unless at least a couple people want to see it. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Replies:
Posted By: Roadfury
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 11:26am
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I would like to see it, especially if its capable of carring 2 x 50lb mountain bikes ------------- 
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Posted By: marcelvdgn
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 10:39pm
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I was thinking of buying the fiero store model but thought it was overpriced...... Dave did you make this one or buy local? if so do u remember cast? Marcel ------------- Marcel 86SE V6 Auto 85SE V6 Auto 85 2m4 soon to be sleeper 3.8sc 5 speed |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 10:57pm
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I actually bought it from Chris and Crystal, it came on a Fiero they bought. However it is a Fiero Store Hitch. When you compare the Fiero Store price to what any local shop wants for a hitch that will work on a Fiero, its quickly evident that the Fiero Store is a good deal. The hitch mounts to the Fiero frame rails with 4, 1/2 bolts. It is designed to use 2 existing holes in the frame and you have to drill two more. It is very obvious that time was taken to make this work perfect for the Fiero. It has to snake up between the trunk wall and the exhaust tips. It sits within an 1/8 of an inch of the trunk. It really hugs all the bends and angles so it takes up the least space. All in all I am really happy with the quality of it and the relative ease of install. You can't exactly put a flat deck car hauler on it, but for the average load of wheels, tires, suspension or engine's using a 1000lb capacity trailer it won't have a problem. I am installing it on my 88GT, as I hope to bring a Trailer back with me from Oregon. Harbor Freight has a sale on Trailers right now. Same as the $1000 CDN Tire trailers and its only $249 in Oregon with Zero sales tax. 4ftx8ft deck, 12" 5 lug wheels. I'll see if I can't dig up a link. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 11:04pm
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Here is a link to a few of there trailers. http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=trailers - Harbor Freight Trailers starting from $139 ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Fiero Zen
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 11:42pm
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Me too, pretty please. ------------- Yesterday is History Tomorrow is a Mystery But Today is a Gift That is why it is called the Present |
Posted By: Fiero Zen
Date Posted: 25 March 2008 at 11:47pm
I mean for pictures of the hitch install onto your 88  ------------- Yesterday is History Tomorrow is a Mystery But Today is a Gift That is why it is called the Present |
Posted By: Borteep
Date Posted: 26 March 2008 at 12:03am
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Wow, even their normal prices are pretty good. I'd be interested in seeing a hitch install writeup, or even just pictures  |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 26 March 2008 at 12:36pm
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Ok here they come. There are 14 pics in total, I went ahead and upload them to my shaw webspace for the time being as they will load much faster than on my home server. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 26 March 2008 at 12:53pm
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If any of the pics won't load. Just refresh the page.
The first few pics are taken when the hitch is on my 85GT as it does not have a rear exit exhaust. The pics show much better how it bolts to the frame. Bolted to the Frame the back hole is already in the chassie, I think GM used it to secure the frame to the assembly line. The front hole, you must drill. More on that later.  Different angle  another angle  another angle  Now onto the 88. You can see how tight it is between the exhaust in order to snake up through there.  from the bottom  Here you can see the holes. The hole on the right is the one that was already in the chassie. The one on the left you have to drill out with a 1/2" drill bit. You will need a bit with a smaller shank on it, or a drill with a 1/2 chuck.  What I forgot to show pics of is I used the stock Fiero jack placed under the centre of the hitch to support the weight and hold it into place while I got the first couple of bolts in. One bolt installed. You have to reach through small holes in the side of the rails to get the bolts through the holes and then drop them through. The bolts go from the top down. Installed  When the receiver is removed the hitch is barley noticeable   The receiver is pretty small. Hence the lower load rating.   ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 27 March 2008 at 9:44pm
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Well we left USA Customs at 1:30pm and by 6:30pm we were at my Dads house 25 miles south of Portland Oregon having a drink.
Car ran great, kept a steady 130kph with a couple sprints to 190 when we had open passing lanes. I will try to post a few pics of the trip over the next week or 2 that we are down here. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 11 April 2008 at 10:24pm
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OK I am going to link this thread to the club BC Trailer thread. I thought I would post up a couple quick pics.
We went down to Harbor Freight and picked up the trailer today. I was impressed to find out that when you bought it, they had brand new Oregon title/registration forms right there included when you paid for it. I think it is still classed as a U-Built, as it is stamped in bold righting that it IS NOT BE SOLD Assembled. So we loaded the boxes of parts into the trunk of a Thunderbird and brought it to my dads house. My father is a tool nut, so he had a stack of tools and impact guns that Lisa and I used to put it together. It took about 2hrs to assemble from start to finish. The load rating on it is a bit confusing. I am assuming that we simply use the lowest stamped rating. However the toung trailer is stamped on the frame rated for 1250lbs, the axle says 1350lbs, the tires and the tongue are stamped max of 2000lbs. It says on the wheel speed limited to 55mph. (about 90kph) However I am assuming that it should be fine to run 110kph with a moderate load. (heck not that I am going to try it but looks like it would be fine for sustained speeds well above that) It comes with DOT legal lights and wiring included. The deck sits low enough that I should be fine running it without the extra lights wired up. With the type of the frame, I am really thinking a set of notchback taillights would work really well on the back of it. Instead of the stock trailer lights it comes with. Well enough chatter here are the pics. 
------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 11 April 2008 at 10:26pm
Here are the last 3 that I meant to post in the first reply.
 ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Roadfury
Date Posted: 12 April 2008 at 8:08am
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That is one teenie trailer you have there! I was thinking about just demolishing a free tent trailer and welding rungs onto it for mountain bikes but this looks a LOT easier... Edit: You should paint the whole thing yellow.... -------------
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Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 15 April 2008 at 8:22am
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Ok so here is the wrap up. Lisa and I are back in BC.
We rolled up to Canadian Customs. They asked us all the regular questions, then he asked me if the trailer had came down with me or not. I said No I got it as a late birthday present while I was down there. He asked if I had paperwork for it. I said I have the title for it and a letter from my grandmother stating that she had given it to me as a gift. He gives me a piece of paper and sends me into the office. I give him the Title for the trailer and the receipt showing that the cost was $160 and the gift letter that my grandmother wrote up. He said, that regardless of it being a trailer, regardless of size, if I wanted to bring it into Canada and register it. There was a $200 import vehicle fee. I was like that can't be right. Then he proceeded to apply tax value of the trailer at $510 as that is what he felt it was worth in Canada. I could not believe they could just "make up" a value for it. They let me go without paying up front, they said I had 7 days to send the $200 to some place in Toronto. So its here and chained to my tree. I think in the end we are just going to pay the fee and deal with it. I am guessing I could scratch the Vin number from the trailer, mail a letter stating it was destroyed and then rebuild the trailer as a "U-Built" unit. However if I ever get caught I am sure the consequences would be way more than $200. Now for the good news. The trailer is HWY Rated, and we drove about 150 miles, then I stopped and checked the bearings and they were a bit warm, but fine. I got into Washington State, where the speed limits are a bit higher, so I bumped it up to a cruising speed of 75mph after another 100 or so miles I pulled into a rest area and checked, the bearings were actually cool to the touch. I am guessing the first time I checked the bearings were still seating in. We hit the highway again and this time got into a nice group of cars, and we were all pushing 80-85mph. (about 130kph) We made really good time, even with 4 stops for trailer checking, food and gas. We made it from Aurora Oregon to CDN Customs in 5hrs flat. Then we sat in the customs line up for 90 Min's which kinda sucked. But the trailer did great, it is just about the perfect size for a Fiero. Big enough to hold an entire cradle with engine on it. At least a dozen wheels and tires, or other car stuff. My only issue so far with it is backing up. I suck at backing up trailers. It should be a simple concept, move car left, trailer goes right. Then once the trailer is at an angle to the car, straighten the wheels out and make your turn. I got so fed up with it in my dads driveway. I got out, un-hitched the trailer, pushed it to where I wanted it, then backed my car to where I wanted it and re-hitched the trailer. (trailer is only 300lbs with deck and sides installed) ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 05 June 2008 at 7:23pm
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Just an update on this topic.
After weeks of dealing with stuff, I finally got the papers from the government with approval of the trailer, so all I had to do was take the trailer to an approved inspection facility and have it inspected. I did that today, took them all of 5mins to walk around it, note the VIN, tire size and pressure, axle rating (1250lbs) They did not even bother to check lights or reflectors. Just wanted to make sure the VIN matched. Then he faxed the papers to Ottawa and gave me a signed copy. I drove from there to the Insurance agent in Fraser Heights, they made me fill out a bunch of import documents, then they too needed to "inspect" the trailer. They had me drive it to the front of the building, went outside, checked the vin and sticker, then had me go in sign the rest of the papers, I had to pay 81 bucks and they gave me my plates.
WooHoo, I have a legal trailer I can run around with. This is very cool. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |
Posted By: Capt Fiero
Date Posted: 07 December 2008 at 7:04pm
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Just an update to this thread, I don't know how I lived without this little baby.
I put on a larger deck on it, 4ftx6ft. Today I got up, Glen F. came by. I loaded on a spare exhaust system complete. Drove to the storage locker, dropped off the exhaust, loaded on the Black 86GT, rear bumper, black 86GT rear Deck lid, and 2 black fenders. Drove around for a bit with Glen then came home unloaded the trailer and drove to downtown Vancouver, picked up a Bassinet, (thing for a baby to sleep in that swings back and fourth, brought it home. I have hauled engines, trans axles, and all manor of big items that I simple could not haul in a Fiero, and when I am done, I simply remove the trailer and go back to sports car mode. Ah hell who am I kidding, I still drive it like a sports car even with the trailer on it. Its sure nice having a multipurpose vehicle that is not an SUV or Pickup or Minivan. Now if I could just find a legal way to haul people back there. Bolt up a few spare Fiero seats and call it a day. ------------- Capt Fiero 88 Fiero GT 5spd V6 Eight Fifty Seven GT V8 5spd. |