Concealed Hitch Receiver Available Again!

[tom4bren]

I fought for 2 hours (it felt like 8 hours) drilling the first bolt hole with a bit that I thought was in pretty good shape. When I finally broke that one & went & bought a new one ... Oh me Oh my ... what a difference. The second hole only took minutes.

Yer right though, hang on. With a good bit that large, when the bit punches through, it'll grab. If you can find one, a drill with a side handle helps a lot.

Man - I had to be careful how I wrote that first sentence lest LBUD quoted me on it and turned it into sumpn dirty.

[etlsport]

i broke a new drill bit halfway through the first hole.. then used drilling/cutting oil with my 2nd bit.. big difference there too!

[TheGanzman]

It's done and came out FANTASTIC! It looks totally "factory" - photos here:

[TheGanzman]

O.K. - I added photos above. It took us ~6 hours total. The BIG thing is getting the rear bumper cover cladding cut EXACTLY right - my friend prolly put it on and off (in place, not bolted) 4-5 times, cutting it a bit more each time. I don't think there's any way to make a "template" for this, since each hitch assembly is gonna be slightly different when it's welded up. My buddy also "radiused" the uppermost corners with a drill bit, rounding them slightly to match the receiver tube contours - the receiver tube literally looks like it has "grown" out of the cladding. If *I* was the one doing the job, it would have looked like a 7 year old had cut it!

[TheGanzman]

I gotta say that I'm surprised that NO one has ordered one of these yet, considering the PM response I got...

[tom4bren]

If I didn't already have Tone's, I would have.

[VCrossfan]

Hat's Off Ganz...Looks very, very nice

[circmand]

I would probably get one. But I do not have the skills

[TheGanzman]

I would probably get one. But I do not have the skills

Yeah, it's not for the faint of heart. My man has the chops - he could eat a bushel of apples and sh*t a fruit salad!:bwgr: The tough part to get REALLY right is cutting the cladding. Most pro shops would NOT put the time in to get it dead perfect...