When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Two trips from Michigan to the Florida Keys with a trailer and one to Utah with the trailer and one with just a cargo carrier. In this picture I have two bows, coolers for fish and wild boar meat, fishing gear, and scuba gear. The guns are in the trunk of the car.
Two trips from Michigan to the Florida Keys with a trailer and one to Utah with the trailer and one with just a cargo carrier. In this picture I have two bows, coolers for fish and wild boar meat, fishing gear, and scuba gear. The guns are in the trunk of the car.
Looks great, Was your installations similar to the one in the video? What hitch did you start with , I Started to shop for one and I could not find the one he had pictured.
As for the haters, Stop ITS JUST A CAR , Get over your selfs
I have had this little cargo trailer since 2000 and it was made for towing behind a motorcycle originally. When I seen it, I purchased one to match my 2000 C5 Nassau Blue Corvette for cruises, car shows and trips. I also used it behind my 2001 Honda Goldwing, 1999 Harley Davidson Electra Glide Sport and a 2011 Harley Tri Glide trike. Still have the little cargo trailer and it is towed with my 2016 C7 Corvette. One of the best things that I have purchased to help enjoy my toys. Never really cared about what others say, I do what I want with my things and don't worry about or hate on others. I have seen many things and vehicles that I would not have or do things to, but that is someone else's choice. Lighten UP people, enjoy your stuff and not worry about others. Corvette cargo trailer and Harley Trike Harley Tri Glide and trailer C7 and Corvette Cargo trailer
Looks great, Was your installations similar to the one in the video? What hitch did you start with , I Started to shop for one and I could not find the one he had pictured.
As for the haters, Stop ITS JUST A CAR , Get over your selfs
Give me a few days and I will dig up the photos and info on the installation and either post it on this thread or PM you.
Looks great, Was your installations similar to the one in the video? What hitch did you start with , I Started to shop for one and I could not find the one he had pictured.
As for the haters, Stop ITS JUST A CAR , Get over your selfs
I had a shop do mine. Here is what they did. Start with one of these, I found this on Amazon, though it is not the one I used:
The dimension from the center of the hole to the extension face (wide end) should be 2" or less if you use the aluminum shank ball mount that I did. Mine was 2-1/4" which required modifying the aluminum shank ball mount. I will detail that info later in this post. Cut off the extension to 3-15"16" long. The plastic facia must be removed from the rear bumper at this point. Also note how the opening was cut in the bumper large enough to access the hitch pin/lock and trailer wiring plug but is still completely hidden when the license plate is installed. The shop then fabricated a mounting plate with 1/4" steel. Note that the receiver is welded on all the way to the top:
The second picture shows it upside down. The approximate dimensions are 24-1/2" X 6". Most of the bolt holes were not drilled yet in these pictures. It appears that some of the existing bolt holes in the aluminum cross member were used and some additional ones were added. Use quality hardware such as grade 8 or stainless.
Mounted to the aluminum bumper cross member:
Here's a good picture of the aluminum cross member exposed for reference (not my car):
In this picture you can see why the fabricated mount was notched.
Sleeves were used between the front and back layer of the aluminum cross member so that tightening the bolts and nuts would not crush it.
Here are pictures of my ball mount. You can see what was done to address mounting a license plate and the trailer chains plus where I had to have the end of it trimmed to line up the mount and receiver holes. Michigan does not require a front plate but for $5.00 extra you can buy one so I did that and now have a dedicated plate for towing. The caveat is that you have to buy a second annual tag ($5.00) and some of the clerks at the SOS (DMV in most other states) won't sell you one unless you tell them that the original one was lost:
The aluminum shank ball mount that I used is one by Softride (softride.com). Unfortunately, I just went to the website and see that they no longer have these. This is a real nice unit made with aluminum, stainless, and brass components and is designed as an anti-rattle unit. The anti-rattle was important to me as I have towed the trailer on 3 trips so far of 4,000 miles or more. With some searching, perhaps a similar one could be found. Just make sure you are careful about the location of the holes in the receiver and the ball mount so that they line up. I went with a 6" drop on the ball mount.
Because of the tight quarters, I bought a 3/8" drive stubby ratchet for the tightening bolt pin and a 7/8" socket. They fit nicely in the tow hook storage above the battery:
For the wiring, buy a Curt Part # 56146 Powered Tail Light Converter and wire it:
Curt Unit to Car Wiring
Black to Battery + with a 10 amp inline fuse.
White to Battery -
Brown (tail lights) to Violet with Grey Stripe
Yellow (left turn) to Blue with White Stripe
Green (right turn) to Blue with Violet Stripe
Red (brake) to White with Yellow Stripe
Here is a picture of the Curt Unit installed near the fuses, it appears two way tape was used:
Finally, I went with an all aluminum trailer by a company called Aluma. The model is AE46. It is approximately 4' X 6' X 1-1/2' deep. In the picture I have a cargo carrier mounted to the trailer tongue. That was probably a bit much weight on the tongue with two 48 quart coolers full of wild boar meat and ice and I won't do that again, but the car only sagged about an inch. The trailer weighs 340 pounds empty, perhaps a few pounds more with the upgrade from 13" to 14" wheels. It has a 2" coupler. When I bought mine, colors were available and I got black. I am not so sure they offer painting anymore. They do make a smaller trailer intended for towing behind motorcycles that only weighs 200 pounds and the website indicates that there are optional colors. It comes with 12" wheels and a 1-7/8" coupler.
Thank you so Much!!!!!!!!! I will have a hitch on my car , Thank you again. I am just going to have to dig in and get that back bumper off and then start going from there
There is a vehicle for every purpose. Hauling a farm trailer full of horse s__t on a dirt road with my Corvette is just not going to happen. That is why I have a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 with the tow package. My wife likes sporty 4 door sedans so she gets a 2017 BMW 330i.
Last edited by ShadowGray19; 02-28-2019 at 08:22 PM.
There is a vehicle for every purpose. Hauling a farm trailer full of horse s__t on a dirt road with my Corvette is just not going to happen. That is why I have a 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4x4 with the tow package.
And I have an F-150 for towing my fishing boat and my '68 Pro Street Corvette. Also for hauling around assorted dead animals (deer mostly) and the 4 months of road salt season we get here in Michigan. It gets dirt road duty too. But, I don't want to drive my truck through the Tennessee mountains on my way to the Florida Keys or anywhere out west when I can drive the Corvette. Next trip towing a trailer: Seattle for salmon fishing!
Thank you so Much!!!!!!!!! I will have a hitch on my car , Thank you again. I am just going to have to dig in and get that back bumper off and then start going from there
I would like to see pictures when you are finished, perhaps in-progress pictures too. I went to Bloomington Gold a couple years ago and saw 2 other C7's with trailer hitches. One installation didn't look too good, it had a hitch through the tail pipe opening.
Life-changing! Wow I wish I had known this when I got the car!
10-foot 2x4's, and the 7-foot juniper I bought would've been so much easier to transport from the local Home Depot. Genius.
Life-changing! Wow I wish I had known this when I got the car!
10-foot 2x4's, and the 7-foot juniper I bought would've been so much easier to transport from the local Home Depot. Genius.
So... the thread summary up to this point is that there is still no bolt-on solution for a light duty (<1,000lbs) receiver hitch for a C7?
Every current solution involves custom fab and frame mods?
Just want to make sure I didn't miss anything.
Correct. Though the “frame mods” are simply drilling a few holes in the bumper cross member and installing spacers inside so that it isn’t crushed when the hitch receiver bolts are tightened.
Correct. Though the “frame mods” are simply drilling a few holes in the bumper cross member and installing spacers inside so that it isn’t crushed when the hitch receiver bolts are tightened.
And, just to keep things in perspective, every passenger car I've installed a hitch on has involved drilling at least 2 holes.
I remember a thread about quite a number of folks wishing there was a way to put a hitch on the c7! He has a well thought design ! Should have made a kit and pattened it !
I do wander if it would affect a extended warranty if it was discovered ?
Lol i can see smaller trailers shaped like a c7 being made now!
02-20-2019, 09:41 PM
