TwinTurbo.NET: Nissan 300ZX forum - 300 Degree trailer hitch/receiver set up (long post...)
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Subject 300 Degree trailer hitch/receiver set up (long post...)
     
Posted by Woody75 (Denver) on June 01, 2015 at 11:50 PM
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Message I finally got the official go ahead from Mindi (Damon) to post up about the trailer hitch set up I got last year. They had one on display at Nismo Fiesta this year and I've been showing mine off and using it for the past year as well. Damon has a very limited supply for sale and Mindi wants then out of the garage :). I have no idea on the price and have nothing to do with the sale so please don't ask me, hit up Damon. This is simply to provide info and pics of the product.

Also, this product only works on the coupe, not the 2+2.

Just a warning. It's been a year since I did all this so I'm going from memory. I'll try not to leave out many details. But feel free to ask any questions.

This first part will be about the product installed as is on a stock bumper. I had an extra that had been sitting around for years so I figured why not so I could get pics and such. You can install this on the car without removing anything (exhaust, bumper, ect). but I recommend taking the bumper off so you can see things better and make cuts easier.

It comes with the main hitch itself, templates, bolts, and a hinged license plate holder. You use the template on the bumper to mark for the holes you need to cut. Fairly straight forward. You have a larger hole at the bottom in order to get your hand in to put the pin in for the hitch. The top hole is for the hinged license plate bracket. There is a bracket that goes on the back side of the bumper that the plate bracket bolts to. Also provide some support as the springs on the bracket are very strong.

The hitch itself bolts to where the stock tow hitch brackets are. These must be removed first. Then it bolts into place with the supplied bolts. There is one small section on the rear bumper bar that must be removed. I found it easy to do. I made 3 vertical cuts and then bent it back and forth until the metal snapped off.

Some additional pics after things are installed

Once installed you can barely see the hole at the very bottom of the plate bracket. I found that if you use your TT.Net plate surround it covers it up nicely :)

Overall this is a very nice set up. It was made for pulling a small trailer to the track and such. There are other setups out there but they bolt onto the tow hooks and are weaker. They can always be seen as well. Also they do not use a full size receiver. Another nice benefit is the hitch is so beefy it becomes a rear brace between the frame rails.

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Now I will go into some issues and mods I had to do in order to put it on my Z. It just wouldn't be right if I didn't have to mod something to make it work.

Right from the beginning I ran into an issue. I put the template on my bumper and something was off. the plate area was too small. I have the Twinz full rear bumper with the diffuser built in. It appears they made the plate area smaller. So when I lined things up the hitch hole was going to come out of where the body/diffuser line was. That wasn't going to work for me as it wouldn't be covered up and would have looked like crap. So everything had to be modified.

I did some measuring and found I needed to move the receiver part of the hitch up about an inch in order to come out behind the plate and be hidden when not in use.

I took the hitch to a local shop (I don't trust my welding for something like this). They basically cut the middle section out and put in a new piece in. then welded the receiver section right to the top instead of inset like it comes from 300 Degree. they also added a gusset to the front.

Now because I moved the receiver section up I had to create more room in the rear bumper bar. So I cut a section out and had them box it back in.

Both bolted onto the car. I had to also remove the tow hooks/safety chain hoops. The diffuser section on the Twinz bumper was in the way so there was no way to use them. And they rubbed. If I get a trailer down the road I have an idea on how and where to weld some on so I can use them.

I also used a different hinged bracket for the plate. the one I found used the stock plate mounting holes and has a weaker spring in it so it doesn't require any bracing. I cut the back legs off it so they were not in the way (which would be obvious once you went to install it).

I cut the main hole to a size and shape that worked for me and trimmed it out with some door edging material. Also added some bumpers at the bottom to keep the plate from hitting the paint and rubbing.

For the wiring I found an adaptor online that worked.

I took some old taillight harnesses I had from broken units and made it a plug and play unit into the stock taillight wiring. Made it a simple install.

Now the main reason I wanted this setup was for track days and the road trips to Zcon and such. Packing the car full of tools and everything else was a pain and was starting to tear things up. I couldn't see out the back of the car as well. Well Cali trailer speed limits stopped the trailer idea for Zcon last year but then I decided to use a basket instead and I think I actually like it better. I picked up a cheap unit from Harbor Freight. Of course I had to mod it as well. Out of the box it hit the bumper before it would go in all the way. So I had to make a new/longer center post to make it stick out away from the bumper more. Then I added some sheet metal to the bottom to help with exhaust heat just in case. I found it never gets hot.

I found my Rubbermaid containers fit the basket perfect. But since it blocked the taillight some, just to be safe I picked up a light. It has turn signals, brake and parking lights on it.

I used a thread insert kit and added some mounts to the basket as well for the plate so I could move it to the back when in use. I've been using it for over a year on multiple road trips with no issues so far. I've had 200+ lbs of gear in the basket. It really does come in handy. And when I'm done with the trip, the basket comes off, plate goes back on and no one knows the hitch is there :)

Loaded up with tools and gas for a track day. Very handy as our track is in the middle of no where. Closest town is 17miles away and its an hour home as well.



JackB nimble JackB quick JackB can suck my dick =P - james-lee 11/02/01
Arrogance is the #1 weapon against Supra Owners - MikeH 08/06/02
Dallas with a Z: I like the bulge dude 05/02/03
Bezbefootball: Does dick have anything for me? 10/21/03

     
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