I pretty sure most if not all the Grizzlys now have a receiver hitch but my '07 450 did not. It has the factory cast ball platform bolted to the frame.

So I made my own instead of trying to find an after market one which would probably be big bucks.

It may not be quite as pretty as some factory stuff but the total cost was $4.00 of material and about an hour of measuring and fabricating. I used the draw bar from the wife's minivan since it's not used on there much.


Here it is shown with the factory ball platform sitting on the ground.

 

I have an 05 Kodiak 450 and I have considered getting a receiver hitch. I have seen after market ones which are basically a square plate u-bolted to the vertical frame tubing on each side of the rear end. In the middle of the square plate is the receiver tube. This would not cost much for materials if you could weld it. The one thing I would want to be sure about your design is what if any difference it makes having the hitch extended. Will it hang up on any thing if you drop off a vertical? Could the tongue weight cause something to bend with the added leverage from the longer hitch? Other than that it looks like you did a good job.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Traildad

.... The one thing I would want to be sure about your design is what if any difference it makes having the hitch extended. Will it hang up on any thing if you drop off a vertical? Could the tongue weight cause something to bend with the added leverage from the longer hitch? Other than that it looks like you did a good job.</end quote></div>

I asked myself the same questions.

The receiver tube does not stick out much past where the factory ball mounted and is actually a little higher off the ground, but can be reversed to give it a 1" drop as well.

If I was going on a serious ride through ruts and rocks I would leave the drawbar in my cargo box to prevent the possibility of it striking the ground. If I was towing a trailer I don't think it would be any more prone to getting hung up then the tongue of the trailer itself.

I am going to test it's tongue weight capacity this weekend to see if it's prone to bending due to the extended leverage caused by the longer hitch. I have jumped up and down on it already (215lbs) and it seems pretty rigid. If it does appear to start bending at the area where it mounts to the quad I will have to add braces to it. That's sort of what the studs on the side are for right now, to possibly tie it to the down tubes with braces if necessary. Then when I know everything will work I will add safety chain loops. The longer hitch length should give a little more maneuverability with trailers that have short tongues.

 

Thats a cool piece of engineering. Very nice. I had clearance problems today with my trailer. Wish I had one of those!

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: 450kodi750gsxr250kx

Thats a cool piece of engineering. Very nice. I had clearance problems today with my trailer. Wish I had one of those!</end quote></div>

That's exactly why I made it, because I had to pull a trailer with a very short tongue. I's not finished yet because I am going to run a support upwards to the frame to help support tongue weight.

That is as soon as I get my Kodiak back from having the frame replaced due to my little mishap.

 

where can i find this after market towing hitch. i also made one to replace the factory hitch but am afraib i am going to break the factory welds. thanks, scott

 

google atv hitch. They don't make them for every model, but if you look around you will see different kinds.

 

thanks. i would rather have a after market product. i live in kentucky do you know of any places that allow ridding?

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: scottyt

thanks. i would rather have a after market product. i live in kentucky do you know of any places that allow ridding?</end quote></div>

I live in CA so I don't know about Kentucky. I did a search on ATVSource.com for the words club and Kentucky and this is what came up.

http://forums.atvsource.com/se...300&t=0&submit=Search


Click on it and you should see some topics that will help.