Just finished the install. Got a Curt 31016 that is fit for the older vans. Just have to drill 6 holes in the frame to bolt it in. It only came with 2 tabbed nuts for fishing into the frame so I got some Honda wheel studs (Dorman 610-269-1) for the back 4 holes. They have an odd pitch so I had to get nuts (McMaster 97765A160). Maybe I should have picked some other studs with more available nuts?...but it worked. These studs are 12mm and the knurled area press fit into a 31/64 hole. Eventually I'll put a bike rack on the front. I've got a big family and a 4 bike rack for the back already. It's also a good tow point if I get it stuck and I might put a winch on a receiver hitch mount too. For now I just needed to get this on so I could put on the Tahoe air dam I got that other people have gotten better fuel economy with. I'll cut a hole in the center of it for the receiver.


Front hitch

Hardware

It doesn't stick out past the front bumper

 

The flash really makes it look filthy. It's just a little dusty!

 

Great work, Just wondering, did you use a washer of some sort inside the frame with the wheel studs? I'd be a little worried about pull-through, although the front bolt is the one that will have the most pulling force.

 

Thank you. I did not put washers under the head of the studs. Those are right on the lap weld (where it's double thickness) and near the edge of the frame. I'm not sure there would be room. My thoughts were similar to yours that the load there would be less than the front bolts. If this was for towing a trailer i would think differently but I believe it is sufficient for a bike rack. A winch would put the studs in shear not tension. Maybe I could have picked a stud with a bigger head and ground it into a D-shape? That might be a good idea and further goes with my thoughts that I should have picked a different stud. Maybe I should look up an alternative stud and put it in this thread as a suggestion for the next person.

 

Another option would be to tack some strong nuts inside the frame and thread into them like the front holes. I haven't looked under there to see if that's practical though. I'm guessing there's room if you got the studs in there.

This is a plate I made for another purpose but it shows what I'm talking about. I drilled a hole in the plate, threaded a bolt through the nut to line it up and tacked it.

This bolt would work great for you too. These come from a 4th Gen Chrysler minivan seat mount and they're really beefy. The seats bolt through the floor and you can reach two or three nuts per side from under the van easily in the junkyard. The flange is 3/16 inch thick and the entire bolt is 3/4 inch deep with threads running the whole length. They really feel like something that would be on a piece of industrial equipment and not a passenger vehicle. I have a pile of these I've taken from the salvage yard to have on hand for other projects.



If you can reach back there you might just use them as a nut and bolt without any welding.

 

I could have done something like that but it's been forever since I've used my welder and I'm not even sure the gas isn't empty. I also would have had to take off the front bumper to fit something like that in. It was already difficult getting the studs through the hole in the frame. I was looking for something "just drill a hole" easy. I guess I could have contacted Curt and asked for some more nuts with the tab welded to them. It's even possible that a normal hex head (again without a washer) could be held from spinning by the side wall of the frame rail. I think the studs will hold up just fine with the mostly double thickness of frame right there.

 

It looks good to me with the studs. I think you're right about the downward force being on the front bolts too.

 

Did the back holes in the hitch happen to line up with the half-drilled holes already there in the frame?

 

Thanks. No the back holes didn't line up either. I should have taken a picture before I put the hitch on after drilling the holes. It's a bit hard to see but I put a picture of about where it fits. I think I put it a bit farther rearward than shown to get a little away from that existing hole. The front hardware it came with was 1/2" bolts and nuts with tabs that I used. I'd have to look but I think the back was 10mm and ment to thread into tapped holes in the frame of the older vans. The studs I put in are 12mm.


Hardware supplied

See trace markings on frame