Light duty trailer hitch on a Spider

[BillF]

I have a 1980 Fiat Spider and would like to install a light duty trailer hitch to toe a small utility trailer or what ever.
Has any one done this? Did they adapt one from a compact car or truck or build their own. I am not talking about towing a camp trailer across the country. Just a small trailer with a tongue weight of about 20 LB.

[124JOE]

yes ive seen a pic of someone having a trailer on there spider

buy it should at least hold your weight

i bought my hitch for my taurus at U-HALL
see if they have one for you

and it should mount on the side rails
where the bumper shocks bolt

[CajunMike]

Do a thread search. There was a thread not too long ago about this. Several posters indicated that this was a bad idea.

[courtenay]

I think either Ventura Ace or Rlux4 has a hitch and pulls a light duty trailer.

[BillF]

Thanks for the information on possible makers for light duty trailer hitches! As I said it would be a trailer with not much tougue weight. I understand that this is a yery light car. I have a 14 foot antique 32 year old sailboat built in France that I restored and I would use the Spider to tow it to the lake in our town or in a parade in town.
Thanks for the help!!

[narfire]

Yes Ron Luxmore can tow a small trailer behind his spider. Do a search here and it should show up. I think he utilized the bumper for the attatchment somehow.

[BillF]

Yes, I was thinking I could remove the back bumper and build a trailer hitch and have the square tubing arms slip into the slots that the bumper shocks slipped into. They have a picture of a Spider towing a Fiat From Cal. to North Carolina in this section on July 19, 2011.

[narfire]

Think I found it..
http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic ... ler#p55211

[AndyS]

Chris Obert (the Fiat parts seller) used to use his Fiat 128 to tow his Fiat 600 to the AutoX. His from Santa Cruz route included some serious hills too.

[htchevyii]

Ron has the little harbor freight trailer. He says he can't even tell its there. http://www.harborfreight.com/automotive ... 90153.html

[vandor]

Shaun F and I towed a 128 from California to North Carolina with his '80 Spider

I've seen several hitches custom made for the Spider, and the best one had a crossbar that tied to the bumper shocks via a u-bolt, and then a longitudinal bar that went under the spare tire area. Made for a stout 3-point mounting, and the bumper shocks are very strong.

[BillF]

Vandor that sounds like a good idea for a hitch design. Basic and simple.
I went on the U-Haul web sight to see if they made one. They said they did not, but if I wanted to bring my Spider out to their facility in ARIZONA they said they would build, install, and guarantee for life a hitch for me. FOR FREE!!! It would be a prototype for them so they could sell them. That would be great but that is to far from Connecticut. I like a road trip, but really.

[Exit98]

Oh Bill go for it.

Free is good.

There are a bunch of rust free Spiders out there in the desert, you could tow one home.

[BillF]

Exit98- That might be an idea. Two birds with one stone

[rlux4]

Here's a pic of my hitch showing the Simpson strap that mounts in the trunk to reduce stress on the trunk floor:

You can also make out the hole in the bottom tube of the bumper that the single bolt goes through.
And here it is mounted. Our cars need an adapter hooked into the stop and tail lights to convert to the standard 4 wire plug.

Here's the trailer I tow. It's very light and useful. It's mostly for towing camping gear, but we've used it to haul BBQ stuff for our SoCal get-togethers too.

Ron