About a month ago I was looking for a source for good trailer hitches for my Beetle TDI since I want to pull my Sea-doo and make a rack for my bikes that would use a receiver hitch style hookup. What is on the market now is pretty sorry. The Draw-tite system is weak. The holes through the spare tire well are really lame but would work if you don't carry much of a load or don't mind a little wobble when you have bikes on it. What I really objected to, though, was the ugly square receiver hitch tube hanging down on an already very low car. I'd hate to always look at that thing AND/OR have it catch on something I was driving over. After consulting my NB shop manual, I decided I was going to develop a TOTALLY HIDDEN Receiver hitch system for my Beetle. From the illustrations it looked like it would be challenging but do-able. Under the plastic rear fenders, it appeared there was a big flat sheet metal area with what I hoped were ample attachment points for a hitch system. Once I had the plastic finders and bumpers off, it was apparent other attachment points must be used. So two weekends ago, I started the project. Believe me it was WAY more work than I anticipated but now it is done. The hitch is VERY strong (read overkill) and ties in directly to the frame rails of the car. It is stiff and sturdy and TOTALLY HIDDEN. I used the space under the rear bumper hat channel to connect the two shock towers for the bumpers. It allows the 5 mph bumper to still work but will only travel about 1 1/4 inch instead of the approximate 2 inch travel as stock. The receiver is vertical rather than the normal horizontal setup you usually see so the tongues you build will slide up rather than in. There is a remote hitch release to withdraw the pin from the hitch tube since you cannot reach the pin under the plastic bumper. This project is a huge task and took me two weekends and 3 evenings during the week between them. Some of that time was exploring ideas that ultimately did not work. You will need good metal working skill or the cooperation of someone who can do this for you and is not afraid of liability issues. There is minimal compromising of the original safety equipment on the car but this system is very stout and invisible.
First, here is how the hitch looks with the (almost finished) tongue installed on my very dirty red NB TDI. The top of the tongue is 12 1/2 inches from the ground, which is correct for my Sea-Doo trailer. I still need to add the safety chain attachment points on the tongue and some black paint.
This photo shows the full length of the square tongue tube that goes into the receiver part of the hitch. Note the size and position of the hole in the plastic bumper fascia. This hole is all that shows when the tongue is not inserted. Unless you get down on your knees, you do not even know it is there. I very carefully cut out this hole and have the piece of red painted plastic that came from it so I can make a plug to cover the hole completely when not in use. I may not even use it since it is almost un-noticeable the way it is now.
The hole in the square tube is where the retainer pin goes. It would be very easy to make this hitch up-and-down adjustable by drilling more holes in the tube. This hole is the correct height I need for my application.
Here is a shot of the tongue in operating position. It is actually 1/2 inch above the factory pull hook so it does not create any additional ground clearance problems when in use or not in use.
This is the pull ring for the spring loaded tongue retainer pin. It is located above the spare tire, behind the fold down portion of the spare tire cover, inside the car. When you install the tongue, you pull this ring out about 5 inches, push the tongue in part way and let go of the ring. When the holes in the tongue line up with the pin, the spring pops the pin in and the hitch is locked in. Pull the ring all the way out and the tongue drops out, leaving only the hole in the bottom of the bumper.
Here are a couple construction pictures so you understand how the system is attached to the car. The main modification is to the bumper shock towers, which are the foundation for the hitch. The plates that hold them in place are made from 1/4 inch steel and provide a sturdy place to weld to. I wanted to make the hitch system detachable so I welded brackets to the bumper shocks that the cross tube bolts to. The shock towers slide into square tubes formed by the inside of the frame of the car. I figured this would be the strongest place to mount the hitch. The problem is, the two bolts that hold the shock tower in place are NOT strong enough to pull from without some sort of re-inforcement. That is what the brackets are in the last photo. These brackets tie the bumper shock towers into the frame rail and are probably the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS SYSTEM. Without these brackets, the hitch would only be attached by the sheet metal on the back of the car, which is not nearly strong enough.
I also wanted to point out the pin chamber located on the right side of the down tube. This is where the spring loaded retainer pin retracts into when inserting or removing the tongue. The pin is actuated by an old snowmobile throttle cable attached to the ring, seen in an earlier photo. The cross tube is very close to the back of the car and some modification to the two rear plastic vents is needed for clearance. The cross tube is designed to allow the steel factory 5 mph bumper to work MOSTLY without interference. The bumper shocks look like they were designed to move about 2 inches and my system will allow for about 1 1/2 inches of travel. The bottom part of the steel bumper has to be notched to keep the down tube from interfering with the bumper movement in the event of an accident. Please keep in mind, NONE OF THIS HAS BEEN CRASH TESTED SO IF YOU WISH TO RE-CREATE THIS DESIGN, YOU DOSO AT YOUR OWN RISK!
There are some refinements I would make to this system if I were building it again. It is VERY STRONG and stiff so there is no flexing or movement when you jump on the hitch. I still have to install the wiring for trailer lights. This project was MUCH bigger than I anticipated when starting it so be ready for a big project and make sure you have good metal working skills or know someone who does. After getting the fenders off, I was pretty much committed. In retrospect, think it is overbuilt for the capacity of the car and could be done using the same basic design but with lighter materials. The entire thing weighs around 13 pounds minus the tongue. If you want more information or more construction photos, you can contact me at
lafeb@aol.com. I am interested in any feedback.