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You know it's winter when ...

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
... you have nothing else to do except piddle with RV projects.

When we got the new 5er 3 months ago, one thing I did not take into account with the transition from our previous travel trailer was were to put my wooden sign, "The Love Shack."

Here's a photo of the previous camper where I had it taped to the inside of the full back window:



With the new 5er, I didn't want to hang it outside exposed to the weather, and there just wasn't a good place inside the camper to put it in a window. I'd made comments to my wife I needed a new sign, I could somehow attach it to the factory hitch on the new camper. But I was reluctant to make anything out of wood, for fear all the bouncing from travel and exposure to the elements, it probably would not last long. But she kept the idea in the back of her head.

Well, imagine my surprise when she handed me a package and this was inside:



I had formulated an idea how long before she gave me the sign how I might be able to mount such a sign on the outside of the camper without doing any hole drilling or messing anything up on the outside of the camper. I talked to her about it and she must have realized, if I were going to do anything, I needed to start with the sign. So, there it is.

My solution. My 5er came with a factory mounted receiver for a hitch. Notice, there is no bumper on this camper, which I do kind of miss. But the hitch is there. I have no plans to use it for anything. So....



I purchased a new hitch from Tractor Supply Company and no ball. I then purchased some, what I call, aluminum angle iron and did some fancy home brew work:



It took a couple attempts, but I found I really needed a back on it. So, consider I'm a wood worker and not a metal working, and I don't have any scrap sheet metal laying around at all, I made a back for "it" out of wood, and presto! A little more grinding to get rid of the sharp edges, and some black Rust-o-lium spray paint and presto! It's magic! ... well ... how about lots of trial and error until it worked :@















The nice thing is, when home, I can simply pull the hitch and keep it out of the weather, or if I want, can even slide it in the receiver of my pick up truck!

And fyi... I have several other hitches from my previous travel trailers and my utility trailer that work on both my pick-up trucks. So, getting a new hitch and dedicating it for this purpose is not robbing an existing hitch I need for something else. This is just strictly for fun!

Yep, it's definitely winter, isn't it?
9 REPLIES 9

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
Spent the whole day today painting my tool shed in the backyard. The 70 deg weather gets to you after awhile. Good to go for the next 12-15 years.
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

Bears_Den
Explorer
Explorer
Or, you live in Fl and wonder if there is still anyone left up north. ????
2014 Kodiak 279 rbsl
2017 Ford F-150 King Ranch V8
Equalizer hitch
Ford integrated brake controller
2004 Travel Lite 23S Hybrid Travel Trailer ( previous trailer )
1998 Viking Popup ( previous trailer )




No substitute for experience

pnichols
Explorer II
Explorer II
1. You have to clean out the driveway drains so the rains don't erode the driveway away.

2. You have to feel sorry for all the folks in these forums who have to stop RV'ing and instead winterize their rigs.

๐Ÿ™‚
2005 E450 Itasca 24V Class C

Veebyes
Explorer II
Explorer II
You spend huge amounts of time researching for places to go & things to do next year.

I have 3 1/2 months. Where do I start?
Boat: 32' 1996 Albin 32+2, single Cummins 315hp
40+ night per year overnighter

2007 Alpenlite 34RLR
2006 Chevy 3500 LT, CC,LB 6.6L Diesel

Ham Radio: VP9KL, IRLP node 7995

JimBollman
Explorer
Explorer
Nice job on the tag mount, a bit over built but minimal custom fabricating. I wanted to do something similar on my old camper and cut a piece of approximately 12g steel the size of the tag and bent a U shaped piece of metal that was 2" wide, long enough to slide in the hitch past the mount hole and drilled a hole for a hitch pin. I mounted the U bracket on the back of the plate and drilled the plate to mount the sign.

ppine
Explorer II
Explorer II
When you start planning a trip to the low desert.

newman_fulltime
Explorer
Explorer
Go to a tattoo school get them to airbrush it on

Merrykalia
Explorer
Explorer
Find someone with a CRICUT and have them cut some vinyl lettering to adhere to the back of the 5'er. Ours has the large window in the back, but we have lettering on it. Our friends, have no window, but they have lettering.

That is a cool "tag" hitch you made for your 5'er.
2017 Ford F350 Crew Cab 6.7L 4x4 DRW

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
Good job!
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad