Inexpensive trailer hitch

[jimfols]

Red Green says "If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy".

[mbshop]

Brilliant ! Off to find a piece of 4x4 .

[CharlesWaugh]

I bet that gets expensive pretty quick.

[Haroun]

I bet that gets expensive pretty quick.

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. It's low money down but the final payment......

[Toolmaker51]

I bet that gets expensive pretty quick.

Yes, it certainly wood.

[RetiredFAE]

Reminds me of a felony traffic stop and arrest I did years ago, on a 1970 1 ton Dodge 4x4 pickup, lifted 3 full feet, using red wood 2x4's nailed together to form 4x4's, 3 feet long, and then placed one at each corner between the axle housing and the bottom of the leaf springs, and held at both ends with a two side by side strips of plumbers pipe hanger tape, you now, the 1/2 or so wide metal "tape" with holes punched every half inch or so, those were nailed up and over the leaf springs, and under the axle housings.

Truck was in CA, with Tennessee plates, and those 2x4's had a real weathered, splintery look to them.
Owner was not happy when I had the unsafe vehicle towed. Less happy when I put cuffs on him, I was a Fed at the time, and he had a federal warrant on him. Ruined his whole day he said.

[schuylergrace]

I don't mean to pick nits, but shouldn't the ball be made of wood, too? You know, coefficient of expansion, beautiful grain, feng shui, and all that. I'm thinking a nice walnut burl...maybe, quilted maple...

[dave003]

I hope this is some kind of sick joke! My head almost exploded the second I saw the picture.

[Frank S]

Not defending the use of wood in this example since none of us know the story behind the reason for his making a receiver out of wood in the first place.
For all we know he may have been towing some little 4x6 trailer with a push lawnmower loaded in it, in which case the hitch would have been more than sufficient
We need to remember also that back in the day wagons were made almost entirely out of wood even having wooden beams for the axles with only an iron stub for a spindle these wagons were sometimes made to haul tons of ore 100s of miles pulled by huge teams of draft animals.
Even the early heavy duty trucks had wood frames and they hauled tens of tons over less than perfect roads sometimes without roads at all

[Toolmaker51]

Not defending the use of wood in this example since none of us know the story........<snipped>........early heavy duty trucks had wood frames and they hauled tens of tons over less than perfect roads sometimes without roads at all

True enough. But wood available to them [ie yellow southern pine] is far tougher than oak of today.
Pine of today? Terrific source of paint stirrers and wood pile stickers.