Cool- thanks for the reply.

I was also concerned about the strength of the springs, which is one of the reasons why I've delayed any further.

There's a real business opportunity here for someone with a bit of ingenuity.

Please keep us posted with your progress.

Btw. great looking mini! I'm digging the color.

 

I've been looking at and talking to folks about this hitch for a while now, but your string and photos have finally convinced me. My application for use is a little different since I'll be using this to mount a power wheelchair type lift to transport a SEGWAY on a 2010 MCS. The biggest drawback, and concern, has been about the tongue weight spec's as the whole rig comes close to the 200 lb tongue weight max (somewhere around 160-180 lbs), and the "wiggle factor" as I know from experience that the rig tends to move front to rear (think teter-toter on a playground) whenever you hit a rut or small bump in the road. I counter this with a set of bike straps for stability clipped to the top lip of the hatch. I also have to add a 7 pin power connector for the lift (no solution for that one yet!).

Anyway, thanks for the detailed information, and when I get this thing all rigged up I'll post some pictures. I can't possibly be the only person on this forum with a SEGWAY instead of bikes. Can I?

 

I look forward to seeing pics of your install!

 

Sorry, BP, your FRUMIOUS install...

 

:-)). The install was completed a couple days ago and I posted pictures in the "my gallery" area of my profile. For some reason I just can't figure out how to post them here (yet!).

And "Bandy" thanks you for the compliment.

 

well done. WELL done.
Good for harrumphing here and there.

 

A couple of weeks ago, I went to U-haul in the Boston area to have a similar-styled hitch installed. The complete job, hitch + installation was $270. For the license place, I mounted the license on a hinge that I fashioned from the lid hinge of an aluminum lunch bucket.The license performs like a door mounted sideways. When my bike rack is in place, I simply "open" the license plate up and slide the rack into the receiver. Then the license place rests on top of the rack's receiver insert. After the rack is removed, the license plate just hinged back into place. When the rack is being used, the license place is not quite parallel to the ground and the plate can actually be read somewhat from behind the vehicle. So far, the police have not stopped me while having the license plate in the lifted/open position. Fashioning the hinge was pretty easy. I used bolts coming from behind the license so that it lays flat and bought chrome acorn nuts to secure the license to the bolts. I also used industrial velcro on the back of the license place to keep it from flapping open and shut while driving.

 

Nice. Pics would be greaty appreciated!

 

Ok will try to snap a couple tonight.

 

Photos of the hinged license plate.

The hinge was cut from an aluminum lunch box because:

1) It was free
2) it was relatively easy to cut
3) It was a good length

The fabrication took me about 30 minutes total. I used black electrical tape to cover the hinge for both appearance and safety (sharp edges) The tape is completely on the underside, none is exposed on the outside. Only the actual hinge pin is exposed - the rest is behind the plate.






I would not declare it to be the prettiest installation ever, but it is close to unnoticable when the license plate is down and it saves a ton of time when installing the rack.

One other note: You may notice that I have added a stabilizer to the 1-1/4" receiver. When I installed the rack, it was a little too loose of a fit for my taste. The stabilizer is a short ( 1") sleeve that goes over the receiver insert on the rack and has a lip that extends under the receiver itself. The lip has a bolt that when tightened, moves the rack insert up or down inside the receiver. (Depending on if the bolt is place on the top of bottom of the insert). It makes a pretty dramatic difference in tightness. I carry two bikes weighing aboutn 35lbs each and it barely moves. It is completely motionless when I have my 18lb road bike only on the rack.

 

The photos didnt post.

 

This is a great thread. One question - is there any electrical connection for a small trailer?

 

Picture post problem has been resolved. See edited post above. Concerning electrical connections, I did not add one since my plan is to use only for a bike rack. However, the light wire seems to run left to right along the inside bumper channel and immediately below the receiver tube. I would think a connection would be fairly easy to accomplish.

 

I live just North of Boston. Can you give me the name of the U-haul dealer who did your install - that seems like a fair price and a good idea.

 

Cool. Thanks for clearing it up! Now I just need to find the right lunch box :-).

 

The Uhaul place is in Brighton. If you search for trailer hitches and uhaul, their name will pop right up. They install more in a day than most uhaul places install in a week or month.

If you decide to go, first buy a 3" hole saw and take it with you. The installer did not have one and had to cut the hole using a bladed saw. It was pretty roughh - I had to trim it out with a knife and some door edge trim. A hole saw would give a much nicer finish.

 

Thanks for the info, Copywrites. So you're saying that your local UHaul company had a similar hitch conversion product to the MINI do more?

Since I'm not mechanically inclined, I will definitely let my fingers do the walking in SoCal for a similar service.

Like you, I don't care about electronics, as I am looking to transport my recumbent trike. Already have a company in mind for the 1 1/4" hitch rack, so just need to get the hitch mount on the MINI.

The pictures thirdrail provided are clear, but I'm too familiar with "the guys" trying to get those plasticky tabby parts in and out and going "oops" after one breaks. Looks good in photos, iffy for me in real life. I'd rather throw $$$ at someone that does a gazillion of these a week.

 

IceBlues - Yes, Uhaul offers what appears to me to be an identical hitch for about 1/2 the price. I don't remember exactly, but the hitch by itself was something like $130. You could likely buy the hitch and have your mini dealer install it.

 

How do you access/insert the hitch pin? Do you have to reach underneath the bumper? Thanks

 

Yep,you have to get under the car, but there is relatively clear access. Mine is made a little more complicated because my bike rack uses a threaded pin, so I use either a finger tip driver or a short crescent wrench to access the bolt head since there is not much room to maneuver inside the bumper.

 

Fantastic tutorial. I was sort of annoyed by having to remove the license plate every time I wanted to use the hitch. SO here is what I came up with:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xqd4Sy-4-tA

 

Best solution yet! Nicely done....

 

 

Being a bike guy, I'm going to try something using quick release dzuz fasteners, will post once completed.

 

I'm stunned they would put it there.
It's the only way to use the MINIDOMORE so you could take a look at how the CA is mounted and see how easy it would be to shift over. Otherwise, use a rival product like MINIFINI. I just like that one less because you have to drill visible areas of the bumper cover.