Tow Hitch fabrication for CBI Hybrid Rear Bumper

[5VZ-FE]

When I bought my '99 it came with (most of a) CBI Hybrid rear bumper, no swing out. The previous owner cut off most of the lower tube and the tow hitch because having it means you can't also have the spare tire, which is a bad design in my opinion. Five years later I want a way to be able to tow a small trailer and use a motorcycle carrier, so I designed a replacement hitch receiver and lower tube that accommodates the spare tire as well.

I like the design but it is definitely just v1 and I'm wondering if anyone else has done something like this with this bumper or if any of the experienced fabricators on here have suggestions. The specific things I'm looking for input on are the receiver sticking out so far and if there's a way to avoid that, and also whether mitering the bends in the lower tube is feasible vs trying to bend. Any other input also appreciated...

Edit: I do have a stock tow hitch that I picked up on CL for free a few years ago and I have debated finding a stock bumper and going with that setup. My preference is to try to modify the CBI

 

[phattyduck]

You can reference the stock tow hitch and aftermarket options (pics easy to find on etrailer.com) to see how far its going to stick out. Probably farther than you want - but at least you can control the height. It is likely that the tire is still the limiting factor for departure angle, even though it will stick pretty far out from the bottom lip of the hatch.

I'd probably start with one of the aftermarket hitches so you can trust the hitch and cross tube strength, then match it up at a flat plate of some sort on the bumper to adapt to the CBI bumper.

-Charlie