How To DIY a Hidden License Plate Hitch

DISCLAIMER
You are not 'supposed' to do this! You are not supposed to tow anything with this car, it is clearly stated in the owners manual. I am fully aware of all the risks involved and so should anyone attempting to perform this modification.

Well hello there! So, how many times have you wanted to tow a trailer full of horses but havent been able to because you dont have a hitch?! Well, that time has come to an end. Hopefully you still wount have to tow horses any time soon, but if you have a motorcycle, jet ski, bike rack, small flatbed, or 4x8 uhaul trailer that you need to tow for whatever reason, well, this might be the best thing out there!

I wanted a hidden hitch, this is an R32, not your moms mini van. I also wanted it to be cost effective, im in college and anything over $4 is usually 'too much'. Last but not least, I wanted to mod my car :happyanim:

So here it is, somewhat of a guide to do this yourself. If you don't find this useful, well at least I picture whored a little bit and that would have been worth it right there!

BTW if you have a GTI/Golf/Rabbit this will probably also work, BUT i am not 100% sure as I did it on my R32. So proceed with caution if you have any of these other models.

You will be modifying the stock bumper support, using the mounts of the oem support and adding a new cross brace and a hitch receiver. Then, you will have a beer, admire your crappy DIY work that doesn't always measure up to OEM standards, and go buy more beers because you saved big $.

Tools;
Screwdriver (to remove bumper electrical clips)
A Computer [optional] (to read this diy)
Torx bits, 3 different sizes (to remove bumper)
10mm, and 13mm wrenches (to remove taillights/rear bumper support)
A 2008 VW R32 (optional)
Welder, welding skills, or a friend to do this for you
2x2x12" receiver hitch purchased from harbor freight ($12)
5 foot section of 2" square steel tubing. 3/16" thickness.
Rostoleum (whatever color, since you wount see it under the bumper)
Whatever else i forgot to mention (oops).

Part 1

First of all, we need to see where I got inspired from, so look at this thread;
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?2077829

This guy just welded a smaller receiver directly to the oem support, which is probably not a good idea since this support is so flimsy. HOWEVER, he states that he has been pulling this kart (400LBS) for about 2 years with no problems. Therefore, our beefier bar should be much safer and be able to support more weight if necessary (not recommended).



- Tape around the license plate, do this before removing the bumper! (pic 1)

- Get a sharpie, smell it, then make a smaller rectangle about 1 to 1.5" inside of the license plate area (this is what will be cut from the bumper (pic 2)

- Grab a dremel, and 'trace' around that smaller rectangle. You dont have to cut all the way through just yet. This is simply to mark the foam behind the bumper (the foam from the bumper support) so that you can trim that foam later to reuse it. (pic 3)

- Image from behind, just cuz I was taking a lot of pictures so why not show this (pic 4)



You need to know how to take off the rear bumper, so follow this manual;
http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16008
(word of advise, get a friend/your mom to help you remove the rear bumper once you have everything unbolted since you have to disconnect the license plate electrical clip halfway through removal).

Part 2

- Once you remove the rear bumper, you will see what we will be working with (pic 1)

- Another image for reference, you will be cutting the center section of this support and replacing it with the 2" square tubing that you got. (pic 2)

- Remove the rear bumper support, it takes 5 13mm bolts to do this (pic 3)

- Grab a saw and start trimming the bumper support so that eventually all that is left are the OEM mounts (pic 4)

Part 3

- This is what those mounts should look like after the oem cross brace is removed (pic 1)

- Install the mounts on the car, measure from end to end, and cut your square tubing to be this size. Weld. Also get your hitch receiver, cut it down to 4-3/4" (from the original 12" length) and weld it right on top of this new cross brace right in the middle of it (pic 2)

- Pretty welds. BTW you have to sand off the edges of whatever you are welding together to take the paint off the OEM parts so the welds are stronger. Also, make sure to go over the OEM welds on the original mounts because they suck and dont even go all the way around the square tubing (pic 3)

- Hitch right in the middle. MAKE SURE ITS LEVEL. Get it as close to the unibody as possible to that it will sit flush with the license plate and not protrude out of the bumper. You can only have the hitch coming out 5" (from the unibody to the tip of the hitch), otherwise the license plate will not fit and this wount be much of a hidden hitch anymore (pic 4)

Part 4

- Grab some rostoleum (i used semi gloss black and it was the perfect color), something to cover the ground so that you don't paint your moms floor, and spray! (pic 1)

- Everything attached (pic 2)

- Good color! And it decided the rain as I was putting everything back together... greaaaaat (pic 3)

- No, the hitch is not touching the unibody. But it is within a finger of clearance. (pic 4)

Cool. Thanks for sharing. Finally, someone posting actual content on this forum.

Part 5

- Here you can see the clearance of the hitch receiver (pic 1)

- WOOT! (pic 2)

- Remember how you dremeled the license plate hole while on the bumper? (and thus marked the foam behind it). Well, grab you PB&J knife and get to cutting the foam so that it will match the new hole on the bumper and make it accessible for you to hook your trailer/bike rack (pic 3) This is all so you can reuse the foam so that when you back up into your sisters car at 2mph the bumper has SOME support behind it and doesn't instantly crack. Anything over 2.3MPH and your bumper will be toast though.

Part 5

Pictures 1-4 are with the plate off so you can see the hitch. It pokes right through the hole and I can get my hand perfectly in there to take off the pin and what not.

SO, what will I be doing with this hitch? Well, I will finally be getting a hitch mounted bike mount so I can go riding somewhere else than my neighborhood. I also need to tow a tiny (300lb) 4x6 trailer around. I see it coming in handy also whenever I move to a new house so I can get a small uhaul trailer to put my mattress or big tv in it.

NEVER tow anything over 1000lbs. Really, try not to tow too much over 500lbs. Can our new tow bar support 2,000lbs? Sure! It could probably support more, but our cars can't... well technically maybe they can but lets not risk it. Our engine can handle 2,000lbs, our brakes can stop it, but our transmission is what I am worried about. Also, always check your tongue weight (look this up if you dont know what this is... its kind of important).

The last step, tell all your friends about your new hitch and post it anywhere you can to show it off (like I just did!). It will help others who might think of doing this, and ALL of my friends said that it was a great idea/they had never seen a hidden hitch.

I am VERY happy with my new hitch. It compliments the R32 perfectly. Not only is the R32 a sleeper racing machine, but now its also a sleeper towing machine. WOOT!

Nice!

Just because you have an R32 doesn't mean you should post DIYs in here.

Cool DIY tho. Let me know when you get a bad ass Seadoo on there.

Just because you see a new post, doesn't mean you should post in it.

jshish23 said:

Just because you have an R32 doesn't mean you should post DIYs in here.

Cool DIY tho. Let me know when you get a bad ass Seadoo on there.

Click to expand...

But it is r32 content...

lolasaurus_rex said:

Just because you see a new post, doesn't mean you should post in it.

Click to expand...

Just because you have nothing to contribute doesn't mean you should post in either of these threads: 'R32 Forum - General Discussions' OR 'DIY + Maintenance + Tips/Tricks'.

You're contributing so much? Not a chance.

Please don't ruin this thread