996 Hitch Project DIY

Hi Everyone, I wanted an easy way to carry my bikes around, and didn't want to spend ~$500 for a roof rack + attachments and run the risk of dropping a bike on my roof. After quite a bit of looking around for a secondhand hitch system, I decided it would be fun to make my own and use the bike rack I already owned. Here are a few pictures. Holds up well, I can jump up and down on the hitch vigorously and it does not move unless the rack is fully extended, even then I can hang off the back. I will be updating the bolt sizes to the next largest (8MM 12.9 grade currently), and making the heavier duty bumper bar mounts. I did make a few changes to the popular Willwood hitch to allow easier installation of my rack and use of any off the shelf 1 1/4 towing hardware. I'm tempted to finish building the bumper mounts, get a secondhand aluminum rear bumper bar and stress test the components to get an exact failure weight. With the larger bolts and heavier supports I would have no reservations about hauling a little track trailer with tires/tools. This was a very fun way to spend a Friday. I'm happy to post a DIY when I take it back apart to upgrade the bolt sizes and start making the mounts. Any interest in other forum members needing any of these? I am in the process of getting a quote for 10 of these to be made, and 3 being stress tested if there is interest. I have a friend with a 2007/2008 Cayman S and after seeing my last picture he needs one as well, so I will be making one of those in the near future. Thanks for reading! Enjoy!

Many...you can probably sell those things....can you show a picture from the back without the license plate.

Here are a few pictures from the rear, side, and above. I'm happy to take a few more pictures with the license plate fully off early next week. Definitely a good idea to use a razor knife NOT a grinder like I did. Both methods cut through very easily. A razor would look much cleaner than mine. Patience is a virtue... License plate is hinged and works as intended. Hitch pins would go in from the side, much more traditional. My rack screws in with a bolt on the right side, so only the right is cut out. The receiver is fully behind the plate. Magnets hold the plate in place when not in use. All is hidden behind the plate. Bumperettes fit just fine as well.

Sign me up for one.

Very cool! Would be awesome for carrying track tires!

Nice job. This idea is not new. I am having one very much like this installed professionally in the next week or two. See this link to the 718 forum( https://rennlist.com/forums/718-foru...-on-718-a.html ). The poster lives near me and when I saw his I contacted the guy that makes them and he is doing one for my 996. Not much more expensive then the Porsche roof rack. I will post pics when the install is done. Oliver at Gururack.

Nice work! What hinges are you using for the license plate? I installed a willwood a few months back but couldn�t find hinges that I was happy with, so for now I just have the plate secured with magnets and remove it when I have my bike rack installed. Would prefer hinges so that my setup is somewhat legal.

Neat! I used this set up to tow a tire trailer on a GT3 for a while but I didn't want to use a standard bike rack on mine (even w/a light rack and a sub 19 lbs bike). Eventually settled on carrying a single bike on a very short bike rack -really need to upgrade the bumper shocks to feel more secure IMO. Please do post more pics of those if you end up doing it. Towing worked fine as the tongue weight can be kept low and there's a very short moment arm from the hitch.

My good friend from Phila. had a hitch mounted so we could haul our Husqvarna dirt bikes in style behind his Porsche Targa.

You can get them here: http://www.willwoodsystem.com/

Hi Gbug, I am just using some piano hinge from Home Depot along with some tapered screws to get it to sit as flush as possible when down(the $5 one), much like many of the other kits that have been available. Nothing wildly new or too innovative there. I have heard about Wilwood, as mentioned in my original post but the very long lead time and high expense for this part put me off from this supplier. There is no reason this simple receiver should cost as much as it does. If it truly did cost $500+ to make and was extremely difficult to do, I would certainly go with a roof rack. They do look very cool. This coming week I will have more parts ordered in and begin work on the bumper mounts (another simple piece). Hopefully will hear back about failure analysis costs from a local Arizona company and production runs during this time and will update as I get more new information. I certainly want the heavier duty bumper mounts, as the leverage the bikes have way out there must be fairly substantial. Thanks for the replies everyone, loved the picture of the dirt bikes. How fun!

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AWESOMENESS!

Nice....A Holsclaw trailer. One of the best ever. Real coil spring suspension.

I had just moved to Maine in 1976 and didn't yet know where to ride. Shortly after taking this pic we were riding along a river and farmland and were stopped by a local cop with flashing lights who informed us we weren't in Maine but had crossed into NH. He was cool and bought our true story about not knowing the area, and let us leave with stern warnings. My friend with the Targa would fly with his dirt bike trailer behind him on the highway coming up to visit. Sorry OP not trying to highjack your thread.

Hey All, As an update, I just finished dropping off parts at a shop to laser cut the mounts and assemble the reinforced bumper mounts. I'll be getting them powder coated and do a final test fit of all the pieces. Assuming everything goes well, I will have finished product in my hands in two weeks (only making one set to test) and I can begin to order my first round of 10, with hopefully another two week lead time. They will be top notch quality, lifetime warranty. I'll update you all when they come in and disclose pricing when I have finished pictures of the entire kit.

Interested as I am looking to have a utility trailer to haul some wheels.

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Very Interested. I'm about to r&r my blown motor so I'd love to get this installed at the same time. Thanks!

Update I have received a finished product late last week and was able to install over the weekend. Fits great, and only had to make a small adjustment in the form of taking off a slight amount of metal on the far end (near where the bolt that holds the aluminum bumper goes through). Going for as close to a bolt-in, no issue affair as possible and will be adjusting some sizes slightly to reflect this. Parts came out great, and they look very professional. Currently getting quotes to make 10 of these. I will be including all of the hardware, license plate hinge kit, bumper brackets, and the receiver bracket so you will get everything you need to make it fit right and look OEM from the outside. If you are interested, I will be looking to sell the complete kit for $350. This will include free shipping to the continental U.S. To our friends across the pond, I rarely ever ship to your end, but I'm happy to if we work something out! Lifetime warranty on the parts. I will not be asking for a pre-order. I'd like to have all the pieces finished and in inventory before asking for anything. If you would like one of the kits feel free to shoot me a Private Message here, and I will add you to the list in order of messages received. I will also be adding more pictures of the finished products once they are finished (shooting for 1.5-2 week lead time). As soon as I am finished getting a tear in my family's Turbo 996 seats fixed I will have my 996 back and can take some snazzy pictures with my road bike on to show how it all looks. Spoiler, very cool. From what I have read, this kit should work the same for 997/986. I have not been lucky enough to own/work on one before but this should work just fine for your cars. If you would like to purchase one and are not sure if it would fit, let me know and I'm happy to work something out. Whether that is a deposit or money back/free return I am open for discussion to make you happy! - As soon as these kits are done, I can begin work on my friends Cayman S 2007/2008 and would be able to get those out for anyone interested in the coming weeks. -Bonus points if you can guess the red car in the background Thank you, Ryan Briscoe

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Bravo for the effort. Must say though I'm lost. Is the design changing as you go from originally a center mount receiver and cutting holes in the plastic bumper with a hinged licence plate then to two side mounts using the bumperette mounts? If so idea two allows existing bumper holes for bumperettes to be used without grinding holes in the plastic bumper. As a further perhaps have a crossbar drop down below the licence plate affording plate visibility with the centre mounted receiver attaching below the plate keeping it tight to the bumper lessening all that rear slung weight.

Hi Balu, Sorry for the confusion. The idea has been the same throughout, I just simply replaced the existing 5 MPH shocks with a heavier duty mount that has zero chance of moving. Using a shock as a support didn't seem like the safest call to me. I have however heard that people have used the factory 996 mounts with no issues. I have included a picture of the original part for reference. This should also kill two birds with one stone, as I've heard that the Cayman bumper mounts are a weaker/thinner design so I can carry this over to my friend's car assuming everything is the same size. I have seen the idea you mentioned, using the existing holes in the bumperettes and attaching a mount to the aluminum mounts that stick out, but I personally like the center mount behind the plate. Someone can easily make a clean cut (I was slightly hasty as my Girlfriend was promised an exciting bike date night on the town!). This idea keeps everything hidden and allows the hitch to be at an acceptable height, too low and a trailer would be leaning forwards quite a bit. I think you meant putting the receiver below the bumper, correct? I'm happy to weigh everything once its all said and done. The parts don't add an absurd amount of weight to the rear. I believe the newer bumper mounts are slightly lighter than the factory ones. I'll get a scale when I have the batch made and get an exact answer to the ounce on how much weight it adds.

Is there anything that is near the mount that one could hook safety chains on to? So if there is a failure the chains would keep a trailer from fully detaching from the car?

Hi sjg, Here is what I have been thinking for safety chain mounts. Excuse the crudeness of the drawing, but the safety chains can mount on either side of the receiver. This way each would be independent and wouldn't rely on a safety chain mount on the hitch that extends outside of the car (pin being the only thing keeping it on). I will more than likely have these put on every single hitch kit, unless I am asked well in advance and can make special accommodation. This should work well, as there is plenty of room once you make the bumper incision for the chains and hooks to go in without marring up any of the bumper material/paint. Still, I may put on a fabric tube over the chain if I feel there is any chance of scuffing up anything important. I have yet to add this to mine partly because I don't have any plans to tow anything in the near future, but also because as much as I would like to just keep my car in one piece, I know I will be making an exhaust in the coming months so I can add it on then. If I can actually sell several of these, I would like to make more parts with no "Porsche Tax". $1500 for an exhaust fab speed? Basically asking someone else to come in and undercut that.

As far as an update, I threw out a few feelers to interested parties and the demand is not there for a current production run. Graduated recently and job hunting currently so this is officially on the back burner. If demand changes, the status here can change.

Most wishes for success in your job hunt and hats in the air for your graduation. Your effort and ingenuity reflect well on you. Looking forward to more of your contributions.

Pm sent

Nice DIY! I just installed the SportTows 1.25" receiver on my C4. I plan to use the 1Up Quik Rack Single and add another when I need it. Used a Dremel to cut the cover.

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I suppose you could just install the tow hook in its receptacle and attach safety chains to the tow hook.

I hope you have enough liability insurance when selling this to the public.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how do you insert the retaining pin when the hole is behind the bumper? do you have a specific hitch attachment to allow you to lock the rack in place?

You need to cut enough clearance around the hitch to get the pin and your finger in there. I have my pin on a safety cord in case it slips before I get it in place.

Bringing this thread back to life... How long and what size bolts did you all use? I would love to have everything ready to knock this out in one try rather than multiple attempts of bumper off & on. Thanks!

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I don't know. I had the autobody shop do the install. Based on the early thread images, the bolts aren't very big, but there are six of them. I can tell you though that the manufacturer said the hitch limit was 150 Lbs. And on the safety chain...

This is a long shot, but Ryan are you still making and/or selling these?

I built a 2" receiver for my 2002 996 targa. I installed my two tray 1UpUSA rack. The flex seems excessive with just the rack installed. I did not install any bikes on the rack. Does anyone have drawings of solid bumper brackets they could share? Thank you.