Anybody flat towing a Vitracka?  I am shopping for a tow bar set up and need some opinions.

I have seen some by a company called Blue Ox but the want too much money.  Any ideas?

Blue Ox is kind of the "Cadillac" for tow bars.  On the other end of the spectrum.... Harbor Freight has their #5000 tow bar on sale right now for $69.99.  Regularly $99.00.  You can probably get a "Super Coupon" for this off their web site if you don't get their mail-outs.  Arms extend from 24" to 43" and comes with a 2" ball coupler.   I wouldn't be afraid of it for these size trucks as long as I knew it had grade 5 or better bolts in it and all the hardware was secured.

I used to tow my sammy with a similar one from JCwhitny.  I am mainly interested in how people welded the tabs on the Vitracker.  Has anyone done it with the stock bumper cover?

Gotcha!  I'm tracking with your question now.  I've never towed these trucks but I would avoid everything about the bumpers on them because they are so light weight.  I had this thought about adding/welding some tabbies onto the frame to connect to the tow bar.  I built these tabs for the brush bar mods i did to the truck, but obviously something similar would work very well for your application as well.  These tabs are tucked under the vinyl bumper cover.  They can be accessed through the existing air vents in the lower front bumper and would not require any cutting up of your bumper or the components.  Once in place they are not noticeable either.  Just a thought.

BTW... the bottom pic is WITHOUT the bumper cover back on. Those are made out of 1/4" plate (I used what was readily available) so they aren't going anywhere... but for towing sleeving the bolt holes and a couple of tac welds would be "more better".

Yes. Some universal tabbies are in order here.  Then you could adapt various brush gaurds as you have done.  Did you have a pattern for those contraptions you welded?  Share?

As for sleeving, I was talking to Myron from ZOR and he showed me some pics of a Vitracker that had sleeves to adapt his bumper.  It's not beyond my amature skills but to match an aftermarket bumper and have it sit straight on the truck, those sleeves would have to be dead nuts on.

But.. for that HF towbar, one sleve in the middle of each rail might be good enough.....

I made the templates for the tabs from cardboard and yes I did keep them....  out in the garage.  I just went out and looked for them.  I did find the template for the inside piece and the cap, but not the "curved" shaped templates for the outside (as reflected in the first pic below).

The second pic needs rotated counter-clockwise 90 degrees.  Don't know why it loaded this way (aggravating) but it gives you a better idea of the shape of the outside plates.

Check your PMs.

 Have towed a GV "four down" for over three years behind my motor home. I bought a vehicle base plate form Blue OX and also use a Blue Ox Aventa ll tow bar. Base plate approx. $300;  --  adjustable 10,000# tow about $800.

The base plate comes with backer plates that slide inside the bumper frame (hollow tube) after removal of the tow loops for one set of mounting brackets. Another set of brackets bolt directly to the main vehicle frame of the toad.  The bolts are about 5/8" thick hi-tensile material and require proper torquing, and thread lock to insure safety. Two safety cables are also recommended to tie that bracket to the frame. These are in addition to the cables between the toad and tow vehicle.

In all, this seems like a well engineered system, specific to your vehicle. I, personally would be reluctant to fabricate any home-designed system. Just the liability issues, should the unit fail while towed down the road, would be enough to frighten me. To kill/injure someone, or have your net worth destroyed after your insurance company refuses to defend you, would be enough to insure that I would  buy vs the make option. I like having the assurance of Blue Ox Corporation and their insurance carrier between me and any possible personal liability.

Tom