I just ordered a Draw-tite which i chose over the Curt because Curt requires a support strap to be used for non-trailer loads (bike rack, etc)
The draw-tight won over the hidden hitch because (based on the video i watched at etrailer) the drawtite (and Curt) has the metal spaces/supports that the bolts go through to reinforce around the frame hole
Thanks for reply. I probably can't install it myself and will looking for a shop to do it for me. Any good place that you guys would recommended.
Thanks
based on watching the videos - if you have a slightly mechanical included friend, they could install this easily.. The biggest hurdle will be a) slightly widening a hole on each side so the bolts/support can get inside the frame rail, and b) needing help to supporting the hitch until you can get a bolt started on each side..
I have heard that people have used uhaul (if you have those there) OR just about any local shop should be able to do this.. I would bet that it would cost $100 or more though
OR find a couple teenager neighbors and offer them $20 each and with your supervision they could knock it out inside of an hour..
i got it off ebay for $100/ free shipping - BUT its been sitting at UPS 45 miles from me since monday afternoon and hasnt moved.. Not sure whats going on there..
I would have ordered it from amazon - but when the page kept saying that it would not fit the Forester - and several ppl mentioned having issues so i was worried that the reseller may not know what he is selling..
AS a side note - I ordered the Curt trailer light 4way flat connector ($30ish also from ebay) - I watched a couple videos from etrailer on installing it. It took about 30 minutes to get it up and running.. very easy to do.
I used a stepper drill bit on the heat shield for the bolts to mount it. I ended up throwing it out because it seemed really silly to me putting it back on when you have this enormous thick gauge steel right next to the muffler. It really isn't worth the hassle. To each their own though!
I didn't want to mount the hitch over the heat shield because it's going to rub the paint off of the hitch and rust like crazy someday.
I was able to get my hitch installed - by myself in about 1.25 hrs start to finish..
I ended up drilling the holes in the heat shield and reinstalled it.. there are dimples exactly where you need to drill.. took all of 1 minute to drill them out.
For the install I used two jack stand at their max height - then used a floor jack to lift the hitch up enough that i could stabilize it on the jack with one hand and then put the jack stands on 2 layers of 2x6 boards.. the hitch was very stable in the jack stands..
from there I was able to lift up one side and get a bolt started.. then i got a bolt started on the other side.. From there it was just a matter of tightening up each side.. I did leave the wire 'pullers' on the bolts to make sure they didnt go back into the frame
Brian
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