Article - Installing a Trailer Hitch

Article - Installing a Trailer Hitch

So, you’re standing there, in your garage, wanting to tow that new trailer loaded with two beautiful 700 cc sleds, but your hitch is laying there on the concrete, still in the packaging it came in, and you’re scratching your head, wondering what in the world you were thinking when you were so sure you could install it yourself. Well, cowboy, the good news is, you can in fact, install your own trailer hitch, and the better news is, I’m going let you in on the good advice my uncle Dave gave me when I was in your same, sorry position this time last year. And, I’ll let you in on one more secret: Uncle Dave isn’t so much entertaining as he is thorough and detail oriented, so knuckle down, read this whole article, and do things right, so you, and then your trailer make it to your destination at about the same time, and in that order.

Before you start to install your trailer hitch, Uncle Dave likes to check a few things off his list. One, make sure you have the correct hitch for your vehicle and the trailer being towed. Two, review the instruction sheet provided with the hitch. Three, check the hitch attachment area of the vehicle. Do not attach a hitch to a vehicle which shows excessive corrosion or damage in the hitch attachment areas. Four, take the appropriate safety precautions. When elevating the vehicle on a hoist or ramp, ensure that the vehicle is properly secured and blocked such that it will not fall or roll off its supports. Five, use the appropriate tools and wear your safety glasses when drilling holes.

Prior to the installation, it is good practice to loosely assemble the hitch, install the drawbar, pin and clip and hold the hitch up into position. This lets you identify any obstructions to the installation, verify the drawbar position on the vehicle and will give you an idea of how the hitch is to be installed. A scissors jack or floor jack can be very useful in holding the hitch up in place. In many cases C-clamps can be used to clamp the hitch to the frame during the installation procedure. In some cases, you might find it necessary to temporarily loosen the exhaust system and/or slightly reposition it to clear the hitch during installation. This is particularly true where an exhaust system has been replaced prior to installing the hitch, as all hitches are designed using vehicle original equipment. Do not forget to reattach any exhaust clamps, hangers, etc. after hitch installation. In a few cases, it may be necessary to adjust the bumper on a vehicle, or the brackets which mount to the bumper, in order to properly install the hitch. Most bumpers are mounted to the bumper brackets using bolts in slots. Find the appropriate bolts and adjust the bumper accordingly.

Wherever possible, hitches are designed to use existing holes. In cases where appropriate holes are not available, holes must be drilled in the frame. Once the hitch is accurately positioned and clamped in place on the vehicle, holes can be drilled in the appropriate places using the holes in the hitch as a guide. In cases where the holes must be drilled without using the hitch as a guide, hole locations can be permanently identified by spraying black paint through the hole locations. Remove the hitch, center punch the hole positions and drill a pilot hole. Follow with the appropriate drill size for the hole required. Drill holes that are either the same size as the bolt or at the most 1/16″ larger. Clearance holes or slots are provided in the hitch for adjustment. When drilling, be extremely careful to avoid drilling into vehicle components which are located behind where the hole is being drilled. Slacken off pressure on the drill just prior to breaking through.

When installing the hitch, be sure to use the reinforcing plates supplied with the hitch where appropriate. These plates reinforce the frame and spread the load to the frame edges. The hitch must have solid metal to metal contact with the vehicle attachment points. Excessive undercoating or weld on the vehicle should be removed. All hardware, with the exception of handle or tab nuts and U-bolts are grade 5 or 8.8 (metric). Tighten all bolts to the torque levels specified in the instructions. When hitch bracket plates are supplied … use them. These plates are designed to spread the load.

Caution: Never modify the hitch in any way. Do not drill holes into the hitch to mount accessories etc. Never cut holes or modify the assembly using a torch. This weakens the metal, produces a ragged hole, and presents an unnecessary fire hazard. Never weld a hitch to the vehicle frame.

Article - Installing a Trailer Hitch Cover

Installing a Trailer Hitch cover

As a trailer hitch cover distributor, the most common concern I hear from potential customers is the fear that the trailer hitch cover they purchase won’t fit into their receiver. In reality, this is something you rarely need to worry about. Trailer hitch cover manufacturers know this, and have, of course, taken it into consideration in the hitch covers they create and distribute.

To understand why trailer hitch covers fit in nearly any hitch, a brief explanation of the trailer hitch classification system is necessary. Trailer hitches come in five main classes, based on towing capacity. Although there is some variance between manufacturers, most class I and class II trailer hitches have a receiver size of 1 1/4 inches, class III (which is the most common type) trailer hitches have a receiver opening of 2 inches, and class IV and V can have openings up to 2.5 inches.

Trailer hitch cover manufacturers assemble trailer hitch covers with these size variances in mind, and as such, most hitch covers come with multiple mounting pieces to fit different size receivers. As such, consumers need not worry about a trailer hitch cover simply not fitting on their vehicle’s hitch receiver.

Choosing the right attachment to use for your car or truck is easy. Simply measure the receiver hitch opening (inside edge to inside edge). Once this measurement is made, have a look at the mounting pieces that your hitch cover came with. Measure these pieces, and use whichever one is closest, but smaller in size.

Attaching the mounting pieces to the hitch cover is generally simple, and requires only a Phillips head screwdriver. Once the hitch cover is assembled, you’re ready to attach the hitch cover to the hitch. It’s as easy as it looks - simply slide the hitch cover into the receiver, making sure that the hitch pin hole on the receiver is lined up with one of the holes on the trailer hitch cover, then slide your hitch pin through the side to secure the cover. In some cases, your trailer hitch cover may stick out a bit from the hitch, but don’t worry, your hitch cover is still perfectly secure and the slight difference is virtually unnoticeable from behind.

Finally, you might want to consider purchasing a hitch pin lock to better secure your hitch cover or anything else you’ve attached to your trailer hitch. Please consider checking my store, trailerhitchuniverse.com for trailer hitch covers, hitch pin locks, and other quality trailer hitch accessories.

New Category - Trailer Hitch Articles

In addition to our blog, we write several articles each month on trailer hitch, trailer hitch accessories, and towing related topics that we publish on a number of websites. Up until now, we haven’t had a place to post them all in one site on our website. We may have put abbreviated versions or parts of articles here on the blog, but we haven’t made a habit of posting the entire article. Well, that’s about to change. We have created a new Blog Category for our full-length articles, and will be posting all future (and some of the previous) articles there. Feel free to take a look at what is there; if you would like to use any of our articles–trailer hitch, towing, trailer hitch accessories, etc. for your site, we are more than happy to accommodate you! Just contact us and we will get the details worked out pronto. Enjoy!

Our Favorite Trailer Hitch Accessories

In the day-to-day operations of our store, we run across more trailer hitch accessories than you ever imagined existed. From the basic trailer hitch covers and steps to trailer hitch mounted bike racks, cargo carriers, and even grills, we get to see it all. So we have decided to take a little time to write about our favorites. Not just the ones that we sell, but accessories that we think are cool, and that we think you would want to know about. We have no set schedule for these posts–we don’t even know which hitch accessories are going to inspire us to write! Check back every so often to see the trailer hitch accessories that we think are the best, the most useful, or maybe just the most fun to look at and think about splurging on… And if you see a trailer hitch accessory that you think we should know about, please let us know. Enjoy.

Volkswagen Touareg Tows 747!

I ran across this post yesterday on MotorAuthority.com - Apparently to show off the incredible towing power of the Volkswagen Touareg, Volkswagen staged an event in which a 747 was actually towed (with the help of a custom trailer hitch, of course) across a runway in the UK. From the article:

“Volkswagen’s mighty V10 Touareg TDI managed to pull a Boeing 747-200 jumbo jet, weighing approximately 155 tonnes, across a runway at Dunsfold Aerodrome in the UK. Fitted with a special towing adaptor to connect it to the jet’s undercarriage, plus almost 4.3 tonnes of metal ballast, the Touareg itself weighed in at over 7 tonnes.”

Find the rest of the article here.

Locking hitch pin special!

A good looking trailer hitch cover is a great addition to any vehicle, as is a hitch mounted bike or ski rack, cargo carrier, or any number of other accessories that can be attached to a trailer hitch receiver. As with any other investment, people want to protect these accessories. At Trailer Hitch Universe, we understand this, and we want to help you keep your hitch cover secure. We’ve put together a special for our customers which allows anyone to get 15% off of a locking hitch pin if they purchase any of our 300 trailer hitch covers. We’ll select a locking hitch pin to match the hitch cover you purchase, ensuring that youll have a great product at a great price.

To take advantage of this special limited time offer:

1. Select a hitch cover and add it to your cart.
2. Add the “15% Off Locking Hitch Pin Special� Item (find it here) to your cart.
3. Proceed to Checkout. The 15% discount will automatically be applied to your order.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.