Draw-Tite Hitch Install

[Sodium Duck]

Here's my little write up on installing the Draw-Tite hitch.

I can't imagine anyone installing this without taking your rear bumper off. It would be just about impossible. So make life easy, and yank it.

1. There are two bolts on the sides of the hatch area, when you open it - take them off.

2. Next there are two of those push tab button type things behind the rear wheel, on the corner of the wheel well - take them off, too. They just pull out easily.

3. Underneath the bumper, almost directly below where the bolts from step 1 are, are two more of those button plug type things. I have no idea how to get them off. They definitely do not pull out easily. I broke one previously from another project; the tab that it is attached to just sheared off, so be careful with it. I think I jammed a screwdriver into the part above and pushed down - I duno, if someone knows how to properly remove it, chime in.

4. Take out your license plate light. You just push that little tab forward and it slides out. Then you just unplug it.

5. Then just grab a corner and it'll pop off. Again, be careful with this step. I snapped another little tab thing doing this. But my bumper stays on pretty good regardless.

6. Okay, bumper off. Next are the bolts. Take out the four I circled. I hope you either have a really small hand, or a great set of small tools.

7. The hitch comes with conical tooth washers. The teeth go against the hitch like the picture shows.

8. I found that there are two tabs that block the hitch from laying flush to the car. One was this random one directly in the middle of the hitch, the other was from the button bolt clip thing on the drivers side of the car from step 3.

9. Magically bolt on your hitch now. In my install, one of the bolts was stubborn as hell. I was unable to fit a socket wrench in to get at the top bolts, which of course is the bolt I had an issue with. I had to use a crescent wrench, 1/4 of a turn at a time, forever. I tried a hundred different times to get the threading to line up, I don't know what the issue was. There was a point where it just wouldn't budge. I left it for a while, came back, and just forced it through. After a few turns it went in smoothly.

10. Important things to remember before you just slap your bumper on and call it a day. Remember to fish your license plate light wire through the hole, or you may trap it and have to remove the bumper again (I know what you're thinking, but no I didn't do that... sort of. I had to use a long screw driver to fish it back out). Otherwise, just reverse the steps and enjoy the fruits of your busted knuckles/fingers and labor.

[CTScott]

Nice. Did you wire up the trailer lights connector yet?

[Sodium Duck]

Nope, that's the next step. Probably going to Autozone or something tomorrow. I'll add that to this as well after.

[Sodium Duck]

Autzone doesn't stock them in store, I guess I'll just order one offline.

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

Autzone doesn't stock them in store, I guess I'll just order one offline.

Try Walmart. I picked one up there a few years ago.

[Sodium Duck]

I picked up a trailer from Craigslist yesterday. What a steal. They sell these online for $199.99 at places like HarborFreight, or CAP. I paid $250.00, fully assembled, deck installed (which they don't come with), sides made and installed, and they guy even put on those easy grease wheel things so when I need to grease the wheels I just hook a gun up and shoot it in and it'll grease the inner and outer bearings.

I guess this guy hand builds trailers, and some guy had brought this in because his motorcycle didn't fit on it. So he let him trade it in for a bigger one.

Anyways, it's about 4' X 4' and weighs at most 150lbs. I had to bring it home in my dads Tacoma, and lifting it up and down from the bed was nothing.

Now I just need to pick up a reciever, ball, and wiring... and get this thing registered.

[Sodium Duck]

A few artistic poses. Hahaha.

I bought the receiver at Wally World. For some reason (probably so you are forced to buy theirs), the Draw-Tite hitch has a stop inside of it, so the receiver would stop going in and I couldn't get the pin through. I took a hacksaw to it, and 20 minutes later it fit, lol.

Now I just need to wait for my wiring kit to get shipped.

[CTScott]

That's a nice little trailer. It is proportioned perfectly for the Yaris. With it being so low, be careful of idiots not seeing it and bumping into it. I was towing home a little freebie jetski trailer and at a stop light a woman in a big ol' SUV bumped right into it.

[Sodium Duck]

Yea, I see your point. I can't even see it in any of my mirrors. I'm going to get a pair of those orange marker pole things for marking driveways and screw them to the rear corners.

[talnlnky]

i'm very tempted to do this... just to carry bikes.... I tiny trailer would be nice too... tho I think I'd want one with taller sides... and i'd probably use a higher quality of wood too... Baltic birch plywood is nice... tho spendy.

edit: Hehehehe... does that trailer have its own braking system... hahahaha.... oh man that'd be funny if it did. Tiny drum brakes powered by a couple D cell batteries.

[Sodium Duck]

These trailer kits don't come with decks or sides, so it'd be really easy to build whatever you wanted. Lucky me just happened to find one all together. :)

It would've been nice to find a smallish trailer with brakes, but they don't really make those in America for a reasonable price.

I've been thinking about teardrop trailers though... they seem really fun.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

These trailer kits don't come with decks or sides, so it'd be really easy to build whatever you wanted. Lucky me just happened to find one all together. :)

It would've been nice to find a smallish trailer with brakes, but they don't really make those in America for a reasonable price.

I've been thinking about teardrop trailers though... they seem really fun.

yeah... i went on to the harbor freight site and saw the kt.... the tires say max speed is 55... i'd want to pull at 70-80mph if I had one... would be tempted to get better tires.... maybe a trailer with slightly larger tires. Reason being is that i'd use a trailer when moving... between the fiance and I we have a lot of crap... last time we moved we had to do 2 trips... with 2 vehicles each time.... 16hr round trip drives aren't much fun.

[Altitude]

Very nice!

So what will you be hauling with that thing?

[Sodium Duck]

Trash to the dump mainly, tubes for river trips, moving bulky irregular items, or anything else really dirty or smelly that I don't want in my car.

[Sodium Duck]

Yea, high speed tires aren't that much more expensive, 30 bucks each at Northern Tool.

I don't plan to be on the highway with this thing, so I'm all set.

[nick.dollimount]

Originally Posted by Sodium Duck

Trash to the dump mainly, tubes for river trips, moving bulky irregular items, or anything else really dirty or smelly that I don't want in my car.

That's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, with apartment living, I wouldn't have any place to store the thing while not in use.

[Sodium Duck]

Get a cool landlord; mine doesn't seem to care -- then again, I told her I'd call her on Saturdays so she can put her trash on there with mine. =]

[WeeYari]

Have you done the wiring for it yet?