Anyone have this hitch?

[Jeepman56]

I am in the market for a hitch receiver and this seems like a good class III option as it includes free shipping and a wiring kit in the $133.00 price. I was wondering if anyone has experience with this hitch or wiring kit.

 

[TomO]

Not yet, but I ordered one a few minutes ago. If you want to wait, I'll let you know how it works out once I receive it.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I am in the market for a hitch receiver and this seems like a good class III option as it includes free shipping and a wiring kit in the $133.00 price. I was wondering if anyone has experience with this hitch or wiring kit.

That is actually a preferred hitch as it extends beyond the bottom of the bumper about 3 to 4 inches more than the stock hitch - giving you extra clearance under the spare. Can be a real pain to connect a trailer when you have to deal with the trailer tongue and the spare. :disgust:

If you're never going to tow anything that might require either brakes or additional power that harness will work OK. IMO (and it's just my opinion) the flat-4 harness limits you to only small trailers/loads. You can add the brake power and the 12-volt power via aftermarket add-on's but I feel that the best route is the factory 7-round harness. Yea, more expensive but you get everything you need except a brake controller - which you have to buy and install separately anyway no matter what harness you have. The biggest issue with towing is getting your rig to stop. We can get a locomotive to start moving but we sure as shootin' can't stop it... :freak3:

"The challenge with towing isn't the going but the slowing..."

If you go with a 4-flat harness I prefer this one from Hopkins. It uses the harness behind the panel at the right-rear of the Libby and the plug goes through a grommet on the floor of the cargo area under the carpet. You don't have to remove the taillights and the Hopkins harness takes it's power from the Jeep's harness rather than from the taillights directly. BTW, the photo of the Hopkins shows a power lead running to the battery but they have changed the design so it no longer requires the power lead. Very simple plug-n-play.

In any case, you're looking at a great deal at less than $150! :happy107:

Bob

 

[Jeepman56]

Thanks for the info 2Bobs and TomO, I will be getting one soon but feel free to let me know how the install goes on yours, I will do the same.

 

[sota]

my problem is with the wiring kit. it's the kind that intercepts at the tail light housing plugs. the one i got goes in-line with the body harness behind the right rear panel and draws accessory power from the power outlet back there, thereby keeping the electrical strain off the tail lights and fuses.

 

[Ry' N Jen]

my problem is with the wiring kit. it's the kind that intercepts at the tail light housing plugs. the one i got goes in-line with the body harness behind the right rear panel and draws accessory power from the power outlet back there, thereby keeping the electrical strain off the tail lights and fuses.

Huh?

You have a 6 or 7 wire kit?

 

[sota]

I have a 4-wire which I adapted to a 7-wire using a kit from e-trailer. works perfect. even has a 4-wire plug as well as a 7-wire so you can plug in almost any trailer without an adapter.

 

[tjkj2002]

Huh?

You have a 6 or 7 wire kit?

My OEM 4 wire plug has a converter box that ties into the rear body wiring harness.It's unsafe to go through the light connectors,can screw up the BCM and cause funky light operation.

 

[sota]

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body harness adapter I have... (Hopkins 42475)

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4-pole to 7-pole converter with all the wiring and parts needed to make it work.

 

[Jeepman56]

I wont be towing any crazy loads, just small trailers for mainly hunting/fishing gear, ice house, 4 wheeler etc. but it sounds like I would end up needing a different wiring kit anyway. That makes it not as much of a good deal but I appreciated the info as I dont want any funky light situations down the road.

 

[TomO]

I just can't believe that splicing in a couple of diodes and two extra light bulbs will cause any harm to the BCM. (Why do I even need a BCM?). Leave it to Chrysler to complicate the simple act of lighting a bulb.

I'll let you know after I get mine installed.

 

[sota]

it's more of a power/load problem. these days manufacturers are cutting down the wiring to the bare minimums to save costs (maybe weight, but I doubt it.) my dodge shadow has 14 and 16 gauge wiring in places that my neon and jeep are using 18 gauge. when you start doing that there's no safety margin for the extra power needed to run a trailer light setup. chrysler's not alone in doing this either. most manufacturers have cut wiring down dramatically.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

it's more of a power/load problem. these days manufacturers are cutting down the wiring to the bare minimums to save costs (maybe weight, but I doubt it.) my dodge shadow has 14 and 16 gauge wiring in places that my neon and jeep are using 18 gauge. when you start doing that there's no safety margin for the extra power needed to run a trailer light setup. chrysler's not alone in doing this either. most manufacturers have cut wiring down dramatically.

We had an '08 Ford Escape that didn't come with a hitch or wiring. No big deal finding a hitch/harness as there are millions of Escapes on the road, right? WRONG!

The hitch was no problem but the wiring harness was a royal PITA! Ford changed the wiring mid-year so the harness I purchased didn't work properly. Trailer lights worked intermittently, funky things happened to electronics (stereo, interior lights, etc.)

After lots of time on the phone with Curt Manufacturing Tech Support they finally MADE me a harness with a 12-volt line to run directly to the battery, and...

Viola! Problem solved. p:

Jeepman56, with the price you got on that hitch/harness package you're still WAY ahead cost wise even if you purchase the Hopkins harness. Put the other harness on e-Bay and get a few bucks back. You'll be ahead of the game by avoiding headaches down the road.

With as delicate as the Libby can be with its battery using the Hopkins harness is 'headache insurance...' :favorites68:

My 2 cents...

Bob

 

[Blue KJ in PA]

Yes

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[TomO]

I got the hitch yesterday and it all looks good so far. Ordered on Monday and arrived on Thursday - not bad. We're pretty far off the beaten path here.

For the light adapter, this one does want to get power straight from the battery according to it's instructions. It does want to pick up signal at the tail lights though. I will hook this one up as is described to see how it goes.

You say I can pick up power at a closer location rather than stringing a wire up to the battery? Maybe I'll look into that.

 

[TomO]

As a side note; I see that the price has increased to $174 since Monday.

 

[TomO]

I got the hitch installed yesterday - I like the way it tucks up under the fake plastic 'bumper' cover so all I can see from the back is the receiver.

The old bolts were so rusted in place, it took me almost 2 hours with an 18 inch breaker bar to remove them. Even my el cheapo impact driver couldn't turn them. And it wasn't just breaking them free - they were tight the entire way out.

A small inconvenience, I had to remove the mounting bracket for the rear tow hook. I guess I just can't have both at the same time. Maybe I'll bolt it on to some other car instead.

 

[TwoBobsKJ]

I got the hitch installed yesterday - I like the way it tucks up under the fake plastic 'bumper' cover so all I can see from the back is the receiver.

The old bolts were so rusted in place, it took me almost 2 hours with an 18 inch breaker bar to remove them. Even my el cheapo impact driver couldn't turn them. And it wasn't just breaking them free - they were tight the entire way out.

A small inconvenience, I had to remove the mounting bracket for the rear tow hook. I guess I just can't have both at the same time. Maybe I'll bolt it on to some other car instead.

Did the new bolts go in OK? Depending on the amount of rust some have had the weld on the frame's weld nuts break and nothing to mount the new bolts to. There's a work-around but not easy.

Yea, the rear hook has to go when adding the hitch. The two don't work together but now you have a recovery point via the hitch and a D-ring.

Bob

 

[TomO]

I was lucky there. The welded nuts survived and were still usable, but I worried every 1/4 turn on the way out. I really hate it when I need a long breaker bar like that for more than just breaking the bolts free.

Four of the new bolts needed to be threaded in with a wrench due to the nuts winding up partially stripped. But not so much that they won't hold. It was more of a bit of flattening of the ridges on the threads. Two of them I could just turn in with fingers only.

The most difficult and of course most rusted / stuck was hidden above the tailpipe. I had to get a little inventive with wooden shims to wedge the tailpipe outboard a bit so I could get a socket and extension on it. I don't know if I would have been able to turn a box end wrench coming in below the wheel well.

The only disappointing part is that I now need to get a receiver extension / 2 inch -> 1.25 inch adapter for a bicycle carrier that I have. The spare tire is about 2 inches too wide.