Itching for a Hitch - question about bumper

[JULIAN911]

Because I want a hitch quickly, I'm going with the Curt hitch. I have searched this forum for days and some people said rear bumper must be removed while others said not neccessary.

For those of you that have installed the Curt hitch, at U Haul or DYI, did you have to remove the rear bumper at all?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

[tom4bren]

I've not installed the Curt but from what I've heard, you do not have to remove the rear bumper.

[JoFotoz]

I have installed one...

...and Tom is right :thumbup:

Bolts up to frame under back of cladding 'lower lip'.

However.. depending on how you run the electrics..
... freeing up the cladding to pull outwards..but not removing it can help.

jo

[tom4bren]

I keep my wire harness in the jack compartment & just run it out the door when needed.

My pet peeve is seeing trashed wires dangling from the back of a truck.

Caution though, make sure you get a good ground for your converter. A bad ground produces some pretty wonky effects.

[JoFotoz]

Good plan..


I keep my wire harness in the jack compartment & just run it out the door when needed.

Gonna have to do same..

....much tidier / less exposure to elements :thumbup:

Jo

[JULIAN911]

You guys Rock big time - soooooooooooo responsive!

Thank you, thank you, thank you !!! now I need to go online and find the best price :) or perhaps just drop it off at U Haul and let them take care of the drilling lol

[JoFotoz]

Thank the site !!!


:clap:

jo

[rowhard]

I have installed one...jo

Jo, know that you wheel, any issue with clearance?

[tom4bren]

You guys Rock big time - soooooooooooo responsive!

Thank you, thank you, thank you !!! now I need to go online and find the best price :) or perhaps just drop it off at U Haul and let them take care of the drilling lol

IIRC, no drilling needed. It should use 4-6 threaded holes already on the frame (at least that's what my hidden hitch uses).

[JoFotoz]

Yup....


Jo, know that you wheel, any issue with clearance?

...BUT, in the best possible way.

Lower edges of outer plates act as GREAT 'skid rails' when exit angles are steep.
It makes a horrific noise and scares the **** out of you first time !!!
But totally protects underside at back.

I now 'use' it deliberately... with no problems other than minor edge burring to plates.

A great secondary gain of the Curt Hitch is rear end collision protection :thumbup:
I've had two tap mine pretty hard...
....cost them plenty in cracked f/glass-Plastic bumpers..I had NO damage.

jo
.

[JoFotoz]

IIRC...


IIRC, no drilling needed. It should use 4-6 threaded holes already on the frame (at least that's what my hidden hitch uses).

...I had to open out two holes due to slight miss alignment , and use a lock nut set up.

jo

[tom4bren]

I think I would've stretched the holes on the hitch & retained the threaded holes on the frame ... but that's just me.:)

[JoFotoz]

More "meat"...


I think I would've stretched the holes on the hitch & retained the threaded holes on the frame ... but that's just me.:)

... on the frame :smack:

jo

[tom4bren]

Are you sayin that you have more meat on your frame than I???

[JoFotoz]

Maybe a bit of roadkill...


Are you sayin that you have more meat on your frame than I???

.
:eek:

jo

[tom4bren]

I have no response to that.

[Leon R]

Guys, on a related topic, I can't seem to get an answer to it. What was the capacity of Tone hitch?

[JoFotoz]

From search function...:rolleyes:


Guys, on a related topic, I can't seem to get an answer to it. What was the capacity of Tone hitch?


www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.phpt=17956&highlight=Tone+hitch+capacity

Especially page two of posts.

Not definitive.. but good guidance.

Jo

[tom4bren]

The original Tone hitch had a severe limitation on tongue weight but draw weight was more than enough. Tongue weight capacity was probably less than 100 lbs.

The hitch I worked with Welder Guy on is more than enough in both tongue & draw capacity since you'd now be limited by the VX itself (brakes primarily but also IRT 'tail wagging the dog'). I had about 4-500 lbs static weight on mine without sagging.

Curt & Reese hitches are comparable to the re-designed Tone hitch IRT capacity.

Sorry I can't give you hard numbers but since the Tone & re-designed Tone hitches are custom, there really is no rating. Keep in mind that Isuzu never intended the VX for towing so there's no rating for that either.

But to give you an idea of what I've experienced: you can't even feel a twin pack of SeaDoos in tow; 15' SeaDoo boat need the power button pressed when towing but other than that towes beautifully; a 1 ton Dingo in a utility trailer requires careful driving but is doable; towing a VX behind a VX (4 down) is also doable but not recommended due to 'tail wagging the dog' syndrom (if my steering were tighter, even that may not have been an issue).

[JULIAN911]

OK, so after taking Jo's and Tom's advice, I pulled the trigger and ordered the Curt hitch on Amazon.

I have done another exhaustive search about removing the tow hooks and would like your confirmation to save time (with 2 kids, my time is precious and can't be screwing around in the garage too long):

My understanding is:
_ Drive side tow hook only has one bolt at bottom and comes off easily?
_ Passesnger side tow hook as 3 bolts: the one at the bottom is easily accessible. But where exactly are the other two at? I've stuck my head under there and couldn't really find them?

I want to go ahead and remove the tow hooks tomorrow to shorten the installation time of the hitch when it arrives :)

[tom4bren]

JULIAN,

The bottom left pic on page 8 shows the bracket you will be removing. The arrow points at the bolt you already found. The two holes towards the bottom of the pic is where the other bolts are.

Tom

[JULIAN911]

Damn, Tom.... those are some great pictures you have taken with easy to understand notes! I looked at the How-To section last night but didn't find this... you should definitely post it - extremely helpful!

Clear as daylight for me now - looking forward to doing this tomorrow.

Thank you very much, Tom!

[LittleBeast]

I have had about 1200 lbs plus trailer on the new upgraded hidden hitch from Tom with no problems at highway speeds. Thanks again Tom!!!!!

[tom4bren]

I looked at the How-To section last night but didn't find this... you should definitely post it - extremely helpful!

Thanks.

It was posted at one point in time. It's also on the DVD I've started distributing.

[tom4bren]

I have had about 1200 lbs plus trailer on the new upgraded hidden hitch from Tom with no problems at highway speeds. Thanks again Tom!!!!!

I'm really glad you like it. It'll be interesting to see what Iron Pig has to say about it.

[cheetah2390]

You guys Rock big time - soooooooooooo responsive!

Thank you, thank you, thank you !!! now I need to go online and find the best price :) or perhaps just drop it off at U Haul and let them take care of the drilling lol

I installed a CURT in the fall last year. We took the bumper off just because it gave us more room to work and it's just a bunch of screws holding it on. Your going to use at least one new bit to drill the holes. Its worth it to buy the more expensive one that is made to drill through steel (I forget what this one is made out of). They should have a chart on the wall at the hardware store. We ended up buying some longer bolts and locking nuts because we didn't want to deal with fishing the bolts through the frame. So instead of drilling 4 holes, we drilled 8 (top and bottom of frame). I can take some pics if this doesn't make sense. I don't use my hitch for towing though. Only for a hitch hauler (hunting and bicycles).

[tom4bren]

HMMM

Sounds like the Curt mounts to an entirely different place than mine. The Upgraded Tone Clone uses 6 existing threaded holes so no drilling is required.

But X2 on buying a new quality bit for drilling through the frame. When I installed the first Tone hitch, you had to drill 2 holes. The first one took about 2 hours. The second took about 2 minutes because I finally had a revelation & went to Lowes for a new bit.

[jp3]

All I do in my shop is stainless steel and having the right (and sharp) bit is a HUGE time saver. Although one of my guys did drill a hole in 12 gauge stainless with the drill in reverse the whole time.:slap:

[JULIAN911]

I just stuck my head under the rear passenger side again at lunch and lordy... I can't even see those last 2 bolts... looks like they are tucked way inside the bumper. This is not going to be fun :(

BTW, taking you guys' advice, I stopped by Lowes and bought a 1/4" heavy duty to be used for the starter hole as that was the smallest heavy duty drill bit they have

[eternal21]

You should've hit us up us locals, Julian. ;) I have a Curt hitch that has been on 2 VXs and neither one of them required drilling. I pulled it directly from a VX that was sold a couple year ago and put it on mine, and there was no drilling involved in the transfer.

[JULIAN911]

It took me over 3 hours to get the last 2 bolts off :( very happy to know that there will be no drilling required although the online instructions stated otherwise.