Reese Class III Hitch Install

[tulsamal]

Thanks for trying. My wife needed it installed by the middle of next week. Which means I need to install it this weekend. So I ordered the carrier and other little things from Amazon. And the hitch from Walmart. Supposed to be here Thurs/Fri. It will work.

G

 

[Blujett2.0]

So I picked up a UHaul version from a guy that bought it but already had the factory hitch and didn't want to put the 2" on. Anyways, I got the hitch installed however did anyone else notice that the hitch doesn't fit 100% flush with the side rails? Somewhere around a 1/8" gap on both sides? I think this is a problem. Bolts need to be in tension, not shear force. There is significantly less strength as they aren't designed to be in shear. We took it out, adjusted the side arms so they mounted flush. I consider this a major flaw to this hitch and am concerned with towing with it close to max tow rating. I read the reviews on eTrailer and it doesn't seem to be an isolated case. How did your installs go?

 

[eskimo0101]

So I picked up a UHaul version from a guy that bought it but already had the factory hitch and didn't want to put the 2" on. Anyways, I got the hitch installed however did anyone else notice that the hitch doesn't fit 100% flush with the side rails? Somewhere around a 1/8" gap on both sides? I think this is a problem. Bolts need to be in tension, not shear force. There is significantly less strength as they aren't designed to be in shear. We took it out, adjusted the side arms so they mounted flush. I consider this a major flaw to this hitch and am concerned with towing with it close to max tow rating. I read the reviews on eTrailer and it doesn't seem to be an isolated case. How did your installs go?

From post #1 in this thread...

The passengers side bolts are a little tougher because the spare tire winch prevents using a ratchet. I just ran these in with a large 19mm box end wrench. I've seen a lot of complaints about there being a gap because the hitch was "too narrow". There was a little play when the bolts were loose but once they were tightened down the way you're supposed to tighten hitch bolts the gap was totally gone.

1/8 gap isn't much. By the time you torque those down it will spread the hitch out and the gap will be gone.

 

[tulsamal]

I installed mine last week. There was a gap at first. I kept going back and forth tightening each side. By the end, it was metal on metal.

My wife is using it at a dog show right now. With the carrier. She's pleased so far. Someday I'll get the harness installed.

The wife told me some dog people told her the problem with the carriers is that it is easy to cover up your license plate. Then you get stopped. What are you _supposed_ to do about the plate if you want to put bulky stuff back there?

 

[eskimo0101]

Have to rig up some thumb screws for the plate and figure out a way to attached it to what ever large item you're putting on the carrier I guess. Just moving the plate won't be enough in most states though since the majority require the plate be lit at night. You'd have to rig up something like this:
https://www.etrailer.com/question-15091.html

Personally I'd probably just take my chances. You'd have to run into one power tripping asshole of a cop to hassle you over something like that assuming you weren't doing something stupid to get his attention in the first place.

 

[Blujett2.0]

From post #1 in this thread...



1/8 gap isn't much. By the time you torque those down it will spread the hitch out and the gap will be gone.

I read the into to this post I don't know how many times and somehow I missed it. Thanks for the clarification eskimo0101.

 

[Drogos]

my question would be which of these provides most flush fitment meaning doesn't stick out much both past the bumper and in vertical axis. I did scrape my hitch few times even in light offroading in my previous car