OT: Installing a Reese Hitch to an SUV
01-10-2011, 02:58 PM
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OT: Installing a Reese Hitch to an SUV
I need to put a receiving hitch on my wife's Volvo XC90 so we can get a bike rack. It appears these are easy DIY installs. Any tips, thoughts, or advice on installing one of these?
brandon
brandon
01-10-2011, 03:54 PM
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Thanks Joe, according to install instructions i saw online, it looked like bolting the hitch frame to the underside of the car. Is it more difficult than that? When you say "stuff", what exactly are you referring to?
01-10-2011, 04:30 PM
#4
Drifting
Funny you should ask... just put one on my newly acquired 07 XC90. I went with the Valley version that is hidden from view, pretty simple install. Mine is the 3.2 with the single muffler.
Couple of things to share:
They tell you in the instructions to remove the rubber support to lower the muffler. But, since you have to remove the bracket the rubber attaches to anyway I just left the rubber attached to the bracket and swiveled the entire assembly out of the way, one less thing to take apart.
I was not pleased with the fit or finish of the Valley hitch though. It is supposed to be powder-coated but looks more like paint to me and had obviously been touched up with spray paint at some of the welds. Plus after getting it in position the holes on one side did not align properly and I had to take it out again and take a hammer to tweak it straight. I prefer Cort hitches. I've used them on a Mercedes and BMW and the powder-coat was perfect and so was the hitch alignment when installing. Unfortunately the Cort was only rated to 3500 lbs. Maybe the Reese will be better for you but one caveat, I noticed on an XC90 I passed in a parking lot that the owner had to cut away part of the bumper cover for the receiver to clear. Not sure what brand.
Ordered from eTrailer.com. They have a wiring harness adapter that I got also, saves splicing into the wiring, just plug in the connectors to the stock plugs. The connectors you need to get to are tucked up tight next to the bolts that hold the taillight assemblies.
While I was in there I took out my taillights to track down some water intrusion and found that the foam cover they use to seal one of the openings had come loose allowing water to drain into the interior. I aligned them better and then re-glued using heavy duty contact cement. Both sides were loose.
You will need to attach a ground. I drilled a 1/8" hole in the bracket near the left taillight, clean the paint off to bare metal and used a self-tapping screw for that. And you'll need to secure the wiring black-box, for that I used aluminum duct tape, very sticky stuff and won't deteriorate like regular duct tape. If you want a pic of this let me know and I'll take off my panels.
I removed the spare tire to make access easier.
Couple of things to share:
They tell you in the instructions to remove the rubber support to lower the muffler. But, since you have to remove the bracket the rubber attaches to anyway I just left the rubber attached to the bracket and swiveled the entire assembly out of the way, one less thing to take apart.
I was not pleased with the fit or finish of the Valley hitch though. It is supposed to be powder-coated but looks more like paint to me and had obviously been touched up with spray paint at some of the welds. Plus after getting it in position the holes on one side did not align properly and I had to take it out again and take a hammer to tweak it straight. I prefer Cort hitches. I've used them on a Mercedes and BMW and the powder-coat was perfect and so was the hitch alignment when installing. Unfortunately the Cort was only rated to 3500 lbs. Maybe the Reese will be better for you but one caveat, I noticed on an XC90 I passed in a parking lot that the owner had to cut away part of the bumper cover for the receiver to clear. Not sure what brand.
Ordered from eTrailer.com. They have a wiring harness adapter that I got also, saves splicing into the wiring, just plug in the connectors to the stock plugs. The connectors you need to get to are tucked up tight next to the bolts that hold the taillight assemblies.
While I was in there I took out my taillights to track down some water intrusion and found that the foam cover they use to seal one of the openings had come loose allowing water to drain into the interior. I aligned them better and then re-glued using heavy duty contact cement. Both sides were loose.
You will need to attach a ground. I drilled a 1/8" hole in the bracket near the left taillight, clean the paint off to bare metal and used a self-tapping screw for that. And you'll need to secure the wiring black-box, for that I used aluminum duct tape, very sticky stuff and won't deteriorate like regular duct tape. If you want a pic of this let me know and I'll take off my panels.
I removed the spare tire to make access easier.
01-10-2011, 04:51 PM
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excellent feedback, thanks!
Funny you should ask... just put one on my newly acquired 07 XC90. I went with the Valley version that is hidden from view, pretty simple install. Mine is the 3.2 with the single muffler.
Couple of things to share:
They tell you in the instructions to remove the rubber support to lower the muffler. But, since you have to remove the bracket the rubber attaches to anyway I just left the rubber attached to the bracket and swiveled the entire assembly out of the way, one less thing to take apart.
I was not pleased with the fit or finish of the Valley hitch though. It is supposed to be powder-coated but looks more like paint to me and had obviously been touched up with spray paint at some of the welds. Plus after getting it in position the holes on one side did not align properly and I had to take it out again and take a hammer to tweak it straight. I prefer Cort hitches. I've used them on a Mercedes and BMW and the powder-coat was perfect and so was the hitch alignment when installing. Unfortunately the Cort was only rated to 3500 lbs. Maybe the Reese will be better for you but one caveat, I noticed on an XC90 I passed in a parking lot that the owner had to cut away part of the bumper cover for the receiver to clear. Not sure what brand.
Ordered from eTrailer.com. They have a wiring harness adapter that I got also, saves splicing into the wiring, just plug in the connectors to the stock plugs. The connectors you need to get to are tucked up tight next to the bolts that hold the taillight assemblies.
While I was in there I took out my taillights to track down some water intrusion and found that the foam cover they use to seal one of the openings had come loose allowing water to drain into the interior. I aligned them better and then re-glued using heavy duty contact cement. Both sides were loose.
You will need to attach a ground. I drilled a 1/8" hole in the bracket near the left taillight, clean the paint off to bare metal and used a self-tapping screw for that. And you'll need to secure the wiring black-box, for that I used aluminum duct tape, very sticky stuff and won't deteriorate like regular duct tape. If you want a pic of this let me know and I'll take off my panels.
I removed the spare tire to make access easier.
Couple of things to share:
They tell you in the instructions to remove the rubber support to lower the muffler. But, since you have to remove the bracket the rubber attaches to anyway I just left the rubber attached to the bracket and swiveled the entire assembly out of the way, one less thing to take apart.
I was not pleased with the fit or finish of the Valley hitch though. It is supposed to be powder-coated but looks more like paint to me and had obviously been touched up with spray paint at some of the welds. Plus after getting it in position the holes on one side did not align properly and I had to take it out again and take a hammer to tweak it straight. I prefer Cort hitches. I've used them on a Mercedes and BMW and the powder-coat was perfect and so was the hitch alignment when installing. Unfortunately the Cort was only rated to 3500 lbs. Maybe the Reese will be better for you but one caveat, I noticed on an XC90 I passed in a parking lot that the owner had to cut away part of the bumper cover for the receiver to clear. Not sure what brand.
Ordered from eTrailer.com. They have a wiring harness adapter that I got also, saves splicing into the wiring, just plug in the connectors to the stock plugs. The connectors you need to get to are tucked up tight next to the bolts that hold the taillight assemblies.
While I was in there I took out my taillights to track down some water intrusion and found that the foam cover they use to seal one of the openings had come loose allowing water to drain into the interior. I aligned them better and then re-glued using heavy duty contact cement. Both sides were loose.
You will need to attach a ground. I drilled a 1/8" hole in the bracket near the left taillight, clean the paint off to bare metal and used a self-tapping screw for that. And you'll need to secure the wiring black-box, for that I used aluminum duct tape, very sticky stuff and won't deteriorate like regular duct tape. If you want a pic of this let me know and I'll take off my panels.
I removed the spare tire to make access easier.
