Which trailer hitch to buy?

[ROLLTIDE]

I got my hitch from summit racing.It was about $129.00 and about another $30.00 for the wiring kit and it took about 3 hours for the insall.

[SRQRIDGE]

Originally Posted by ROLLTIDE

I got my hitch from summit racing.It was about $129.00 and about another $30.00 for the wiring kit and it took about 3 hours for the insall.

How was install? Did it line up without taking a hammer to it? How does it look on the truck looking at it from the rear? First I heard of this hitch. I am going aftermarket. The OEM is expensive.

[ROLLTIDE]

The install on the hitch was easy,Ihad to use a pry bar on the last bolt to get it to line up,but no problems.perfect fit!I ll try to post some pic this afternoon.

[FlaGuy509]

Since I only get home on weekends and I'm basically a lazy person I've decided to have whoever I buy my hitch from also do the install. Called my dealer : Hitch $332, Harness Assy $172, Labor $225. Called an independent supplier of truck parts,conversions,etc etc (dealt with them before & has been doing this since 1993);Hidden Hitch (labor included) $220, Harness assy $125. I know the majority of you folks recommend the OEM hitch but I really can't justify the difference. Have any of you had actual problems with Hidden Hitch ??

[xd9x19]

I bit the bullet and bought the OEM trailer hitch package from 1stHondaParts.com (Honda of Fife, Washington). Got the trailer hitch today, but minus the ball, lock for the hitch pin and wiring harness. Gave them a call and talked to a guy and expect a call back tomorrow morning about the rest of the shipment.

Hopefully all will go smoothly and I'll be able to give a good report that they've shipped out the missing parts.

[SRQRIDGE]

I made a purchase off ebay for a used Hidden Hitch. It came with 4way wiring harness, Double ball receiver (2in and 1 7/8 in), and lockable hitch receiver pin w/ 2 keys. See picture. It was dirty but in good shape. I am in the process of painting the hitch and double ball receiver, since it has some minor wear($5 lowes). I want it to look good and avoid any rusting. I have nothing to tow right now, but want to be able to if ever needing to. It was $155 shipped with everything. I am going to a friend's garage for help and to use his lift. It will cost me maybe $75 to install. I feel the $75 will save time and frustration doing it myself. I also peeled the stickers off and posted to a piece of paper. The stickers were ugly and crooked. I will keep all the info in the glove box if needed and hitch will be a cleaner look, without advertising for hidden hitch.

[xd9x19]

Originally Posted by xd9x19

I bit the bullet and bought the OEM trailer hitch package from 1stHondaParts.com (Honda of Fife, Washington). Got the trailer hitch today, but minus the ball, lock for the hitch pin and wiring harness. Gave them a call and talked to a guy and expect a call back tomorrow morning about the rest of the shipment.

Hopefully all will go smoothly and I'll be able to give a good report that they've shipped out the missing parts.

Called them back today and they will be shipping out the missing parts on Monday. Cool!

[SRQRIDGE]

Originally Posted by SRQRIDGE

I made a purchase off ebay for a used Hidden Hitch. It came with 4way wiring harness, Double ball receiver (2in and 1 7/8 in), and lockable hitch receiver pin w/ 2 keys. See picture. It was dirty but in good shape. I am in the process of painting the hitch and double ball receiver, since it has some minor wear($5 lowes). I want it to look good and avoid any rusting. I have nothing to tow right now, but want to be able to if ever needing to. It was $155 shipped with everything. I am going to a friend's garage for help and to use his lift. It will cost me maybe $75 to install. I feel the $75 will save time and frustration doing it myself. I also peeled the stickers off and posted to a piece of paper. The stickers were ugly and crooked. I will keep all the info in the glove box if needed and hitch will be a cleaner look, without advertising for hidden hitch.

He is a picture after install. Hidden hitches fit and look great.

[mwarriner]

I bought a Valley hitch ($179) and the Honda wiring harness ($130). Hooked them up last weekend. The Valley hitch is a perfect fit. Lines up beautifully with all the holes.

I followed the hints for installing the harness found here on ROC forums. It went well, and I had the wiring done in a couple of hours. I tried to use one of those battery plug-ins at an accessory point to prevent the radio from losing it's codes. It kept the radio station pre-sets but I still had to re-enter the radio security code.

The Valley hitch does not have the bracket pad for attaching the wiring harness bracket but I drilled a couple of pilot holes and set the harness bracket on the bottom of the metal bumper bar with a couple of self tapping screws.

[cdepuydt]

I went with the OEM hitch/harness. Thing is, I didn't need it right away, so I just lurked on e-bay and a couple other websites until I found, what I considered, a reasonable price on the hitch. There was no friggin' way I was gonna pay the $340 my dealership was asking. Anyway, I found one for a good price, and called my dealership to see if they would match the price. After some nifty wheeling n' dealing, I was able to get the hitch for less than the one that I found on the web (including the $40 they wanted for shipping).

I did the same thing for the harness. I just kept looking around but ultimately took the advice of other ROC'ers and went out to the Majestic Honda website and bought it from there. It was $113 plus shipping.

Then, to save even more money (my stealership quoted me a price of $175 for the install) I installed it myself. I thought the install wasn't that hard... and I am not exactly a mechanically inclinded person. It took me about 4 hours from the time I opened the box to the time I put my last tool away. It would have taken a lot less time if I would have had a little help. Doing it by myself was a little difficult, especially trying to get the hitch in place to start the bolts, but other than that, it was pretty easy. Plus, having this place and all the valuable information here was...well, invaluable.

Anyway, with everything I think I ended up spending right around $360 for everything. I thought that was a good deal for the OEM set up. Not that there is anything wrong with the Hidden or Curt hitches....I just wanted the OEM hitch, because I like the looks of it the most....