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How-To: Trailer Hitch Install

13K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Taxman 
#1 ·
Yes, the owners manual says the car is not intended to tow.. but that is not what I intend. I use the hitch for things like a bike rack, and a custom rack to take the trash/recycle cans to the end of the street.. in that light I installed a hitch, there are a couple out there for the car, I found one from Curt, and one (Draw-Tite). The cheaper one in this case seemed more sturdy, but supposedly harder to install.. but frankly it was not hard at all.

This is the Hitch I used:

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Chevrolet/Cruze/2018/24943.html?vehicleid=201861928

This is the other, Curt Hitch:

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Chevrolet/Cruze/2018/C11492.html?vehicleid=201862611


I have all the photos I took on my phone and will post them with a step by step later to supplement the directions. The instructions were decent, it was a bit tricky to find 2 of the bumper fascia screws, the rest pretty easy to find. Only tricky part was release of the bumper fascia under the taillights.. the rest came off pretty easy. Once that is off it is super easy. You will need to cut a small section off that bumper fascia on the bottom edge, but that is not difficult either, it's soft plastic.

Instructions here:

http://www.hitchpro.net/Application/support/instructions/N24943.pdf


More to follow with my pictures and lessons learned.
 
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#3 ·
I went with the Draw-Tite on my 1st Gen. One advantage, pointed out numerous times on etrailer was the Draw-Tite didn't require an additional support strap for bike/cargo carriers, like the Curt did.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Yes, good point, I also caught that and it's definitely more strurdy, which explains why. Actually, I don't recall which is on my Gen 1 now that I think of it, but it's a totally different install. It just bolts to existing holes underneath with carriage bolts inserted with wire guides..

Update: just verified, I did DrawTite on my Gen 1 also.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
 
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#15 ·
I’m about to put that same hitch on my 2018 Hatchback. I couldn’t find your write up, just your pictures and the only thing I’m concerned about is the bumper cover removal - specifically how it is clipped in on those blind seams next to metal fender and what precisely I need to do to remove it without breaking anything in there or on the bumper cover. Can you please describe how you got it unclipped and any recommended tools to make it easy? Thanks!

BTW, I had the Curt hitch on my Dart for 5 years and when I was using the bike rack I usually had two hybrids on it and never used the recommended strap. Didn’t have any issues, but maybe I was just lucky. It was, however, on my mind enough that I decided to get the Draw Tite for my new Cruze............
 
#16 ·
The hatch will likely be a bit different, but the bumper on the sedan had a couple of fasteners on each side, inside the wheel well, then the rest were snap clips. The plastic material is pretty ductile and forgiving, you'd have to try hard to break it, but certainly it's possible. The instructions that came with the Draw-Tite hitch were pretty good, and it had color pictures, all pretty good, except one I had to do some investigation to find one of the fasteners on the inside of the wheel well for the bumper.

I hope that helps a little.
 
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