blue_magic04

Hi,

Has anyone any experience having a hitch installed on the TSX? Apparently, acura doesn't make one.
I have a 2004 for which I would like to have a class I hitch installed. Any suggestions on where could I find one?

thanks,
blue

PS: my local Uhaul doesn't carry one either

narci

Only place to get one is in Europe and it's like $650 for the hitch not including shipping or taxes.

blue_magic04

yeah, thats what it looks like from reading the earlier threads. In that case hopefully i can get one custom made here. It will probably stilll be cheaper.

thanks,
blue

Dan Martin

Have you tried wal mart? They're the worlds biggest retailer of trailer hitches.

savage

are they the biggest retailer of trailer hitches because most of their customers live in trailers?

Dan Martin

perhaps

blue_magic04

I don't see anything on their website, but i'll try contacting the store. I found a local welding shop that can make someting custom but that is going to be in excess of $500, plus wiring and all that. so not much different from teh euro option.

The good news is that, standard hitch for TSX will be available in a 3month time frame. Bad new offcourse is that I need something in a couple of weeks

TSX.Fury

They're the world's biggest retailer of everything

rastaman

Where am I getting this standarc hitch for the TSX in 3 months? I am in desparate need!!!!!

elduderino

Just out of curiousity, what are you planning on towing with a TSX? A Weber grill?

rastaman

I want to put a bike rack on it. My bike is under 30 pounds. So I don't think that it will be too much wieght. The bike rake itself might weight more than the bike.

tjt889

I installed an accord hitch on my '05 tsx. I use it to tow a single jet ski (~550 lbs. plus trailer.) It handles the load with no problem. I have even towed a dual jet ski trailer a few miles in an emergency when another vehicle lost one circuit of their brake system. This was too much for the tsx. Anyhow, the installation involved removing the plastic covering under the trunk, drilling 2 holes under the spare, and making a bracket to adapt the third mounting point to the tow hook. The whole job took about 2 hours including the electrical.

cmd

Do you have any pics?? I'd like to do the same but don't want an ugly hitch hanging off the back of the car. I'm a cyclist and since parting with my SUV I have no good way to transport the bikes. Trunk racks ain't as stable and can scratch the finish. Roof racks are too noisy and messes up the TSX's nice lines. Did you do the install yourself?

blue_magic04

The Uhaul sports trailer. It's pretty light and aerodynamic. I thought about using the Accord hitch too, but not every place will do it.

Yes, it will be great if tjt889 can post some pics.

waterrockets

Interesting, I called the 1-800 number back in June, and they had one for me, and could get it to my local UHaul. I still haven't seen one installed :-/

BirchyBoy

Do you have your reciept with the UHaul part number in case the people we talk to need a nudge?

waterrockets

Sorry, I didn't buy it. I was just inquiring as I try to make plans for how I'll handle my bike in the long run.

Asahi

I checked out an Accord Coupe with a hitch and it shoudl work on a TSX



http://www.etrailer.com/productdetai...rfrom=2005&h=e

jihan3

I think the TSX has a different tow hook than the Accords. The Accords have a tow hook that runs back to front, and this is bolted to that hitch. IIRC, the TSX's tow hook runs left to right.

Of course, you can modify the hitch to work on it - but it's not a simple plug and play. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I was looking all over for hitch options, and finally ended up just getting a roof rack. I laid down some clear bra material to protect the roof at the rack mounting locations (purchased from RockBlocker). I bought some 6" wide bulk material and cut it to fit - worked pretty well with the Yakima Q towers.

That said, I'd buy a hitch right away if I knew which one to buy.

Asahi

I don't think it will be a direct plug and play but close. I am probably going to build a custom hitch off this design since I need a 2" reciever for my bike rack.

If we do make one I'll take pics if it turns out good.

waterrockets

Bra material? Have you heard of someone doing this before? I wouldn't trust it myself. I had a Yakima roof rack on my 4Runner for 8 years. I just used the supplied pads, and pulled them off and cleaned the area every year when I waxed it. When I took the rack off to sell the 4Runner, you couldn't tell the pads had ever been on it (after a little cleaning). There was ZERO scratching - the paint was perfect.

The Yakima Q-Towers are engineered for their purpose by the best rack manufacturer in the world, and the pads work with high friction. They really grip the roof, and that keeps them from moving even a little bit, which prevents any scratching.

Bra material is going to be a lot lower friction than the stock pads, and I think you may get some motion on the paint over time, which will scratch. Also, if the material doesn't seal to the paint like the pads do, you're likely to get some dirt under the edges. Once you get dirt in there, even tower flex will cause scratches without actually sliding.

I've been 4-wheeling (serious rock-crawling) in Moab with 4 mountian bikes on the rack. I also drove many inter-state trips with bikes on top at 80+ mph. Again, I had no scratching.

I'd hate to see you get some scratches, so check into it before you commit!

jihan3

I've already laid down the clear bra material and installed the rack. I haven't heard of anyone doing this before.

Over spring break, I had a rental car and me and my buddies put a Yakima rack on it for the week to go snowboarding. Naturally, we didn't clean off the paint before we put the rack on, so there were some clear coat scratches when we took the rack off. So I was a little paranoid when I was planning on putting the rack on my car. (I frequent autopia.org, so I'm probably a little more of a sissy about the paint than most).

The clear bra material seems to stick very well. While installing the rack on my car (clamping it down), the rack mounts would move and the bra material stayed put. I'm pretty sure that the clear coat scratches I installed on the rental car were caused by putting the rack on and taking it off. So it seems like any scratches that I installed on my car would have and will go on the bra material.

Oh, also - the first time I put the rack on (on my car), I didn't clamp down the front bar tight enough, so it slid back a couple inches after driving on the highway. The clear bra material stayed in place while the rack moved back. So it appears that it's working like I had hoped.

If I see any damage to the paint, I'll report back later to warn others. But everything looks good so far. Thanks for the concern and advice.

FYI, there's a blue Civic Hybrid rental car in the LAX area with jihan3 installed clear coat scratches on the roof

waterrockets

Cool. From your experience, it sounds like the stock pads stick MUCH better to paint than to bra material, for what it's worth. Like I said, mine never budged a nanometer.

So, what do we need to do to get more of these clear bras out on the market? Any chance we could get some binkinis made out of them?

bluepacific

I had a custom Class II hitch installed today to match up with a Thule 937XT Hitching Post Pro bike carrier on my 2005 TSX, Meteor Sivler Metallic, 5AT. The plastic piece under the trunk area had to be removed permanently to install the hitch. I think it is only for the aerodynamics for the underside of the car. The hitch is 1-1/4" and doesn't take away from the rear design of the car. I haven't figured out this picture attaching yet otherwise I would post some pictures of my installation. The company that did the work is in Kent, WA.

http://www.torklift.com

waterrockets

Thanks for the update!

Please attach some pics!

To do so, upload your images at http://www.imageshack.us then copy the url they give you (there will be several, just get the "Direct link to image" version) at the bottom.

Then go back to this forum and this thread, click the "Quote" button on this post so you get the advanced post interface. Click the little yellow scenic icon at the top of the message box (tiny, yellow with mountains and a sun) and paste the imageshack url in the popup box.

For example:


Make sense?

Thanks so much, again!

bluepacific

[IMG][img=http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/4632/dscn05050vh.jpg][/IMG]

bluepacific

[IMG][img=http://img464.imageshack.us/img464/4632/dscn05050vh.jpg][/IMG]

bluepacific

Attached is pic of 1-1/4" hitch

waterrockets

Thanks! Very close... just pull the "img=" out and you'd have it...

Here it is!

waterrockets

Ok, I did a quick adjustment to highlight the support bars for the hitch. I think it looks pretty good. It's pretty obvious that there's a hitch on there, but all things considered, I like it!

How much was it? Is it totally custom (like made just for you) or just custom in that it's available for all TSXs?

bluepacific

The hitch was custom made to attach under the TSX and match up to the Thule bike rack I have. The hitch was custom made and installed for $250. By the way what you see hanging down in the picture is the exhaust pipes, all the support for the hitch is hidden.

jihan3

Looks good! Thanks for the pics + info.

I'd be interested in what kind of gas mileage you get with bikes hanging off the back. One time I averaged 20mpg over just under 300 miles - with 2 bikes on the roof, going about 80mph most of the time.

Over the summer, my friends and I averaged 18mpg over 2000 miles - in an RSX with a hitch mount bike rack + 3 bikes (ouch!).

Arcticcl9

Bluepacific, that's a nice hitch and I would love to have a hitch rack to haul my bike. I cannot stand roof or trunk racks. Any contact information about the place you got the hitch from? and what type of hitch?

EDIT: nevermind..i re-read the post

waterrockets

Very nice

bluepacific

The outfit where I had the hitch installed stakes their reputation that they can install a hitch for any type of vehicle. We went over in detail where the receiver would end up and what would be involved to make this hitch. This custom hitch took 2-1/2 hours to make and install for $250, I figure I got my moneys worth. If you read my first post on this subject they had to remove permanently a plastic piece that is screwed up under the trunk area that I am sure is just for the underside for aerodynamic purposes. The support for the hitch was welded in place and is not visable unless you look under the car. The hitch itself is bolted to this support and can be removed if wanted and the plastic piece could be screwed back in place for the underside aerodynamics. I wish you luck in finding a place in your area that can build a hitch for your TSX. This company built the hitch to match the bike carrier that I had which was a Thule 937XT Hitching Post Pro, 1-1/4".

Asahi

WHat makes this Thule rack so specific? Most hitch racks are very similar si I am curious what would keep a different rack from working. WHat is the name of the company and contact info. I'd be curious so see if they could explain the design and possibly replicate it for me if I were to weld on the support structures myself.

bluepacific

The Thule bike rack is not specific to the hitch I had installed. A standard hitch installed on the TSX would be hanging lower than the exhaust piping. This hitch was designed to match the Thule rack to accomplish two things: the hitch would be mounted up tight under the vehicle and would not take away from the sporty look of the TSX and the bike rack would not be hanging out a foot away from the back bumper but only 2 inches away. The company that installed this hitch for me is at the following web site:

www.torklift.com

RockBlocker

Actually, we get asked almost daily for this very reason. The pads that are supplied are going to move and cause friction while our product will adhere and not budge one bit. Scratching is not possible where the product is installed.

You should hear how many Satellite Radio customers we get as well.

waterrockets

Ummm, did you see the part where I said I drove hard with bikes on top for years with stock Yakima pads and never had a scratch?

Your product may also work fine, but it can't be better than zero scratches or slipping.

RockBlocker

Yes, I did, but we also know from years of experience that is not always the case. We have personally seen vehicles with scratches from the pads.

I was more of less stating a fact that our product will not cause scratching of the paint with Yakima racks. Sorry if I offended you.