Curt 13130 - Class III, 2" Trailer Hitch Install
#1
Three Wheelin'
Thread Starter
Curt 13130 - Class III, 2" Trailer Hitch Install
For starters, this hitch is overkill considering the 1500 pound towing limit of the RDX. Tongue weight is limited to 10% of total trailer weight or 150 pounds.
Source: RDX Owner's Manual
But the 2 inch receiver offers better stability when mounting accessories which is why I went with it.
There are enough installation videos on Youtube and etrailer.com.
What they missed is the need (if you want to do it right) for spacers at the rear bolt locations. Even the OEM factory hitch mentions and includes those.
There is a slight step or offset in the lower surface of the rear frame rail between the forward and rearward mounting hole.
I used an M12 stainless steel fender washer between the frame rail and trailer hitch that fit just right. Thickness was almost 3 mm.
Pic taken from OEM Trailer Hitch Instructions showing "spacers"...
Also, the Curt instructions calls for 86 lbf.ft. for the M12 bolt and 110 lbf.ft. for the 1/2" bolt. The M12 bolt may be a grade 10.9 fastener, but I wonder if the weldnut in the frame rail is. I chose to use a different torque setting based on my experience and the fact that the bolt threads were greased.
A 20 minute installation if that, talking my time and using wheel ramps for added clearance.
A perfect fit with no mods to the vehicle necessary. The top surface of the hitch tongue "just" contacts the underside of the bumper fascia.
Source: RDX Owner's Manual
But the 2 inch receiver offers better stability when mounting accessories which is why I went with it.
There are enough installation videos on Youtube and etrailer.com.
What they missed is the need (if you want to do it right) for spacers at the rear bolt locations. Even the OEM factory hitch mentions and includes those.
There is a slight step or offset in the lower surface of the rear frame rail between the forward and rearward mounting hole.
I used an M12 stainless steel fender washer between the frame rail and trailer hitch that fit just right. Thickness was almost 3 mm.
Pic taken from OEM Trailer Hitch Instructions showing "spacers"...
Also, the Curt instructions calls for 86 lbf.ft. for the M12 bolt and 110 lbf.ft. for the 1/2" bolt. The M12 bolt may be a grade 10.9 fastener, but I wonder if the weldnut in the frame rail is. I chose to use a different torque setting based on my experience and the fact that the bolt threads were greased.
A 20 minute installation if that, talking my time and using wheel ramps for added clearance.
A perfect fit with no mods to the vehicle necessary. The top surface of the hitch tongue "just" contacts the underside of the bumper fascia.
Last edited by Tech; 10-19-2017 at 11:05 PM.
#4
I get that this thread is aged but I just did this yesterday. Here are a few pointers. I'm referencing this purchase.
You are dead on about torquing.
On my drivers side, my torque wrench only went to 80 and the hole got stripped out, well before it started to tick.
Passenger side totally snapped off and the bolt dangled down with the weld nut holding it in.
This left me in quite the quagmire. Of the 4 bolts, only 2 didn't thread out or snap but the forward-most two were in good.
I took it to a friends house who welded the hitch on.
As a disclosure, I wasn't the most careful and might have cross-threaded the bolts that snapped because they did not go in easily.
You are dead on about torquing.
On my drivers side, my torque wrench only went to 80 and the hole got stripped out, well before it started to tick.
Passenger side totally snapped off and the bolt dangled down with the weld nut holding it in.
This left me in quite the quagmire. Of the 4 bolts, only 2 didn't thread out or snap but the forward-most two were in good.
I took it to a friends house who welded the hitch on.
As a disclosure, I wasn't the most careful and might have cross-threaded the bolts that snapped because they did not go in easily.