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U-Haul doesn't make hitches, they sell them and install them. Draw-Tite hitches, usually ( always? ). And I can't even remember the last time I saw a hitch with a permanently attached trailer ball ( maybe it was clamped to a chrome steel bumper ? ). Now it's all receiver types that accept either a ball mount or other accessories.
In any case, the hitch shown on their website is a Draw-Tite 2" receiver. It would be fine with a bike rack ( with the aforementioned caveat about load ).
You don't have to turn off the HFA with the Draw-Tite and like you said previously it will work but "flaky". I've just gotten used to touching the switch near the license plate and the rear hatch switch to close.
As far as the exhaust goes you will need to lower them both which requires just freeing the hangers from the rubber isolation "grommets". You'll need to free three on each side to lower the exhaust enough.
With no trailer wiring involved total time probably an hour.
And maybe a bloody knuckle removing the exhaust hangers. Wear gloves.
Just picked up my RDX Advance from Uhaul, having installed the one and only aftermarket hitch that fits the car. As warned above, the hands free opening thing no longer works, which makes me a little bit sad and also a little bit nervous about what happens when I turn it in at the end of my lease. Much like bikes themselves, hitches, hitch installation appointments, and bike racks are all in short supply these days. It was a bit of a customer service nightmare getting this installed and apparently I lucked out and got the last compatible hitch in my area. My forthcoming Kuat Sherpa 2.0 is on back order. Thanks to all for your help with this.
Curious about the logistics; do you order through U-Haul or do you just bring them the hitch at the time of appointment? What’s the charge for installation?
Curious about the logistics; do you order through U-Haul or do you just bring them the hitch at the time of appointment? What’s the charge for installation?
The customer service nightmare was going through corporate because when you call the store, it seems like it almost always rolls over to a corporate center. I will spare you the twists and turns, but the bottom line is that they sell the hitches and install them. Each store has its own labor pricing. You can get a quote online, but don't believe it -- both the website and the corporate office sent me a quote for 1/2 hour labor. The store assured me it would be more like 1.3 hours and then it ended up being one hour. I bought the hitch at one store (because it was the only one available) and had it installed at another, which also turned into a looney tunes thing. Corporate told me to make sure the store knew it was a u-haul hitch so they would charge me less, while the store said it didn't matter, the charge was the same either way.
What did you use to pry off the spring locks on the aspec hitch cover? I am also going to DIY the hitch onto my 2020 aspec as it looks fairly simple. Just wanted sure about that step.
From what I have read, the install of the drawtite Class 3 2" hitch is easy.. remove the bottom diffuser (ASpec) adn remove spare tire. Slide hitch in carefully to avoid hitting mufflers (no need to lower) and then bolt in. Replace rear diffuser and spare tire.
My hitch arrives tomorrow and I am installing on the weekend.. 2020 ASpec
I am installing the OEM hitch and aspec hitch cover this weekend. I didn't want a hitch that stuck out a lot and the OEM ones seems to be pretty hidden. Even the OEM version seems pretty simple. Just a few bolts and replacing the lower trim piece.
Installed the drawtite hitch today... best to have someone to help hold it in place while you secure the bolts. No need to remove mufflers but you do need to remove the lower plastic bumper diffuser (2 bolts, 2 plugs) and simply carefully slide the hitch in place. Easy peasey...
Be sure to also buy a hitch plug and 5/8" bolt/pin combo
Ratchet to remove 2 bolts and small flathead screwdriver to remove 2 plastic pins. Careful when prying up plastic pins as they can break. Go slow and it’s easy.
Update on my trailer hitch saga; I liked the idea of having U-Haul handle it so I called them up and ordering was simple, and the price was good - $204 all in for parts and labor. Set the appointment for this past Monday. Drove to the U-Haul which is about 35 minutes from my house, saw there was a line of at least an hour. Decided to call the store to see if I needed to stand in line or not, only to have the manager tell me that they had not received the part. The manager was nice and basically said U-Haul (corporate) was really having problems with parts and there were many delays. He told me to order it from Amazon and bring it to him instead.
So I turned around and went home - what a waste of my morning. Called corporate(spent 20 minutes on hold) to find out if/when the part might come and they said they had no idea. Service was actually pretty antagonistic. Got online and found the DrawTite hitch for $146 from http://www.reesehitches.com. Called to confirm it was actually in stock and they answered the phone right away and said it was definitely in stock. They should be shipping it out today.
So I guess I'll just have to get my regular mechanic to install it because I really don't feel like driving that far to have it installed by U-Haul at this point.
Don’t feel too bad. In my experience, the estimate was not accurate. The estimate corporate gave me was for half an hour of labor and it ended up being closer to an hour and a half of labor. I still think it was a decent price, but if you read my previous post, I got massive runaround from U-Haul corporate versus U-Haul stores and it truly was a big disaster. The work was handled correctly in the end, but it was a big pain.
I liked the simplicity that U-Haul offered; one stop to order and install, and to have it done by someone who installs hitches all day long. Ok granted that's not a master mechanic's role, but there's something to be said for being good at just one thing.
I'm not so much concerned about the cost than the hassle, which is something going through U-Haul made worse not better.
Has anyone received any update from Curt recently? I've emailed them a couple times and haven't heard back. I was hoping they'd have something by now but if not, I may have to go the Draw-Tite route.
Someone mentioned Curt was looking into keeping the hands free sensor functional.
Update on my trailer hitch saga; I liked the idea of having U-Haul handle it so I called them up and ordering was simple, and the price was good - $204 all in for parts and labor. Set the appointment for this past Monday. Drove to the U-Haul which is about 35 minutes from my house, saw there was a line of at least an hour. Decided to call the store to see if I needed to stand in line or not, only to have the manager tell me that they had not received the part. The manager was nice and basically said U-Haul (corporate) was really having problems with parts and there were many delays. He told me to order it from Amazon and bring it to him instead.
So I turned around and went home - what a waste of my morning. Called corporate(spent 20 minutes on hold) to find out if/when the part might come and they said they had no idea. Service was actually pretty antagonistic. Got online and found the DrawTite hitch for $146 from http://www.reesehitches.com. Called to confirm it was actually in stock and they answered the phone right away and said it was definitely in stock. They should be shipping it out today.
So I guess I'll just have to get my regular mechanic to install it because I really don't feel like driving that far to have it installed by U-Haul at this point.
I thought there were two brands, but maybe it was just the two models by DrawTite I was thinking of. I think the 2” one actually has a tongue rating of 350 lbs.
Ive looked at the instructions for that one and it just requires the exhaust to be lowered, which doesn’t sound that hard. But I haven’t done this yet so I don’t know.
I bought the draw tite and put it on and didn't have to move anything. I have anbAspec with no spare tire.
Only annoying issue I had is one of the bolts just wouldn't go in straight and instead of taking 10 minutes took me an hour to put it on.
I bought the draw tite and put it on and didn't have to move anything. I have anbAspec with no spare tire.
Only annoying issue I had is one of the bolts just wouldn't go in straight and instead of taking 10 minutes took me an hour to put it on.
I just started researching this and I thought the U-haul and draw-tite required modification of the bottom plastic piece? I have an A-Spec and really want something easy to install. I was going to go with the Acura one but its a bit pricey and although my bike rack can work in a 1-1/4 or 2" I think the 2" would be more sturdy. Do you have a model number for that Draw-tite handy?
I think it's the OEM hitch that requires a modification of the plastic. The DrawTite sits lower, I think, below the bumper.
I chose the 2" DrawTite not because sturdier, but because there are far more accessories available for 2" hitches. While the DrawTite might not be as flush or look quite as integrated, I don't regret my decision.
Thanks for all the great info here, everyone. As a result, I plan a DIY install of the OEM Class 1 hitch 08L92-TJB-200 when I trade up to the 2021 RDX in a couple months.
For those of you who have installed the OEM Class I hitch 08L92-TJB-200, have you considered cutting off the two lower safety chain brackets? I will only be using a bike rack and won't ever need those brackets. They appear to be very visible on your install photos, and it would look cleaner without them. I would no doubt need a good clean cut and good paint job to prevent rusting. Without having the part in hand, it's hard to tell from your photos how cleanly these could be removed. Thoughts?
Thanks for all the great info here, everyone. As a result, I plan a DIY install of the OEM Class 1 hitch 08L92-TJB-200 when I trade up to the 2021 RDX in a couple months.
For those of you who have installed the OEM Class I hitch 08L92-TJB-200, have you considered cutting off the two lower safety chain brackets? I will only be using a bike rack and won't ever need those brackets. They appear to be very visible on your install photos, and it would look cleaner without them. I would no doubt need a good clean cut and good paint job to prevent rusting. Without having the part in hand, it's hard to tell from your photos how cleanly these could be removed. Thoughts?
those safety chain loops are perfect for kayak tie downs.
if you take a closer look the part number for RDX (#13423) and MDX (#13146) are different, the price also not the same, maybe they haven't update the page..
Interesting...their web page definitely needs work as the RDX search comes back with an MDX labeled page.The hitch picture that is on that page looks pretty close to the Draw-Tite hitch...but we'll see.
Interesting...their web page definitely needs work as the RDX search comes back with an MDX labeled page.The hitch picture that is on that page looks pretty close to the Draw-Tite hitch...but we'll see.
I’m hoping for a 2 inch hitch that will have the same fit as the factory hitch.
Interesting...their web page definitely needs work as the RDX search comes back with an MDX labeled page.The hitch picture that is on that page looks pretty close to the Draw-Tite hitch...but we'll see.
I’m hoping for a 2 inch hitch that will have the same fit as the factory hitch.
Exactly, I'd love for a 2 inch receiver to fit exactly like OEM hitch, I have the aftermarket diffisuer for my ASpec. Not cutting anything. I emailed Curt to ask about fitment, I will update when response received.
Last edited by Phil Onyschuk; 10-02-2020 at 12:40 PM.
I'd like that too - in fact, I might even consider switching if one came out. I think the factory hitch sits higher than the Draw-Tite one does, and while that doesn't make much difference for a bike rack, I wonder if it would should I ever need to tow something.
If you cut off the corners of the excess pipe beyond the plate, you can install on the forward welded nut plates. The corners would otherwise hit the mufflers. It’s a tighter squeeze to get the hitch in forward but the side plates of the hitch do have some flex. This won’t work if you’ve got a spare tire, but we don’t and prefer to not to have a shin bruiser for the utility of a bike rack or cargo carrier.
Thanks for these pics and info on moving the draw-tite forward.
I have a 2021 RDX and measured the spacing of the 3 bolt holes in the frame. Rear to middle = 5-3/4 in. Middle to front = 6-1/8. You obviously somehow did this, but unless the holes in the hitch plates are a good size bigger than, the bolts, how would this be possible? Did you have to drill the hole in the plate larger to give it more play? Maybe the bolt hole spacing in the 2020 is uniform?
05-18-2020, 12:09 AM
