U-Haul Trailer Hitch installation | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

U-Haul Trailer Hitch installation

Looks a little more work than a simple install.
As someone else said, plug-&-play wiring harness is a + 100
 
For my Odyssey, I brought a brand new hitch from someone in Woodstock for 150$

And followed a step by step YouTube video to install it myself. No bumper to remove, just needed to remove exhaust from the hangar and few plastic panels underneath .
But I guess not all cars may not be as straightforward to work on.
 
Previous experience with a so-called "professional" hitch install on a vehicle with a plastic aero shield under the back (common nowadays) and which needed to be trimmed for the hitch to poke through.

The right way to do this is to remove the aero shield and neatly trim it where needed for a neat looking completed installation.

That isn't what they did. It looked like they took a hatchet to it in-situ. Get the job done as fast as possible.
 
If you want the pimp daddy hitch, here is a video of it on a wagon. Not sure if you can make it fit a GTI. It's expensive but cool. Invisible until you need it and always ready to go.

 
GreyGhost said:
If you want the pimp daddy hitch, here is a video of it on a wagon. Not sure if you can make it fit a GTI. It's expensive but cool. Invisible until you need it and always ready to go.

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GTAM Ballers want one like this:

 
Many new models VW have some weird low voltage wiring to the tail lights , they don’t put enough juice to run trailer lights , my Jetta was like that , the wire harness and module was $300 , if you can get a hitch / lights for $550 go get it .


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My neighbour did it.
They ordered the wrong hitch for her first.
Then their guys couldn't figure it out, so she had to go to another location.
Then they wanted to charge more money.
But in the end, the install is clean, less expensive than others and it "Tesla bumper'd" yet.
They only use it for the bike carrier though.
4 bikes.

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guzzirider said:
Most new cars don't have cigarette lighter plugs unless they are special order.
The plug that looks like a cigarette lighter is low amperage meant for low draw accessories such as USB chargers.
If you have LED lights on what your towing it will work.
If you have incandescent bulbs then that may be an issue.
The Curt wiring harness is a pug & play unit.
Using wire taps always causes grief.
Some muffler shops also instal hitches.
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My Hyundai has the utility outlets and I can run a 12 volt fridge or a tire inflator. Just make sure anything you hook up is compatible with the car's control module or it can fry. I got an installed hitch price with electrics for IIRC $800 so passed on it as an occasion rental made more sense. My Astro van was an easy DIY and the harness already in place. ~ $200.
 
crankcall said:
Many new models VW have some weird low voltage wiring to the tail lights , they don’t put enough juice to run trailer lights , my Jetta was like that , the wire harness and module was $300 , if you can get a hitch / lights for $550 go get it .


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Click to expand...
With many modern vehicles, they are paying attention to current draw to identify bulb issues. Adding incandescent trailer lights to LED vehicle lights will almost certainly annoy it.

I'm still using the manual light controller I built years ago. Plugs into the power socket in the front and requires no other connections to the car. It is getting sadder with time. Main power switch failed so I soldered power on full time when it is plugged in. May work on 2.0 over the winter with some improvements (circuit breaker, amp meter and something else I wanted but can't remember right now).
 
Ash said:
The Curt plug-and-play wiring harness looks pretty easy to install, except for the potential PITA of running a wire all the way to the battery. Depending on how much interior plastic you have to remove to do that, I'd probably just splice that into the existing wiring at the rear of the car with a crimp connector if you're running low-draw LED turn signals on the trailer.
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GreyGhost said:
With many modern vehicles, they are paying attention to current draw to identify bulb issues. Adding incandescent trailer lights to LED vehicle lights will almost certainly annoy it.
Click to expand...
Ah yes, I'd forgotten that VW will be CANBUS. In that case I'd make the effort to run the wire directly to the battery as indicated in the instructions if there isn't a 12v accessory socket in the trunk that can be tapped.
 
I had purchased a hitch for my old vehicle a couple of years ago, planning on installing it myself. Learned that the bumper had to be removed etc and decided I didnt want to do it myself.

I couldnt get anyone (U-Haul, Hitch City etc) to install it as they said straight up that they only install hitches that are purchased from them. Finally found a guy in North York (Safe-Pull) that would do it (install of hitch and wiring) for $300. Only issue is your appointment will be at least 3 weeks out.
 
mimico_polak said:
Anyone used U-Haul for their hitch installation? Got a quote, and it's about $550 ($105 for the actual installation), against Cobra ($750) installation.

I think I'm just hesitant to go to U-Haul because of bad worth of mouth over the years so would like someone's experience.

Need it for the 2021 GTI.
Click to expand...

I used them and the work was good. As you noted better price too.


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mimico_polak said:
The entire bumper, lights, and tons of clips need to be removed to access the 'easy bolt on' part unfortunately.

I'm not too worried about the $100 that U-Haul charges, but looking to see if anyone actually used them and whether it's as bad as people say.

EDIT: @oioioi I've got the ramps also, which will def make life easier. I'm just worried about taking everything off...and then being able to actually put it back together again.
Click to expand...

For me the cost was worth letting them do it. I do a lot of work on my own vehicles but sometimes it’s time vs money that I’ll let someone else deal with for me.


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Had two done at U-Haul. They're good. They need to be because if you get a hitch you can rent their trailers. Poor hitch installs would defeat renting trailers.
 
I found this site to be a good reference when looking at hitch + install options. Often they will have a video of your specific vehicle.

etrailer.com

www.etrailer.com www.etrailer.com
 
london experience here but if you get the proper all-in-one uhaul that does this i would recommend.. didnt do the actual hitch with them (did it myself) but did have them do wiring. we couldnt find the right plug and play part for my car but they were nice to deal with and ended up just splicing in. bonus because i got real cozy with them, and at this point im pretty chummy with the local uhaul and i always joke with them that they should be giving me air miles with how many times ive rented with them (still looking for a cheapo enclosed for myself).
 
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