<p>The new Edge we bought does not have a trailer hitch & we need one for our bike rack. H has researched and found that it’s a 4-bolt installation that is estimated to take 1-2 hours. He has also watched YouTube video and thinks he can do it himself and save the $100 installation charge.</p>
<p>I’m skeptical about this. While he’s handy, car stuff tends to take him 2x the suggested time. (granted we will have time to/from place to get installed). Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Having seen a fully loaded horse trailer disconnect from the towing vehicle and sail across the road on its own … I would pay the $100 and have the pros do the hitch installation.</p>
<p>Granted, a horse trailer is not a bike rack … but still.</p>
<p>Go to Pep Boys or Sears…i am a DIY believer, but this is an easy installation for an experienced person…save the aggravation, and have it done right, the 1st time. :)</p>
<p>You’d not only be saving aggravation, you’d be saving potential danger to anyone else on the road if it happened to come loose while you’re driving. This isn’t the kind of thing you leave to youtube and DIY, in my opinion.</p>
<p>thanks…I knew I could find the voice of reason here!</p>
<p>I have to disagree with these answers.</p>
<p>I had this type of hitch installed professionally on one vehicle and after looking at how easy it was I did it myself on the next two. I just looked at the procedure for putting the hitch on the Edge and it is the same as what I have seen on my installations. These installations are very straightforward. The 1-2 hour estimates are very conservative … I would guess 30 minutes.</p>
<p>The instructions recommend re-checking that the fasteners are tight periodically after the installation is done … something that you should do even if you have someone else install it for you. Follow this advice and you will be in good shape.</p>
<p>This is a pretty easy install. I would trust your husband in getting it installed right.</p>
<p>I bought my hitch on-line, the bolt-holes in it line up with holes that are already in the frame of the vehicle. You just put the bolts in and tighten.</p>
<p>If you have a drill or cordless screwdriver you can attach the socket to, it will take less than ten minutes. It is somewhat tedious with only a socket wrench. The hardest part is holding it up while you get the bolts started. </p>
<p>And depending on your car, it may be a challenge to get under the vehicle. For my minivan, that was not an issue. For an Edge, I wouldn’t think it would be an issue.</p>
<p>$100 to install this is a rip-off.</p>
<p><edit> Ok, in thinking about it, sometimes the exhaust will need to be temporarily moved out of the way, and the heat shield may need adjustment. In those cases it might be worth paying to get it installed if you are not comfortable with doing that.</edit></p>
<p>H has found installer and ordered hitch through them. Moving parts of the exhaust system were needed and probably would complicate the issue, as would squeezing under the car. Sometimes it’s just easier to pull out the credit card…</p>
<p>Doesn’t anyone have jacks or ramps anymore?</p>
<p>We installed our own on to our CRV and have had no problems. Husband said it was easy.</p>
<p>I’d be willing to install a hitch myself and have in the past but then I’ve also removed/installed engines, transmissions, and most other components on vehicles. </p>
<p>If you consider your H reasonably intelligent and possessing a modicum of common sense then he should be able to easily look at the procedure and decide if he can reasonably do it himself. A lot of vehicles already have the mounting holes for the hitch and the hitch is a bolt-on. This isn’t a big deal. If it takes him twice as long as he expects to do it - so what? If he runs into trouble then he can take it to someplace to do it.</p>
<p>btw - I’d trust myself installing something like this far more than a place like Pep Boys where could well be done by someone who also has never done it before and who may not have the common sense of your H.</p>
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I would never climb under a car held up only by a jack.</p>
<p>You can park it on the grass with the wheels at the curb, that would probably give you enough space.</p>
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Definitely not! Jacks can fail - and I’m speaking as someone with personal experience with it.</p>
<p>However, a set of jackstands is inexpensive and will make the raised vehicle safe. Better yet - a combo of the jackstand as primary support with the jack as a secondary is even safer. Also - don’t forget to chock the wheels and set the emergency brake.</p>
<p>H is VERY mechanical and handy but always has our hitches professionally installed.</p>
<p>^^ Why? Was it because he felt it was too difficult to do correctly or did he just not feel like doing it? And - having an 18 y/o at Pep Boys install a hitch isn’t exactly what I’d call being ‘installed by a professional’ so if this is done people need to be careful who they take it to (I’m not implying that’s where MOWC’s H took it - I’m just keying off of the post of another poster).</p>
<p>He said sometimes they need to weld, sometimes they need to drill etc and it can be hard to figure out what you need to do and he’s over crawling under the car… He has it installed where he buys it, which was Dallas Trailer & Hitch or something like that when we last dealt with this. He got a couple of them there and the installation was included in the price. He said Pep Boys would be OK. He usually does it after we get the car, so we don’t have the dealer do it.</p>
<p>^^ If the install required welding I wouldn’t do it either since I don’t weld. I have drilled holes before but many of the SUV/Crossover vehicles don’t require holes to be drilled. It’s easy enough to check this with the install instructions for the particular hitch. In addition to the mechanical part one needs to connect the electrical harness used for trailer lights if one will be towing a trailer (not the OP’s case) and sometimes this is a quite easy plugin but sometimes not.</p>
<p>I’d feel okay with a hitch store doing the install but definitely not Pep Boys generally speaking but I’m not comfortable with Pep Boys doing anything.</p>
<p>One of the big hitch manufacturers is ‘Reese’ and they have application guides and install instructions online for the specific vehicles so it’s pretty easy to see what’s involved in the install for the particular vehicle.</p>
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<p>And, who almost certainly doesn’t care as much about it as you do.</p>
<p>On the other hand, hitches are heavy, and if you don’t have the right available tools and helping strong hands, the 30 minute estimate may be far too low.</p>
<p>I would also caution that I hope the installation kit comes with all of the hardware. One big pitfall of shade tree mechanics is assuming all bolts are the same if they are the same size. A trailer hitch application will require bolts with the proper shear-strength rating. Make sure to use the ones that came with it, even if they are a tight fit, or even if they look less “rust-proof” than the stainless steel ones from the local hardware store.</p>