Curt Hitch Install Problems

I haven't done any wiring, since I only use the hitch for a cycle rack. But I have heard/read that you can't just splice into the existing wiring because of the limited capacity of the Prius wiring. There is a special wiring gizmo available that will allow you to tap the gizmo into the wiring, though, and it will supply the additional current needed for trailer lights. I think most of the hitch suppliers would be happy to sell you one.

Update: here's a guy who just taps in, although it's a little complicated:
Prius Trailer Wiring

Here's the better way:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...s-trailer-wiring-using-modulite-119176-a.html

 

Wiring what in? A trailer harness? No, no problem if you know the tricks...

He's not just "a guy." He's a wildly attractive individual with descriminating taste. And a hot wife.

It is another way, but I sure don't believe it is "better." My way doesn't change the car in any fashion. The couplers can be unplugged, and the car is back to exactly like it was. Clamping the Scotch connectors onto the wires damages every one of them. Not that it is "bad" but I sure don't call this the better way! YMMV.

 

Ahh, another one!

Good point. If I were going to add light wiring to my installation, I think I'd combine the two methods by splicing in a short section as you did, to provide a spot to tap into, and then use the fancy adapter to power the lights. Then you could restore the car to "original" (ignoring the butchered cover), while still isolating the wimpy electrical system from a possibly hefty lighting load of a large trailer.

 

Good points. I just didn't have the problem of "hefty lighting load" so have no worries in that regard. I have all LED lighting on my trailer, and that adds very little extra draw.

 

Just got my Curt hitch. I'm stuck on step 1 - removing the retaining clips from the plastic cover. My excuse is it's 23 degrees and my fingers are cold. Can't find anyone mentioning how to remove them ...any suggestions?

 

You mean on the car? The same guy that designed these clips was later transferred to the gas-pedal design bureau, I think. As I remember, there are 4 clips, with 3 different methods of fastening them. The best advice I can give you is to raise the car so you've got plenty of room to work in, use lots of light to see what's going on, and let your engineering DNA go to work analyzing how they work. And, as you take them out, note which clips went in which holes, so you can get them back where they belong.

I would also wait for summer.

 

I installed mine in about 15 minutes. All the holes matched perfectly. I guess I consider myself lucky.
And it looks great too.

 

I just now ordered mine, from Amazon, for $136.25.

I'll probably just take it over to U-Haul and
have them install it.

John

 

That's a great price. But try to install it yourself first. It's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

 

I just received the Curt hitch, via U-Haul, and while I haven't installed it yet, it is in good shape with no obvious deformations. I ordered this to replace the one I installed a year or two ago that, I think, I bought from this site, though there's none sold now and I can't remember the manufacturer. From the get go that one gave me problems, starting with the fact that it was a two-piece, bolted together. There was a huge gap, 0.5 inches, between the two parts. The manufacturer's customer support assured me that it was fine and that it was the way it was designed. After installing some spacers, I successfully bolted it on, though I've had concerns with it since.

As an aside, I was tracking the shipment of the Curt hitch. The day it was supposed to be delivered, FedEx reported it was returned to the shipper at their request. I called U-Haul and was informed that the manufacturer had noticed I was shiped the wrong one and had recalled the shipment. He also let slip that the manufacturer was ramping up QC efforts.

 

I just installed a Quality S brand 2" hitch on my 2006. The quality seems to be a good match for the Curt. In other words, what should have taken 30 minutes to install ended up taking several hours. The hitch is basically OK, but it took a hydraulic jack to bend it into shape.

Mounting it with 3 bolts was uneventful. I jacked up each side of the car, put a block under the tire, and let it back down on the block. Removed the tow hooks, revealing the attaching points. Then I balanced the hitch on a jack, and pumped it up into location. Three bolts went in easily. The fourth one didn't match up by about 1/4". So I snugged up the three bolts, and took the car down off the blocks.

I drove the car for several days while trying to figure out how to get the fourth bolt in. Found this tread, and also found several uTube videos on how to install a hitch. It seems to be an industry accepted practice that hitches need to be bent in order to line up the mounting holes. 2x4s and crow bars are standard tools. Anyway, here's what I figured out:


The front right bolt didn't line up.




This wasn't in the instructions...



A little closer view



Pressure as close to the hole as I could get it

Finally got the bolt in. Having three bolts already installed was probably a good idea. Otherwise just spreading the vertical flanges would have messed up the position of the third hole, which was OK.

Hitch is fully installed now, and waiting for work...

 

Well done. It's a mystery to me why these manufacturers can't use a simple 4-dowel jig when they're welding up these things. Or maybe they do, but fail to heat-relieve them after welding. Whatever, a high-school shop class could turn out a better quality product, IMHO.

 

Put the Curt hitch on this morning in about 20 minutes. Had to extend the recommended cutout of the plastic piece, but other than that it was a piece of cake. I used a hydraulic jack to hoist and hold the hitch into position while I bolted it in.

 

I assume that a "Quality S Brand 2-inch hitch" is not a Curt
hitch? I don't recall Curt making the 2" size.

Anyways, if you watch the Curt installation video on the elearning
website, they show you how to solve this exact problem using
a 2x4 to leverage a misaligned fourth hole into place. Of course,
they had the luxury of having a hydralic lift so that the entire
underside was easily accessible. Do you think the 2x4 would
have worked for you?

I took my Curt hitch to U-Haul, who charged me a half hour
of labor ($35) to install it. It took them 25 minutes. The biggest
problem I had with them was that they didn't know how to
power on my car to drive it over to their service bay!

 

Well, the problem as I see it is that everybody wants the cheapest product... and the highest quality. You can have them both - just not at the same time. If you want the cheapest product, you may have to add a bit of elbow grease. Totally worth it to me. But if you want the highest-quality product with QA and all that - then you'll have to pay for it. Bending these flanges into conformity just isn't that big a deal!

If it is a big bother to tweak these things, then insist on paying MORE for your products. Stop buying at WalMart, etc. Our product quality is what it is today because we as a society insist on paying as little as possible.

 

Any reason folks don't seem to be going for the Hidden Hitch? All my holes aligned fine and it went in without a, uh, hitch. (pun intended)

 

A 2x4 is too big to fit in the space between the hitch and the muffler. And I wouldn't put any pressure on the muffler anyway - too easy to damage it.

Perhaps the hitch was manufactured OK, but was bent in handling before I got it. As I recall, the box was fairly beat up. The hitch looked OK, at least until I tried that 4th bolt.

The message seems to be that some hitches fit, while others have to be bent into shape. The brand doesn't seem to matter.

 

The first Curt hitch I ordered for my 2010 came in bent. The replacement was fine, but I am glad I caught this before my install.

Curt said that this must have happened in shipping, or at the reseller.

How do you bend something that heavy?

 

I installed mine yesterday. I went right in with no problems. 45 minutes tops.

 

This is good news for me. I have a 2010 Prius III and I was afraid that It would not be possible to install a hitch to use a hitch mounted bike carrier.

I want to purchase the Curt Hitch and take it to U Haul.

Any advice for me in the way of instructions, tips or things to look out for when I do this?

I do not know anything about cars.

Thanks!