ClubRoadster.net banner

Hard Dog Hidden Hitch (2002 NB)

8K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  XDEEDUBBX 
#1 · (Edited)
This thread has basically been done in a write-up style. I wanted to include some installation issues as well as some things not addressed in the installation instructions. Hope it helps those considering the purchase of this hitch.

Summary:

Build quality - 10/10
Aesthetics - 10/10, Completely hidden, works as advertised
Installation - MODERATE
Functionality - 6/10, unless you are double jointed or have dwarf hands its a PITA to install / remove the receiver

Overall a good buy

Purchased from GOODWIN RACING <-forum sponsor plug

The Story:

Well I never thought this day would come, but I installed a trailer hitch on my car. I'll be honest.....I have a sickness.

Not only do I love playing around with my car but I also love to ride bikes. I currently own a 09 Gary Fisher Superfly and a '10 Trek 6 series Madone. (For those not in to biking thats about $10k in 2 bikes) Since the Miata is the summer toy I thought it would be awesome to combine my bikes with my car and have the best of both worlds.

I decided on the Hard Dog Hidden Hitch because I wanted to use a hitch mounted bike rack without an ugly ass trailer hitch sticking out the back of my car when I’m not using the rack. Price wise it was about $50 more than a "regular style" hitch but I figured its worth it for the aesthetics.

Out of the Box:

The first thing I noticed when taking it out of the box was the weight. The total package, according to UPS was 27lbs box included. So I’d say the actual weight of the hitch is around ~ 25lbs....which is expected I guess. Just listing it in case anyone wants to know. Welds are nice and the quality is what you would expect from any Bethania Garage product.

Installation:



The install was pretty straight forward. You need to remove the rear wheels, tail lights, rear bumper cover and rear bumper support. Basic mechanical skills are needed but its not too difficult. Also only basic hand tools are required.

The first difficulty I encountered was bolting the hitch to the car. The hitch mounts using 6 of the factory studs holding on the rear bumper support. (3 on each side....silver dots in the pic) Most of the studs did not line up with the holes on the hitch, they were all off by about a half hole. All I did to fix this was put one of the nuts on the end of the studs and knocked them over using a hammer so that everything lined up. (the nut prevents the threads on the studs from being damaged...I repeated this for all 6)

Once the hitch was bolted to the car 4 more holes are drilled and nuts / bolts supplied with the hitch are fastened (circled / arrows in pic). This all went smoothly.

Re-Assembly of Car:

Before you finally bolt down the hitch you need to re-install the rear bumper support. The hitch is sandwiched between the car body and the rear bumper support. I ran into a problem here because the rear bumper support was sticking out further now that the hitch was in there....meaning the bumper cover would not sit in the proper spot. I solved this by shaving some of the foam off the bumper support in order to make up the difference. After that everything went back together fine.

Result:



That is what it looks like when the receiver is in place. When you remove the receiver the hitch is COMPLETELY HIDDEN. You would never notice there is a hitch unless you crawl under the car and look between the exhaust and the bumper cover.

The only problem I have is that its really difficult to install / remove the receiver. You pretty much need to be double jointed to access the pin that holds the receiver in place. So although the hitch works as advertised its far from convenient to add / remove the receiver. This could be solved but trimming a bit of the bumper cover to give a bit more room, but I’ll leave it as is for now.

Rack Installed:



The thing works great. The rack I chose is the Swagman XTC2. Its a 2 bike rack, although its only set up for 1 in the pic.

On the Road:



Nothing much to report here. The only thing I can mention in that there is a little more sway to the bike rack when driving. I’m sure this is attributed to the fact that there is an extra pin joint in the whole set up (receiver to the hitch structure) but its very tolerable.

Just a side note. As if there wasn’t enough rear visibility before check out my view with a bike installed...lol



I am very Happy with the result and would reccomend it for those who want the options a hitch can provide, but still want their car to look hellacooljdmdopeshizzz:slayer:
 
See less See more
5
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top