Hidden Hitch Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class III - 2"

Video Transcript for Trailer Hitch Installation - 2011 Mazda CX-7

Today on this 2011 Mazda CX-7, we will be installing Hidden Hitch part number 87421. And this installation will also apply for Draw-Tite hitch part number 75512. Before we get started with our hitch installation, we are going to go ahead and show you a couple of final install dimensions which are going to help make choosing your hitch accessories a little bit easier. From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is going to measure 12 inches. And from the center of the pin hole to clear the rear edge of the bumper is going to measure approximately 9-1/2 inches. Now we can go ahead and move on to our hitch installation. 0:32

Alright, we are starting off underneath the rear of the vehicle. And the first thing we want to do before we point out our mounting holes is to go ahead and lower the exhaust system down. There are four rearmost hangers that are holding the exhaust system up. There are two on the driver side and two on the passenger side as well. To separate the exhaust from its rubber hangers, we just want to use a spray lubricant or penetrant if you will. And then we will just take a pry bar and go ahead and separate the two pieces. Before moving the exhaust off of the fourth hanger, it is a good idea to put some form of support strap across the forward side of the exhaust tube here. Ok, with the exhaust lowered, we can go ahead and point out the mounting holes that we are going to be using to install the trailer hitch to the vehicle. Starting over here on the passenger side of the vehicle, looking directly at the bottom of the frame you can see we have two large existing holes here. Those are going to provide our two attaching points for the trailer hitch and that is going to be the same on the driver side of the vehicle as well. 1:34

Into each one of those holes, we are going to be placing the 1 by 2 inch carriage block along with the carriage bolts, which are provided with the installation kit. What we are actually going to be doing is using one of the two attaching holes as also the access point to get the hardware inside the frame. If you take the hardware, you can see that the carriage bolt will fit into the hole easily but the block is just a little bit too big. Whichever hole you decide to use as your access hole, you are going to need to enlarge it just a little bit. Again, just enough to get the block into position. To open up the hole you can either use a metal file, possible a drill. I am just going to be using a basic chisel. Now with the hole enlarged, we can go ahead and start fishing the bolt inside the frame. And what we are going to do is take the provided bolt leader that comes with the installation kit. Since this is the hole that we enlarged, we are going to go ahead and feed the hardware into this hole first. So we will just take the bolt leader, it from the bottom of the frame through the attaching hole and back out our access hole. Next go ahead and take the carriage block and go ahead and slide it on to the bolt leader. And then take the carriage bolt and thread the bolt leader onto the carriage bolt. Insert the block inside the frame, followed by the carriage bolt and pull them down into position. Then for the second hole, we are going to do what is called a reverse pull. In this instance, we are just going to assemble everything independent of the frame and then it last. So I will first take the block and go ahead and slide it on to the bolt leader, followed by the carriage bolt. And in this instance we are going to go ahead and the carriage bolt in the frame first, followed by the block and then we will just pull them straight back down into place. That finishes the passenger side. We want to go ahead and repeat that set up for the driver side of the vehicle and then we will go ahead and put the hitch up into position. 3:35

OK, we just want to align the carriage bolts with the holes in the trailer hitch. We will be attaching the hitch to the carriage bolts using a conical tooth washer and a hex nut. And now that we have the hitch up in position and the hardware in place, we are going to go through now and torque the bolts down. You want to verify with the directions the specific torque ratings for each of the bolts. And then with the bolts torqued down we just want to make sure that we put our exhaust back up on its hangers. And our installation will be complete. And with that that will conclude the installation of Hidden Hitch part number 87421 on a 2011 Mazda CX-7.