Trailer Hitch Installation - 2005 Ford Escape

Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2005 Ford Escape

Today we are going to install part number V82211 from Valley on our 2005 Ford Escape. To install our hardware the bolts get pulled from the inside out. The hardware ends up being pull through here to all 3 of these holes. You can use a wire pull to get the wire inside and out. You do the same thing on the other side but it is a little bit different. On this model here we have this tie down bracket which gets bolted to this side of the frame here. Also it gets bolted between the frame and the bumper. So we really can not take this down because it is trapped by a bumper. So we are going to have to enlarge a hole back here. Basically what we want to do is enlarge this hole here with a small hole saw. Then we will pull the hardware from one hole to the other.

Okay we will go ahead and put a pull wire on through and then slide our plate in. After the plate is in we can thread our bolt onto the pull wire. Then you can go ahead and pull it on through the frame. Make sure the bolt sits straight down in there. Then you can do the rest for the other 2 holes. After drilling your hole you might want to spray down the hole with some primer or something to keep the hole from rusting any more then it has to. Then you can do the same thing for the other side.

Now at this point we can go ahead and install our hitch. It is always a good idea to have an extra set of hands. To hold up one half. We have our hitch installed with a couple nuts secure holding it up. Next we can install the nuts, washers and flat washers. Once you have the hardware loosely installed you can move the hitch a a little bit left and right. Make sure you get it centered the way you want it. Then you can go ahead and snug up your bolts. Once you have them installed go ahead and give them your final torque. That concludes our install of part number V8221 from Valley.