Trailer Hitch Installation - 2010 Dodge Journey - Draw-Tite

Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2010 Dodge Journey

Today on our 2010 Dodge Journey, we'll be installing Draw-Tite Hitch, part number 75648. This is what our hitch will look like once it's installed. Next, we'll go ahead and give you a couple of measurements to assist you in selecting accessories for your new hitch. The center of the hitch pin hole is even with the outermost edge of the bumper. From the top of the receiver tube to the ground is 13-1/2 inches. This will assist you in selecting accessories such as the drawbar, a bike rack, or a cargo carrier.

Now, let's go ahead with the installation. First, before we can install the hitch, we'll need to go ahead and lower the exhaust. Before we do that, we'll go ahead and put a safety strap underneath so we can control how far and fast the exhaust will fall. Now with our safety strap secured, we can go ahead and remove the ground strap between the frame and the exhaust hanger on the muffler on the passenger's side. Next, we'll go ahead and take some spray lubricant and spray down each one of the rubber isolators that connect the exhaust hangers.

There are a total of three on each side. I'll simply go ahead and use my pry bar to remove the rubber isolator and you can even use an exhaust hanger removal tool on the forward exhaust hangers. Now with all six rubber isolators removed, we can go ahead and lower the exhaust. As you can see, this will give us access to the holes that are now in the frame and bumper beam. We have a total of four attachment points, two on each side, so each process we do here to the driver's side will get repeated identically to the passenger's side.

For our rear attachment point, we'll insert a 1/2-inch carriage bolt and block into the bumper beam using our pull wire provided with our install kit. We'll simply take the pull wire, feed it to the attachment and out the end of the bumper beam, and then we'll slide on our block and thread on our carriage bolt and pull them both into position. We'll go ahead and leave our pull wire onto the carriage bolt as it will assist us to put the hitch in place without pushing our hardware back up into the frame. Next, we'll go ahead and repeat the same process on the passenger's side. Now, we're ready to prepare to install the hitch.

We'll first take the wedged block provided with our install kit. Orientate it with the fat end facing the rear of the vehicle and we'll tape it to the rear attachment point on the hitch. This way, it will get sandwiched between the hitch and the bumper beam. It's a good idea to get an extra set of hands to help you hold the hitch in place while you install the second wedged block, this time with the narrow end facing the rear of the vehicle, a conical toothed washer with the teeth of the washer facing the hitch, and a 1/2-inch nut. Now with those attachment points secured finger tight, we're ready to install the hardware for the forward attachment point. This will be a handle nut which will go to the access hole on the frame and a bolt and conical toothed washer that will go through the hitch, to the frame, and into the handle nut. First, we'll go ahead and take the handle nut and line it up with the access hole and our attachment point and then we can go ahead and bend the handle nut as needed so that we can line it up. Now, we can go ahead and take our bolt and conical toothed washer with the teeth of the washer facing the hitch and thread it into the handle nut. Now with the driver's side finger tight, again, we'll repeat the same process on the passenger's side. Now, we can go ahead and tighten down all four attachment points. With that completed, we can now go ahead and torque to specifications as indicated in the instructions. And now with our hitch completely secured, we can go ahead and reinstall the exhaust and ground strap. We'll remove our safety strap and this will complete the install of our Draw-Tite Hitch, part number 75648 on our 2010 Dodge Journey.