Most Popular Concealed Cross Tube for Ford Explorer

Ordered on a Thursday with arrival expected the following Monday. Arrived that Saturday! Instructions for the hitch and wiring were pretty good, but would still prove challenging for a novice DIY to complete. Took several hours to install. Finished product was clean and seamless.

I was pleased with both the price and the packaging, as well as the product. Unlike some other vendors, the hitch receiver was properly boxed. Installed on 2022 Explorer, used video from 2023 Explorer. Installed it by myself with little difficulty. Quite happy with fit and finish.

I had a little trouble starting out buy the etrailer team was patience and assured me that the trailer hitch fit my 22 explorer. To be honest I found a video for the installation and it showed the the couple pulling down the plastic trim and sliding hitch up into cavity above the trim cover.

2021 Ford Explorer. Perfect fit! My concern was delivery time, spoke to Lori at etrailer, she assured me that the order would be processed and shipped in a timely manner as my hitch was “in stock”. She was right on the money. The instructions were simple and easy to follow. I installed the hitch in a parking lot with no problems. Thank you etrailer and Lori for a personalized experience as a consumer; something that is far too rare these days. HIGHLY RECOMMEND etrailer!!!

I have purchased and installed numerous hitches from etrailer over the years for various vehicles I have had. This hitch pertains to a 2023 Ford Explorer. Ordering and shipping went well as usual, I received the hitch in a timely manner. The box it came in was practically destroyed but the hitch was not damaged. As far as installation goes it does take a bit of prep work as described in the installation instructions. Take into strong consideration that as noted in the instructions, measurements are approximate, you do have to dry fit especially due to the fact that you have to make cuts in the (2) heat shields. Definitely watch the installation video on etrailer’s website for the installation on a 2022 Ford Explorer but keep in mind things do vary. In the case of my 2023 Ford Explorer The cut dimensions in the heat shields depicted in the instructions are definitely different than the cut dimensions needed to be done in order for me to fit the hitch.For me the long cut needed to be 9”, not 5” as stated. The 1.5” cut did suffice for my installation. 1 flange nut on each of the heat shields needed to be removed and not reinstalled in order for the hitch to mount flush to the cars frame as depicted in my included pictures. Also the rear bracket that needs to be removed in order to lower the exhaust uses a 13mm bolt, not a 10mm bolt as stated in the instructional video and installation instructions. Other than those things, the hitch does seem to be of good quality the welds all looked good, it had a nice finish and I’m sure I will have no issues with it. As I said, I have installed numerous hitches so I always expect to encounter certain issues, just take your time have patience and you’ll be able to get it done. I would recommend this hitch to others.

Hitch itself is great and has held up for over 2,000 miles of towing. Installation instructions were basically good. Exception to instructions pertains to the heat shield modification, could have given slightly better details regarding cut dimensions & locations. Overall an excellent kit & components.

Well built hitch and easy to install. 2010 F150.

Exactly what we needed. Your platform works perfectly for getting us the correct hitch for our make, model and year. Excellent quality product.

I have been dealing with etrailer for many years and have never had a problem. I just ordered a hitch for my Lincoln, and it didn't fit. I called on a Sunday and talked with Diana. Diana said there were were two different hitches for my car that year. She said no problem, she sent the correct one out that day and gave me a prepaid tag to return the wrong one, no questions asked. They are a great company that stand behind there products if there's ever a problem. Great people to buy from. Thank you Diana for the quick turn around, you folks have my vote and my business!

2013 Ford Edge Sport Pro Tip: There are two (2) carriage bolts that are longer than the other four (4). The instructions indicate to use these for the holes that you will drill though I’m not entirely sure it matters. Still, if you want to do it by the book, double check your bolts before installing. Otherwise a straightforward and easy install.

Well made, well finished and heavy duty product! If you are even halfway handy, you can install this yourself. Like anything, fitting is exact.

Product was all there but arrived with shipping damage. Might want to think about how to keep the heavy items from moving in the shipping carton or protect the outside edges with cardboard or something. I'll touch up the paint but wanted to give some feedback, you guys seem pretty receptive to input. Other than that there was good communication through the whole process. Fast service. Thank you.

It's a perfect addition to my son's PT cruiser. Now with the retro look of the PT cruiser he can tow his 1980 smoker craft boat with the antique outboard motor. Thanks again E trailer for great products and my fifth hitch I purchased from you.

Great product, installation was easy and instructions very good. I didn't use any power tools and had to jack up the car put it on safety stands and use a creeper and it only took me one hr. I removed the spare tire and removed both brackets from the frame for the muffler. The T-one wiring harness yellow wire could have been about two or three inchs longer but I made it work.

It came within a few days of ordering. Packaged well, no shipping damage. Installation took an hour only because I had to cut the bolts to the bumper mounted hitch that was already installed. I also had to drill two holes due to my Ranger being the older model. After that it bolted right up with no issues. All the necessary hardware to install the hitch was included. Oh, yeah, it came with instructions, but who reads those!

This is the third time we have purchased a hitch from etrailer along with other products. Every time we have purchased from them we have been very happy. We really appreciate the helpful videos that show step by step how to install the products we have purchased. We also appreciate that they care enough to follow up and see how things are going. We bought this to replace a Hidden Hitch that had been damaged due to and accident. The original had been on the truck for many year and served us well. We were glad to find this hitch and that it is exactly like the original. We like that, other than the receiver, the entire assembly hides up behind the bumper making for a very clean install. It is on a 2001 Ford Ranger with the Edge package. The truck has a full size spare and the hitch does fit well even with the full size spare. When you install the hitch removing the spare makes for a much easier install. The spare fits right back in place when you are done. The hitch has been on the truck for about a year now. The finish has held up well and it does exactly what we need it to do.

The quality of the hitch seems very good. The finish is thick and being in Canada with salt on the roads, it should stay rust free for awhile. Mounting the hitch on my 1988 Ford Crown Vic went well. There were no holes in the frame so I had to drill all 4 holes. At the holes near the end of the frame I could not use the supplied bolts due to the way the shocks on the bumper went inside the end of the frame. All in all it was an easy install with the car on a hoist and a helping hand from my brother.

Probably would have gave five stars but I was unaware that the actual hitch itself doesn't come with a ball attached to it. You have to buy the ball separately. I thought the ball came on a hitch or at least a standard ball came on a hitch. I guess I should have looked into it a little more. It's not a big deal but now I I have to chase down a ball. Other than that, installation was straightforward and the hitch and frame seem heavy duty. The wiring harness I ordered also seems pretty heavy duty and should prevent any shorts in the system

Great price for a heavy duty steel hitch bumper that was surprisingly easy to install by myself with the right tools and video instructions.

I absolutely love mine! It helped me tow many things with my car. I have gotten so much use out of it already, and plan to use it a ton more!!

I bought the Draw-Tite for a 2018 Ford Edge Sport. I saw lots of discussion about throwing out the heat shield, which left the rear bumper flimsy. I was able to trim the heat shield, reinstall it, which firmed up the rear bumper cover. Attached are some pics showing how this was done. Basically, trim off the ends and center piece, anything that would extend back towards the hitch. I used a Dremel cut off wheel and Tin snips, worked great. Then, cut a 3 inch square next to the centerpiece opening. Do not cut the heat shield material. This allows the receiver part of the hitch to fit in the opening. Then, trim the ends by following the heat shield material. Slide the heat shield back in place starting from one end and pushing it across and back into place. Reattach all bumper cover bolts, that will firm up the bumper cover. Pull wires worked great. I used jack stands to hold the hitch in place and installed it myself. Just watch the video a couple of times, it was not that hard. I bought the Curt wiring harness as I wanted to keep the pigtail inside when not using, which will be about 95% of the time. Good product, easy install.

The install went easier than expected. 3 Hours start to finish by myself. There were a few bare edges where paint was removed during shipping, which will be the first to rust. I might try to touch it up but in past experience this doesn't help much. Adding some padding on the edges of the frame might prevent damage during shipment. To the install. I am a moderately skilled shade-tree mechanic, and anyone who can do minor car repairs should be able to tackle this install. Removing the trim was easy. Using a strap to lower the muffler was not too bad (even detaching the hangers wasn't too bad). I would definitely go this route instead of removing the bumper cover as some others have mentioned... much easier. The hardest part was getting the hitch frame in place without a helper. I ended up using some landscaping bricks and an old empty car battery to lay one end of the frame on while I attached the other. Having someone to hold one side while you attach the other would make this part MUCH easier. Still, I was able to tackle it without too much trouble. Note the frame IS heavy, so you won't be able to just hold it up while you get the bolts attached. After that, I tightened the bolts, re-hung the muffler, and put the trim back on and it looks and works great! Now I can go fishing again with my new Edge. Also of note, the backup camera and the automatic rear hatch sensor still work fine. You do have to "kick" to just one side of the hitch or the other... but it works no differently than before. Very satisfied with the product, as long as it lasts the life of the car without rusting to pieces... which time will tell on that front.

Fit and finish are very good. Working on a 7 year old dual exhaust Charger, it took me a little over two hours to get it done rolling around on the floor by myself. Most of that time was taking the exhaust apart and removing the exhaust fascia chrome things. Those didn't make it back on. Passenger side bolts not the easiest to get to, but the fishwire thing worked perfectly.

With my 2 sons installation went well. We've used the hitch up hold our bike rack as well as a small metal shelf top transport items such as ice chests and suit cases. I have to be careful over speed bumps or it will hit. This hitch has come in very handy.

Always great products from Curt. It took longer to wire the trailer lights than it did to install the hitch!

I'm very happy with this purchase. I use the hitch for my bike rack. I have not towed with it yet. The installation took about 45 minutes and I recommend having a car jack or second set of hands to lift the hitch into position.