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This fully welded, corrosion-resistant vehicle trailer hitch receiver is perfect for your light-duty towing needs. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. Drawbar sold separately.
Features:
Specs:
Draw-Tite's Tested Tough program provides testing standards far superior to those outlined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the go-to source for engineering professionals.
Each Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver undergoes extensive fatigue testing and static testing with the ball mount that is either supplied or recommended for use with that particular hitch, thus ensuring results that are applicable to real life use. Fatigue testing is also conducted on hitches rated for use with weight-distribution systems.
In addition, Draw-Tite performs static testing on a simulated automobile, as opposed to the rigid fixture used for SAE testing, resulting in a more true-to-life scenario.
At etrailer.com we're committed to the products we sell, and to our customers. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff are available via both phone and email to address your questions and concerns for the lifetime of your hitch. The technicians at etrailer perform hitch installations on a daily basis, making them a valuable resource for do-it-yourselfers. The one-on-one, personal service you'll receive comes straight from an expert in the towing and automotive field. We've installed it, we've wired it and we've towed with it, so whatever your question, we can answer it.
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Brian: Hey, everybody. Brian here at etrailer.com. Today on our 2018 Ford Fiesta, we're going to be taking a look at, and showing you how to install, the Draw-Tite inch and a quarter trailer hitch receiver. This is what our hitch is going to look like installed. Now, although it is mostly visible, because of it's design, it's going to give us an adequate amount of clearance to use just about any hitch mounted accessory you might have.This is a Class I hitch, so it's going to have that inch and quarter by inch and a quarter receiver tube opening. It's also going to have a half-inch pin hole.
Now, the pin and clip is not included, but if you need one, you can find one on etrailer.com. It's also going to have loop-style safety chain openings, which do provide us with enough room to use just about any size safety chain hook.The maximum tongue weight rating is going to be 200 pounds. That's going to be the amount of weight pushing down on our receiver tube. Now, the maximum gross trailer weight rating is 2,000 pounds. That's going to be the amount of weight pulling on our hitch.
The weight of your trailer, plus anything you might have on it. Now, it is always a good idea to check with your Ford's owner's manual to make sure that the Fiesta can handle that much weight.Now, I'm going to give you a couple of measurements. These are going to help you in deciding which hitch mounted accessories to use. From the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube opening is right under 10 inches. Now, you're going to use that measurement to figure out if your ball mount needs either a drop or a rise.
From the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of the rear bumper is about three and a half inches. You're going to use that measurement to figure out if any of your folding accessories can be stored in the upright position without contacting the bumper.To being our install, we're going to have to lower our exhaust, but before we do that, I like to use a strap that goes across that way we can lower the exhaust in a controlled manner. There's going to be two rubber isolators that we're going to have to take off; One, right here, and one, right here. Now, to take them off, you can just use a pry bar and pry it away from the exhaust, just like that. Now we can remove our heat shield.
Now, there's going to be three fasteners, just like this, that we'll take off to drop it down. It's going to be a 10 millimeter that we're going to use. So we can just use our hands to pull it down and set it off to the side. Now, we can mark and trim our heat shield according to the diagram in the instructions.Now, this is fairly thin, so you can use some tin snips or even a Dremel tool, if you have one. We're just going to use some tin snips. Now, we can take this half of our heat shield and reattach it using the same fasteners. Now it's going to make life a little bit easier if we remove this rubber hanger completely, just so we have a little more room to work. You can just take it off with your hands, just like that, and we'll set it off to the side for now.Before we put our hardware into place, I just like to point out where our attachments points are going to be. We're going to be using this oval shaped hole closest to the back of our vehicle. Then we're also going to be using this smaller oval shaped hole, not too far in front of it. To get our hardware into this hole, we're going to be using the reverse fish wire technique. We're going to take the coiled end of our fish wire, then we're going to put on our spacer block. Then we're going to thread on our carriage bolt. Then we'll feed our bolt into the hole. Then our spacer block goes in next. Then we can use our wire to pull that hardware back through. The other side is going to be set up the same, so we'll do that now.Now, before we put our hitch into place, I want to point out how the hardware is going to work for this hole. It's going to be a little bit different. It's actually going to use a handle nut and we'll bend this handle down. Then this flat side is going to sit, like this, inside of the frame. So we'll slide it through the hole behind it, and we'll line it up to where we can see it. Then to hold the hitch up in place, we're going to put on a conical toothed washer, just make sure that the teeth on the washer are always facing the hitch. Then we'll put our regular bolt through it, just like this.Now, with an extra set of hands, we can lift our hitch into place. We're going to take the end of our fish wire and put it through this first hole. The driver's side is going to be really easy. You're just going to have to set that side up, but the passenger side, however, you are going to have to come around the muffler and it's going to have to tilt down on the driver's side to get it above that exhaust hanger. Once you have it in place, you can remove your fish wire. Then we're going to put on a conical toothed washer. Once again, make sure the teeth face the hitch. Then we can just thread our nut on. We'll get both sides hand tight, that way the hitch will support itself while we work on the rest of the bolts.Now we can install the hardware back here. We're going to take our handle nut and put a bend in it. Then we're going to put it through this hole. Then we'll line the threads up with our hitch. Once again, we'll take our bolt and our conical toothed washer and get it threaded into place. I'll go ahead and repeat that process on the other side. With all of our hardware in place, you can go ahead and tighten it all down. Now, using a torque wrench, we can torque all of our hardware down. You can find that torque specification in your instructions.With all of our hardware torqued down, we can now raise our exhaust back into position. We'll put our hanger on the muffler first, and hold it up, and push it onto the hanger up here. With the car exhaust secure, we can then remove our safety strap.That will do it for our look at, and installation, of the Draw-Tite Trailer Hitch Receiver on our 2018 Ford Fiesta.
Wasn’t to hard to install with the help of another person. Got it installed in about 1 1/2 hours. The installers Etrailer recommended wanted double or about double the price I paid for the hitch to install it. For people with a hoist and do for a living they can do in about 1/2 hour. Got it on and the price was right for the hitch.
Great fit. I did have some small clearance issues with my bumper but managed to get it worked out without having to modify the hitch or bumper. It's only a class 1 hitch so it's not the sturdiest hitch. I got it to use with my bike rack. I have no doubts it will do that great for my purposes
Purchased the item from etrailer on 3/25/19 and it arrived on 3/29/19. The packaging and item were in perfect condition. Product was exactly are described, although a bit heavy, on the website. Was able to complete the install in under an hour in garage at home. Did not have to trim the exhaust heat shield so that saved a bit of time. No issues during the install and the videos provided on the etrailer website were awesome. Watch, pause, do, repeat until finished. Thanks for a great all round experience. This hitch will be used for a two bike rack so I don’t have to take my wife’s car anymore and move her seat. She gets angry. My 2018 Fiesta ST is black color so the hitch is not very noticeable at all. Etrailer is my go to spot for sure. You can’t go wrong.
Thank you so much for your email. I've attached some
Pictures as examples of what your product has allowed me to do! I am very happy with my purchase and the utility it has given me. I hope you have a great day and thank you again for reaching out!
Gwendolyn Y.
5/27/2025
This is awesome, Kevin! How often do you get to take your bike out for a ride? Also, thanks for sharing the photos, they look great!
easy install, great service, great price! Thankyou!! With the 2” adapter on it’s still fully under the car… no shin bites, but my bike rack and platform still fit.
This hitch has been installed for over a year and it has regularly stood up to heavy use on a 2014 Fiesta ST (6-speed manual). On one occasion, a 700lb trailer was towed with 1,100lbs of flooring. That's 1,800 lbs! (Remember to never exceed the weight ratings on your vehicle or hitch.)
No issues installing this product. I elected not to trim heat shields and only notice an occasional clunk. I used the Y-harness wiring kit from e-trailer to tie into the tail lights w/o cutting the wire. Works great!
Well I have to say this was one of the easiest reciever hitch installs ever! It went on super quick instructions said 30mins I think it took about that long and I wasn't in a rush. Pretty straightforward and fits like a glove. Only complaint would be my exhaust moves a bit ajd knocked around a bit, but there is a company that makes stiffer rubber hangers for the exhaust I might try. I have a 2017 Fiesta ST I plan on using it to pull a small 14ft day sailor on occasion and possibly a bike rack. This is my 2nd purchase from etrailer.com my first being a roof rack for the same car both transactions were smooth and shipping was quick I will continue to purchase and recommend etrailer.com to friends or anybody who needs auto accessories.
The hitch works as designed. What was initially an issue, was that it clanged and banged against the exhaust when first installed. Had to have the exhaust hangers bent at a muffler shop. That fixed the issue. I still do occasionally hear clanks from it, which considering this is a hot hatch with tight suspension, it's gonna happen. The hitch itself has served its purpose just fine though.
The hitch fit great, and the installation instructions were clear. Trailer hitches always seems to have terrible paint jobs. To prevent rust, and help the hitch blend in, I put three coats of Krylon satin black paint on after ripping off all the stickers. Hopefully that will buy me a couple of years of rust-free use.
Installed the hitch by myself on.. I use it weekly to for a cargo hauler with about 75 pounds on it. Works great. No issues with hitch one year in.
Hitch install and wiring was easy thanks to your great videos! For those wondering, the Fiesta tows a small trailer very nicely.
The coating on the receiver looks more like paint than powder coating. It is very thin and many of the edges are chipped showing bare steel. I will need to paint all the edges before installing. The receiver was well packaged and the chipped paint would appear to have happened prior to shipping. I think it was chipped in storage and prior handling.
Very easy to install, exactly as described and fast shipping. Just add a 2 " converter and its ready to tow.
This was purchased to pull a motorcycle trailer. The hitch arrived super fast. I put this on my Ford Fiesta all by my lonesome, and it was a piece of cake. Perfect for my needs.
Order process was fast and easy. Product showed up ahead of the scheduled delivery date which is always great. Installed at work, much easier being able to use a lift. Product is solid and sturdy.
I bought a Ford Fiesta ST as opposed to the Ford Focus ST, because I didn't think I could get a hitch receiver for the Focus, as it has center exhaust. Was talking about scheduling the car to get a hitch for the Fiesta and a friend of mine said we could do it. He looked for the right one, and found it very quickly. As he has a hoist, we did it at his place. It took us longer to figure out how to hoist up the car (it sits a little lower than normal) than it did for us to install the receiver. Great design and instructions. My only issue is that the exhaust pipe hits the receiver whenever I hit a bump. I don't think anything is getting damaged, but it does make some noise. I just haven't figured out what to do about it yet.
Since this went so smoothly and I've used it several times with my bike rack, even long distances, I'm telling anyone that wants to get a receiver to order one, and we can install it ourselves!
Jessica S.
8/11/2021
I still love the hitch receiver. Works great, and I tell everyone to just buy one and either install it themselves, or let me do it. Took maybe 15 minutes. It still looks great, and I still use it quite frequently to haul bikes. I also love the sporty look! I know, a superficial thing
Went right on easy install took about 35 minutes nice product perfect fit
David
4/3/2019
Used everyday no problems of any kind nice product thank you.
The hitch is great. One thing to note is that I didn't have to cut the heat shield on my 2016 Fiesta ST.
Love etrailer!! My new spot for all my vehicle trailer and wiring! Even found sbow plow witing kits i couldnt anywhere else! Fast shipping, great customer service and products. The emails that show exactly where/when your package is. The videos they have made are awesome, you can see how to install before and afrer you buy! I always use other online retailers but not for this stuff anymore! Thank you!
Adam S.
2/20/2020
Great! Easy install! Love Etrailer, the shipping, website and videos are awesome!
Etrailer components are the best! I ordered this hitch from Etrailers because the price was great and I every product I have purchased from them has been first class. This hitch was no exception. It is well designed, built and finished. The installation was quick, easy and clever with good instructions and no modifications required. The best!
David D.
1/16/2022
The hitch has worked flawlessly.
As always.. the hitch receiver arrived in a timely manner and in perfect shape. I installed by myself in about 1 hour...Ford changed their rear muffler bracket on the 2017 Fiesta hatchback, so I had to do a bit of freelancing to the installation...all in all, a straightforward installation.
Rick M.
4/7/2021
The hitch receiver works perfectly and still looks like new. Definitely a great purchase.
Was a very easy install and fits perfect. One thing that I will mention is that the rear exhaust hanger needed to be "reshaped" to allow the hitch to bolt up on the passenger side. Other than no regrets on the purchase. Quality product
Mike L.
5/18/2018
The exhaust system at the rear of the car is attached to the vehicle using rubber isolators and easily bendable exhaust hangers. Because of this, the actual position of the exhaust system can vary a bit from vehicle to vehicle. When the hitch is installed, its position is fixed, and will not vary from vehicle to vehicle. The large tolerances in the exhaust system is what can allow the rattle to occur.
Tommy
5/18/2019
Still great!! Used the hitch to tow a bedroom set from FL to SC. Use the hitch almost every week to pull my trailer and haul random things around. No rust or paint chippings. Still looks brand new. Quality product!!
Fit well, followed instructions and had no issues. Ended up getting the drop muffler donuts as I spent a lot of time centering it based on exhaust and it still rattled a little. Not the hitches fault.
Gnarly Mchuckstein
6/4/2021
Still holding up great!
I'm so very glad I found etrailer, I purchased this hitch and a ball mount and was easily able to have it installed onto the car without the need to trim my vehicle's heat-shield. It looks as great as it is functional and adds a good bit of versatility to the vehicle as well as a nice cosmetic look when not in use. The hitch tucks nicely under the vehicle and supports weight well. I drive a Fiesta ST with already low clearance on the suspension, but am still able to tow a small trailer which is really nice to be able to do with a smaller vehicle. Excellent product and e-trailer was great to work with an answered any questions I had!
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Andrew B.
3/31/2020
No issues at all. Works as advertised