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

Video Transcript for Curt Trailer Hitch Installation - 2017 GMC Acadia

Speaker 1: Today on our 2017 GMC Acadia, we're going to be installing Curt's class 3 two inch trailer hitch receiver, part number C13293. This is what our hitch is going to look like when it's installed. As you can see, it's mostly hidden behind the bumper, and you're really only going to see the receiver tube here at the back. It's a class 3, two inch by two inch receiver. It uses a five eights inch hitch pin and clip. Now, one doesn't come with this hitch, but you can pick one up here at etrailer.com using part number C21510.

It features plate style safety chain loops and has a nice opening here that should accommodate any size safety chain.It features a 750 pound tongue weight, that's the force going down on top of the receiver, and a 5,000 pound gross towing capacity. That's how much it can pull behind it. Now, this is rated for use with a weight distribution system. When using one, the tongue weight will remain the same, but the gross towing capacity's going to increase to 6,000 pounds. Now, you do want to make sure you check your vehicle's owner's manual to ensure you're not exceeding its capacities.Now I've got some measurements for you to help you when deciding on accessories.

From the ground to the top inside edge of the receiving tube, it's going to measure about 16 inches. This is important when determining if you need the drop, rise, or raise shank on any of your accessories. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of the rear bumper, it's going to measure about six inches. This is important when determining if any of your folding accessories can be placed in the upright storage position without contacting the bumper. We'll begin our installation underneath the vehicle at the rear.

We're going to have to lower down our exhaust, but before you do that, you want to make sure you put a strap in place to hold it up, to keep it from falling down too low. We'll place our strap underneath our exhaust and tighten it up.Just behind each muffler, you'll find an exhaust hanger that's held in place by two bolts with a 15 millimeter head. Use a 15 millimeter socket to remove both those bolts. We'll repeat that same process on the other side. Just behind our fuel tank, you'll find a third exhaust hanger.

We're going to remove that one as well. Want to spray it down with some lubricant to make it easier to get off, then we're going to use a pry bar, just pry it off of there. Then lift up on your exhaust, pull the hanger towards the rear of the vehicle, and drop it down. You'll repeat that same process on the other side. You can use your cam buckle strap to gently lower it down.We'll now need to lower the heat shields on both sides. There'll be a total of four speed nuts on each heat shield, and you'll remove those just with a pair of needle nose pliers. You can just put them inside of some of the grooves that's in the speed nut, and then just twist it around. Once you've loosened it up, you can then just take it off by hand. We'll then pull down the heat shield, working it off the studs, and repeat that same procedure on the other side.We'll now need to trim out our heat shield. I've gone ahead and marked out the area that we're going to cut. You can refer to your instructions for outlines on how to make these markings. We're just going to cut it with a pair of tin snips. We'll repeat this same procedure on the other heat shield. We'll then reinstall our exhaust heat shields, line the holes back up with the studs. Now, one of those studs, we won't be reusing. Now we use a putty or razor knife to remove the caulk down the bottom to make that smooth as well. We're going to do that around any of the openings where we'll be feeding our bolts.Now, we'll need to break off the stud located here, so that way, it doesn't interfere with our hitch. We're just going to break it off using a pair of channel locks. Just snap those down, and then just wiggle it back and forth. It'll eventually break right off of there. We're going to do that on the other side as well. We're now going to take our coiled fish wire. We're going to take the coiled end, put it up through the hole in our hitch. We're going to run it back to the larger opening located here. If you're having troubles getting it, you can give a little bend there. That'll angle it down. Then, use your finger to work it down, feed it down through the hole, and now we can take our spacer. We're going to put that on first, and then thread on one of the carriage bolts. We'll push the spacer up into the frame, followed by the carriage bolt. We're going to pull it down back through.We're going to repeat that same procedure on these two holes. You want to repeat this same procedure on the other side. Now, to make sure you've got enough clearance when lifting your hitch into position, because it may come into contact with this head of this weld nut, you're going to want to bend this bracket here towards the rear of the vehicle. You can use a pair of vice grips, put them on there, and just pull back to get a little bend in it, just to give you just enough room. Now, with an extra set of hands, we're going to lift our hitch into position. Make sure that you feed your fish wires down through the appropriate holes that they line up with, and go over your exhaust. Lift it up and take one of the nuts, and thread it onto your bolt. Then once you get one nut started on each side, the hitch will hold itself in place, making it easier to install the rest of your hardware.Now, tighten down all of your hardware using an 11/16ths socket. Then torque all of your hardware to the specifications in the instructions. We'll now need to reinstall our exhaust. One of the easiest ways to do this is to lift it into position and just hook the one bracket on one side at the rear onto that tang, and do that on the other side. That'll hold your exhaust up, making it easier to install your hangers and hardware. Then tighten the bolts back down using a 15 millimeter socket. Then you can remove the strap that was supporting your exhaust. Now you're ready to hook up your trailer and hit the road. That completes our installation of Curt's class 3 two inch trailer hitch receiver on our 2017 GMC Acadia.