Draw-Tite Max-Frame Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class III - 2"

this trailer hitch was very easy to install. my husband and i easily installed it together onto our 2008 chevy equinox. the hitch is made very well. i attached my kuat bike rack to it, and it is very solid.1200462

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Highly recommend this product. No problems at all. Solid. We have had our kuat bike rack on it, and I also attach straps to hold the canoe on the top of vehicle. Highly recommend.

Julie - 11/12/2022

152084

Hitch fit great and barely shows at all. Price was a bit better than others. However, the hardware kit and directions were wrong for my Terrain. Side bolts on the rails are not M12, they are 7/16 weld nuts in the frame. Spoke with CS and explained the problem, they noted it and had a tech call me the next day. Exceptional CS work,1311546

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by: Steven09/21/2022

Has been working great for us so far. Only issue I had was while installing it we could not get two bolts to screw in all the way into the frame of the vehicle. Not sure if this was due to us receiving the wrong bolts or an issue with the threads in the frame of the vehicle. Nevertheless, the hitch is plenty sturdy enough for our needs (supporting a cargo carrier).1417485

The situation you describe is pretty common. The nuts welded up into the frame can become fouled by road debris and corrosion. This happens frequently in the rust belt, where corrosion causing chemicals are used to treat the roads in the winter. If the corrosion isnt too severe, spray lubricant and a battery terminal cleaner like # DW00254 can be used to clear the threads. In severe cases, the threads will need to be cleaned using a thread tap.

-- Mike L - 10/01/2022

148454

Helpful Link

The hitch came in a timely manner. Price was GREAT! The whole process with eTrailer was very smooth. The videos eTrailer provides were very helpful. The only issue we encountered was more a Draw-Tite issue than an eTrailer issue. All the bolts provided are M12. After spending about 30 minutes trying to get the four (4) bolts to fit the side attachment points gave up and found a couple eTrailer reviews that mention the weld nuts on the frame are 7/16". Had to go to the local hardware store for four 7/16-14 bolts and ten minutes later the hitch was installed.1444538

I have always been very impressed with this site, the ratings of the hitches and wiring are always spot on! The prices are fantastic, and the videos of how to are very well done and very informative and helpful when trying to figure out what challenges you will be faced with. This purchase, as with every purchase I've made from etrailer was worth every cent!1454392

Product arrived in an taller box than needed, and yet too narrow with no support packaging nor any bubble wrap around the ends to prevent damage or busting through the box. Both ends punctured through the box, which of course was going to happen when poorly packaged. Pictures submitted.

In addition, the other product, a wire harness with plastic parts and wiring showed damage to it's box as well as it was just tossed under the heavy main product and allowed to flop around during shipping.

I painted (to prevent rust to exposed metal) the ends of the trailer receiver that were chipped from sticking out the box during shipping. When installing, following online video tutorials, the carriage bolt and plates they stick through, just spin freely in the vehicle frame when trying to spin the nut and washer up snug. I was able to finally get 3 of the 4 tightened, however the 4th one is just not going past 2/3 up the thread to allow the washer to bite into the frame. I HIGHLY suggest the plates also have 'teeth' on them to bite into the top side of the frame to prevent spinning when trying to thread up the loose bolt. Similar to the washers having 'teeth' on them. There is just too much play and no access to hold those plates from spinning around with the bolt.

The 4 bolts that thread into the weld nuts on the frame are all only about 1/4-1/6 of the way in and are very hard to tighten. After removing and trying again over and over on all of them, and spraying lubricant into the weld nuts, I had to stop trying. They are not showing any signs of cross threading as there are no metal bits at all or scarring. Rather all the welded nuts thread's are very rusty and full of grime, since they are in the rear underside of the vehicle in a hard to reach area, and they rarely see washing and lubing to prevent rust. I HIGHLY suggest including in the kit a flexible shaft wired brush attachment for a cordless drill or a thread restorer bit for a ratchet wrench. I'm sure many customers would appreciate the extra level of detail and prep notes.

I ran out of time to install the wire harness today as everything took much longer than expected. Being a shop tech for years, I expected some resistance in the vehicle weld nuts, but in such a difficult to reach area, it is hard to get an appropriate look inside to investigate why the bolts are still not threading further. Later I'll have to spend more time boring out any junk or debris in them to finish installing those 4 bolts, and also figure out a way to spin tight the final loose carriage bolt nut.

Please package the items more securely and wrap the ends of these receivers since they contain the holes that NEED to line up exactly to the vehicle and any damage to these ends can be a big issue. Thank you.1307601

I am sorry to hear that the installation has not gone smoothly. I reached out to Draw Tite and I have a few questions that I would like to ask. With the spacers that you received I wanted to make sure that they have the square hole to accept the carriage bolts. I also wanted to confirm that the spacers were 1.5 inches long. They also advised that using a screw driver can help to keep them from spinning while tightening the nuts onto the bolts. This might help to install that last bolt. With the weld nuts you may need to use a thread chaser or a tap to fully install the bolts if the grime build up is extreme and cleaning them out has not worked.

-- Jenny N - 06/08/2022

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by: Richard07/25/2021

The trailer hitch is well made, install was fairly easy, but the draw bars that fit previous hitch with no slope are loose in this hitch and have to purchase unit to keep bar from bouncing.1104850

The finish is holding up well and have had no problems with this unit.

Richard - 07/26/2022

145106

There were a few hiccups, but it all worked out in the end. The hitch itself is of good quality, but the packaging left a lot to be desired, with the original, and the replacement both arriving hanging outside the box, and slightly damaged. which is why I only gave 3 stars.1430266

I recently purchased this vehicle while on a visit to friends in California, and drove it back home to New Jersey. This vehicle was totally rust free, which made this install a breeze. Since this vehicle didn't have a trailer hitch, I needed one installed.
I went to two trailer places near where I live to get price for installing a hitch. Seems like nobody was interested in doing the job as no one would return my call with a price.
So, my son suggested we watch some how to videos and attempt to do the install ourselves.
We watched the videos from etrailer, and purchased the Draw-tite 76028 hitch.
Install took about 45 minutes. Couldn't believe how easy it was. I'm very happy with the results, and would recommend etrailer for quality products, fast free shipping, their great customer support, and their helpful videos. Five stars all the way.1366875

I shopped around for a trailer hitch for my Chevrolet Equinox but wasn’t happy with my search until I came across etrailer.com. We ordered what I needed with the wiring harness and could not have been more satisfied! We watched the installation video, all parts were included and total installation was about 1 hour! We highly recommend etrailer and will order items in the future without a doubt!1147490

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Mounting kit was not correct thread size . Initially thought it was just corrosion causing friction. sprayed the threads again and tried new bolt and one of the welded frame nuts broke off which required me to disassemble the entire rear bumper and reinforcement cut off remaining nuts and use a new nut and bolt set up . Hitch is probably on their stronger than intended but worked well for the trip.1365567

by: Lori06/20/2022

2016 Chevrolet Equinox

It has been a year since I've installed this hitch on my Chevy Equinox. Overall, it was very easy to install, my only struggle was with some rust on the threads on my car as it's a 2016 and I never installed a hitch.
The hitch has worked well. I initially got it so that I could use a hitch-mount bike rack after years of using a trunk-mounted rack and it has worked great.
I'll use etrailer in the future.1315129

A great improvement and very helpful for using with bike rack for our electric bikes1424012

The product arrived in two days. I liked the custom fit for my vehicle to facilitate installation. I installed the hitch by myself and the process took a total of four hours including the wiring, setup and cleanup. I installed the hitch in my driveway without a jack or jack stands. The included directions were clear and concise. I will be using the hitch to pull a small trailer for home project materials. Mulch, top soil, plants and maybe moving furniture for friends etc. Adding the hitch allows me to not have to ask a friend to use his vehicle and trailer when I have a need. This way I can operate on my own schedule since I retired in Oct. 2017. I would suggest that if one lives in an area where there is frequent snow and the roads are treated with rock salt to be diligent about cleaning out the pre-threaded holes where the hitch mounts. I actually had to run a tap through the threads. The wire brush method did not do the trick. Overall I look ahead to years of service from the hitch and am glad I bought it! Customer service was exceptional (Thanks Paula S) and I would recommend etrailer.com to my friends and family!495864

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Ive used the trailer hitch a few times and everything worked out fine. I dont own a trailer but rent one when I need to. All the hook up and wiring connections fit the rentals.

Grant - 04/15/2019

52959

the hardware i was sent was not the right size. I had to purchase it locally! I think yall dropped the ball on this one!1435044

You mentioned that the hardware was not the correct size and I wanted to see if you could explain in more detail what you mean.

-- Jenny N - 10/17/2022

149612

I installed this by myself yesterday right after I received it. I used a jack stand as a helper. Everything aligned perfect. Biggest problem was installing the nuts and washers at the receiver. Not much room in there. Secured the washers in position with masking tape, then started the nuts on the bolts, removed tape before securing nuts. Overall, an easy install with no bad surprises.
I replaced a full size pickup with this Equinox. Needed something to haul stuff like lumber, building supplies, appliances, etc. I will be towing a small 4x8 trailer to transport items that won't fit in my car.
I could have got away with a lighter rated hitch, as my car is only rated to tow a maximum of 1500 pounds. but I like the extra mounts on the hitch.302218

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Excellent hitch!

Bill H - 10/01/2017

28579

by: Shari 08/01/2022

Great product. Needed a hitch to be added to my other car. Ordering was a breeze and quick delivery. This is the second hitch receiver I have purchased and both are great!1343946

It was easy to install light kit was also a breeze I saw some reviews that said wiring was short not mine fit perfect1266842

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This Equinox is a 2014, or 6 year old Wisconsin car. The wintertime salt has taken its toll, and it took a long time to remove rust so the hitch could be installed. I had to use an M12X1.75 tap to clear the weldment nut threads, and clear the rust fragments out of the rear tube to get the center 2 bolts in.1349906

I received the ordered hitch for my car right on time, but the box had taken a real beating where the flanges that attach to the frame rails had broken through the box
Since I am by myself I needed to review the video that eTrailer had on the internet.Very good but I noted that when it came time to attach the hitch to the car the demo shows two people making the install!. wow now what do I do to get the hitch into place without losing the bolts back up inside the frame at the four points that the bolts just hang in place. So, I figured out a way to balance the hitch on a floor jack( see picture) to slowly and careful to position the hitch up in position. Since I was nervous about losing the four free hanging carriage bolts back up inside the frame rail and bumper I left the pull wires on each of the carriage bolts and laced the wires through the hitch in each of the four location. When the hitch was up sufficient to pull the carriage bolts through the hitch four bolt location and then remove each pull wire as I was able to have sufficient bolt thread to attach the conical washers and Hex nuts before removing the floor jack and tighten ing the four carriage bolts to snug the hitch into the final position in order to install the two metric bolt on each outside of the existing weld nuts in the frame rail. All went well except the bolt in the lower position on the frame rail drivers side appears to have hit something in side the frame rail and was not able to be treaded completely into the tight position. When removing the m12x1.75 x 45 bolt the thread showed the roll over of the threads (see picture). Off to Ace's Hardware and a new bolt m12x1.75 x 30 to solve the problem. Over all the hitch fit just as designed and I am very pleased with the produce, and proved to myself that I could do the install by myself! Where there is a will there is a WAY !498736

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Robert, thank you for your review. Over time grime can get into the weld nuts in your frame and harden over time. This will make it seem like the bolts supplied with your hitch are too large for your weld nuts. The good news is the weld nuts can be easily cleaned out. We do not recommend changing out the hardware. I have attached a link that will help you.

-- Heather A - 04/21/2018

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Installation was straightforward and went smoothly but it was about an eighth inch off center, so I loosened all the bolts and tried to reposition, to no avail. Pulled the trailer with no problems. As it happens, i sold the car shortly thereafter.1368825

Nice quality and excellent fit. First things first, buy a M12 x 1.75 tap. If your Equinox is a few years old (like my 2016), the threaded inserts in the frame will be rusted and full of dirt and gunk. My first attempt was not successful, as the M12 bolts would not thread into the frame inserts. Bought the right tap and spent 10 minutes cleaning the four threaded inserts. Fishing the bolts and and square washers through the frame is easy with the included wires - nice job Draw-Tite. I left the four guide wires in place while I was lifting the hitch into place. Once I lifted the hitch in place, I loosely threaded a nut onto one of the bolts right near the actual receiver part. This at least held the hitch (mostly) in place so that I could work my way around to the other bolts. Leave the guide wires in place and run the extra through the holes in the hitch - this will help prevent knocking the bolt back up into the frame when lifting the hitch into place. This could be a problem if it happens. I loosely threaded in the M12 bolts, then did the nuts and washers on the four other bolts, finally going around and tightening everything. Probably took my about an hour and fifteen minutes total to get it done.1281337

by: Steve03/30/2022

I am very satisfied with my receiver. I use it primarily to hold my bike rack, which I use multiple times per week. Instructions were excellent and the quality of the unit is, as well. I will say that installation was a challenge. My neighbor is a skilled auto mechanic and I am pretty handy with tools. Still it took us about 90 minutes, demanding a wide array of tools, and some pretty tricky routing of wires through the frame. So, be aware, this is not a one-person 60-minute operation, and requires a fair amount of skill. Also, without ramps, it would have been even more difficult. The local pro shop quoted me 1 to 1.5 hours at $120 an hour. I am still glad I went the route that I did.1279309

by: Jerry pressley 423 231 349108/26/2022

received the wrong hitch. didn't install right away. when I discovered it was not correct I tried to exchange and even though it had never been out of the box they would give me no credit on correct one. So I went someplace else.1376512

by: Robert H.10/17/2022

It's been a year since the install and all is well. The only complaint was two of the bolts that thread into the stock holes (2014 Chevy Equinox) were the incorrect diameter. Unfortunately I don't recall the size needed but should be in my original feedback.1450591