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Fully welded vehicle trailer hitch is strong and durable. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. The combination of an e-coat base and a powder coat finish provides excellent rust protection.
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.
Presenter Hey, everybody. How's it going Today, we're gonna be going over and showing you how to install the Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver here on our 2021 Cadillac XT5. So if your particular model has the hands-free lift gate feature, we already have the trailer hitch installed, we can show you that it is indeed still operational. So I will say it is a sweet spot, but once you get it, it will work properly. So here is what our trailer hitch looks like installed on our vehicle. We're ready to use it.
Now, thankfully, everything is pretty much hidden behind the rear bumper here. Therefore, when we re-install our removable knockout panel, it's gonna make for a completely hidden installation. So adding a trailer hitch here to your XT5, it's gonna be an excellent option 'cause it's gonna make your vehicle that much more versatile. Now, we can obviously use the trailer hitch for towing, but if we wanted to free up some space inside the vehicle for our family on those long road trips, or if we just wanted to simply hit the trails, we could easily attach either a hitch-mounted cargo carrier or a hitch-mounted bike rack. So in regards to towing, our trailer hitch here is gonna provide us with a 4,500-pound gross trailer weight rating.
That's the amount we can pull outward on our receiver tube. And it also has a 675-pound tongue weight rating. That's gonna be the downward force on the receiver tube. We can also use this trailer hitch with a weight distribution system. Now, keep in mind, these figures are for the hitch only, which is tested separately of the vehicle.
Therefore, you need to verify your vehicle's towing capacity in the owner's manual, and then abide by the lower of the two rated components, whether that's the trailer hitch or the vehicle. So the receiver tube opening here is gonna be an industry-standard two-inch by two-inch. And this is gonna allow us to choose from a greater selection of hitch-mounted accessories, such as those bike racks and cargo carriers that we mentioned earlier. It's also gonna allow us to carry more bikes if we have the need to do so. So if we take a closer look at the receiver tube, you're gonna see we have our standard 5/8-inch diameter hitch pin hole.
So keep in mind, this doesn't actually come with the hitch pin and clip. That's gonna be sold separately. Most bike racks and cargo carriers are gonna come with their own. And then welded to the bottom of the receiver tube and the cross tube, we have our safety chain loops. Those work great with both the larger clevis-style hooks as well as the smaller S type. So now, we've got a couple of measurements for you guys here. They're gonna help you when you're selecting your hitch-mounted accessories. The first one is the distance from the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube opening. That's gonna be right at 20 inches. And that would be useful when you're selecting your ball mount. That way, you can make sure you get the correct rise and drop to tow your trailer level. And then finally, we have the distance from the center of the hitch pin hole to the outside edge of the bumper. That's gonna be right at 5-1/2 inches. And that measurement there will be useful when you're selecting your folding accessories, such as a bike rack or cargo carrier. That way, you can make sure that while they're in the stowed position, they don't contact the vehicle. So in regards to the installation, this is definitely something you guys can do at home by yourselves with just common hand tools and limited mechanical knowledge. You don't need to lift to install this on your own. It is pretty straightforward. There's one tool you might not have, and that's a torque wrench. We have cost-effective options you can pick up with your hitch here at etrailer. Or for just a one-time use, you can rent one of these by yourselves at most local auto parts stores for free. Now, let's go ahead and walk you through the installation step by step to give you the confidence to do it at home by yourself. So the first step of our install, we need to get a T10 Torx bit, and we're gonna be removing the center knockout panel. So sorta recessed in these little openings on the bottom here, we're gonna have our Torx screws. So we have one on each side. We need to remove them both. And then once we get those out, we should be able to pull our panel down and away from the vehicle. Just like that. So now, we're gonna take these spacer blocks that come in your kit here. We're gonna go to either side of the frame rail. We're gonna try to insert these into the access hole. If it won't go in there, we need to enlarge that hole. So it's a good thing to go ahead and test that now before we do any cutting or drilling. So here's our access hole. It's on the same place on either side of the frame. So we're gonna take our spacer block here. And as you can see, it doesn't quite fit. We need to take out just a little bit of material. So you can use a drill bit, a step drill bit, a burr bit, a file, whatever you have to just slightly enlarge that hole so we can get our spacer block through. So we're just gonna take out a little bit of material. And as you can see, if we take our spacer block in here, I am able to get it up into the frame now. So just take your time, take out a little bit of material, check, and then repeat that process until we can get the spacer block into the frame. So now that we have our access hole enlarged, we're going to install our hardware into the three attachment holes. We have one here, one here, and then one back a little bit further there. So we're gonna take the coiled end of our pull wire. We're gonna place that through the attachment hole. And then, we're going to fish the coiled end out through the access hole. Just like that. Then, we're gonna take one of our spacer blocks, put that over the coiled end there, thread on our carriage bolt, and then we can shove those back up into the frame here one at a time. And then, we'll pull it down through the attachment hole. We're gonna repeat that same process for the other two holes on this side, and then the three on the other side of the vehicle. Now with an extra set of hands, we can raise our hitch up into position on the vehicle. So in regards to securing the hitch to the vehicle here with our provided hardware, there is one thing I wanna say. You might've noticed this, but when we first get the hitch up into position, you're just gonna take one of your nuts there and thread it over the bolt. You're not gonna have to worry about getting the washer on. Once we get one nut on per side, then we can insert the rest of the hardware, using the proper sequence of the nut here and then the washer. The washer, those have conical teeth on them that they need to be facing up towards the hitch. So it's a little bit hard to hold the hitch in one hand, pull the pull wire off, put the washer over there, and then follow that up with a nut all at once. So just to make it a little bit easier, just thread that nut on first to get it up on the vehicle, and then you can replace it with the washer behind. So the next thing we're gonna do is we're gonna take a 3 1/4-inch socket and we're gonna tighten and torque all of our hardware to the specifications in our instructions. And that's gonna do it today for our look and installation of the Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver here on our 2021 Cadillac XT5..
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars (248 Customer Reviews)
Fully welded vehicle trailer hitch is strong and durable. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. The combination of an e-coat base and a powder coat finish provides excellent rust protection.This is a high quality product and looks good. The guide says a 3:10 difficulty rating. Doing it by yourself is probably more like a 4.5:10. Don't let that keep you from doing it yourself. For this particular model you will be required to grind out two holes on the frame to fit the bolts through. A $5.00 grinding bit from [home improvement store] did the trick without much debris. Took 10-15 minutes to grind the holes. One thing missing from the instructions is that after grinding the holes, you have bare metal exposed. You should use some primer or paint to cover the bare metal so it doesn't rust. Especially if you live in the Midwest where they salt the roads so heavily in winter. See attached photo. I would budget 2 hours with a couple of small interruptions if doing yourself. I also attempted to use a hydraulic jack to help hold the hitch in place, but you have to put the hitch in place and rest it against the inside of the bumper, so it wasn't much help. Overall, the fit and finish of the product is very good. I plan to use it to tote my bicycles on trips or to local trails. I don't plan to pull trailers unless necessary.
Good hitch, at a good price. Also very helpful lady I talked to before I ordered. Installation was easy. Don't be afraid to do it yourself. I had called two places about a hitch. They both were asking almost twice what etrailer.com sells this very hitch for. Then they were getting $[XX] to install it. I did this one on our Cadillac XT5 in 45 mins.
Great hitch for a great price. I installed it myself by clamping it to a board and a floor jack. I’m 71 years old.
Robert
9/9/2021
Great
Great fit easy install. Mounting bracket for the trailer plug put the plug in a convenient place to plug into. They did ask for a die grinder to enlarge the hole in the frame to get the backing plates into the frame. Kind of a strange tool to have around. I found that a file did the job in just a few munites. One oops by Draw Tie. One of the points on this hitch was it was pre-drilled for a J-pin. The only problem was that the Draw•Tite® J-Pin® Anti-Rattle Pin could not be used with this hitch. From one side you could not get the pin into the hole, and from the other side, you can not put the lock on the pin. This is due to the placement of the mounting bracket for the trailer plug which would have to be removed to use their j-pin.
Perfect fit! The installation was a bit tricky with a one-person, but it can be done with some persistence. Once the hitch is maneuvered into place, the fit was exact. I ordered this hitch with the 4-pole mounting bracket and the Curt 4-pole trailer connector. After mounting the hitch and bracket, the XT5 bumper cover prevented the connection point from being in the most accessible area. I added some spacer sleeves and 2.5" stainless bolts and also painted them black to match. After attaching the sleeves and bolts to the bracket and hitch itself, this moved the bracket toward the middle just the right amount (see pictures). Shipping was fast and the entire package was delivered before the July 4th holiday weekend!
Product is exactly as advertised. Ordered on Monday, received on Wednesday, installed on Friday.
Anna D, did an excellent job of getting me the exact wiring harness for my 2017 XT5, AWD ,plus exact adapter plug to 4 wire trailer plug.
I had access to a car lift , so total installation was complete in 45 minuets, including enlarging 2 holes with step bit, to allow access of the support plates, plus drill to new holes for wiring plug, in lue of wire ties. Unit fit perfectly and bumper cover refit prefect. Can’t tell there is a hitch installed. Great product, great price.
Cadillac wanted $450 for hitch, and $390 for installation. My cost with etrailer was less than $200 complete.
THANKS etrailer and Anna D.
The purchase went fine, and delivery was as expected. Installation was easy except I had to remove the tab for the electrical connector from the hitch bar. There was no way that the hitch would fit on my 2020 Cadillac XT5 with the tab where it was welded. Good thing I had the skills and tools to remove it easily. Other then that, the instructions were great as was the installation kit and. If I was to do it again, I would purchase the Curt instead of the Draw tite even though I have no need for the extra capacity. The trailer folks are great.
If I could give a rating of 6, I would. The ordering process went perfect. When I called Customer Service on the status , they were polite and helpful. My trailer hitch was delivered early. The pictures and installation video are extremely helpful. Great product and great customer service, doesn’t get any better than that!
The products I received from you are very good. All work well , even the hitch step and cargo carrier and bag,I purchased before work well.
Great custom design trailer hitch frame for cadillac xt5. thank you
The painting was not the best on the hitch is why I didn't give it 5 stars, it looked like the box was partially opened and taped.But the installation video was excellent, it took me and a friend about 45 minutes to install on my 2017 Cadillc XT5 Luxury.
Great website and communication . Time will tell how it fits.
The bottom of tue box fell apart when I picked it up wow really.
I posted my hitch review under the trailer wiring. The hitch was easy, I pulled it up on my ramps. enlarged the holes with a step bit, then fished the bolts through. I used a jack stand to hold the one side up far enough that I could get a nut started. I went to the other side and installed all the nuts and ran them up with a battery ratchet, then my impact. I used my torque wrench to adjust them. The wiring was pull apart and plug in. The plug is sharp and I got a small cut. I bought a tester and plugged it in and had the wife try all the light, everything was good.
Easy order, fast shipping and easy inst allation.
Received our new hitch, ball mount and factory wiring harness in excellent condition. I had watched your installation videos, which were very helpful and with my wife's help, had no difficulties connecting the wiring harness or mounting the hitch. By the way, I'm 72 years old and did the install from a creeper on our garage floor. Looking forward to many years of safe trailer towing.
Jim N.
9/14/2019
Works perfectly and is totally out of sight when the ball mount is removed and the access cover is replaced in the bumper cover.
I am 73 years old, put this hitch on by myself in less than one hour.
No lift or anything, on garage floor. Fit PERFECT
Bought this hitch for a bike rack. Install was easy with all supplied hardware. Came shipped in a box so there was no shipping chips or nicks. Tucks behind rear facia nicely and with rear center cover reinstalled the hitch is not visible.
Charles K.
7/27/2022
The hitch is holding up well. the finish is in good shape and hasnt chipped or peeled around the opening or the pin lock hole. I did change the cover retainer from a screw to a twist pin for easier access on the vehicle.
This was my second installation, 2 years ago I installed a hitch on my 2018 XT5 and the harness. The only issue that I had this time was the extra bracket on the drivers side of the receiver that interferes with the re installation of the rear fascia. It was necessary for me to bend it out of the way. I really don't understand it's purpose.
Fred
3/6/2022
Great
I found this hitch to be a very good product, well engineered. Installation was straightforward. I really like the fact that this is a “hidden hitch”. With the cover in place you would never know the hitch was there. Thanks for a great product!
Ross B.
3/8/2022
Hitch is still working great. I am well pleased.
The spacer and bolt doesn’t fit through the hole.
Was exactly as described. Installation was very straight forward and took just an hour. Very gratifying.
Steven
3/22/2023
absolutely great
Hitch bar has a bracket on left side for lighting harness plug. It does not fit under bumper cover and needs to be removed or bent out of the way. Does not impact the usability of the hitch.
Great, sturdy hitch, real easy to insta ll...seamless.
Found out about this hitch from YouTube and watching the video. I ordered the hitch from the video link. The hitch arrived and it looks very heavy duty. Installed it myself according to the video, very easy install, about half hour. It saved me time and money going somewhere else to have a hitch installed which I was going to do.
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Mike
7/27/2021
Works great. Couldnt be more pleased