How to Determine Location of Hitch Pin Hole on Class III Hitches Installed on 2014 Nissan Rogue

Updated 04/27/2016 | Published 04/23/2016

Products Featured in This Question

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

(517)

$189.25

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

(965)

$178.25

Question:

I am looking for a hitch for a bike rack on a 2014 Nissan Rogue. Your website has been very insightful, but there is conflicting information on which hitch sits furthest back least distance to the end of bumper. One video for C13204 says that the Curt Class III hitch has 5.25inch from pin to bumper. This question/answer 77161 says that the Curt hitch is the worst by 2.25! It says Curt gives 8.25inch from pin to bumper and the draw-tite gives 6inch . Another video says that the Curt gives 5inch from pin to bumper and the others give 5.75. Which hitch will give the smallest distance from pin to bumper best chance at a bike rack being able to fold up? Thanks.

asked by: Chris T

Helpful Expert Reply:

I went to our warehouse and measured each of the three 2-inch Class III hitches that fit your 2014 Nissan Rogue to confirm which will provide the best clearance for a bike rack. What I did was measure from the center of one of the rear-most mounting holes on the hitches to the center of the hitch pin holes.

I went this route since the hitch attachment points on the car's frame do not vary, but the actual position of the flexible plastic rear bumper cover could. Plastic bumper covers are not going to always be in the same exact spot on every Rogue, so the rear mounting hole on the hitch provides us a fixed reference point. For maximum clearance you'll want the hitch with the LONGEST distance from the rear-most mounting hole to the hitch pin hole in the receiver tube.

The Draw-Tite # 75902 and now-discontinued Hidden Hitch HH87663 come from the same parent company so it is no surprise that they share a dimension of 8-1/4-inches from the center of the rear-most mounting hole to the center of the hitch pin hole. The Curt hitch # C13204 measures slightly longer in this dimension; between hole centers the distance is 8-3/4-inches, so about a 1/2-inch more room is available from the Curt.

You can find out where the Curt hitch pin hole will be on your Rogue by locating the rear-most mounting hole on the frame and then measuring rearward from its center the distance I quoted.
So, for the Curt # C13204 you will measure back 8-3/4-inches. This point is where the center of the hitch pin hole will be. Then just measure from that point rearward to the back of the bumper cover to determine how much clearance you need from a bike rack for it to clear the bumper cover. If you measure, for example, 5-inches from the location of the hitch pin hole to the back edge of the cover, then you would want a bike rack that gives you at least 6-inches of clearance. That extra inch will avoid the rack contacting the bumper cover.

I linked a helpful article that you may wish to review as you decide on a bike rack. Any of these 2-inch hitches should be able to handle even the largest-capacity 5-bike racks with ease.