OT: cost to have 1.25 trailer hitch installed on a car like Honda Accord

[eddief]

Thinking about a different route for carrying me and my bikes. Me inside, bikes on the back...instead of the roof. I like the 1Up rear rack idea.

Anyone got a ballpark on what hitch plus install should cost?

[grawk]

www.uhaul.com

They'll give you a price online.

If you can do the install yourself (it's generally like 4 bolts, and half an hour of work), it's about $125-150 for the hitch.

[rwsaunders]

^ I had a hitch installed on our Honda van at the local UHaul and the cost was about 1/2 the price that the dealer wanted. The van's frame was pre-drilled at the factory for a hitch but I'm not sure about the Accord.

http://www.uhaul.com/Locations/Trail...-90301/712030/

[Idris Icabod]

I put a hitch on a Honda Civic about 2 years ago to put the 1Up rack on. I think it is around $100 at uhaul to get it installed. It's actually a really simple job to do yourself, I bought a Curt hitch from Jegs.com. The only annoying part was pulling a bolt with a washer through about 6 inches of frame as I was feeding it in wrong and there is a simple trick that I could explain in pictures if you end up doing yourself, so first bolt took about 20 minutes of messing around until I stopped and thought about it, second one about 5 seconds. Handy to have a second pair of hands as well as the hitch is quite heavy.

[Nooch]

It took me 10 minutes to install a hitch on my Odyssey -- check eTrailer.com, they'll have a video, it might be just as simple.

[nooneline]

people i know who have used hitch racks like 'em a lot. they're certainly more fuel efficient than a roof rack!

[kurto]

Are you just installing a hitch for a bike rack, or do you plan to ever tow anything? If you're ever going to tow, you'll need wiring, which adds to the expense/time.

When I bought my Nissan Murano, I had uhaul install the hitch and wiring instead of the dealership cause it was way cheaper. I think I was all-in for hitch, wiring and install for under $300, and five years later, it's held up perfectly through tons of towing and whatnot.

[Idris Icabod]

If you go to the Curt website and plug in the year of your Accord, they'll tell you which hitch you need, but on Jegs they look to be around $125:

http://www.jegs.com/i/Curt/229/11681/10002/-1

[stormyClouds]

Also check your local Craigslist.
You can usually find hitches for more common cars like an Accord.
I have gotten hitches for my last couple of vehicles that way - usually for $75 or so.
I would consider getting a 2", even just for a bike rack. You can always use a reducer sleeve to go down to a 1.25" rack, but you can't go the other way.

[josephr]

Originally Posted by Nooch

It took me 10 minutes to install a hitch on my Odyssey -- check eTrailer.com, they'll have a video, it might be just as simple.

+1, it took me a bit longer as I had to lower the muffler on my CX-5, but the rubber hangers slide off and back on with extremely liberal amounts of WD-40. Installation was easy-peasy.

If you still don't want to do it yourself, tire and muffler shops will usually take the job....I got a couple of quotes by phone before doing it myself -- think they wanted $200 or so.

[eddief]

will check on DIY options.

This vid looks like maybe more fun than I am supposed to have:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5ZTzua6JPY


Thanks all.

[Clancy]

On line prices are obviously the best and are the same hitch you probably will end of installed locally. I installed one on my Volvo wagon and my wife's Acura SUV. More then 10 minutes for sure. There's a place locally that specializes in hitches and truck acceriories and they charge $189 installed. I work at a bike shop and we send people there. True U-Haul is 1/2 the cost of a dealer but also twice as much as other places. Call around. If your car can support it, get a 2", more versatility. I also HIGHLY recommend Yakima's Hold-Up platform rack. Owned a Thule T2 for a couple of years, bulletproof but outdated. Sold it to buy the Yakima. It lives on the back of my Volvo, love it.

[mnoble485]

Originally Posted by stormyClouds

Also check your local Craigslist.
You can usually find hitches for more common cars like an Accord.
I have gotten hitches for my last couple of vehicles that way - usually for $75 or so.
I would consider getting a 2", even just for a bike rack. You can always use a reducer sleeve to go down to a 1.25" rack, but you can't go the other way.

I'm with Stormy in regards to the 2". Just makes sense to do it.

Mike

[malbecman]

It is pretty easy for a DIY project.

==> My big tip would be to make sure the bolt holes are completely cleaned out...chances are there is a lot of road crud in there. Use some WD-40 or something similar and get those threads nice and clean. A little grease on the bolts and you will be good to go.

[KVN]

I installed a Class I hitch on my Toyota Matrix a few months ago. I bought a Curt hitch and thread tap from Amazon for about $125 shipped. It took about 15 minutes to clean out the threads and about 5 minutes to mount the hitch.