General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Adding a hitch to a car Rss Feed  
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2015-07-05 7:38 PM

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Subject: Adding a hitch to a car
I have a 2011 Hyundai Sonata Turbo and currently have a two bike trunk mount but have been toying with the idea about buying a hitch and having it installed. Has anyone done this? I had this moment of fear of "what if the hitch doesn't hold and falls off while driving with the bikes on it!".

Just wanting to know what others experiences have been when adding a hitch to a car! Thanks in advance!


2015-07-05 7:51 PM
in reply to: divinelyplaced

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car

etrailer.com is the best I know of for custom hitches at reasonable prices on virtually any vehicle.  They are based in Missouri but will ship anywhere with complete instructions on installation.  If you call them they will help you find a reputable installer if you don't know of one.  They are reasonably priced, will usually ship for free, and will help you with any facet of your journey. 

I just had one installed for a VW Jetta........perfect fit.....fabulous customer service.

2015-07-05 8:23 PM
in reply to: Left Brain

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
Call your local Uhaul store and get a quote from them. They honestly don't charge too much more than doing it yourself. If you only want it for your bike rack you don't need them to install the wire kit. If you think you might ever want to hook a trailer up to it though it would probably be cheaper to have it done all at once instead of adding it later. I could be wrong, but I'm guessing about $140-$150 to do it yourself and $160-$200 to have them do it. I checked a little bit and there aren't cheaper ones that I could find just for the light weight of a bike rack. Since I wanted it on two different cars that didn't have compatible trunk mount options I went with sea suckers. I love them around town and they are supposed to be reliable on the highway for long trips too, but that just scares me :D.
2015-07-05 9:36 PM
in reply to: #5126782

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
UHaul did a fine job on my minivan years ago. Price was reasonable.

I had a dealer add the factory hitch to my Saab 9-3 convertible. Total out the door was utterly unreasonable, and since I didn't end up keeping the car all that long after, I figure it was $30 per usage of that hitch. Lesson learned.

Try the dealer, then try UHaul, then try looking for a Rack & Road type place.
2015-07-06 7:27 AM
in reply to: divinelyplaced

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
Originally posted by divinelyplaced

I had this moment of fear of "what if the hitch doesn't hold and falls off while driving with the bikes on it!".



A hitch mount bike rack is the most secure method you could attach a bike rack to a car/truck/van. The hitch is bolted right to the frame of the car.

It comes down to how well your bikes are attached to the bike rack. As I recently learned always put an extra strap around the bikes to the rack, it stopped my bike from hitting the pavement a week ago when the plastic bike straps that came with the rack failed.
2015-07-06 8:15 AM
in reply to: Left Brain

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
Another vote for etrailer.com. I have a 2008 Honda Fit Sport. Free delivery. Great installation instructions. Even have uTube videos of the installation process. I did it myself in the driveway. A couple of wrenches and a torque wrench were all that were needed. I have used the 2 bike carrier to bring my bikes to IM Whistler and IM Lake Tahoe. Give them a call, their customer service is amazing. They will get you the right hitch for your vehicle.


2015-07-06 10:43 AM
in reply to: mike761

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
I had U-Haul do mine. I've been very satisfied. I'd HIGHLY recommend that you have them put a 2" receiver in rather than the smaller receiver (1 1/4" I think). Then buy a rack with the 2" receiver. It will be much more stable and will rock less.
2015-07-06 10:53 AM
in reply to: pwoolson

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car

Originally posted by pwoolson I had U-Haul do mine. I've been very satisfied. I'd HIGHLY recommend that you have them put a 2" receiver in rather than the smaller receiver (1 1/4" I think). Then buy a rack with the 2" receiver. It will be much more stable and will rock less.

Hard to do that with a Sonata, I'd bet.  I've never seen anything other than the smaller class I hitches on medium sedans like that. etrailer.com only has those, I think.  Looks like a great site, btw.

2015-07-06 1:11 PM
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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
I also had uhaul do an install. This was after having my dealer put the hitch on the other car. not only did the dealer charge an arm and a leg, they did it incorrectly so an extender needed to be added and the rack stuck out very oddly. after having to present the results to me, they ended up eating the charge of the install and left me with a hitch that didnt fit the rack - u-Haul did it right from the beginning and for $120

Edited by Dutchcrush 2015-07-06 1:13 PM
2015-07-07 5:09 AM
in reply to: Dutchcrush

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
I installed a hitch on my Altima to carry a bike rack and also to tow my jet ski. Not hard to do. I have access to a lift so that made things easier. Had to drop part of my exhaust and drill four holes and bolt it up.I bet you have enough sense to figure out how to do it. :-)

Highly recommend E-trailer. Great site.

2015-07-07 7:51 AM
in reply to: brucemorgan

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
Originally posted by brucemorgan

Originally posted by pwoolson I had U-Haul do mine. I've been very satisfied. I'd HIGHLY recommend that you have them put a 2" receiver in rather than the smaller receiver (1 1/4" I think). Then buy a rack with the 2" receiver. It will be much more stable and will rock less.

Hard to do that with a Sonata, I'd bet.  I've never seen anything other than the smaller class I hitches on medium sedans like that. etrailer.com only has those, I think.  Looks like a great site, btw.




I think it's about the hitch fitting and more about the fact that a smaller automobile can't pull something like a large boat. (Which would be using the 2" hitch). I had a 2" put on a Jetta for a bike rack. The dealer wouldn't do it because they felt I could potentially use it to pull something bigger than I should be pulling. U-Haul had no problem. (I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I got my rack the way I wanted it so I was happy)


2015-07-07 11:43 AM
in reply to: divinelyplaced

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Subject: RE: Adding a hitch to a car
I was recently wondering about a hitch on my car too. On another forum I found posts about some of the above referenced companies and another that caught my eye. Hidden Hitch lists a couple of hitches that will even fit my sports car, and claims of DIY install in under an hour. I might still consider a professional install but it certainly seems do-able.
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