Best Trailer Hitch for Ground Clearance on a 2018 Honda CR-V

Question:

Of the three hitches you sell for 2018 Honda CRV you state distances from top of hitch to ground. Many of use customers want to know distance from lowest point in hitch to ground. I had frequent issues on prior vehicle with the hitch making ground contact going over a bump or sudden transition in slop, such as steep driveway to road.

asked by: Steven T

Expert Reply:

We give the measurement from the top of the receiver opening to the ground so customers can find the difference between that and the height of their trailer's coupler. This is how someone chooses a ball mount with the correct rise or drop to tow their trailer level.

The measurement you're looking for, from the ground to the bottom of the receiver, is also relevant and can be found by subtracting 2 inches from the measurement we take. Since the receiver is a 2 inch by 2 inch opening the bottom of the receiver is only a little more than 2 inches from the top of the receiver opening. Although some hitches do hang lower than just the bottom of the receiver tube.

I went out to the warehouse to find the exact measurement for you on each hitch of the Class III hitches we have for your 2018 Honda CR-V.

Draw-Tite, part # 76128, measures 2-7/8 inches from the top of the receiver opening to the lowest part of the hitch. The measurement we took was 13-1/4 inches so the ground clearance is 10-3/8 inches.

The Curt, part # C13397, and the etrailer.com, part # E98848, have the same dimensions. The measurement I took is 3-1/4 inches because the lowest part of the hitch is actually not the receiver tube. It's a piece that's further towards the front of the hitch. To the bottom of the tube is also 2-7/8 inches. The receiver tube sits higher at 14 inches at the top. So the bottom of the receiver is 11-1/8 inches from the ground and the lowest point is 10-3/4 inches from the ground.

Even with the lower part of the hitch hanigng below the receive the Draw-Tite has the least ground clearance. So I recommend the etrailer.com hitch for you. I also like the way the Curt and etrailer hitch look on the Honda better than the Draw-Tite. Their crosstube is hidden behind the bumper so once installed it looks much cleaner.