Curt Front Mount Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - 2"

by: George06/13/2024

I bought the front trailer hitch for a bike rack while pulling my camper and that works great. I decided to try it pushing the trailer into my garage and really like that. Takes some learning since only very small adjustments in steering wheel make quick change in the trailer directions.
Installation was simple, but requires more strength than I have to lift hitch into position (tight fit) and bolt it in place. I found a local curt dealer who installed it for about a hundred bucks. Money well spent.3157925

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by: Mark 11/30/2022

FordF-150

This receiver performs well for both bicycle and motorcycle carriers. It is not obtrusive when not being used. It was easy to install with no drilling required (You do have to cut out the air dam.). I would have given 5 stars if would’ve fit a little higher. There was room for it to be at least an inch further off the ground. I ended up putting a 1 inch leveling kit on the front of my 2 wheel drive F150 and it turned out great and the truck looks better too1476070

Mark

12/1/2023

Works great. I usually use it for my Kuat bike rack but occasionally put an aluminum motorcycle carrier with a 250lb KTM on it. The motorcycle carrier has a steel frame underneath so you have to be careful on steep s to a road so it doesn’t scrape.

by: Bill04/13/2023

I am very pleased with this equipment. Bought it to carry two heavy E-bikes. Installation directions could have been clearer--but with the help of videos, I got it in just fine. Had to use a large crow bar to urge it in place though.1555769

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by: Chris D.04/22/2020

I installed this so I could use my trailer hitch winch mount on front or back and not have it installed all the time. I've use it a couple of times off the front end and it worked great. Fairly priced product. It is a very snug fit, as I had the underside of my truck sprayed with industrial black paint to prevent corrosion and rust, so that might be part of it. If you want an affordable front end 2 inch receiver, this is a good way to go. I would recommend. 784180

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Chris D.

4/23/2021

Working out great!

by: Eertwegh03/10/2023

FordF-150

The receiver is strong and works great. The installation was a bit difficult. You have to pull the bolt assembly through the tube frame in a Ford f150 with a special wire. However the washers provided were too large for the holes in the frame so I had to buy smaller washers. They said the model I bought was for a 3 year span but guess my year the opening hole sizes changed. Other then that it is well worth the money.1533758

Eertwegh

3/11/2024

Great

I am very impressed with Arthur D. of etrailer.com. He answered all the questions I asked in a very timely manner. We were heading out of town and needed the order to arrive in a timely manner. Arthur made sure and expedited the order and we received the shipment earlier than estimated.
I did have to drop a star, but I believe this is the fault of Curt Mfg. The way the item was boxed did not handle well in shipping. The flanges that mount to the frame of the truck had been bent, or sprung from possibly being dropped on the end of the box by the carrier. So what should have been an easy install took hours to spring the flanges back out to the necessary width to fit over the pickup frame. I believe this issue could be resolved by the addition of a pipe or 2x2 and a couple of lag bolts mounted between the flanges to prevent them from being bent. I used a bottle jack and a bar between the two to spread them apart, but this took multiple attempts along with having the jack and pipe pop loose and flying across the floor.
Good job on etrailer.com's end, but Curt needs to step it up.1610466

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This thing sits so unbelievably low. I can’t believe Curt’s R&D team haven’t come up with a better solution.. My install is on a 2017 F150 XLT 4x4 Crew Cab with a 5.5’ bed. The hitch is obviously made to go around a different style bracket than the one mine uses. After going over my install carefully to make sure everything would clear, I ended up removing the hitch and modifying it to raise it significantly. I lowered the front bolt holes by an inch and a half; and the rear bolt holes by an inch and a quarter. I cut an inch and a half off of both front tabs so I could lift the hitch high enough to use my new holes.

Now the hitch comes out at the very top of the air dam. Luckily I never cut it after my initial installation!

Very happy with how it turned out, but quite disappointed in Curt. They need to narrow down which F150’s this hitch is appropriate for and which ones it’s not. I do not believe this hitch is appropriate for my truck. Yes, it bolts up.. but the location is far too low to be practical. It’s bad enough the air dam is so low that it sometimes scrapes curbs when I park close.. Can’t imagine what the jolt would feel like every time you parked against a curb and ran the front hitch into it!1143961

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Sierra K.

9/14/2021

Sorry for your trouble with installing this front hitch. This hitch is designed to sit in the center of the lower air dam. It has about 8 inches of ground clearance, which is pretty common for all front mount hitches.

A spacer/spreader bar between the brackets would go a long way in preventing these from being bent during shipment. Mine was bent in over an inch. Luckily I have the ways and means to correct that as well as cutting and redrilling to gain an inch and a half more ground clearance on my 2018 f150 fx4.
Seems like these are made to cover many year models. Perhaps making them for more specific models would help.1337542

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Katrina B.

8/2/2022

It is common amongst hitches for the hitch to bend or flex during shipment, since the mounting brackets are made from a mild steel that allows the hitch to flex with the vehicle after installation. If the entire hitch was made of rigid steel, there would be a greater chance of the hitch being damaged and experiencing stress cracks. Such cracks could cause the hitch to malfunction. This flexing often times will cause the holes not to align. Because of this we do have a help article I have the link attached below that will walk you through the process of straightening the hitch.

Helpful Links

https:www.etrailer.comfaq-my-trailer-hitch-doesnt-fit.aspx

DO NOT follow instructions to remove/cut air dam/facia on 2023 F150. I did and now have a 3” wide gap ABOVE the receiver which hangs BELOW the air dam/facia.

I did the same hitch and install on my 2016 F150 and the receiver nestled up in the cut notch and thus provided 3” more ground clearance.

As usual the box was destroyed in shipping but hitch was fine. Speedy delivery

But the cost of a new air dam/facia on a brand new truck earns it 1 star.1769021

This product is well made. Made in the USA. I thought instructions and diagrams could have been clearer though. Time estimates for installation were off. Took me 2 hours to install. I did it without help and a extra set of hands would have made it much faster. Pump jack a must. Love the product and if instructions and diagrams were a little clearer I would give 5 stars692411

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David K.

8/23/2020

I have used my front hitch all season and it is beautiful. So easy to view boat and launch. A great help for two wheel drive trucks because power wheels are always high and dry out of the water. Should have done it years ago.

I walked away on my first attempt. Dang fishing wires were driving me nuts. Videos helped but I needed a night to visualize my attack plan.
Things the instructions didn't explain.

1) Elevate the front on ramps or put the truck on a lift for all you fancy dudes.

2) Widen the access hole with a hole step bit if needed. (Get a cheap one from China Freight or similar but make sure it's for metal) The rectangular steel brackets will now fit through the hole lengthwise. Check first, your frame may already have a wide enough hole. My frame did not. It drills out really easy. Alarmingly easy!

3) Use additional wire (heavier gauge) to snake the fishing wires through to their endpoints. Identify the holes where the bolts will permanently be. Fish your own wire from there to the access hole. Now attach the supplied fishing wire rigged up with all the hardware to your bootleg MacGuyver wire and pull the whole thing through. Dont pull the whole rig at once. Feed the bracket into the hole first followed by the bolt. I used electric fence dog wire and it made the installation a breeze. The factory-provided fishing wires are like guitar strings.

4) Use an ATV jack or similar to jack the receiver in place. Take your time lining up the holes, walking from side to side, and checking after every few pumps of the jack. Insert your hitch and ball into the receiver for a little extra leverage manhandling it into place. Now is when I decided to position the 2 square reinforcement plates. I simply used a little crowbar to flex the receiver just enough to slide them into position. No need to grind these like others have done. Snake the wires through the two plates and through the corresponding reciever's bolt holes. Use a heavy hammer and some 2x scrap lumber to bang the receiver into the final mounting place with all holes lined up. As soon as you have one hole perfectly aligned, pull your bolt through. Repeat for the next 3. and the rest is easy.

Not counting night 1, about an hour and 15 min solo installation time in the driveway.
Tools highly recommended: metal hole step bit (big one), heavy hammer, scrap 2x6 or similar for hitting, small crowbar, eye protection, hitch inserted into the receiver for leverage, atv/lawn mower jack, and 2-3 ft of flexible but stiff wire.1333353

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I am giving this 4 stars because it sits much lower than I was led to believe from reading these reviews. The hitch is really strong and well made though. I hope it’s not too low.

I installed this on my 2018 F-150 3.5 eco boost yesterday. The install took an hour and a half. I elevated the front of the truck with ramps and supported the hitch with 2 jack stands. I also had my son helping me.

I started on the front attachment point by lining up the hole. I made sure the holes in the frame and the hitch were lined up by testing with a bolt. I then fished the wire. I started by trying to feed the wire in through the access hole and pull it out through the bolt hole but quickly reversed that and it was much easier. Once I put the coiled end of the wire through the bolt hole, fishing out through the access hole took 30 seconds. Then I put the metal spacer with the square hole on the wire and threaded the bolt on. Every thing was fed through the access hole and it came out the bolt hole easily. The second hole further back on the hitch was easier because it’s only a couple of inches from the access hole. I messed up on the first side because I didn’t put the metal spacer with the round hole between the frame and the hitch. I was able to correct it though. I repeated this for all four bolts and tightened them down with hand tight. Before I tightened them down, I added some thread locker and used my hydraulic jack to push the hitch as high as I could to maximize ground clearance. Then I tightened them down with my impact wrench and the torque limiter to 110 lbs.

The reason I’m only giving it four stars is because it is only 9” above the ground from the bottom of the hitch. I’m worried that is too low. Before I mounted it, I considered cutting 1”or 2” off the front tabs on the hitch and re-drilling the four holes. There is enough room between the hitch and the frame to raise it 2-3”. This would have given me another inch of clearance. But, I thought I’d just follow the instructions and see what happens. I figured if I don’t have enough clearance I can lift the front of the truck 2” to get rid of the factory front tilt. And I can take it off an modify it like I stated above. (I just am not sure how I will reverse fish the bolts and spacers out?)

The pictures show: the clearance in inches, the tabs on the front that would need to be cut off (and maybe the back too if you want to get maximum clearance). And the amount of space between the horizontal tube and the frame.
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Pros:
Extremely stout
Great to mount the bike rack up front when pulling the trailer
Great customer service from eTrailer

Cons:
Installation instructions could be improved
Rear of the hitch was about 3/16" inch narrower than the front (read on)

First off, if I was to install this again, I would take a few minutes to block the truck and remove the front tires for easier access. Secondly, Curt has a video: Although it's similar, it is not the video for this part number.
I don't know if the hitch got bent during shipping, but the 3/16" difference in the width caused a significant amount of grief. After fishing the carriage bolts through the frame, the front holes mounted up fairly easily. When trying to line up the rear holes, I had use a mallet to line up the hole on the driver's side because the hitch frame was so tight: When doing that, the fish wire snapped and the carriage bolt and washer fell into the frame. I tried a magnet to get them but couldn't locate them. Fortunately, a buddy had a spare bolt and washer, and with a little work and "encouragement" we were able to thread it through and bolt everything together.
I want to emphasize that in the video, the plastic air dam appears to be trimmed from the top of the dam and the technician trimmed some tabs off of the dam. I didn't trim the tabs and after I did a preliminary line-up of the dam, I realized that I had to trim the bottom of the dam, not the top.
Like I said, the receiver is really stout, it's USA made, and great customer service. It will solve our dilemma about being able to take the bikes when we take the trailer. If I didn't have such a hassle with losing that bolt, I would have given 5 stars.
One last thing, I have 2018 F150 4x4 and with the hitch installed I have about 8 inches of clearance.825374

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Bolted up easy after widening the gap a little with a hammer. Showed up half hanging out of the box but the hardware and instructions are taped to the receiver so it was fine.1624000

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Easy install, after I found out the front holes in the frame are different locations. Use the back holes first and then the front. Was able to cut the hole in the air dam and slide it over the hitch to keep the integrity of it. For those that prefer it sitting higher of the ground for clearance. The mounting tabs on the hitch can be cut off and re-drilled to give more clearance.728225

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Installed on a 2018 F150 xlt 2.7 eco. The hitch sits about a inch lower than advertised. I just installed it today and will need to got to the lake to see if I can use it as it. Significantly reduces ground clearance on the front and it may be a problem for going up the driveway. The instructions need a lot of work and while they help a little the valance cutout measurements they give were wrong for my truck. My instructions said cut 3 x 2 5/8 inches and I had to cut 3 x 3 3/4 inch only left and inch of material on the front valance. I am not sure why the hitch needs to sit so low as there seems to be plenty of room to have it move up if it was redesigned. I paid the extra money for the CURT due to the ground clearance comments but it is hard to believe that anyone would design a hitch that sits any lower.698868

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This receiver hitch fit my 2015 F-150 perfectly. All mounting holes lined up great. Installed in about 45 minutes, no problems. Looks great, bottom of hitch sits about 1/2 inch below the air dam, and the front is about 2 inches back under the bumper. It looks factory installed. I couldn't be happier with my purchase and recommend this 100%. Also just wanted to recommed etrailer, I received my hitch 3 days after ordering. That is a great turnaround. Thanks etrailer1504471

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by: Philip 03/08/2024

It's been a very useful hitch. Do wish that the receiver were higher off the ground.1744279

Great product. Fit my F150 perfectly. I use the front hitch to push my boat and trailer in tight quarters on my property.1444593

Joseph

10/10/2023

Perfect fit. Had it professionally installed for under $200. Unobtrusive in the front of my F150. Great for maneuvering my 25 ft centerconsole boat trailer in tight space on my yard. Highly recommended.

by: Jc04/23/2022

We traveled 11,087 miles pulling our travel trailer and using this receiver on the front of our truck to haul our ebikes, last summer. 11,087 miles and no issues what so ever!1289621

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by: Robert 04/18/2024

The hitch is great. Not easy to install but that is Fords fault1769030

by: James05/18/2022

FordF-150

Relatively easy to install. It took me a couple of hours but I move extremely slow anyways. We bought this to mount a bike rack on the front of my F-150 and it has worked out perfectly.1299410

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by: Chuck01/26/2024

Fit was great, installation went fairly smooth. I did drill and add 2 more grade 8 bolts, one on each side where an existing hole was in the frame. I felt that 4 bolts wasn't enough, possibly overkill, but rather safe than sorry. Very pleased with its performance. I use it for a snow blade. Works great!1715423

by: Bryan12/09/2020

Perfect fit. All parts are easy with mechanical knowledge. Extremely happy with the product. Only thing I didn’t like was cutting the air dam for receiver to stick through. Overall very satisfied!!!921103

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by: Allen 11/05/2023

2016 FordF-150

I'm enjoying my hitch I'm learning how to move my trailer from the front instead of from the back1689937