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

Solid hitch. It is well built and easy to handle. Only issue I had was the packaging. First of all, this shipment did not come from etrailer guys directly. When I placed my order, their awesome customer service contacted me within 20 minutes letting me know that they are out of stock and the next batch of hitches are delayed by the vendor. I was offered to switch to Curt hitch. They are great too but I did not go with that option. 1) They are more expensive (maybe 15 bucks more) 2) They require a safety strap with bike racks and I do not want to hook anything to my car. The curt however has higher tongue weight. I am not planning on towing anything (well for now). My sole reason for this hitch is hooking up my bike rack. I have a Kuat Transfer 2 and it is a great rack
The hitch was wrapped in a paper to protect it from getting scrathsed. However there were no bubble wraps anything like that. The hitch was sticking out of the shipping package. It was scratched in multiple places. No big deal. I mean it would be nice to get a scratch free one, but realize this that the hitch will be underneath the car and it will get hit by rocks and so on. My only issue is that I live in Minnesota and winters require tons of salting, so we get rust a lot.

My fix to address this issue was to purchase a can of Rustleuom primer and paint. I double coated all of the scratches and it was dried to touch in 2 hours and fully cured in 24.

So now let's get to the installation. This was super easy. Do not pay someone to do it. Have someone help you. It makes it super easy. We had the hitch installed in 5 minutes. No lift of jacking required. I was also thinking of getting car ramps but it slides in pretty easy. With two people you can lie down and slip into position and then screw the bolts. I think with one person you can lift it up and put in on a box or pile of boards and then screw each side. I'd suggest taking care of the handled nuts first. Bend and shape them and then place them in the holes. With this once you are underneath, you can screw the bolts to the welded nuts and then move to the last two bolts, then you dont have to get up and fix the handled ones while the hitch is dangling.

Just beware, then welded nuts need to be clean or otherwise it would not screw that well. As mentioned, I live in Minnesota. It took us 30 to 40 minutes of spraying WD-40 and brushing the holes. It was painful. There was so much rust you cant even believe it. We could not screw past 1 turn. So the hitch itself is easy. Other things might cause complications.

I rented a torque wrench from Autozone and it turned out to be out of spec. So we drove there and got another one. Just FYI, 115lbs of torque is tons pressure. You need to put a lot of muscle into it to get it to that point. Do not feel like you are over-tightening it. It will click at one point. We felt like that we are not doing it right. I found a Discount Tire right by the Autozone store and the staff there torqued to spec for us free of charge. The technician was amazed on how much 115lbs torque was. He kept turning and twisting and not hearing a click. It was kind of funny but we got it done. It looks great and sturdy377395

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Keyvan P.

5/7/2018

It is a great hitch and works well. I had to paint it when I received since there were some scratches on it. I live in MN and we get a lot of salt on road and rust is a major issue. Unfortunately I backed into a small stone step behind my garage which scrapped the side of the hitch. It actually held up well and crushed the stone. Only issue is the pain got scrapped off. It happened in November and it was too cold to paint it. Now it is a bit rusty, mostly superficial. I need to scrap the rust and repaint it

by: John E. 05/05/2017

2016 AcuraRDX

We ordered this hitch to install on our New 2016 Acura RDX so that we can haul our road bikes when traveling. The dealership wanted an incredible amount to install the Acura hitch. The product is excellent and fits perfectly to the predrilled wholes in the frame of the Acura. My wife helped me hold up one end while I held the other and place the bolts and tightened them. It took less than 30 minutes and saved me $500 that the dealership would have charged on top of the what I paid etrailer.com. I did not install the wiring harness as I don't expect to pull trailers with this vehicle. The Draw-Tite hitch is also a heavier duty hitch compared to the hitch from the Acura dealership. I was also very happy with the service from etrailer.com. We have had the hitch on the car for about 1.5 years and it still looks good and no rust.376460

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John E.

5/7/2018

The hitch has done well. We only use it for bikes. I probably should get the wire harness sometime in case we pull a small trailer. Thanks

Hitch arrived very quickly. It was well secured in a sturdy box with all of the needed parts included. The instructions were easy to follow and I was able to install the hitch with my son in about 30 minutes. We were able to install without any type of lift.
Besides the etrailer video on the hitch I would suggest you also watch the draw tite Utube installation video as it shows a couple of extra hints that came in very helpful. One thing to be sure to do is pop the two plastic fasters that hold the back rear shroud to its support...it makes installation so much easier. All in all the product looks like it is very well built, is easy to install and looks great! I would easily recommend.917891

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Fred B.

12/1/2021

I still love my trailer hitch after a year. I use it primarily with my multi bike rack but have also used it for pulling a small trailer. I couldnt be more pleased with its performance. Thanks!

by: Michael 04/25/2023

Easy instructions and install. Great Product, well made and well packaged for shipment.1564265

Michael

4/26/2024

Still has been working great. Absolutely no issues.

I bought this hitch to haul two bikes on my 2014 Acura RDX via a hitch rack. The hitch seems extremely well built and designed. However, my installation took a bit longer than most folks - probably 50 minutes or so. My riding buddy got the passenger side installed fairly quickly, but then we couldn’t quite get the driver side bolts in. It seemed like the bumper bracket interfered a bit. But we finally got it installed and it looks great with the cover installed.693423

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David2796

8/25/2020

Outstanding hitch rack - well-built and simple usage!

ACURA RDX 2014 AWD
I love this website. They answered all my questions with all the details. Hitch it's really high quality and perfectly fit with the car. Set up pretty straight forward nothing complicated. It took me and my 14 year old daugther about 45 minutes to install it. Looks great on the car. It's doesn't look too extractive and work great with THULE rack.135646

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Jiratt P.

6/16/2015

Still no issue. I used a lot last summer to carry four bike. Perfectly fine.

I purchased the hitch primarily to use with a bicycle rack. The box in which it was delivered was a little messed up but the hitch was perfectly fine. I was able to install the hitch myself without having to put my car in a lift. It was a little awkward as there wasn’t too much room to maneuver. The video provided by etrailer made the install extremely straight forward and took about 45 min. The hitch feels very solid and looks pretty nice.819917

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K C.

6/23/2021

So after a year I’m still very happy with my purchase. It was a good buy. etrailer is great, definitely recommend them.

by: Rosalie03/11/2024

Love being able to tow a trailer with my Acura. Easy install and we've had no issues with this hitch. Great quality for the price.1745756

After getting a quote from Acura for more than $[XXX] to install a trailer hitch onto my 2017 RDX, I saw what eTrailer had to offer. $[XXX] with free shipping for a custom-fit hitch for my exact vehicle. In addition, they had an excellent video selection guide to help me to choose from the two hitches they offer PLUS an installation video of them installing it on my exact vehicle. I purchased this with 100% confidence that it would fit my car and install beautifully. Package arrived in 3 days with extremely detailed tracking. I installed the hitch without a "hitch". Perfect experience from start to finish.1158993

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Ok... thought you might like to hear from a auto repair shop. I chose this specific hitch and the supplier because of the reviews. The RDX is a new vehicle to the shop owners wife and we wanted the best we could find for her. We often use presumed simple jobs to help train our apprentices. This D.T. was no exception. I came out into the shop to check on his progress and it was installed! I mean in just a few minutes. Yes we had it up on a hoist, but the real insight was asking the techs, "how did it go?" Techs responded with the usual, just a few words... "slammed it" and "done". Folks... that means you can do it too at home. It looks great and the bosses wife is happy! Pictured are Master Technician Lance and Apprentice Technician Eric. Our recommendation to you is this... great product, great supplier, order it! 404414

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John B.

7/17/2018

The hitch is working great and the RDX is doing things never before possible since we purchased the Draw Tite hitch from you. Thanks again.

I wanted this for an E bike rack. My independent auto repair shop told me to get this one and they installed for me. Total cost was $[xxx] compared to $[xxx] from Acura dealer. It was easy for them to install.1097121

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Carol

7/18/2022

great

by: Gordon05/30/2022

AcuraRDX

Great Hitch receiver, fit perfectly on my Acura RDX. Easily installed by local RV center. Saved a bundle over there price. I use it mainly for my E-bike rack. Perfect!1306811

Gordon G.

6/2/2023

I use the hitch receiver on a weekly basis. Never a problem. This is a great product and great service from eTrailer

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent! Hitch arrived on date promised and was a synch to install. Install video was helpful! Fits perfect on our 2017 RDX. Highly recommend Etrailer!912106

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Robert

11/15/2021

Great! No issues

15-20 minute install - I set the hitch up a small jack and jacked it into place and inserted the four bolts and tightened. Everything fit perfectly. Order process, delivery and communication was top notch. 419493

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Mike D.

8/13/2018

One year out and everything is still performing flawlessly. Couldn be happier with the product.

Fits as advertised. Installation took 15min max.1540872

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Shipped fast and installed in my driveway in 30 minutes taking my sweet time to make sure I did everything right. So far so good thanks!1218102

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Love the hitch. I did have to buy a tap to thread the M12 1.25 on the Acura because the metal was oxidized. All went well. Great product.1771654

by: Peter 04/13/2024

Went on easy no issues since. 1766541

Hitch installed on my 2011 Acura RDX as the video explained. Love your videos! Due to my car being 8 years old, I had to use a tap to clean out the rusty frame threads before installing the two rear hitch bolts. The bumper brackets were a bit in the way, but after a small amount of bending outward the hitch cleared them. After cleaning out the treads and bending the bumper brackets, hitch installation was a breeze. Great products and great prices. Thanks etrailer!689954

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The Hidden Hitch arrived undamaged. It is well made, sturdy, with a nice finish. Installation took me about an hour on my 2013 RDX. I ended up removing the plastic pins that hold the fascia to the two brackets. It was the only way I could line up the holes. After I did the installation, I watched the Draw-Tite video, which is longer and more detailed than the Hidden video, and includes instructions to remove the pins before installation, and shows how the bend the brackets after installation. I wish I would have watched the Draw-Tite video before I did the installation, it would have saved time. Also raising the vehicle would have made the installation easier. But I am very pleased with etrailer.com and the final install.84464

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Pretty straight forward installing the hitch.
Didn't have to lift up the car.

Only problem I had was holding up the hitch while placing the bolts.
The hitch is pretty heavy and need an extra strong person to hold it up.
I did not have another person helping me but fortunately, I had some lifts to hold up the hitch.
Once I figured out how to hold the hitch up, it took about 20 minutes to finish.
Minor note.....the black welded bolts were difficult to get into the holes.
Took about 5 minutes each.
Might have been because I was lying down on the ground.
Also, it comes with two hex nuts.
These are meant for the welded bolts but I think they are just extra (since the welded bolts go straight into the vehicle).

All in all, great value and excellent service.
Received the hitch within a week on free shipping.383021

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The hitch is well made, what I did not like was the damaged E-coat. the hitch has been dropped a couple of times chipping off the E-coat. May not sound like a big deal but where do think it is going to start rusting? They spend all this money putting on a special coating and then don't protect it prior to shipping. Poor quality control! I had to paint it where the coating was chipped off.1595262

Jenny N.

6/8/2023

When the hitches are shipped to us they are shipped in large pallets all together and this can cause chips or scratches to the powder coating. You already have done what we would suggested by painting those areas.

Helpful Links

faq-rust-prevention-maintenance.aspx

Product arrived on time and looks to be very study. As with other reviews the packaging was significantly torn by the loose trailer hitch that was only secured at one end inside the large cardboard box. This allowed the hitch to slide back and forth within the box. The hitch should be attached to the box at both ends. Fortunately, only the bottom back edge of the hitch had the paint scraped off. This is the part that tore the side of the box open for about 1.5 feet. No other damage. It bolted right into place within 25 minutes using a six-pack cooler as a second pair of hands to hold it up while inserting the bolts. My planned use for the hitch is for a bike rack and maybe a platform carrier. I would recommend the hitch but packaging leaves a lot to be desired.439165

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Hitch installed with exact fit, see photo "hitch.jpg". Instructions said the car's rear facia would slightly tuck over the top, but this tuck is so small you can't see it in regular viewing. I wanted the hitch to carry my really great rear mount bike rack. See photo "Bike Rack.jpg" Mission Accomplished! The mouth of the receiver is set back from the face of the car's bumper by about an inch. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, the hitch is out-of-the way so you won't bruise your shins on it when its not being used. On the other hand, it is harder to reach the pin hole, and the load might end up very close to the car. With my bike rack, it was a close question, but it did clear the tailgate by a tiny margin, so probably no extension is needed. An extra inch of length on the receiver would be nice. 504967

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I am very happy with these products (hitch & rack), as well as the follow up and support received from etrailer.
I installed the hitch in an hour and a half by myself. I lost a half hour because I didn't clean the existing wedge nuts immediately. (Though the instructions were clear, CLEAN THEM on older cars.) Rust and crud didn't allow the bolt to easily screw in.
The instructions and associated video made the install simple. The product is very well made and very secure. The look on my 2012 RDX is clean on the car and you hardly notice the hitch is there. Highly recommend it!
The bike rack likewise is well made, simple to install and solid holding 2 bikes.279907

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