Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver w/ Euro Drawbar - 1-7/8" Ball - Custom Fit - Class II - 1-1/4"

Video Transcript for Trailer Hitch Installation - 2006 Ford Escape - Curt

Today on this 2006 Ford Escape, we're going to install part number C12060 from Curt. This is a Curt Class 2, inch and a quarter receiver hitch. This is what the hitch looks like when it's installed on the Ford Escape. Next we'll give you some measurements to help you out in selecting some accessories, such as a bicycle rack or a cargo carrier. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of the bumper will be about 2 inches and from the top of the receiver opening down to the ground will be about 16 inches. Now we'll show you how the hitch is installed. Before we install it, we'll show you where the hitch mounts up onto the bottom of the vehicle.

Looking at the driver's side, the hitch will bolt up to the side of the frame here, here and at the bottom over here. Looking at the passenger side, same two holes on the side and the one on the bottom. This hole will be used here for our access hole to get our hardware into place. Before we install our hardware, we'll show you how the hardware works with the hitch. This block and this carriage bolt will be installed from the inside of the frame facing out and will go through the hitch. The other side will get a conical tooth washer, make sure that these little teeth face towards the hitch, and then a nut.

This hardware combination will be used here, here and also at the bottom here. The only difference is on the passenger side at the bottom is going to get this block. Our driver's side does not get this, so in fact, while we're here let's use some tape to hold this block in place before we put our hitch up. This is our access hole and you can see how our hardware is going to be a little bit on the big side to fit into place. There's a variety of ways of doing this. You can chisel out a section to make it bigger or you can drill out a small section or file it out.

We're going to drill a pilot hole right next to it then follow it up with a larger bit to make our hole bigger. I just made a small pilot hole, I'm going to follow it up with a 5/16th drill bit. We'll use a drill bit to grind away across and then maybe a really large flat screwdriver or a pry bar to take out the corners. We'll do a quick test fit, we'll just keep making adjustments until we get the head of our bolt in place. Driver's side is done, let's do the same thing on the passenger side. With the hole enlarged, we can install our hardware.

We'll take the bolt leader that comes with the kit, run it through the hole we're going to use and out our access hole. We'll take our block, we'll thread it through, push it into place, then take our bolt and thread it on. Push it in head first and pull it out the hole. I like to do this attachment point first, one on each side, then it will hold the hitch up for us while we install the rest of our hardware. We'll get an extra set of hands and we'll put our hitch up. Push the exhaust out of the way, put it up into place, put our bolt through and install our conical tooth washer and nut. If you can, push the hitch in one direction or the other to trap the bolts so it's easier to thread on. I'm just going to just run it up finger tight to help hold the hitch up into place. Let's continue on installing our hardware the same way we did before. Take a bolt leader and run it through our access hole. We still want to leave our hitch loose to help maneuver it around so we can get our hardware into place. Driver's side is done, let's do the same thing on the passenger side. All the hardware is loosely installed, we'll tighten them down and then torque the bolts down as specified in the instructions. For our fastener at the bottom here, we'll need a 3/4 inch socket and extension to push the exhaust out of the way as needed. That's what it takes to install our hitch. That will finish it for part number C12060 from Curt, the custom fit Class 2, inch and a quarter receiver hitch on our 2006 Ford Escape. .