Honda Pilot Hitch

[yzeater]

Hey Fellow DRN Spodes and Spodettes-
We bought a 2003 Honda Pilot, and we're going to need to add a hitch to it. We'll be using this with a bike rack, and a small U-Haul trailer (that I'll rent from time to time for towing the CR). It needs to be well built, very good looking, etc. From the research I've done, it would appear the general price on these things is $200, does that sound approximately right? Any tips on getting this installed? Should I take it to the dealer, some welder, trailer store...maybe I'm totally off. What kinda price are we lookin at for the installation? What type of hitch do we need? I've heard the term "Class III" used a lot, but I've not really looked into what size / type of hitch will be necessary. Please fill in all these holes in my hitch knowledge. Thanks
-Stephen

 

[ktmboy]

I put the hitch on our Pilot myself, and it was a very simple, bolt on installation, as Honda already supllies the threaded holes under the vehicle. It's the new style that curves up under the vehicle, it's a class III, and I was able to order the hitch, the wiring harness, and the installation hardware (6 bolts) from a website called 'hitchfinders'  for about $170.00!

On the installation instructions they tell you to lower your muffler during the install, but you won't have to as it easily slides over the muffler if you have someone holding up the other end of the hitch while you manuever it in. THe hardest part of the install is hooking up yhe wiring harness, since the instructions are pretty vague about where the facory wiring is located. You will also be un-bolting the tiedown hook under the drivers-side rear of the vehicle that was used to ship it. The bolts in the kit will replace the ones you take out.

You'll need to take the plastic cover off right were the hatch closes down and look on the drivers side to locate the wiring harness. You just plug the new harness right in, (it's pre-wired!), and pop out the large rubber plug in the bottom of the body and cut a slit in it so you can slide the wiring down through it.

BTW, the brand of the hitch we ordered is a "Drawtite", and it looks great on the Pilot. Good luck, and happy hunting!

 :thumb:

 

[yzeater]

That's awesome. Great response ktmboy! I'm in a rush now, but would it be possible for you to take a picture of it on the pilot?

 

[ktmboy]

yzeater---I just got a digital camera recently, and haven't toyed with loading images on my PC yet, so give me a couple of days and I'll work on it.

 

[yzeater]

Originally posted by ktmboy
yzeater---I just got a digital camera recently, and haven't toyed with loading images on my PC yet, so give me a couple of days and I'll work on it.

That'd be great