rear hitch

Messages
10
Reactions
0
State
AL
Country
United States
What I Drive
2017 xc90
#1
anyone put a rear hitch on a xc90? trying to decide if it is worth the effort. won't be towing I have a rack to use
 
Messages
20
Reactions
0
State
CA
Country
United States
What I Drive
2017 Volvo XC 90 T8
#2
Hitch

I went ahead and did some research and decided on the Draw-Tite hitch rather than the Curt Hitch. I too am interested primarily in carrying my bike rack. However, since the XC90 is robust, having a 5000 lb. towing capacity. I also added the electrical wiring (4 plug). I choose the Draw-Tite as it did not require drilling. The problem with drilling is I need to get the car high enough off the ground to make it easy to get the drill in place. The Draw-Tite did not require any drilling. Also there is an earlier Draw-Tite number that is associated with the XC90 that does require a bit more work. That number has been replaced by the unit that works both for the XC60 and XC90 2016 and up. There are videos on YouTube that will help. One in particular did not require removing the entire bumper, but only the lower section of the bumper. I went that route. My recommendation is to buy some blue painters tape and tape the entire length of the seam that will be separated. This will insure no scratches occur in the paint. It is a bit tricky removing the lower panel. You still remove the five screws inside the wheel well. Also there are four screws that hold the heat shield where it connects with the rear facia (lower bumper). Then it is a matter of carefully separating the lower facia from the bumper. You have to pull out towards you and then with a very narrow bladed screw driver push down the connector. It took me a while to get the feel. Ultimately I got it off and carefully laid it on some towels. You need to disconnect a number of wires which tie into the distance warning system (round buttons on the bumper). That was pretty easy. The hard part was to reach under the facia and push out the connector that was in the middle lip. It holds the facia to the bumper. It would have helped to have had a helper at this time. Putting on the bumper was a piece of cake. Getting the facia back on was another matter. It was hard to align the center portion of the facia to connect with the lower bumper. Again it would have been helpful to have someone there to hold things. Ultimately I got the tongue to enter into the rear of the bumper. Then it was a matter of putting back the connector on the inside. This keeps the facia from pulling out. I then attached the sides. Afterwards I noted that it seemed like where the reflector lights are that there was too much space between the top of the reflector and the bottom of the bumper. So I re-taped the whole bumper facia and pulled it apart. I again tried to get everything to snap back in. It looked better but not perfect. During the day I say another XC90 that was the inscription model and also black in color. I checked out their bumper and lower facia and realized that the space between the lights and bumper were still too large. So on my third attempt, I found that I could release the facia on the sides very easily and did not have to force anything. As they often say the third time is the charm. I purposely pushed upward as I pushed the facia into the lower bumper. This time around everything went in as it should. So now the car has a hitch and is put together as intended. I still believe removing the lower facia rather than the entire bumper was the easier route. There is less chance of making a permanent mark on the bumper going this way. Lesson learned was I should have gone a bit slower initially and been a bit more aggressive in pushing in the blade of the screw driver to push down on the tab on both ends of the facia where they connect to the wheel wells. I am really happy with the outcome. It will fit my bike carrier without any problems. Looks better than the Curt where you see the hitch and the front bar on either side. The only trim I did was to the facia where it does not show. The bumper was actually marked making the cut really easy. Watch the video several times and you will be ok. The wiring was really easy. By the way the electrical connection cost around $45 and the hitch was around $130 both from www.Trailerjacks.com Fast shipping, good price, and good customer service
 

yeloboomer

New member
Messages
1
Reactions
0
City
shawnee
State
KS
Country
United States
What I Drive
2011 Volvo XC90
#3
We had the Gorges Volvo in Wichita install our Class III hitch. We tow a 6x10 single axle covered trailer with our track motorbikes to race tracks around the Midwest. The company we purchased the trailer from installed a trailer brake system which plugs into a 7 pin round standard trailer connector. The controller is mounded by the drivers right knee. Trailer brakes are a little overkill, but we wanted the ability to add a little brake to straighten up the trailer if necessary.
Gorges did a great job of trimming the rear plastic. It appears 'factory installed'. This is the second XC90 we have used to tow this trailer.
 


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