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sbi

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Couple of years ago I inquired about installing a trailer hitch on my 2005 EX. It never happened :(

Now that we added a second Accord I am looking at this solution again (hauling lots of stuff), this time with the newer, more fuel-efficient car.

First of, did anyone do this on their 2013? Any recommendation?
Second, I saw a couple of products with installation instructions/video and in all of them one of the holes in the body must be expanded a little bit to allow for the plate to go through. Isn't there a risk of corrosion if you 'shave' material in this hole?
Also, anyone have any experience with Uhaul installing this? I don't see myself getting underneath the car and messing with removing the exhaust and cutting the heat shield. I consider myself a DIY'er, but I am also aware of my limitations ;)
 
#3 ·
sbi said:
Couple of years ago I inquired about installing a trailer hitch on my 2005 EX. It never happened :(

Now that we added a second Accord I am looking at this solution again (hauling lots of stuff), this time with the newer, more fuel-efficient car.

First of, did anyone do this on their 2013? Any recommendation?
Second, I saw a couple of products with installation instructions/video and in all of them one of the holes in the body must be expanded a little bit to allow for the plate to go through. Isn't there a risk of corrosion if you 'shave' material in this hole?
Also, anyone have any experience with Uhaul installing this? I don't see myself getting underneath the car and messing with removing the exhaust and cutting the heat shield. I consider myself a DIY'er, but I am also aware of my limitations ;)
Click to expand...
I installed a Hidden Hitch on my 8 Gen and it was very easy. I used tin snips to cut the shield and it was minimal. I don't remember having to expand any holes.

I see what you mean here though: http://youtu.be/m5ZTzua6JPY

Honda will install it for you as well.
 
#6 ·
I was just reviewing the comments on the Draw Tite hitch, and this one was recommended over it (but it's more expensive):
http://www.curtmfg.com/part/11681

Anyone have any experience comparing the Draw Tite to Curt hitches?
 
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#8 ·
I installed a Draw Tite hitch into my '98 Coupe. (Sorry; newest Accord I have; they last forever!) So I don't know if my experience will help you, but here goes:

* You can only use a 1 1/4" hitch. The 2" is too much for our cars. Not sure if you want it for actual towing or if you want a bike rack (that's why I wanted mine), but the bike racks all use 1 1/4" anyway.

* Installation was the daunting task of drilling 4 holes in the bottom of my nice car. It sounds like you have the holes already there in your model? Handy. But if you have to enlarge/move one of yours, don't worry. You can get sealant goop to make sure they won't rust. I've not had any trouble in the dozen years since I put mine on.

* The metal in the bottom of the car is such that you can see why Honda doesn't want you towing more than 1000lbs. I guess you could add reinforcements to allow it to pull more, but then you might have issues fitting the spare tire in the well.

* My hitch has gotten some rust on it over the years. Had I been aware of this issue, I might have pre-coated it with something to help stave that off. You could consider the same. (I live in a cold climate so salt probably got to it.)

Good luck!
 
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#9 ·
I have the Draw Tite on my 2013 Sport. Did the install on my own. Hardest parts was dropping the exhaust, Two people would be best. The instructions says to expand the holes on the frame but I just shaved the brackets and painted them.
 
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#11 ·
sbi said:
Turns out Honda won't do it because Honda does not have a trailer hitch for the Accord and they won't install after market one (I checked with two local Boston dealers).
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You guys must have different rules because my dealer was willing to order one in and install it. I found the same one cheaper and just did it myself. Very easy to do, plus I don't like people touching my vehicles.
 
#12 ·
I started off using a Yakima Bike rack but changed since (1) was afraid of the fairing causing paint damage, (2) getting older and lifting up the bike after a long ride was no fun, and (3) noticed i took a 7 mpg hit when I put a single 25lbs bike up on the roof. While visiting SoCal, I decided to trade in the roof rack and get a hitch mount. see pix below... MPG was better by 5 mpg using the hitch mount. I will be using the hitch just for hauling bikes.
 

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#13 ·
I want one too but im scared its gonna look "funny" I wish there was something that came on and off easily so you can only use it when needed. The s2000 has a really cool one but that manufacture only makes them for the s2k.
 
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#14 ·
lmartinez614 said:
I want one too but im scared its gonna look "funny" I wish there was something that came on and off easily so you can only use it when needed. The s2000 has a really cool one but that manufacture only makes them for the s2k.
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Same thought here. I used a hitch bike rack on my TSX for years.

There's a guy who did this on a Focus ST as shown in this post

http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-accessories/2731-bike-racks-3.html#post67514

He essentially doubled the end plates on the crosstube and put bolts through them to mount the tube when needed.

I was looking at the Curt hitch for the Accord trying to figure out if it could be modified like that. I think it could be done by a decent machine shop (in fact, I know someone who could for a price ...)

The problem would be that the centre of the hitch fastens to the tow hook - now that's an easy place to access so not a dealbreaker but adds a bit of complication for installation/removal.

Still, this would allow you to remove the hitch when not required.
 
#15 ·
KYBuckeye said:
Owners manual says 1000lb towing capacity. Check www.etrailer.com they have a bunch of hitches for the accord.

I installed one on our 2006 Volvo S60. It was a piece of cake but did require 2 people to make life easier.
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when i was doing research last year about getting a hitch installed, i talked to a few people, and also looked into what the euro accords were able to handle safely. the accords over there were given nearly triple the capacity of the US models over here. i'm not sure if that's more of a real number to go by, or if their regulations are more strict, or more people tows stuff with cars than over here...

the 1000 lb towing capacity, IMHO, is more of a cover your *** number than anything. someone told me that they towed with an accord wagon back in the day, with a smaller engine, up to 1500 lbs.

i can't confirm how much i towed when i went to AL for college. however, i never felt unsafe. i just had to take some extra precautions. more time to stop, more time to accelerate, more room to maneuver, hard speed limit at 75 mph (the car didn't have much more to give)....

i also checked the load every time i stopped, making sure that everything was secure back there, and that nothing shifted.

if you know what you are doing, it can be done.
 
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#17 ·
Zackb911 said:
I was looking up info on this the other night. Conclusion I came to was when/if I do this I'll have u-haul do it. Price wasn't much more than DIY and it appears they use the Curt one with a uhaul sticker on it.
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I got a quote from a local U-Haul, it was either $60 or $80 for the labor, price of the hitch was about the same

the only thing I didn't like was they couldn't give me the curt model they use, I think there are 2 or 3 different curt models that fit on our accord
 
#18 ·
Installed this $119 Curt hitch:

Honda Accord Trailer Hitch, 2013 - Class I 11681

From here:

https://www.hitchsource.com/

Going to tow a small trailer, jet ski and move other stuff around. Fairly easy solo install, those spring wire fish tools work great. Used a floor jack to hold the hitch up under the back end until I could get the nuts hand tight.

Seems like a good piece of kit and I believe it's worth every one of those 11,900 pennies I spent! :D
 
#19 ·
Just ordered my Curt hitch from etrailer.com to pull my little kayak trailer. With wiring, ball, and mount was about 190 w/free shipping.
 
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#20 ·
sbi said:
Couple of years ago I inquired about installing a trailer hitch on my 2005 EX. It never happened :(

Now that we added a second Accord I am looking at this solution again (hauling lots of stuff), this time with the newer, more fuel-efficient car.

First of, did anyone do this on their 2013? Any recommendation?
Second, I saw a couple of products with installation instructions/video and in all of them one of the holes in the body must be expanded a little bit to allow for the plate to go through. Isn't there a risk of corrosion if you 'shave' material in this hole?
Also, anyone have any experience with Uhaul installing this? I don't see myself getting underneath the car and messing with removing the exhaust and cutting the heat shield. I consider myself a DIY'er, but I am also aware of my limitations ;)
Click to expand...
Do NOT use UHaul. They run a horrible business. I purchased one online from their site, confirmed TWO times (phone call was transferred to the corporate call center), then showed up to have installed and they didn't have the part and weren't expecting me! I needed this installed the following week for vacation (hauling bikes on a rack). Horrible experience. They basically said if you use the website, that was out of process for my particular store.

Got one from a local place and works great. Got the lowest class ones (2000 lbs tow, 200 lbs tonge) and it worked for my bike rack
 
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