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Front Hitch Install Question

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Old May 18, 2017 | 12:57 PM
  #1  
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Front Hitch Install Question

Ok, so I received my front hitch from E-trailer.com and I have only 4 bolts left to secure it, but I cannot for the life of me see access to get my hands behind the bumper in order to hold the 4 extra spacers and nut that were supplied with the hitch that attach to the bolts where I had to drill the new holes in the bumper. Can someone that has installed one give me a hint of where the access is to be able to fish the new hardware through on the back side of the bumper? Maybe I just need smaller hands .

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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Old May 18, 2017 | 01:51 PM
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I'm not sure I understand where your problem is? Can you post pics ?

The nuts that came with mine had long tabs on them that would contact the frame so I did not need to get a wrench on them to tighten them..... just tightened the bolt from the front.
 
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Old May 18, 2017 | 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by IMASAP
I'm not sure I understand where your problem is? Can you post pics ?

The nuts that came with mine had long tabs on them that would contact the frame so I did not need to get a wrench on them to tighten them..... just tightened the bolt from the front.
Yes I have the same setup, but there is the flat spacer/washer to put on the bolt before the nut and I cannot access the backside of the bolts to place the spacer on before the nut, and I cannot even find space to get the nut onto the bolt. between the radiator/condenser and lower plastic facia I cannot find a path to fit my hand through in order to put the pieces on the bolt.
 
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Old May 18, 2017 | 03:54 PM
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Hmmm. It's been awhile since I installed mine.

Wait a minute. I drilled the holes big on the bumper, so the heads could stick through. Then, I bolted the hitch onto the frame with the inside bolts, then bolted the bumper on afterward using the original bumper bolts.
 
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Old May 18, 2017 | 04:43 PM
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Hopefully that makes sense. I did it as two seperate pieces instead of bolting the hitch and the bumper together.
 
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Old May 19, 2017 | 07:48 AM
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So after taking a break on the hitch, I went back to it with fresh eyes and realized I just needed to remove a lower brace that was attached to the frame in order to give me access to the new front hitch bolts. It was still a bit of a pain as the "handles" on the nuts provided with the hitch were not exactly strong enough to hold the nut from spinning when trying to torque them down, so I still had to get a wrench in there, but I got it finished up last night!
 
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Old Jun 18, 2018 | 03:12 PM
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delete....
 
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Old Jun 18, 2018 | 04:15 PM
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Originally Posted by smoky_diesel
delete....
Why? It may help someone that uses the search function.
 
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