Front Receiver Hitch on a 05

PitViper · **Posted:** Tue Sep 27, 2005 8:19 pm

Does anyone know if the "Hidden Hitch Front 2" Receiver Hitch" listed on AllJ's site will fit an 05 Renegade? I want to order it when I order the lift if it will fit.

It looks like it will clear the bumper and license plate but i'm not sure. I'm pretty sure the holes are the same too, but again i'm not sure.

opo · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:32 am

I asked the same question a while ago. It seems that the hidden hitch is the way to go for the front. And yes, by looking at the 05 bumper I think no bumper mod/cutting will be needed, Maybe some minor triminng into the licencence plate holder.

But I`m not sure of this. I'll buy the HH as soon as I go back to the US. Please let me know if you get it installed in yours.

Octavio

tymewarp · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:19 pm

I installed the Drawtite on my 05 CRD last week. It looks like a more solid design than the hidden hitch and has 2 tow loops welded on. It required pulling the bumper cover half off and some trimming with a dremel tool but not too bad of an install. You can order it from www.etrailer.com part # 65042 for about the same price as the hidden hitch. I paid 134.00 with shipping.

gundrted · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2005 12:29 pm

tymewarp wrote:

I installed the Drawtite on my 05 CRD last week. It looks like a more solid design than the hidden hitch and has 2 tow loops welded on. It required pulling the bumper cover half off and some trimming with a dremel tool but not too bad of an install. You can order it from www.etrailer.com part # 65042 for about the same price as the hidden hitch. I paid 134.00 with shipping.

i have an crd as well and was looking at the same hitch. do you have any install pics or general pics. what are you your overall thoughts

tymewarp · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2005 1:00 pm

gundrted,

I didn't take any pictures during the install. Always in too much of a rush to think about sensible things like documentation. Overall, I'm very pleased with the way it looks. I installed it so I could put a hitch mounted winch on either the front or rear and since it has the tow hooks installed on it and is only about 40 bucks more than the dealer wants for factory hooks that server no other purpose, I figure it's hard to go wrong cost wise. The 05 bumper seems to come off a lot easier then what I read about the previous years. The grille just unsnaps and there are (2) 10mm bolts behind it that need to come off and (2) 10mm up underneath on the frame that come out. After these bolts are loose , there are about 4 plastic clips that come off 2 on the fender well and 2 underneath and then the bumper cover will swing to one side. The only reson it's even necessary to take off the cover is to get to 2 covers on the frame assy that are under it. (this is where you feed in the bolts and brackets to mount the hitch) the 2 back brackets and bolts are a pain to get in so I put the bolt thorough the bracket and then wrapped a coat hanger end around the bolt under the bracket so it couldn't fall out and fished it into the hole. You can then maneuver around a little and get the bolt to drop through the back hole and get the nut started on the bottom and then yank the hanger loose. I know this probably doesn't make a lot of sense without pictures, but you'll get the idea when you are installing it if you choose to go that way. Hope this helps somebody and next time I install something, I'll try to take some pics along the way.

valoflyby · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:52 am

Any chance of getting a picture of the installed hitch? Specifically the trimming that needed to be done on the bumper cover? Are the "tow hook" sections of the hitch actually useable, or would the bumper cover get ripped off if they were used?

Thanks for braving this frontier...

- Jeff

Guyute1210 · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 11:23 am

Yeah, i would like to see finished pictures, to see what exactly has to be cut, and how it looks installed. Thanks!!!!!!!

tymewarp · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2005 8:33 pm

I went out and snapped a couple of quick pics so you can see how it looks. You can check them out at this link.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2132161/1

valoflyby · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2005 9:37 pm

Tymewarp -

Thanks for the pics, man... I really appreciate it.

Perhaps you can clarify what I *think* I understand... You mentioned trimming the bumper cover around the "right end" of the hidden hitch. Did the left not need trimming? Also, other than the slight trimming there, would there be a need to completely remove the "cut outs" for the factory hooks? It nearly appears that the recovery loops on the ends of the hidden hitch are below the bumper cover, thereby allowing access to them w/o cutting out the "cut outs".

Or... am I just viewing the pics "wrong"?

Also, for the trimming around the actual receiver, how did you do this? Was it a "put the cover up there and see if it interferes, now take it down and trim some away".... or was there careful measurement taken? I guess I'm asking if it is obvious what needs to be trimmed away...

Again... thanks for the pictures. You've been a tremendous help.

- Jeff

tymewarp · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2005 10:24 pm

Jeff,

Glad the pics helped. The right and left sides both needed an equal amount of trimming. For the trimming around the receiver, I lifted the bumper up as close as possible to where I figured it was going to be when refastened and made some quick marks with a pencil. I did the trimming around the receiver with a dremel tool using the little circular cutting wheels and the trimming on the side with the drill bit looking atachment (not sure what it's called) because it's only visible laying on the ground and the drill bit cuts a lot faster. The recovery loops are definitely below the cutouts but I figured with any use at any kind of angle, it was best to cut them out cleanly before they were torn out. The whole process only took a couple of hours and that was laying on the ground out in the driveway. Hope this helps!

-Phil

Front Receiver Hitch on a 05

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