BleuM&M

Recently rented a U-Haul trailer to haul a roomful of my Mom's furniture across town. I was intrigued to discover that U-Haul's towing guidelines indicate the RDX can safely handle their largest trailer, which is 2,300 lbs empty. That and next size down have onboard brakes, which may have been a factor. All they wanted to make sure of was that the hitch was rated at 3,500 lbs or better, which is the rating for the Hidden Hitch I installed.

The tow was a breeze. Very little dynamic indication it was hauling a load, other than some clanking that happened over bumps due to the slightly loose fit of the hitch into the receiver.

vrflyer

Any trailer that comes with brake assisted (on-board brakes), will yield a slightly higher towing capacity.

neo1738

just ordered this, it is currently $116 with free shipping. one thing to note is this is a Class II trailer hitch, the $147 is a Class III, basically this is designed for at most a uhaul trailer. To tell you the truth I wouldn't even think of trailing anything heavier with the RDX's stock brakes as it is. Just an FYI

neo1738

just got my hh class II package and the oem honda wiring harness from honda acura world. probably install sometime this week. ill let you know how it goes.

neo1738

so far installed the hidden hitch with no hitches...sorry couldnt help it took about 15 minutes using my buddy's lift. for those of you who don't know difference between coarse and fine threads, the silver bolts from this package go into the handy nut holders/ more easily put go into the two holes closest to the front of the vehicle, the two brass bolts go into the back two holes. havent tried the wiring harness as of yet, instructions look kind of vague to me. anyone do wiring harness yet?

CAgirl RDX

Hello, I'm new to this forum and really appreciate the info on the trailer hitch and bike racks. I will be ordering that Hidden Hitch based on everything I've read. Thank you!

My question is now about the bike rack. My son and his friends ride BMX bikes which are smaller than adult bikes - does anyone have a recommendation on a bike rack that fits these types of bikes? The Saris T-Rax Pro 2 recommended by someone (sorry - forget who at the moment) might be an option, but thought I'd ask if anyone has input.

greg808

I installed the drawtite hitch from etrailer yesterday. It was just as simple as advertised. I put some locktite threadlocker on the bolts just to make sure they don't move.

fegnomashic

i am wondering how the valley hitch has worked out for you so far. are you using a bike rack with it? if so, which one?

neo1738

no one can post attachments into the main threads, however you can put your pics on photobucket and link them into your thread, little more time consuming, but a way to do it

silver08rdx

I ordered drawtite hitch from etrailer.com and they sent me a hitch that had 3 logos on it - Hidden Hitch, Drawtite and something else (valley hitch?).
It looks like they're sending out a generic RDX hitch no matter what you order. The hitch fits great, no complaints there.

johnny99

The 1.25" and 2" hitches are obviously different, but I think the different brand 3rd paty 1.25" hitches are all the same.

fegnomashic

the 2" valley hitch looks different, it has curved tubes, and not the right angles like the hidden hitch and drawtite, unless there has been a recent change.

i have the 2" valley hitch, and i use the saris thelma 2 rack. no hitch extender is needed, and there is plenty of clearance when folding rack in the upright position.

chipt911

Can you tell me where to find the adapter and how to get to it? The manual says it's on the right side under the tool holder, but do you have to take the molded black styrofoam out and if so how do you do it without busting it up?
Thanks.

chipt911

Never mind. Figured it out

PaulyO

Hi everyone, a little FYI about the Hidden Hitch and the RDX towing capacity ! I have a 10ft tent trailer and got the hidden hitch installed and the 2" receiver was too close to the bumper. I had an extra hole drilled behind the first one and it's now clear by about 1 1/2" - perfect. When the cap is on it's really not very noticeable.
I also have electric brakes on the trailer and usually pack it pretty heavy so I purchased the weight distribution kit as well. It makes the receiver assembly really heavy but transfers alot of weight back to the trailer and the RXD pulls it amazingly. Except for the gas mileage increase of course. It can be done and works well !

ccfoodog

Thanks for the information here. I purchased the Valley 2" hitch and partially due to the help here install went quickly with my dad helping out (point taken about holding it up).

FWIW, mine came with two different size metric bolts which was a bit funky -- 18mm and 19mm.

I added a cheapo rubber cover from the local auto shop and the curved style looks great.

Thanks again.

-john

ccfoodog

Some quick and dirty pics of the Valley V82112 2" hitch installed.

[MORE PICS]

googlefish

Any source for the valley hitch and 1upusa bike rack in Canada? Shipping costs from the us are exorbitant!

carolinadan

Has anyone figured out a good way to torque the passenger side forward bolt down without dropping the exhaust? I hit it as best as I could but would like to get the wrench set and cranked on there.

googlefish

Hi .. is there a difference between the Valley V82112 and the Valley V82113?

ahagopian

Just sharing my experience. I have a 2010 RDX. Bought the class III hidden hitch from etrailer along with the Swagman XC Cross-Country 2 from Amazon, which totaled to almost exactly $300 total.

No hitch extender was necessary for me. The bike pedal is about 1.5-2 inches away from the bumper and the rack holds the bike solid so it won't make any contact.

Put a smaller gallery together:

http://picasaweb.google.com/airhead1/HitchInstallation#

And here's the finished product with my wife's bike on there.



As some others mentioned, installing the hitch was pretty tough without a lift. I ended up resting it on a stack of books which helped me finally get the bolts in there. Also there are some metal bars that hold some of the bottom bumper ground effects (or whatever you'd call that bottom part) that was in the way and had to be pushed out of the way during installation, luckily a neighbor was around to give me a hand.

nmfrith

I am planning on getting a 2" Curt Hitch - one that looks identical to the HH,DT and Reece, but I've heard from several people that Curt is higher quality. I want to get the Saris Thelma, because as a small woman, I don't want to try and attach/remove a heavy platform bike rack. I also like the look of the Thelma.

Does anyone have pics of the Saris Thelma installed on a HH/DT/Reece/Curt hitch? Thank you!

cvweel

I have looked at the assembly instructions for the etrailer and acura hitches. The acura connection system is much stronger, but difficult to install based on the instructions.

nator

Here is the difference between the Valley part number changes from the Vally site. No difference other than the wiring harness routing, if you are using one.:

"The difference between the V82113 and the part # V82112 is that the V82113 is set up to use the integrated 4-Pole wiring that Valley offers. Instead of having a loose plug, there is a plug in the hitch tube itself. The V82113 hitch will house the integrated wiring, part # V31499. You will still need wiring on the vehicle."

cschneider

Any chance you could clue us in as to what make the Acura connection stronger? Is this something we should worry about, does it matter with the kind of trailer capacities we're talking about?

alex81

Installed Class II hidden hitch - 90162
Just confirming that it fits well and is exactly what it's called -- hidden. The only thing you can see is the receiver itself. Thanks everyone for contributing to the thread and recommending a great product.

2005 Silver Bullet

So I finally had a chance to order a Hidden Hitch #87584 Class 3 hitch from eTrailer. Got it yesterday and it was labeled as "Reese" brand. I expected this, but what surprised me was that it was gloss black painted, not black powder coated.

The last Hidden Hitch I had was powder coated and was awesome. This one looks beefy, but the paint is already chipped and flaking off in about 4 places. Didn't even mount it to the truck yet.

Hidden Hitch's website says that it would be powder coated. http://www.hiddenhitch.com/content/p...040&part=87584

Is anyone getting the #87584 in black powder coated finish? If so, where did you order it from.

djbrown9

I have a 2011 RDX and just purchased the hidden hitch through etrailer.com. It appears that the fascia support/attachment bars need to be 'pushed gently' to get the hitch into position for mounting.

Has anyone done this and can tell me what their experience was? I am concerned that the fascia (bumper) will be dented as a result of the install.
Thanks!

2005 Silver Bullet

Well if it's the same hitch that I received from eTrailer (#87584), it won't fit. I called Hidden Hitch and they said that they had a few other complaints from RDX owners about the fit of this hitch on 2010+ models.

It literally took many, many phone calls and emails over a 6 week period to eTrailer for them to accept the fact that it doesn't fit. I sent photos of how the hitch mounting holes aren't even close to the OEM frame holes. They even sent me another #87584 model and it had the exact same problems. Something changed with the mounting holes on 2010+ RDXs. The hitch will need to be redesigned, Bill Heindl at Hidden Hitch confirmed this.

BTW, there is no "pushing gently" on the metal bumper supports. You will need a hammer and it will mess up your bumper. If this is the same eTrailer Technical Support lady that I talked to, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I sent her about a dozen photos showing how it just doesn't fit. She replied "you're doing it wrong" and "we're not taking the hitch back".

Anyways, talk to Bill Heindl at Hidden Hitch Technical Support and have them talk to Amanda R. at eTrailer about how it doesn't fit and get your money back (including S/H charges, both ways).

Your only choice right now is to purchase a totally different brand of hitch or wait until Hidden Hitch redesigns the fit for the 2010+ models.

H22A_CD5

iTrader: (3)

Installed my Hidden Hitch 3500 from etrailer a week and a half ago. Im pretty happy with it. The receiver for my hitch touched the bumper as others have mentioned, I took my dremel and shaved down the area where it touched about 1/8 (.5cm) and it fits perfectly now.

djbrown9

This post is in response to 2005 Silver Bullet. I installed the #87584 eTrailer hitch on my 2011 Acura RDX and there were no issues with damaging the bumper.
I agree that they need to change the design to make it fit properly, but it's on there already, works fine, and looks good.
p.s. I am not the eTrailer support lady.

2005 Silver Bullet

Did you need to bend the bumper supports, or did it bolt straight up? When i tried the two hitches that I got, the bolt holes were way off. No way to even get the bolts close to threading. Sounds like Hidden Hitch may have already made the design modifications, which is good news. I may give it a shot again in the Spring.

Do you have any photos to share? I'd love to see how clean the final install turned out.

osofast10

awesome, this is something i plan on doing.

Pacer

Hey guys, I'm having a hell of a time getting the brass bolts from my Hidden Hitch (etrailer.com) to thread into my '07 RDX. I can get them in about 1/8 to 1/4 inch (maybe 1/2 to 1 revolution) and then they stop threading. I've cleaned out the holes (yes, the ones closest to rear of car) with WD40 and a brush, got some gunk out but still these bolts do NOT want to hand turn...and even using a wrench they don't want to move. I didn't want to fry my threads so I didn't put much pressure on them. This is all BEFORE even mounting the HH on there, just testing the bolts with the holes. The directions seem to correspond with the numbers on the brass bolts (there's a 10.9 in the direx and also a 10.9 printed on the bolt head), so I'm at a loss here.

Does anyone remember the brass bolts being hard to seat/especially hard to turn? I wonder if I got a mismatched/defective set or something. In etrailer's demo video, there wasn't a closeup of putting these bolts in but it looked like they hand turned pretty easy to start them.

Leaving on a trip Weds and need to get this baby installed asap. Thanks for any help. Happy 4th to all!

jo.jacques

Hey Pacer, not sure if you solved your bolt problem, but a while a go, Mcgett posted that:

A word of warning/advice for anyone that is installing either the Hidden Hitch or the Draw Tight hitches

There are two different bolt types in the assembly kit. Two of the bolts go into the existing nuts that are welded into the frame and the other two go into the two supplied nuts on thin pieces of metal that you slide into the frame.

I ddn't realize this and messed up my installation. I put the wrong bolt into the existing nut and ended up first crushing the threads in the nut from manhandling of it and then breaking it off from the weld inside the frame.

I've got the hitch secured with the other three bolts/nuts, but now I have to cut off loose bolt/nut and then see if I can get another bolt/nut assembly to go into that hole.

gdynia

I am also looking to buy this hitch but have not been able to find any information if it will fit nicely on my car which has the original rear diffuser installed under the bumper.

If anyone had installed it in this configuration could you please share the experience and some pics possibly?

Cheers,
Andrew

mrgold35

I had no problems with my 2" hidden hitch and OEM diffuser for my 08 RDX. My kid and I installed ourselves about 20-30 mins (2nd set of hand really help). Check out this thread starting at post #13: https://acurazine.com/forums/first-generation-rdx-2007-2012-147/2007-2009-problem-areas-running-costs-946418/

rossmo

Does anyone know if the rear sway bar and hidden hitch can both be mounted? Basically, does installing the rear sway bar use the same bolts as the hidden hitch?

Thanks!

mrgold35

I installed my 2" hidden hitch first myself and the upgraded Progress RSB later (shop install). The four bolts for the hitch don't come near the sway bar connections and you can install both without issue. I would try and clean out the two threads closest to the rear bumper and maybe run the bolts through them before attaching the hitch (threads are exposed and might have debris or rust). I also installed a 4-way wiring harness that I just hang out the the hatch when needed. That was just one plug into an already existing connector near the right side of the spare tire under the hatch.

I ended up having to add a hitch extender because the hidden hitch was too recessed under the bumper for my Softride Dura 4 Assist bike rack. The rack would rub a little bit on the rear bumper in the up position.

7" hitch extender and anti-rattle clamp near rear diffusor:

DaIll1

I put a Curt class 3 and a bumper guard on mine. The next day some idiot ran into it, so glad I put it on. Saved my bumper and barely put a mark on the guard.