Hey guys we are picking up a 2015 Renegade Sport this weekend and I was talking with the Stealership and they haven't given me an answer to when we expect the Trailer Hitch to be available. I am moving across country in July and I need a hitch. Does anyone have any Idea?
Trailer Hitch release date?
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I can't help but tease: Here is the factory hitch as seen on the "Deserthawk" Renegade Trailhawk concept Jeep brought to Moab for Easter Jeep Safari 2015. I'll have a complete video blog on EJS soon.
Note the slick bumper integration including the 4 prong trailer lights hookup. Keep in mind that this was a preproduction model of course.
Mopar lists Part # 68255643AA for $280 for the bumper with receiver.
For just $53 more, you can dress the job up with "Fascia, Rear - BEZEL, Hitch"
Part # 5VX02LXHAA as nearly as I can put together.
The minijeep of legend was not available with a hitch so I will be doing a video blog on retrofit options before long and will have more details regarding the install of the Mopar options listed above.
Note the slick bumper integration including the 4 prong trailer lights hookup. Keep in mind that this was a preproduction model of course.
Mopar lists Part # 68255643AA for $280 for the bumper with receiver.
For just $53 more, you can dress the job up with "Fascia, Rear - BEZEL, Hitch"
Part # 5VX02LXHAA as nearly as I can put together.
The minijeep of legend was not available with a hitch so I will be doing a video blog on retrofit options before long and will have more details regarding the install of the Mopar options listed above.
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I'd really like one on my TH. Wonder what they would charge for labor...
I'm thinking it's something that should take around an hour or two to do, so multiply that by what ever their hourly rate is.
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Well it looks like they have to cut up the bumper fascia, so it may be more than that. Worse, I recall some of the literal hack jobs done when the 2011 GC hit and folks were getting dealer installs because the factory wasn't shipping.
It was not good.
That does not sound very good at all.
Can you elaborate?
I'm trying to size up how difficult it will be.
The parts are all on sale right now ($199 and $27, respectively).
What is the best approach with this? I've done bolt-on ones before, from the bottom, but not through the bumper, like this would obviously require. Pull the bumper, then what? Sub-bumper?
I also wonder if I will be able to sell the stock TH bumper that would be replaced by the Mopar set up. What kind of value would that have?
The parts are all on sale right now ($199 and $27, respectively).
What is the best approach with this? I've done bolt-on ones before, from the bottom, but not through the bumper, like this would obviously require. Pull the bumper, then what? Sub-bumper?
I also wonder if I will be able to sell the stock TH bumper that would be replaced by the Mopar set up. What kind of value would that have?
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If you look at the parts diagrams posted (Thanks MiniJeepTV, I was only ablle to see thumbnails previously), the bumper fasci has no hole. There is a bezel for the trailer hitch. The bezel has to be put in the fascia. While the mopar hitch can be bought, and the bezel can be bought, there appears to be no special fascia with a factory hole in it.
This means either 1) the fascia to fit the bezel is only a factory part and not orderable. or 2) the factory uses the normal fascia, but has a machine to punch out the holes consistently (or moral equivalent)
In either of these cases, it means for a dealer to add it, they have to make the hole. That hole has to be the right size for the toy tabs to anchor the bezel in the hole without it falling out or vibrating a lot. The toy tabs probably leave them about 1/2" or less of variance to achieve that.
In the case of the launch of the 2011 GC, there was either a shortage, or absence of trailer hitch equipped vehicles. The solution for some dealers to this was to tell buyers it was a dealer installed option, buy the bezel/garnish, then to send bubba the shop money out to the lot with a sawzall to cut a hole in the back of several people's $40-60k car that was less than 30 days old. Bubba the shop monkey and a sawzall are not precision instruments, especially when their goal was to bang out the install in less than an hour. Add to the lack of precision that bubba maybe didn't graduate top of his geometry class back in high school, and asking him to measure to within a small margin of error a particular location on a malleable object with curvy bits on the end rather than sharp straight corners.
It went something like measure once, cut twice, uh oh, measure twice, cut three times, that holes too big and in the wrong place we'll just rest things in there and hope the owner doesn't notice the gap and it doesn't fall out. What do you mean it's not centered?
One of the other ones was at least more fixable in that they just cut a small square hole and didn't expose the wiring harness socket. So they at least stuck to the "you can always cut more off, you can't put the stuff back later" ethos.
Gotcha. That's what I was afraid you meant. Thanks for taking the time to explain that, though.
I am thinking about going this route, especially since my TH will be in for a windshield replacement soon anyway...
My question would be if the receiver comes with a bumper, why would it not already have the cutout for the receiver to go through? Certainly, everyone with the car onto which the receiver will be installed has a bumper.
Either way, that should provide a "redo" bumper for ****-ups or a perfect condition, sell-able bumper to the owner after the install.
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Correct, for the factory look, you need (at least) the $288 hitch, which is just a black hunk of metal to bolt in the right spot. PLUS the bezel (the bit numbered 9 in this pic below), and what's not in the mopar catalog, whcih is a bumper with a bezel shaped hole in it. At least, you may also need some particular adhesives or some fasteners or to cut up a piece of foam, etc. But those kinds of things are usually parts bin standard consumables a decent service center will generally have on hand, and a decent body shop will have industry equivalents available on hand. The bumper not so much.
That being said, jeep may have done something sane like emboss the inside of the skin, in which case a competent body shop could probably make it all work in pretty short order nicely.
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Another part that might be needed is the 7 and 4 Pin Wiring Harness
Hello, you can find also aftermarket hitch
http://www.trainando.it/ganci-train...parsa-jeep-renegade-anno-dal-2014-in-poi.html
or this
http://www.ebay.it/itm/161562054770?ssPage...984.m1436.l2649
http://www.trainando.it/ganci-train...parsa-jeep-renegade-anno-dal-2014-in-poi.html
or this
http://www.ebay.it/itm/161562054770?ssPage...984.m1436.l2649
What about the wiring/buttons for the dash/console? Does anyone know what would be necessary for that? My dealer seems optimistic that we will be able to work that out to happen as they replace my windshield, but I don't want a half assed job if I'm paying shop-time money.
Love to see this video as soon as you do this install job. Thanks for doing it.
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1,147 Posts
For those like me with a 1.4/manual, that just want a receiver for a bike rack, this would be a nice afternoon project. And you don't want electrical hookup so as to prove you never did any towing. It was just for bicycles....
I wonder how that would fly.
I wonder how that would fly.
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