etrailer | DIY Install: Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver on your 2023 Honda CR-V

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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-c...
Hello neighbors, it's Brad here at etrailer, and today we're taking a look at installing the CURT Trailer Hitch Receiver on a 2023 Honda CR-V. Adding a hitch to your CR-V is a great way to really make the vehicle do whatever life throws at you, whether it be a bike rack, cargo carriers for vacation, or even a ball mount to move some trailers. Now this is what your hitch is gonna look like when it's installed on your CR-V. And it's a really nice look because it's a hidden cross tube, meaning the only thing that you're gonna see visible is gonna be the two inch by two inch receiver tube opening. Now that's gonna be really nice because that's pretty much the standard size that you see a lot of accessories come in, so you're gonna have plenty of options when it comes to bike racks, cargo carriers, or ball mounts. But they're all gonna stay in place with a 5/8 pin and clip.

Now this is not included with the hitch. A lot of times when you pick up your accessories they'll have one included. But if you wanna pick up a locking version of the pin and clip, that way you can leave your accessories in place, not have to worry about anyone walking away with them, you can find those here at etrailer. Rolled style safety chain loop is nice and open so when hooking up to a trailer, your standard S hook will go on there no problem. Even larger clip style will work as well.

Now speaking of towing, you are gonna want to adhere to the weight capacities of the hitch. And this one has some pretty good numbers. As far as gross trailer weight rating, it's coming in at 3,500 pounds, which is gonna be the weight of the trailer plus the accessories loaded onto it. And tongue weight's actually pretty solid here at 525 pounds. And that's gonna be the supported weight of anything that's kind of freestanding, which will be your bike racks and cargo carriers.

So with that weight capacity, you're gonna be able to get a four bike bike rack loaded up, cargo carrier on vacation, no problem. Now it is important if you are planning on towing that you check what the vehicle can tow as well as any of the components that you'll be adding to it and take the lowest of those numbers, that way you stay safe while hauling. Now the profile of this hitch is really nice because the opening is pretty well close to flush with the rear fascia, but measuring from our center of the hitch pin hole to the furthest point is gonna be two and a half inches. And that's gonna be important with your folding accessories like cargo carrier, bike racks in the stowed position, sometimes they can make contact with the rear fascia. This one I don't worry too much about so you should be okay there.

Just keep in mind with those folded up, you're probably not gonna be able to open up your hatch. Now ground clearance is important for when choosing a ball mount, because you want it to have a level trailer. And this one coming in at 14 inches means that you can measure the coupler of your trailer, compare it with that, and determine that rise or drop necessary. Now as far as installation goes, this one is pretty easy. You can definitely do this in your driveway or garage. You will need to lower down the exhaust just on the rear portion, which isn't terribly hard to do. And there's gonna be some trimming on a panel as well as a little bit on the rear fascia just to make clearance for the hitch. Feeding up the hardware, super easy, and you can probably knock this out in anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour. I do recommend having an extra set of hands to get that hitch up in place, but I'm gonna walk you through all the steps to make sure you get your hitch installed. So let's take a look at it. To get our hitch installed, we do need to lower down our exhaust. And it's pretty easy to do that with the exhaust isolators, but once we remove 'em, that exhaust is gonna want to hang down and the next hangar is pretty far up. So that can put a lot of stress, just having that unsupported weight. So we do need to find a way to support our exhaust when we lower it down. I'm using a cam buckle strap since we're on a lift. And chances are you're doing this in your driveway or in your garage. You can use a box, a block of wood, whatever it may be. You just don't want this hanging down. Just kind of put something here to support it. So if you do have a cam buckle strap, that also works really well. I'm gonna just use our rear suspension arms and just kind of create a cradle for our exhaust. To get to our isolators, there's gonna be a total of three, one on each muffler kind of up front here. And then as we go back, right in