DIY Install: etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver on your 2023 Chevrolet Equinox

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Hello neighbors, it's Brad here at etrailer, and today we're taking a look at installing the etrailer trailer hitch receiver on a 2023 Chevy Equinox. Now this is what your hitch is gonna look like when it's installed, and the great part is it's a hidden cross tube, meaning that most of the structural portion of the hitch is hidden so you won't see it. All that's gonna be hanging down is gonna be these receiver opening, so the business end of it. So you get all the usability, with a nice clean look. And this one being a two inch by two inch receiver tube opening is one of the best sizes as far as picking up accessories. So you can get plenty of different bike racks, cargo carriers, ball mounts, whatever it may be in that two inch configuration.

Now when you are loading those accessories or ball mounts in place, you are gonna need a five eights pin and clip to keep those in, as the hitch does not come with one. Now a lot of times when you pick up your accessories, they'll have them included with them, but if you wanna pick up a locking version, we have plenty of options available here at etrailer, and that's really nice to load your accessories up, lock it in place, and know that they're not gonna walk away in the hands of someone else. Safety chain loops are nice and easily accessible, so when pulling a trailer, you can hook up that standard S hook or even a larger Clevis style with ease. Now speaking of towing, this is rated fairly decently with a gross trailer weight rating of 4,500 pounds. You also have a tongue weight rating of 675.

Now it can be used with a weight distribution hitch, but those numbers are gonna stay the same. And you do wanna check your vehicle's owner's manual before hooking up to that weight, and compare that with the numbers of the hitch. Take the lower of those two so you stay safe. Now some accessories will be folding, and you wanna make sure that you have clearance so it doesn't make contact with your fascia. So from the center of the hitch pin out to the furthest point of the rear fascia, we're looking at about five inches.

That's also important for your ball mounts to make sure that you have clearance to be able to hook that trailer up. Also, ground clearance is gonna be important to determine if you need a rise or a drop. And this one comes in at 11 inches, so that way you can measure the couple of your trailer, and get a ball mount that's gonna work with that. But also with your cargo carriers or bike racks or accessories that you may load on, being 11 inches, it's a decent amount of ground clearance, but you definitely wanna keep in mind when you're going up an incline with those loaded, this is gonna want to tilt towards the ground. So just keep that in mind when driving, that way you're not damaging your accessories.

Now as far as installation goes, this is a pretty easy one to do. You can definitely do it in your driveway or garage. You are gonna have to lower the muffler down and just remove little bits of hardware here and there. But other than that, you're gonna fish wire some hardware in. Now you will have to modify just one of the access holes to feed the hardware up, but it's a small amount, so as long as you have a cutting tool, you should be able to get that knocked out pretty easily. So follow along with the video, and that way you can get your hitch installed. Speaking of our installation, we're gonna be underneath our rear fascia here, and there's gonna be two T15 torx bits that attached to a bracket, and that's gonna allow us to open up our bumper a little bit more to get our exhaust to drop down. So go ahead with your T15, and take these two off. And throughout the installation there is gonna be some more hardware that we're gonna be taking off. So just make sure you have a nice organized spot for your hardware, It's gonna make the installation a lot easier. Next we're gonna need to lower down our exhaust isolator bracket. So if you look underneath, you're gonna see the two studs going through here, and it's gonna be a 15 millimeter socket to get that. Now I recommend having a swivel heads ratchet, it's gonna make it a little bit easier so just kind of reach up there, you'll feel both of them, and we'll get those loosened up and taken out. (ratchet twisting) Now you should also be able to get a ratcheting wrench in here. You kind of have this nice open pocket to be

[stoshkaras]

That seemed to be maybe an hour of work. My dealer is taking forever 😡

[ramonmujica]

Why Chevy makes things too complicated? the frame should come with the nuts integrated already.