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so i do a bunch of towing with my truck (2004 1/2 ton) right now it only lowered 2" in the rear and the trailer plug being under the bumper annoyed me plus i plan on lowering the back 3 more inches
so i picked up Reese 7 way wiring kit (# 8550111) and installed it in the bumper on the side of the plate, the kit comes with a pig tail to wire in but didnt have to the stock trailer plug connector popped right in making it a plug and play!
this spot only has a wire loom behind it easily pushed out of the way, hole saw to the bumper was pretty easy to
the big box hardware store HD currently has all the reese stuff on clearance close to half off got it for like $12
Nice. Looks good! I ordered a kit that had the 7way with a 4flat right next to it. Just haven't had time to install it yet.
I see your point about the plug hanging down next to the receiver. It always seems to get in the way of the receiver pin and the chains. Can't hardly get everything connected or locked on with that metal thing dropping down.
Ill definitely consider installing that 7way/4flat setup into the bumper. Good Job!
I finally got around to doing this little upgrade to my truck. Found that a 2" or 51mm hole saw was the perfect fit for the part number the OP used.
If I do this again, I will look for a plug that has both the 7 wire and the 4 wire option. I hate carrying around the adapter for the 4 wire trailers.
yeah i carry an adapter to keep it in my arm rest, all my trailers are 7 way but on a rare occasions i pull a friends trailer or buy one thats still a flat 4 so a dual 7/4 way would have been a better
i agree it does not look like its out of place or any thing looks like it was from the factory, i got sick of seeing the plug mount next to the receiver so took a BFH to it now i dont see it any more
I had to replace the POS factory hitch on my 2500 With a curt Class 5 Model# 15302.
A Lot of people think the factory hitch is a class 5 but it is not. The previous owner overloaded it and the pinhole was egg shaped.
I also used the Hopkins HM40975 connector with bracket which the factory plug plugs right into. This is the same 7 and 4 way connector being used on alot of newer trucks.
Only 2 issues I ran into.
1. The Banks exhaust on the truck didn't clear and was hitting right on the edge of new hitch. I trimmed a little off the hitch and made clearance.
2. The person that was running the laser cutting the side brackets, didn't use the correct offset and the holes were just a little to small so the bolts would not go through. Something QC should have caught before even getting welded or powder coated. My only option was to buy a drill bit and some files at the time I did the install. I didn't have any of my other tools to clean up the slotted hole. I bought through E-trailer and they gave me a $10 refund to buy some paint after the fact since it was also banged up when I recieved it.
Curt 15302 Hitch Hopkins HM40975
OEM Plug to Hopkins connector. Mounted under Bumper
Exhaust Clearance Modification
Pin location in relation to hook mounts.
Crappy OEM Hitch
Last edited by 1FastBrick; 10-27-2018 at 12:00 AM.
I HATE when you buy something and you have to mod it for it to work!
glade you worked it out tho
I hate when something simple take's up almost your whole weekend... The mounting holes was the largest issue which required the most work.
Sadley the cut and trim to fit with aftermarket exhaust was the easy part.
The other issue is with the pin hole location and the chain holes. It's a tight fit
It pissed me off so much I am still contemplating making my own hitch.
03-10-2018, 12:18 PM
trailer 7 way plug in bumper mod
