dhoerl

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I have the Draw-tite ready to install, and I've read the instructions and everyone's very helpful information here. Just quick question: Is it really possible to install this without lifting the car? Did you do it all from the sides? The standard ground clearance is pretty tight, but maybe it's workable after the cover is removed?
I bought two concrete drain pans - but really any 2-3” thick slab would work. You will most certainly appreciate the extra space. Place in front of rear wheels then drive up. Note: chock front and back front tires!
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awp0

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I bought two concrete drain pans - but really any 2-3” thick slab would work. You will most certainly appreciate the extra space. Place in front of rear wheels then drive up. Note: chock front and back front tires!
This is a great idea, and sounds like the perfect tradeoff. Thanks!
 

Fat Mach

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No real value to my post, but I saw a Tesla pulling a ski boat on Sat.
 

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"The sea was angry that day, my friends....."

The install was tight and awkward, but I'm happy with it! I followed the steps and advice here and took my time with it (probably 2+ hours). To get a little more room to work with I lifted the rear a couple inches by driving onto some thick boards. I also happened to have a huge piece of cardboard (from a new TV) that made sliding around under the car a little easier.

I cut a 8.5" by 4.75" rectangle out of card stock, centered it on the fascia, and used it as a template to draw the cut lines onto painters tape on the fascia. A Dremel tool with a metal cutoff wheel was my cutting tool of choice and it worked well. Safety glasses were a must with melted plastic flakes flying into my face. I finished the cuts with a file just to clean up some rough edges and the result is acceptable for a place on the car that no one will see. I have a 3D printer, and I may take a stab at designing a small panel to close up the resulting gap.

Btw, I'm not sure how the OP was able to fold up the fascia instead of removing the complete rectangle. It's pretty stiff and I immediately abandoned that idea after cutting the two shorter lines.

I was able to bolt the hitch in place by myself, but it wasn't easy. I used a jack stand (covered with a towel) to hold one side up while I awkwardly managed to get a nut on the other side. Following advice above, I didn't bother with the washers until I had a few nuts loosely installed, and then I went back and installed the washers. I managed to put a few scratches in the hitch, so I was careful to touch them up with black paint before I buttoned everything up.

By the way, the included pull wires were awesome! I'm really not sure how you could do this without them.

All in all it seems like a good addition for $260'ish. I do a lot of mountain biking, and there's no way I was going to load that thing into the car every time. I was hesitant to add the extra weight of the hitch and to cut the fascia, and I was unsure about the look of the hitch. But I'm pretty happy with it.

For anyone who might search this site for keywords "Kuat" and "Draw-Tite", rest assured the Kuat NV 2.0 Base bike rack has plenty of clearance both folded upright as well as with a burly enduro bike (large size) mounted on it.

Big thanks to everyone on this thread!

Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install BikeRackRear2
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install BikeRackRear
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install cutout
 
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Garbone

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"The sea was angry that day, my friends....."

The install was tight and awkward, but I'm happy with it! I followed the steps and advice here and took my time with it (probably 2+ hours). To get a little more room to work with I lifted the rear a couple inches by driving onto some thick boards. I also happened to have a huge piece of cardboard (from a new TV) that made sliding around under the car a little easier.

I cut a 8.5" by 4.75" rectangle out of card stock, centered it on the fascia, and used it as a template to draw the cut lines onto painters tape on the fascia. A Dremel tool with a metal cutoff wheel was my cutting tool of choice and it worked well. Safety glasses were a must with melted plastic flakes flying into my face. I finished the cuts with a file just to clean up some rough edges and the result is acceptable for a place on the car that no one will see. I have a 3D printer, and I may take a stab at designing a small panel to close up the resulting gap.

Btw, I'm not sure how the OP was able to fold up the fascia instead of removing the complete rectangle. It's pretty stiff and I immediately abandoned that idea after cutting the two shorter lines.

I was able to bolt the hitch in place by myself, but it wasn't easy. I used a jack stand (covered with a towel) to hold one side up while I awkwardly managed to get a nut on the other side. Following advice above, I didn't bother with the washers until I had a few nuts loosely installed, and then I went back and installed the washers. I managed to put a few scratches in the hitch, so I was careful to touch them up with black paint before I buttoned everything up.

By the way, the included pull wires were awesome! I'm really not sure how you could do this without them.

All in all it seems like a good addition for $260'ish. I do a lot of mountain biking, and there's no way I was going to load that thing into the car every time. I was hesitant to add the extra weight of the hitch and to cut the fascia, and I was unsure about the look of the hitch. But I'm pretty happy with it.

For anyone who might search this site for keywords "Kuat" and "Draw-Tite", rest assured the Kuat NV 2.0 Base bike rack has plenty of clearance both folded upright as well as with a burly enduro bike (large size) mounted on it.

Big thanks to everyone on this thread!

Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install cutout
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install cutout
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install cutout
I did mine last July and the local ambient temperature was in the mid 90s. Not so much a fold crease, more of "just bent".
 


awp0

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I did mine last July and the local ambient temperature was in the mid 90s. Not so much a fold crease, more of "just bent".
Ahh, good to know! Thanks! Admittedly I didn't try very hard. I was a little worried it might crack or tear at the end of my cuts.
 

Sipadan

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I just installed this hitch on my Mach-E today and one thing I found very helpful if you're trying to do it by yourself is to secure the hitch to the jack like I have in my picture here. I used large twist ties from nite-ize but rope or anything else works. By doing this, the hitch can be supported by the jack in the center and held flat so all I had to do was jack it into place and bolt it up. I tried fiddling with the jack on one side, but that proved too difficult and came up with this. Note that the hitch isn't secured at all to the car in this pic and is just floating behind the rear fascia only supported by the jack.

Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install hitch install


Also, I've seen some other pictures of the 1up rack with hitches so I'll post mine here as well. With the newerish versions of the 1up that has the slotted security hole, you can easily mount the hitch with enough clearance so that it doesn't get too close to the trunk.
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install IMG_2188



Overall, I'm super happy with this hitch. Took about 1.5 hours for the install from the time I started puttting the car on ramps until the time I was done. I think if you use this jack method from the get go, you can finish in an hour. Hope this is helpful for others.
 

MMECR1

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FYI, there is another thread that I was on about hitch installs:
See My New Trailer Hitch? Installed Stealth Hitches
Check it out for another option where you can take the receiver of when you're not using it. I installed the Draw Tite version of the stealth hitch myself and it was very similar to this install. I wish I would have seen this one before I did it because I would have used ramps!
 

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To all that have completed this install. The instructions call for a 6 inch socket extension for your torque wrench. I already have a 5 inch one - is the extra inch of extension necessary to complete installation?
 
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Should be fine, if not toss the 2" extension on the 5".
 

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Has anyone thought of a solution for a cover for the removed fascia once the hitch is installed?
 

GETCARTERR

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"The sea was angry that day, my friends....."

The install was tight and awkward, but I'm happy with it! I followed the steps and advice here and took my time with it (probably 2+ hours). To get a little more room to work with I lifted the rear a couple inches by driving onto some thick boards. I also happened to have a huge piece of cardboard (from a new TV) that made sliding around under the car a little easier.

I cut a 8.5" by 4.75" rectangle out of card stock, centered it on the fascia, and used it as a template to draw the cut lines onto painters tape on the fascia. A Dremel tool with a metal cutoff wheel was my cutting tool of choice and it worked well. Safety glasses were a must with melted plastic flakes flying into my face. I finished the cuts with a file just to clean up some rough edges and the result is acceptable for a place on the car that no one will see. I have a 3D printer, and I may take a stab at designing a small panel to close up the resulting gap.

Btw, I'm not sure how the OP was able to fold up the fascia instead of removing the complete rectangle. It's pretty stiff and I immediately abandoned that idea after cutting the two shorter lines.

I was able to bolt the hitch in place by myself, but it wasn't easy. I used a jack stand (covered with a towel) to hold one side up while I awkwardly managed to get a nut on the other side. Following advice above, I didn't bother with the washers until I had a few nuts loosely installed, and then I went back and installed the washers. I managed to put a few scratches in the hitch, so I was careful to touch them up with black paint before I buttoned everything up.

By the way, the included pull wires were awesome! I'm really not sure how you could do this without them.

All in all it seems like a good addition for $260'ish. I do a lot of mountain biking, and there's no way I was going to load that thing into the car every time. I was hesitant to add the extra weight of the hitch and to cut the fascia, and I was unsure about the look of the hitch. But I'm pretty happy with it.

For anyone who might search this site for keywords "Kuat" and "Draw-Tite", rest assured the Kuat NV 2.0 Base bike rack has plenty of clearance both folded upright as well as with a burly enduro bike (large size) mounted on it.

Big thanks to everyone on this thread!

Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install IMG_2188
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install IMG_2188
Ford Mustang Mach-E Draw-tite Trailer Hitch Receiver Install IMG_2188
Sorry for bringing up an older post but I am curious if this kuat rack blocks the sensors enough that you need to turn them off? Like the 1up racks.

Or is there enough clarity that they still work?

Thank you.
 

awp0

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Sorry for bringing up an older post but I am curious if this kuat rack blocks the sensors enough that you need to turn them off? Like the 1up racks.

Or is there enough clarity that they still work?

Thank you.
Yeah the rear sensor is blocked when the Kuat is mounted. When I’m backing out of my driveway with the rack, I get a few “beeps” where the car thinks I’m going to back into something, but then it automatically disables itself and I get a message saying the rear sensor is blocked and will be disabled.
 

GETCARTERR

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Yeah the rear sensor is blocked when the Kuat is mounted. When I’m backing out of my driveway with the rack, I get a few “beeps” where the car thinks I’m going to back into something, but then it automatically disables itself and I get a message saying the rear sensor is blocked and will be disabled.
Thank you for the info :)
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