Opinions from people who have had hitches professionally installed

[KidGalahad]

Hello all! I’ve seen some pretty trick hitch installs done by users here, with the hitch tucked up under very nicely. I don’t have the chops, or tools, to do that myself. I recently had a hitch (for my bike rack only) put on my vehicle. From most angles, the hitch seems to stick out a lot. For those who had their hitches installed at the shop, is this what your looks like?

 

[phidauex]

What brand is the hitch? There isn’t a lot of custom work to be done on a hitch install, so the biggest difference is the manufacturer of the hitch, and how far in or out they designed the receiver to be.

My Torklift hitch is tucked very far under. This looks nice, but is actually slightly annoying with my 1-up bike rack because I have to use an extender to let it sit far enough out.

 

[Spooky]

While I understand what I think is a concern of yours, that the hitch sticks out too far, if you look at your second photo it almost looks like the face of the hitch is lined up with the bump of the hatch. For a bike carrier, I'm not sure you'd really want the hitch pushed back / hidden more otherwise the vertical arm of the bike carrier may not have a lot of clearance between it and the somewhat protruding hatch of the car.

I've seen photos of the 1up rack (which we have from our previous vehicle) barely fitting with what looks like a mm or two (1/8 of an inch or so) space between it and the MME. While likely fine, I'd prefer a protruding hitch and more distance between the bike rack and the car.

Did the installer have to cut the rear fascia to install that hitch? I'm guessing so. We haven't had ours done yet and still debating if we want to.

 

[RickMachE]

They have to cut underneath, yes.

 

[MachGT]

The hitches have almost zero tolerance to be positioned in different locations from the factory, so the tongue location isn't something that your installer can change more than an 1/8th inch at best. You can always download the installation guide for the hitch you purchased to confirm.

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