We decided to purchase a hitch receiver for the Jeep Liberty and install it ourselves to save about $100 or so in labor costs. We wanted it so that we could install the bike rack on the Jeep if we want to venture off with the bikes in tow. We will be traveling with the bike rack on the motorhome while the Jeep is in tow behind us, but we wanted flexibility to use it on the Jeep as well. We found a good deal on the hitch online. Lowest price, free shipping and no tax. I love shopping on the internet!
So about a week later the hitch arrives at my Dad's house in Westbury and we are ready to go ahead with this simple install. No Drilling! It is suppose to bolt right up with the included bolts and attach to the factory welded nuts on the chassis. So Rene and I get under the rear of the Jeep and hold the hitch up to the chassis as I try to thread the first bolt to the chassis. NO GOOD! NOT HAPPENING! It turns out the bolts were not the correct size to fit the nuts on the chassis. So I email the manufacturer's tech support about my issue and they responds that the bolts are the correct size as per their design specs. Now to Plan B. We decide to purchase smaller bolts at the local Home Depot and try it again next week.
OK... it is the following week and we are back at my Dad's garage. I crawl under the Jeep and check to see that the new bolts thread to the chassis nuts. THEY FIT! We both get under the Jeep again and hold the hitch up to the chassis as I thread the first bolt in. Wow, this is going well! Rene threads in her side and I finish my side. It looks like we are good to go! WAIT! NOT SO FAST! The weight of the hitch starts to pull the new bolts right out of the nuts! Apparently, after 7 years of being exposed to the elements, the threads in those nuts were so rusted that they just deteriorated with the weight of the hitch pulling down on them. Now to Plan C.
Now we need to drill out all the nuts and tap new threads to fit the original bolts that were supplied with the hitch in the first place. First we need to find a tap for a 12mm x 1.75 bolt. We go to Home Depot. Nope. We go to Lowes. Nope. Rene goes to Ace Hardware. Yes! We also need a 13/32 drill bit which we do have. I was able to drill and tap 5 of the 6 nuts. The muffler pipe is blocking the last one. We figure whenever we have the exhaust replaced we can ask the shop to do the last one. We are not going to tow anything with the Jeep so it will be good enough to hold the bike rack. So the last time that we got under the Jeep it all worked out well. Lesson learned: What sounds like a simple install is not always the case! FP
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