@nicklockard, please share your experience with the execuhitch installation and use? I'm considering one for my F10 535d and would be interested in information other than marketing materials. TIA!
Hi,
I've completed the installation of the Execuhitch (Invisihitch). BTW they are two brand names for one company since Execuhitch was bought out by IH. The landing pages (and promo videos on youtube, etcetera) for marketing purposes still have Execuhitch, but the company reps who took my order and payment are Invisihitch. Anyways, a good company from what I can tell.
The finished installation is nearly invisible. You can only see the chain attachment tangs and a small rectangle. I'll post a picture in a bit. I think it looks really nice.
The hitch installation I would rate as 8/10 for ease of installation. I deduct 2 points for minor fitment issues:
- The hangars for attaching bumper skin to are too thick to fit the stock clips. You have to grind them down thinner, which leaves them susceptible to rust, unless you also powder coat the freshly ground steel afterwards.
- You DO have to cut out a minor amount of plastic to make room for the working end of the receiver. However, it does not show unless you are literally under the car. I don't mind, but the instructions should have mentioned this.
For function I would rate it at 8/10--only because I haven't really put much load on it yet. I stood atop the hitch ball with my weight and a heavy object with the bumper skin not yet re-installed, in order to view how much the unibody flexes near the bolt/flange locations. It was about 3mm by my eyeball, but evenly distributed. I'd say that this is within normal service limits for the unibody--as it was engineered with a European OEM hitch almost exactly the same design. My body weight plus the item I held was very close to the stated 250 lb tongue limits, so I thought it a decent approximation.
My trailer is variable ride-height air ride with load leveling Hensley hitch, so I'm not worried much about frame/unibody issues.
I did attach the trailer (to the hitch ball and without the load leveling or Hensley hitch) and rode around for testing, and I nearly forgot it was back there within minutes. The car and ride is nice and settled. Air ride on both ends really helps. But, I credit the Invisihitch for being well engineered. It's super solid, alignment is perfect, torque specifications were clear and easy, and it calls out thread-locking compounds where appropriate, plus they include all hardware.
There is no noise, clanking, or flexion during towing. I paid $684. I rate overall value at 7/10 at this time. If Invisihitch reads this, I'd suggest:
- At this price point, the directions should be PERFECT at the very least.
- The attachment tabs should be correctly sized
- They should provide a cutting template for a perfectly shaped/sized square hole in the bumper skin to give room for the hitch (plus, you need a bit of clearance to get your fingers in to reach the lighting plug).
- Provide an alternate mount for mounting 7-pin trailer wiring connectors (like mine).
My score may change as I gain more experience using it in real life.