Hitch Experience
I installed the Draw-Tite 24752 hitch on my 09 Sportwagen. It is a much better design than than other 2 point mounted hitches also mentioned in this forum. It mounts on the left frame member with a single bolt, on the right frame member with two large nuts and bolts and a third arm mounts to the tire well. It is made of very heavy steel with extra reinforcing steel bent at a right angle to prevent excessive flexing.
I have been very sensitive to the performance of this hitch as a similar one (also from Draw-tite) partially ripped out of my 01 Golf last year. The fault was partly mine for not checking the hitch weight (it was 220#) before departing from the factory with my new Scamp trailer.
Over the past 2 months I have hauled my 1900 pound, 13 foot Scamp trailer around 3000 kms without any issues. However,before departing, I now very carefully weigh the hitch using a bathroom scale to ensure that I am between 175 and 185 pounds.
Just subsequent to installation I marked the hitch at specific points to see if anything would move during and so far, it is as solid as I had hoped it would be.
Inititally I installed Firestone Air shocks (advertised specifically for the JSW) but the Firestone quick connect air system is very flaky and prone to leaking. I have since torn them out and replaced them with the hard rubber spring spacers that fit between the spring coils (two in each spring). This not only lifts the JSW up slightly, preventing most hitch scrapes but it keeps the rear up higher when the trailer is mounted. I will leave them in as it doesn't affect ride quality as much as air springs.
Since the trailer has electric brakes I ran 10 gauge wiring (12V and ground with a 30A fuse) from the battery to the rear trailer jack. I tapped wires from these through a small hole under the driver's side floor to attach to an inertial brake controller. I ran the wires (inside plastic flexible conduit) along the brake lines and then up and over the rear suspension to the trailer power jack.
Overall the hitch is solid and I am now confident enough to prepare the whole rig for a 12000km trip this fall.
As an aside, I average about 30 mpg (canadian) pulling the trailer with the 2.0 litre TDI. The engine is a mule and pulls this weight almost as if it weren't there. Very impressive.
John Sloan