2in Trailer Hitch for 03 Jetta Wagon?

[jakop92]

I looked around on google and on the forums but didn't find much.. I know there are several options for 1 1/4 (Curt, Draw-Tite, Hidden hitch) but I would rather not use any adapters, or cut my bumper for that matter.

Are there any options available for my 03 Jetta Wagon as far as 2 inch trailer hitches go?

 

[04TDI]

your gona have to make your own.. search the treads there are a ton of right ups on it

 

[romad]

I looked around on google and on the forums but didn't find much.. I know there are several options for 1 1/4 (Curt, Draw-Tite, Hidden hitch) but I would rather not use any adapters, or cut my bumper for that matter.

Are there any options available for my 03 Jetta Wagon as far as 2 inch trailer hitches go?

your gona have to make your own.. search the treads there are a ton of right ups on it

Which means you'll HAVE to cut your bumper, from what I've read in those threads.

What are you planning on towing?

 

[jakop92]

Which means you'll HAVE to cut your bumper, from what I've read in those threads.

What are you planning on towing?

Yeah, I was only able to find one thread about a 2inch hitch on the forums.. and it involved cutting the bumper.

My intended use was for a bike carrier. I already bought a 2inch Thule 916xt, since the 1 1/4 inch models are harder to find for sale used. I was trying to avoid using an adapter... but for the sake of simplicity I think I will do just that... buy a Curt hitch and use a 1 1/4 to 2 in adapter.

 

[coalminer16]

That will put a lot of torque on the that hitch. And I know how they mount and they do allow a lot of movement-more then I liked-hence why I created and helped my brother design the 2 inch hitches. If you really wanted and had some extra weld/design time you could have the hitch in the same spot as the 1 1/4 hitch. But you are getting closer and closer to the ground and it is already a very low spot and you will likely have issues dragging trailer chains and the carrier when going over certain things. Even with your 1 1/4 you will likely have this issue. They way the ones my family has there is just the 2 inch hole. Which if you are creative you could plug with a nice looking plug to blend in better. Hard for me to trust the 1 1/4 hitches when one side is on just two bolts within inches. The other side has a few more bolts but the whole thing is attached to your spare tire area. The euro style hitch and our hitches are where the bumper shocks go into the body where there is more "meat" to bolt to. Brother had to weld extra bracing on both his and fathers 1 1/4 hitches to keep them from twisting too much starting and stopping. No movement on these now.

 

[jakop92]

Thanks for your insight coalminer. You summed up exactly why I'm trying to avoid adapters.. all that play and added leverage. In general I think your idea of bracing support is helpful.. so.. I do have a welder and I'll see about working something out.. maybe swap my rack for a 1 1/4in version and add a some sort of extra support for a 1.25in hitch or keep my current Thule rack and just do a custom 2in hitch with lots of support.

 

[jimi179]

thule racks are too heavy @ 55 lbs. went with a curt 1.25 hitch and looking at the swagman xtc bike racks @33 lbs
amazon has them both

 

[coalminer16]

Bracing only gets so far. The hitches we all have now-you could hang our cars from. There is ZERO movement on the reciever hitches now. As a side note you could (as I have seen one do it) keep the 1 1/4 reciever and have the 2 inch with the 2 inch hole above it so you could have both a trailer and a cargo carrier. We all ditched ours though and no more hitch scraps either even with more then it should be loads.

 

[Pat Dolan]

Since we have so many trailers with 2" couplers, the temptation to just throw a 2" class III receiver together for the Jetta for the odd empty or light haul is pretty large. HOWEVER, the size, weight, sloppiness and length of the drawbar/receiver combination is so unsuited to the MkIV, I ended up building a one-off where I can slip a flat bar tongue into a slot and bolt it in place with 2 x 1/2NF Gr8 bolts. This is NOT a pickup truck, and it tows so seldom that the extra 5 minutes to make a hard mounted ball installation is well worth the trouble. The rear of the car stays a lot lighter and tidier. The secret, of course, is in building a sufficiently stiff (in torsion and bending) structural bar between the two sides. I also have some attachment by 1/4" bolts along the seam of the pan.

 

[romad]

Has anyone installed one of these on their 03/04/05 Mk IV wagon?

http://www.idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=550

 

[jakop92]

@jimi: Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like a good deal, my only concern is that the swagman only supports up to 70lbs MAX for two. I would be carrying 2x 40lb downhill bikes. So I think only choice there is Thule or Yakima.

@romad: That's a euro style hitch. I saw a thread about someone using a similar euro hitch on their Golf. A little pricy but my guess is that it should bolt up to the wagon as well.

 

[romad]

My concern is the statement "This may be a tight fit on 03+ MK4 wagons due to their larger American rear bumpers.", so I was wondering if anyone had in fact installed it on an American spec wagon.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

We've sold a number of those for wagons. Clearance to the bumper on an '03 and later is a bit tighter than on an '02, but they still work fine. I don't recall if you have to trim the valence, but if you do, it's not much.

I don't have one on my wagon because I already had a hitch. Corey (cevans) does.

 

[romad]

Thanks for the tip. BTW, will you be at Ypsilanti as a vendor or just attendee?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

That's a long way off. Not sure. We usually bring pre-ordered items, at least.

 

[romad]

That's a long way off. Not sure. We usually bring pre-ordered items, at least.

OK, I'll keep that in mind. Maybe order the hitch and see if we can get it installed while there. Might be 1 or 2 TDI owners that could help.

 

[jptbay]

My concern is the statement "This may be a tight fit on 03+ MK4 wagons due to their larger American rear bumpers.", so I was wondering if anyone had in fact installed it on an American spec wagon.

Not an issue at all. Installed one from IDParts this summer on our Canadian 2006 MK4 Wagon. Could not be more pleased. Bumper to hitch clearance is more than adequate.

 

[romad]

Not an issue at all. Installed one from IDParts this summer on our Canadian 2006 MK4 Wagon. Could not be more pleased. Bumper to hitch clearance is more than adequate.

I thought the 2006 Jetta wagons are MK5? Or did VW continue to sell the 2004 wagon as a 2006 model in Canada?

As for the installation, any cutting required?

 

[snakesausage]

member "uberdiesel" made his own:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=201865&highlight=bosal+wagon

 

[jptbay]

I thought the 2006 Jetta wagons are MK5? Or did VW continue to sell the 2004 wagon as a 2006 model in Canada?

As for the installation, any cutting required?

The MK4 wagon was available in Canada for one year longer than in USA.

The bottom of the valence does need a small rectangle cut out of it. That section of valence can only be seen from under the car though, so it is not an eyesore.

With the removable coupler removed, you can't even tell the car has a hitch. Looks great and no ground clearance issues.

 

[thurgood]

I ran into the EXACT same situation as you in December - Thule 916XT rack on my 2003 Jetta wagon. I copied coalminer16's design but tweaked it a little when I built my own hitch. I think I came out within 1" of the ground clearance I had on my Highlander before the Jetta wagon.

There's no way I would put this big rack on a hitch that just bolts to the spare tire well.

I did cut the textured lower valence of the bumper a little just to get the hitch pin down below the bumper - I didn't want to fight with a ratchet up inside the bumper to install/remove/lock it.

If you haven't already finished this project, PM your email address and I can send you some pictures of what I did. I think I have about $80 in materials.

Generically, it is 2x2x0.25" angle down the "frame rails" where the bumper shocks used to go, then 2x2 square tube across the back of the car. I added mounts for the crash bar back on top of the hitch so I would have some bumper support. The receiver tube is on 1/4" plate to be lowered below the 2x2 square tube crossmember.

 

[Geordi]

If you know how to weld, you can do what I did - use the Curt hitch as a base, cut the 1.25" hitch box off the bar, but leave as much surface area level with the bar as possible. Weld on a Reese Step Bumper class 3 hitch. You will want to mock it up under the car and see where the box / pin hole will end up in relation to a normal bar and ball. I actually put mine a little too far forward and had to make a 2" solid bar extension. Oops.

I have had some issues with the spring loading, but that is more due to the VERY VERY soft spring rates (even with brand new springs) and the solution to that is an Airlift 1000 kit - in-coil air suspension that solidifies the springs with just 10psi of air in the bag. It rides like a new car now.

Oh yeah: NO CUTTING of the bumper or the body.

 

[VincenzaV]

If you know how to weld, you can do what I did - use the Curt hitch as a base, cut the 1.25" hitch box off the bar, but leave as much surface area level with the bar as possible. Weld on a Reese Step Bumper class 3 hitch. You will want to mock it up under the car and see where the box / pin hole will end up in relation to a normal bar and ball. I actually put mine a little too far forward and had to make a 2" solid bar extension. Oops.

I have had some issues with the spring loading, but that is more due to the VERY VERY soft spring rates (even with brand new springs) and the solution to that is an Airlift 1000 kit - in-coil air suspension that solidifies the springs with just 10psi of air in the bag. It rides like a new car now.

Oh yeah: NO CUTTING of the bumper or the body.

Any pics Geordi? Thanks!

 

[Geordi]

Sorry, no - but there's not much to see.