[Kool Kat]

Has anyone tried a simple $100 bumper hitch on their FPace? It'd be for nothing more than a bike rack to carry 2 bikes. If so, any lessons learned? Easy install, weight capacity, etc.? Thanks.

 

[PA-FPace-F]

To be honest I have no idea what you are talking about. Do you have a link to a device? Normally with the F-Pace you would need at least a Curt hitch installed which would replace the under cover bumper support with a normal hitch bar which has a 2" receiver attached to it and hangs below the bumper cover in the middle. That two inch receiver would be able to accept your bike rack. Do you already have a 2" receiver on your car, or are you looking for something which connects to the bumper in some fashion that has a 2" receiver?

To be honest I wouldn't trust anything that connected to the bumper cover to carry bikes. I would want a real hitch with a 2" receiver to allow for bike carrying with a hitch mounted bike rack.

 

[Kool Kat]

Curt's website offered a bumper hitch with 2in receiver but you're right, after further research and thought, I don't trust that. Will go with the Curt 13291 and call it a day. It's just over $450 install included. Still WAY cheaper than the dealer. They wanted close to 3k!

 

[PA-FPace-F]

Yes, the Curt 2" inch is a great hitch even if you are towing a boat. The only other thing you'd need to tow a trailer would be a light hookup but you won't need that for the bike rack. With that said, full disclosure, I don't have a curt on my F=Pace. I've had two Stealth/INvisiHItch setups on my faces since I didn't want to see the 2" receiver back there when I wasn't using it. I'm thrilled with the setup and it works great using my bike rack or towing my boat. With that said, it's a bit more expensive but the install is pretty much the same as the curt. It would be around 700 with only the 2" receiver and no light kit. About twice the curt, and the install would probably be the same. You won't see a receiver back there until you install it to pull the bike rack. Works great and IMHO it's worth the extra money if you are concerned about seeing a 2" receiver back there when you aren't using the car to tow. If that doesn't bother you, the Curt is a great option at a solid price.

 

[Kool Kat]

Copy that....I'll consider it. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Linden]

I have the Curt and installed it myself. It works great with my bike rack and I don’t think it’s really that noticeable. I haven’t towed a trailer with it yet, so I can’t help with that.

Install isn’t that bad if you’ve ever done much work on cars (I’ve modded Jeeps for years). You do have to remove the bumper and trim the bit of plastic underneath (not the actual bumper) which mainly just takes a while to do because there are lots of screws in places that aren’t the easiest to get to. Mainly because there isn’t much clearance between the tire and the screws that hold the bumper on, so a 90* screwdriver or drill attachment comes in really handy. The wiring was a huge PITA, but just doing the hitch itself is considerably quicker.

Here’s a link to photos of it installed and a video of the installation, if you’re interested: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hi...T3JlHJv3SyRe147jJ24yI57lLKPE_idIaAnSYEALw_wcB

 

[Kool Kat]

Thanks...that's the one I'm going with. Appreciate the reassurance. Unfortunately not a job I want to tackle. Having it installed on Tuesday.