I just sold my Isuzu trooper and it had a class 3 hitch bar I believe. It was the largest opening to insert the ball receptical. Anyway I had a flat basket that was designed to carry things on the outside of the vehicle that took up too much room inside the like coolers and junk. The question is, since I found this basket useful and the tongue on it is too large to fit in the receptical of the hitch that can be purchased on the Element, is it possible to install a class 3 hitch bar on the back of the Element? I realize this tow hitch is pretty heavy duty for a little Element but I would only be using it for the fairly lightweight basket. Anyone had this problem? I don't think they make a basket with a smaller recepticle to fit the Element. If so I would like to know where I can purchase it.
:?:

U-Haul carries a Class 2.5 hitch that has a 2" receiver. I bought it and installed it myself. Installed, it was around $225. Purchased, it was about $125. It is made by Valley Hitch.

My wife bought me the Hitch Haul basket for Christmas. I wanted it to take hunting. Very cool toy.

ETA - Sweet! I brought a post from 2003 back from the dead.

if you bargain a bit with the uhaul store, they will fold. they did the installation for me for $20, so $145 total.

but you can only put a couple hundred pounds back there on an element, so pack lightly.

I also installed the Uhaul hitch, but mine (I believe) was the class III. Anyway, it tucks nicely under the bumper out of the way, is easy to install (if you do it yourself) and there are many more products (like what you described) available for the larger opening. I think it's worth it to go with the larger class weight.

Good luck!! :D:D:smile:

A couple of weeks ago, I had U-Haul install a class 3 hitch with a 2" receiver on my 03. I already had a basket that fits the 2" receiver on my wife's Durango, so I wanted a receiver that was 2" to match. The hitch was 169.00 installed with a lifetime warranty. It looks great, you can only see the receiver. The only thing is that it is a little low (about 10" lower than on the Durango). Works great for me though, we just drove 1200 miles to Naples, FL from Wheeling, WV and heading back in a couple of days and had no problem. Be careful though, it is low and the passenger's side is close to the exhaust so watch what you put on that side (the tarp we used to put under our load and wrap over everything had a small meltdown from the exhaust. Nothing major though).

By the way, I bought the E on August 28, 07 and in the 4 months that I have had it I have put on over 8,000 mile on it. We love it and take it everywhere. Plus it gets way better mileage than the Durango. I was averaging 25 highway/city miles, but since I put on new tires, I am getting around 23 now. Perhaps I could get a little better mileage if I tweaked my driving habits.

I picked up my hitch and wiring from http://www.etrailer.com. Good selection, good prices, shipped quickly.

http://revival.podomatic.com/2006-03-07T06_40_27-08_00.jpg

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From February of '03 to December '07 the op was ignored.....now it gets another shot at life. :confused: (And it's been discussed 1000times during that time frame besides! :rolleyes:)

Will