generic class III hitch

Hi guys,

I want to install a class III hitch on my 1996 XJ (4.0, auto) to do some camping, and for an extraction point.

I'm in Canada, so things are more expensive. I've priced a few hitches for my XJ, typically at over $250. I got these prices from going into shops and pricing a class III hitch specifically for the Cherokee. Yesterday, I saw a class III hitch at a parts shop for $99. The mounting points actually slide on the lateral piece of the hitch, so that it can be mounted to a variety of different width frames. Once mounted, the hitch is kept from sliding with large diameter steel pins.

Can I use this type of hitch on the Cherokee? What type of mounting hardware do I use? The instruction manual with the hitch shows grade 8 bolts and nuts, and drilling and mounting to a regular C-channel frame. How are hitches usually mounted on XJ's since you can't really get a nut up inside the unibody?

Thanks,
Geoff

Wrong you can get a nut and bolt in the frame, it basically safty wire that is spun around the bolt on the thread and you just pull it through.. I got a class 3 or 4 on my XJ and it bolted staight up and it was an adjustable one... I love it but Im going to customize it to tuck up more underneth or build it into the bumper

There should be hardware with the kit along with instructions for each vehicle you can mount the hitch on. There should be a nut strip already inside the frame rail of your cherokee. If not you need to get one for the passenger side and the driverside will have a wire to lower the bolts down thru the unibody.

Try this place, Not local to ya but in Canada.

Hitch City
5200 Dixie road
Mississauga, Ontario

1-905-625-4664.

gcam, you have a PM.

gcam said:

Yesterday, I saw a class III hitch at a parts shop for $99. The mounting points actually slide on the lateral piece of the hitch, so that it can be mounted to a variety of different width frames. Once mounted, the hitch is kept from sliding with large diameter steel pins.

Click to expand...

This sounds like the Reese universal that is sold at Wal-Mart. I've seen it mounted on a '97 XJ and it hung down farther than any other Class III hitch I've seen on XJs. I tried to mount one on an '88 and it wouldn't fit without modifying either the hitch or the vehicle body, and I chose not to do either. Instead I chose to buy a Hidden Hitch from JC Whitney. It was specific to the XJ, fit perfectly, and tucked up out of the way much better than the Reese universal.

I agree with Eagle. I just purchased the reese from wal-mart for my 89. I needed a hitch asap and that was the best I could do. If I could back in time and change it would. First, it does not fit like the instructions show, I had to drill a couple of extra holes, my instructions showed these holes but they were not on my jeep. I also had to to trim my tail pipe back about 6 inches. But according to the instructions I just needed to move the hanger over one bolt hole. And last but not least...this thing hangs WAY down in the back,probably 6-8 inches more than a model specific hitch.

hidden hitch is a good alternative... but OEM Mopar is best fit, because it came with nutserts for both sides, even though mine came with one already in it. Be sure to spray down with PB Blaster or at least WD-40 a day or two before you start wrenching. My nutsert's nut broke off while I was wrenching and had to pay a muffler dude 20 bucks to torch the thing off for me which he did the work in 30 seconds. D@mn, I am in the wrong business. 20 bucks for 30 seconds worth of work:tear:

My buddy got a hidden hitch and used my leftover nutsert and saved himself about an hours worth of work fishing the nuts through the rail. The nutsert didn't fit at first... he bend it back and forth on a vise and he "cut" where needed and it fitted perfectly. I'd stay away from hitches that require you to drilling holes into the frame rails, when there are hitches out there that fits very nice and no drilling needed, unless you got that hitch for free. just my two cents. :viking:

good luck

Gcam: Have you considered hunting the junkyards for a wrecked XJ with a hitch? I scored mine that way, only paid $15-20US for it. The mounting hardware I got with it turned out to be too beat up to use, but it wasn't hard to get new bolts and such.

I'm not surprised that Reese's Universal unit didn't fit right for Eagle - how many "universal" products truly fit everything perfectly?. "Universal" probably means "will fit damn near anything if you have the patience and tools to "convince" it to do so".

As it happens, my boneyard hitch is a Reese, but it's not a universal one - seems to be application-specific to the XJ and possibly other vehicles with similar frame dimensions. It seems to tuck up nicely, but since I have never measured it, I don't know exactly how much it hangs down.

If someone wants to suggest a way of measuring how far down from the bumper a hitch sits that we could use as a basic metric, I'll happily contribute a measurement of mine for the database.

Rob

I'm with Rob on this. If you're not in a hurry, try browsing through some
self-pick bone yards.

I got my Valley Industries Class III hitch during a Valentine's Day 1/2 Off
special for $14.00. Funny how a bone yard would throw a sale on this day
- but that's "marketing" for ya.

Except for a little fiddling with the muffler frame mount, it was a straight
bolt-in. Even came with the trailer lighting harness and jack.

I bought the Mopar hitch; pricey yes, but the best built for XJ IMHO.

http://www.jparts.com/shop/description.php?II=118&UID=2004042013120124.61.247.190

Townie said:

I bought the Mopar hitch; pricey yes, but the best built for XJ IMHO.

http://www.jparts.com/shop/description.php?II=118&UID=2004042013120124.61.247.190

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agreed, mine is OEM Class III Mopar too and it looks factory, no fuss or muss or worries, straight bolt on, sure it is a bit more, but it is worth every penny... and I installed it myself including the wiring harness (not factory- hidden hitch brand) :viking:

Oh wait, I have a factory OEM hitch in the rear, a draw-tite front hitch, and a hidden hitch wiring harness... yikes! My rig is a mutt! :looney:

BTW, my OEM Mopar rear hitch also came with a trapezoid plate with 2 bolt studs sticking out, can't figure out what it is used for.... I thought it was for the wiring box lid that is on the hitch itself but it is way too big, anyone know?

any takers? :dunno:

dogtired said:

agreed, mine is OEM Class III Mopar too and it looks factory, no fuss or muss or worries, straight bolt on, sure it is a bit more, but it is worth every penny...

Click to expand...

The Hidden Hitch I put on was also a perfect fit, easy bolt-on installation. The XJ I put it on already had a gas tank skid, so I already had the nut strips in place, which helped a lot. The hitch came with square plates and a fish wire, but I would have bought factory nut strips if they weren't already there.

BTW, my OEM Mopar rear hitch also came with a trapezoid plate with 2 bolt studs sticking out, can't figure out what it is used for.... I thought it was for the wiring box lid that is on the hitch itself but it is way too big, anyone know?

Click to expand...

That plate mounts on the passenger side frame rail. It's for the tailpipe hanger.

Eagle said:

That plate mounts on the passenger side frame rail. It's for the tailpipe hanger.

Click to expand...

Aha! Thanks Eagle! Now that makes more sense! But I don't see how it hangs the exhaust pipe hanger, I guess I will wait til tommorrow and see how it hangs.

Been washing my XJ and a stupid bird plops a big one my freshly washed Jeep... dagnabit! Been spraying my ashy gray looking trim with primer and Krylon Fusion black paint... neighbors looking at me funny while I was taping newspaper all over my jeep for overspray. hehehe Only a third got done... the driver side trim and rear plastic end bumpers all done need more paint to paint the passenger side door trim and the front bumper end caps and front air dam. Looks ok, not a very good sprayer, but lots better than it looked before. :dunce:

I have one of those universal hitches install time was around 8 hours by the time i got it just right. I would reccomend a made-for cherokee hitch also. The reese universal does hang way dow but i figure it still is a great recovery point and if it smacks the ground it is better than the gas tank smacking the ground :thumbup: so I will kep it for now.