[deezdad]

looking into buying gto was wandering if a trailor hitch could be installed on an 05 to pull jet ski

 

[evancruz]

trailer hitch

deezdad,

I know there is a hitch for the 04' and the Monaro is designed to pull 1600kg
in Australia. Look on:
www.hitch-web.com
look at the pic for the 04' GTO and maybe you can determine if the exhuast will get in the way on the 05'.
I'm selling my Lightning so I am also in need to install a hitch.
What type of jet ski are you pulling?

 

[deezdad]

hitch

appreciate the info... im brand new to this so i hope you get this reply. its a 97 sea-doo xp 7hundred and sumthin i forget... bought it summer 03 and havn't used it yet but definantly this year!

 

[05GTO]

Here is a thread regarding trailer hitches that was started by Jerhofer, I believe he list a source for purchasing.

http://www.gtoforum.com/showthread.php?t=906

 

[Xman]

I installed mine last weekend so I can carry a bike rack. There are some good pictures on the link mentioned above. They helped me decide to go with this unit. However, I can add some extra tips. To extract the GTO's plastic clips, pop the center section out first with a small screw driver, then they pop off in your hands. I don't believe it is necessary to cut out the fairing material (as illustrated in the link to the GTO Page) to get the 2 bolts in. Try the install without trimming first, then trim if it doesn't fit to your liking. The Curt hitch is good quality but the install parts were not correct for me. The lock washers for the two aft studs were too small for the stud that the larger 19mm bolt went on, and too thick to allow the 17mm nut to engage the threads on the other stud. This smaller stud needs a very thin washer or none at all to get all the threads to engage. All torque to over 60 pounds but this small 17mm nut. It is supposed to be torqued at 32 pounds but I felt that 30 was pushing it.

I got this Delta bike rack at nashbar.com for $109 - more tha 50% off. A great rack. I did have to trim 2.5" off the support that holds the rear wheel to get the bike seats and bars to clear and to keep the bikes in the Goat's slip stream.

 

[jdc916]

Ya Know what would be cool ...................... ?

If there was a way to install the same type hitch thats on the Chevy SSR.

The receiver hides away so you dont see it.

 

[Xman]

The hitch is not that noticable. Its tuck in pretty far under the bumper cover. I had to cut away part of the bike rack to eliminate any contact.

 

[Alpine]

Hitch

Thanks for your input. You have saved me from a major head ache. Bike shops and trailer shops both could not seem to help me with getting my car set up to haul a bike. So again, thanks to you X Man.

 

[rworkman98]

Don't do it. It's a sports car, not a truck.

 

[bemeyer]

I just intstalled this same hitch on my 04 at Xmans recommendation. I too had the same hardware problems he did (washers too small for 19mm stud) and the 17mm stud being a tad short. After fiddling with it I did finally get the washer and nut to go on the 17mm stud and once on I got several turns of the nut. Trimming the plastic was a little tough as I mainly used a razor. Later I tried a pair of garden or hedge scissors and this worked much better.

This hitch is both light weight and better yet it's very very well hidden, even better in person than some pics in the other thread. And I'm a very anti-hitch person typically. I'm still waiting for the bike rack portion to arrive this week.

Since I'm only using the hitch for hauling my bikes I didn't need to bother with hooking up electrical, etc.

 

[Xman]

Glad the install went well. I'm on a week long trip to the Texas Hill Country northwest of San Antonio with both my road and mountain bike thanks to my hitch & bike rack. I'm enjoying pedalling the road or trails at the end of each day and cruising through the local town in my clean GTO at night!!