Trailer Hitch

phil8400 · Apr 4, 2007

The Mopar hitch receiver comes with a paper template for the cut-out. The kit also comes with a flexible rubber seal which is applied to the edge of the cut-out to cover up any imperfections and protect the paint. This is the same setup as with the Compass.

srothfuss · Apr 4, 2007

I think the hitch looks great... I like the "tucked in" look

7 hours for the first ever Patriot hitch install doesn't seem horrible. Plus you paid someone else to get their hands dirty and scratched up. It's what I would do.

ktek01 · Apr 5, 2007

srothfuss said:
7 hours for the first ever Patriot hitch install doesn't seem horrible. Plus you paid someone else to get their hands dirty and scratched up. It's what I would do.

He said $350 with labor, do the math and there is no way unless the dealer only charges $2 an hour for labor. Most are over $70 an hour in just about any part of the country, around here its about $100 an hour which would be $700 plus parts. Maybe they told him it would take 7 hours, or he had to drop it off for 7 hours but they did not charge him for 7 hours labor. List price just for the hitch and wiring is $296. The cooler is another $132, bringing it to $428 just for parts. This hasnt stopped some from allready calling the dealer a crook for charging him for 7 hours labor just to install a hitch. Sounds to me like the dealer gave him a great deal on the hitch since he purchased the car from them, I doubt they would sell it for $350 to someone who buys later or didnt buy the car from them at all.

usswasp · Apr 5, 2007

I have a question about the hitch itself and how it mounts. Does it attach on the unibody (I assume the Patriot is unibody) or does it attach to the bumper reinforcement? I think I know the answer but the pictures don't give me any hard proof.

EDIT: No need to answer. I found my answer at Drawtite-hitches.com . Unibody frame mount claim up to 3500 lb capacity which is over the DC recommended 2000 lb capacity. Over designed or just another vehicles modified to fit the Patriot. Either way the hitch is available and frame mounted.

Later.

tristavia · Apr 5, 2007

ktek01 said:
He said $350 with labor, do the math and there is no way unless the dealer only charges $2 an hour for labor. Most are over $70 an hour in just about any part of the country, around here its about $100 an hour which would be $700 plus parts. Maybe they told him it would take 7 hours, or he had to drop it off for 7 hours but they did not charge him for 7 hours labor. List price just for the hitch and wiring is $296. The cooler is another $132, bringing it to $428 just for parts. This hasnt stopped some from allready calling the dealer a crook for charging him for 7 hours labor just to install a hitch. Sounds to me like the dealer gave him a great deal on the hitch since he purchased the car from them, I doubt they would sell it for $350 to someone who buys later or didnt buy the car from them at all.

I'm not really sure about where you are getting your numbers from (1) he got the oil cooler when he purchased the towing prep group, that leaves the hitch as the only part he would have to buy. (2) A MOPAR hitch can be found at leeparts.com for 183$ which is probably around the same price the dealership would have charged (http://www.leeparts.com/jeep_patriot/accessories/towing/hitch_receiver.html) so then we take 350-183 = 167$ in labor. Clearly that is not the cost of 7 hours of labor but he never said they charged him for 7 hours, only that it took them that long. They probably just charged him for the typical time it takes them to install a hitch/the amount of time they expect it to take them to install the next patriot hitch. Eitherway, I would say the guy got an average priced hitch, neither he nor the dealer made out with a killer deal.

ktek01 · Apr 5, 2007

tristavia said:
I'm not really sure about where you are getting your numbers from (1) he got the oil cooler when he purchased the towing prep group, that leaves the hitch as the only part he would have to buy. (2) A MOPAR hitch can be found at leeparts.com for 183$ which is probably around the same price the dealership would have charged .

$183 is list for the hitch only, the $296 I stated was for hitch and wiring. I missed that he had the tow package which included wiring. Leeparts is a dealership, and that price is Mopar list, same price on the Mopar website. I would guess they actually charged him about 1.5 hours, give or take a few tenths depending on how much tax is where he lives. I would call that fair, and no not a great deal but he certainly did not get ripped off either as others have implied. There is still no way it took them 7 hours to install it, like I said earlier he may have had to leave his car with them for 7 hours but they probably actually worked on it for a little over 1 hour.

tristavia · Apr 5, 2007

Your probably right, they probably did only take 1.5 hours, but I've seen service guys take longer for easier jobs only because it was a new car or something they didn't understand (clearly this would not be the case here because installing a hitch on the pat doesn't seem to be to different from installing a hitch on any other jeep but you would know that better than I would) For instance, a friend of mine who is a certified bike mechanic decided it would be easier to hot wire his bike than to walk into his house to get the key (the door was a whooping 10 feet away!) as a result...he now needs a new ignition and the bike doesn't start at all! Some people just aren't mechanically inclined...

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