How to Install: etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver on your 2024 Kia Sportage

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Hey everyone, Ryan here at etrailer. Today on our 2024 Kia Sportage, we're gonna be showing you how to install the etrailer.com trailer hitch receiver. Before we do that though, let's take a minute. We'll check this out and make sure it's going to work for you. When it comes to the Sportage, I personally see people using these to do a lot of different things. You know, you see a lot of bike racks and cargo carriers, but also people pulling trailers around.
So if that's the type of things you're looking to do, that's where a trailer hitch is going to come into play. One of the things I like about this hitch is the appearance or how it's gonna look. For the most part, it's gonna be completely hidden. You're really just gonna be able to see the receiver tube opening. And even then, it sits up nice and tight against the bottom of our vehicle.
Almost looks like a factory option if you we inchesre to ask me. And the appearance is going to be probably the biggest difference between the hitches available. And even then, it's really, really minor. The other ones are gonna sit in the same position for the most part. But really, the finish is gonna be the major difference.
So the etrailer one has a matte black finish, which I'm a fan of. The Curt one has more of a gloss black finish and then the Draw-Tite is somewhere in the middle, almost a semi-gloss. And I feel like it depends on your particular vehicle. On this one, we have gloss black paint on the bottom so the Curt or Draw-Tite might match a little bit better, but that's going to be entirely up to you. The hitch is gonna have a two inch by two inch receiver tube opening, which is good because that is a really common size.
So a lot of stuff will work with it. It is going to use a standard five eighths pin-and-clip. One doesn't come with the hitch. If you need one, can always get it here at etrailer. A lot of times if you end up buying a new accessory, they'll come with one. So something to look out for there. And the safety chain openings are a loop style, relatively large and easy to get to and it should allow you to use just about any size hook that your trailer might have on it. A lot of people do ask about fitment and the different types of submodels. And with this hitch, it's going to work from your base model, up until your fully loaded one and everything in between. Even the hybrid versions of these, the hitch will bolt up and work just fine. Now, as far as the hitch's weight capacities go, it's gonna have some pretty good numbers. Maximum gross tongue weight rating is gonna be 525 pounds and that's gonna be the amount of weight pushing down on the hitch. So that's sufficient for just about any size bike rack or cargo carrier, to give you an example there. And when it comes to the maximum gross trailer weight rating, that's gonna be 3,500 pounds or the amount of weight pulling on the hitch. That is the weight of your trailer plus anything that you might have in or on it. Now with all that in mind, I do always like to recommend, always a good idea to grab your Kia's owner's manual. That way you can check in there and make sure that your Sportage can handle that amount of weight safely. We'll grab a couple measurements now, and these will help us figure out what type of accessories are gonna work best. Go from the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube opening. That's gonna be 15 inches. So if you're pulling a trailer, you could probably use a ball mount that has a straight shank, maybe even one with a slight rise in it. Inch or two probably work in most scenarios. And for those of you using accessories, one with a straight shank will work fine. It has a rise, even better. Buy a little more ground clearance back here. To go from the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of our rear bumper, that's gonna be about six inches and you can use that to help figure out exactly if any of those folding-type accessories that you might have can be sorted at upright position without hitting the back of your Sportage. Other than that, when it comes down to it, a great all-around hitch. You know, it looks good on the Sportage and it's gonna be able to handle pretty much whatever you wanna throw at it, whether you're pulling your trailer or using that bike rack. When it comes to the installation, really not bad at all. There's a couple of panels that are easy to get to that you drop down to give you some room and then the hitch, more or less, just bolts right up to the frame. So shouldn't run into too many issues o