Step-By-Step Installation Tutorial for the etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver on a 2021 Jeep Cherokee

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Hello neighbors, it's Brad here at etrailer and today we're taking a look at installing the etrailer trailer hitch receiver on a 2021 Jeep Cherokee. Now this is what your hitch is gonna look like when it's installed on your Cherokee and it is gonna be a hidden cross tube and that's nice because you're not gonna be able to really see anything except for the receiver opening of the hitch, giving you a nice clean OEM look, but all the usability of your hitch, and this one is a 2"x2" receiver tube opening, so you're gonna have tons of options for ball mounts, bike racks, or cargo carriers, or honestly any accessory that you may load up here. 2"x2" is a nice one to find a bunch. All of your accessories are gonna stay in place with a 5/8 pin and clip. Now, the hitch does not come with one. A lot of times the accessories that you pick up will have one, but if you wanna pick up a locking version, those are really nice because you can leave your accessories in place, lock it in and know that no one's gonna be able to just walk away with those.
Now if you plan on towing a trailer, you do have some rolled-style safety chain loops, nice and open for your standard S hook or even a larger clevis-style hook to be able to hook up to that. And speaking of towing, it does have some pretty serious numbers here for a Class3 hitch. As far as your gross trailer weight rating, which is gonna be the weight of the trailer plus the accessories loaded up, we're coming in at 4,500 pounds. We also have a tongue weight rating of 675, which is gonna be that download pressure that's put on here, so some of your suspended accessories like your cargo carriers and bike racks. Now, 675 is pretty good so you should be able to load those up pretty well without going over it and this can be used with weight distribution hitch and it is gonna bump those numbers up a little bit.
Your gross trailer weight rating is gonna be 5,500 pounds and your tongue weight rating is gonna bump up to 750. But before just hooking up, make sure that all of your components play ball with those numbers and also check the vehicle's owners manual to see what it's capable of towing and then compare all those and take the lowest of all those numbers just to make sure that you're staying safe while towing. A few quick measurements from the center of the hitch can hold to the furthest point of the rear fascia. We're coming in right at about 6" and that's gonna be important for choosing accessories, especially ones that may stow or go into a folding position. You wanna make sure that you're not gonna make clearance or have any clearance issues with your rear fascia, so make sure you're taking that into account when choosing those accessories.
Another thing to also account for is gonna be your ground clearance and this one comes in right at about 12 1/2" and that's important for some of your accessories that may hang a little bit lower, but also to determine if you need a rise or a drop for your trailer. Now, if you are planning on towing, make sure you measure the coupler of the trailer nice and level and then you can determine if you need to rise or drop from that. And something to keep in mind with loaded accessories like a cargo carrier bike rack, since they're suspended, they are gonna be an extension of the vehicle, and as you go up an incline, they are gonna wanna tilt towards the ground, so keep that in mind when driving loaded up, that way you're not gonna damage your accessories, especially going over big inclines or any rocky or rough terrain. As far as installation goes, this one can get a little bit tricky because you do have to remove the muffler and kind of unbolt the exhaust from the midpipe. Now, with that being said, you do have these decorative exhaust vessels that you do have to make clearance for to kind of slide that out and you may have to trim those as well for clearance of the hitch.
Other than that, you really are just bolting it up into the frame using a fish wire technique and I'm gonna walk you through all of it just to make sure that you get your hitch installed, so follow along and let's take a look at the install. And we are gonna have to remove our muffler away from the exhaust and that's gonna give us that access to be able to get our hitch in place. So to begin this, we're gonna grab a 13 millimeter socket and head over to each side as we're gonna have an exhaust hanger bracket. And y