newbie introduction...

[my79is2fast4u]

hey all! new to the site. my lady just purchased a 2020 JL sport altitude.

came here for some info.

wanted to inquire about hitch recievers, opinions, pros/cons, brands, wiring, yada yada. I can post in the towing section if needed.

little bout myself....im a gearhead and turned wrenches for VW for a bit. own a 1979 malibu (hence the username) and been a wrench for most of my life with varying "media" if you will. a little bit of a wiring guru.

we plan on towing a pop camper at approx 2,000 lbs loaded also has electric trailer brakes.

dealer wants about a grand (Chicago prices) to install oem hitch and wiring. Im pretty certain I can save us some money doing the work myself but wanted to inquire about opinions anybody may have....and again i can post in towing section if needed. thanks in advance - Shawn.

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[cOtter]

Hello neighbor. Welcome aboard and congrats.

I have the OEM hitch receiver as I ordered my ‘20 Sahara with tow pack.

so I will let others chime in.

again.... welcome and congrats. Enjoy!!!

 

[TXFirecracker]

Welcome! I ordered the OEM hitch and will install myself because it appears very easy to do. It is so much more expensive than other options out there but wanted to make sure it fit with no issues. I will take it to the dealer to install the wiring due to the complexity of the install. I want it to be on them if that portion has issues. That will cost me more I am sure, but buy once, cry once.....

 

[my79is2fast4u]

Welcome! I ordered the OEM hitch and will install myself because it appears very easy to do. It is so much more expensive than other options out there but wanted to make sure it fit with no issues. I will take it to the dealer to install the wiring due to the complexity of the install. I want it to be on them if that portion has issues. That will cost me more I am sure, but buy once, cry once.....

yeah thats about where i am.

saw an aftermarket one for about $80 but mounted only to rear most frame section with 4 bolts (not sure if thats how the oem mounts as well or not, I need to do more research) but figured the OEM would mount to the side frame rails. I could be wrong......gonna inquire with google shortly.

 

[Gee-pah]

Hey Shawn, welcome!

The single most important words, for me at least, that I read in your original post were about that which you seek to haul having electric brakes.

As you can appreciatiate as a fellow gear head, the hitch is only half the story. The other half is the wiring.

In fact the hitch is trivial. Whether you get MOPAR's or another quality one, rated for your tow weight from another reputable vendor is lowest on my priorities. Few rigs have any easier install of a (rear) hitch than a Wrangler. It's 4 bolts and your done--at least with the metal side of the equation.

Attention now turns to the wiring. Let's look at me first. I have a rear hitch that I put on myself and that will haul at most, something with brake lights/turn signals, but not electric brakes. All I needed was a classic 4 pin electric hookup, which was pretty straight forward to snake from the engine compartment to the rear of the rig.

But you need more electric capabilities than me (read: electric brakes.) And had you purchased the towing package from FCA it would have come with the 7 pin wiring harness.

The harness itself is not impossible to install aftermarket if you're handy, but a bit of a to do. Videos exist on Youtube that show you how to do this (e.g. .) Essentially, you snake the wires from the engine space through a grommet in the firewall near the glove box. (You don't have to remove plastic rivets from the front passenger's wheel well as some videos suggest.)

The wires then travel under interior floor panels on the passenger's side to the rear.

It's this wiring part of the job that will prove more time consuming, but necessary I suspect if other communication between your rig and towed vehicle (like braking) need to happen.

 

[my79is2fast4u]

Gee-pah thanks for your input! I can do the wiring no problem! looks like it's the route I'll end up taking. thank you so much!

 

[GreyFox]

Welcome

 

[my79is2fast4u]

Hey Shawn, welcome!

The single most important words, for me at least, that I read in your original post were about that which you seek to haul having electric brakes.

As you can appreciatiate as a fellow gear head, the hitch is only half the story. The other half is the wiring.

In fact the hitch is trivial. Whether you get MOPAR's or another quality one, rated for your tow weight from another reputable vendor is lowest on my priorities. Few rigs have any easier install of a (rear) hitch than a Wrangler. It's 4 bolts and your done--at least with the metal side of the equation.

Attention now turns to the wiring. Let's look at me first. I have a rear hitch that I put on myself and that will haul at most, something with brake lights/turn signals, but not electric brakes. All I needed was a classic 4 pin electric hookup, which was pretty straight forward to snake from the engine compartment to the rear of the rig.

But you need more electric capabilities than me (read: electric brakes.) And had you purchased the towing package from FCA it would have come with the 7 pin wiring harness.

The harness itself is not impossible to install aftermarket if you're handy, but a bit of a to do. Videos exist on Youtube that show you how to do this (e.g. .) Essentially, you snake the wires from the engine space through a grommet in the firewall near the glove box. (You don't have to remove plastic rivets from the front passenger's wheel well as some videos suggest.)

The wires then travel under interior floor panels on the passenger's side to the rear.

It's this wiring part of the job that will prove more time consuming, but necessary I suspect if other communication between your rig and towed vehicle (like braking) need to happen.

https://www.cjponyparts.com/mopar-t...-way-jeep-wrangler-jl-2018-2020/p/82215398AB/

i messaged the manufacturer as I'm not sure if I need to order a seperate brake controller kit with this harness or not. comes with a module but not sure if that just adapts the trailer wiring to the vehicles wiring and/or also controls the trailer brakes.
found a hitch for $80 from Etrailer (versus the $157 for the mopar brand)

and the 7 pin harness is $300 (mopar brand from that link posted above).

awaiting a response from cj pony parts. will update as soon as I hear thanks again for the welcome and your insight.

 

[Gee-pah]

https://www.cjponyparts.com/mopar-t...-way-jeep-wrangler-jl-2018-2020/p/82215398AB/

i messaged the manufacturer as I'm not sure if I need to order a seperate brake controller kit with this harness or not. comes with a module but not sure if that just adapts the trailer wiring to the vehicles wiring and/or also controls the trailer brakes.
found a hitch for $80 from Etrailer (versus the $157 for the mopar brand)

and the 7 pin harness is $300 (mopar brand from that link posted above).

awaiting a response from cj pony parts. will update as soon as I hear thanks again for the welcome and your insight.

Shawn, there is content on the forum that covers this subject in far greater depth than my knowledge. Let me see if I can find it for you to supplement whatever 411 you get at your end.

Edit: https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ss+controller&c[newer_than]=2018-01-01&o=date

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