[peakbagger]

Members on this forum came up with a workaround for the loss of the kick sensor by rerouting the sensor wire in the bumper cover.

IMHO, go with 2" hitch as you never know when you may need one.

 

[peakbagger]

If its a bolt on trailer hitch where the rear bumper cover does not need to be cut, the kick sensor should still work. The trade off is the hitch sits slightly lower compared to the OEM which impacts departure angle, usually only an issue with someone with a very steep driveway or more likely off roading. If a trailer is towed, it will tend to ride a bit more nose down than an OEM due to the lower hitch.

If the bumper cover is cut, the sensor loop built into the bumper will need to be rerouted around the hole for the sensor to work. This is a non factory fix that a dealer probably will not do. If its just cut, the sensor loop should be disconnected and the connector on the body side sealed from corrosion as someone reported that corrosion got into an open connector and caused problems with the cars computer.

With respect to 1 -1/4 and 2", in addition to far more flexibility for towing, a 2" hitch will have a far more robust mounting arrangement which makes a very solid place to hook a cable or strap if the car needs to be pulled out of a ditch. I use my Prime on occasion as rigging and tugging point and not worried about doing any damage hooking onto my 2" hitch. I have clevis type tow ring that slides into the receiver that I use.

 

[peakbagger]

The Diesel Brothers boys had a similar failure with a monster kinetic recovery strap where they ripped the crane off the back of an Oshkosh tank hauler. No one hurt.

 

[peakbagger]

FYI, anyone with reasonable mechanical skills (of any gender) would be capable of installing the OEM tow hitch. Removing the taillights and plastic bumper cover is mostly prying out plastic "pop" fasteners. There are inexpensive trim removal kits on Amazon with an assortment of prying tools that help a lot, they are made of plastic so the paint does not get scratched. The biggest mechanical effort is breaking the bolts loose for the original aluminum bumper rail and tow hook. The OEM tow hitch kit comes with installation instructions which includes the assembly of the tow hitch and trial fitting to determine if the supplied shims are needed. The biggest challenge is torquing the 4 bolts that attach the assembly to the frame as the clearance is tight on all of them but two in particular where a crowfoot type adaptor is needed for a torque wrench. I expect many folks including myself did not use a torque wrench on those two and did it by feel and comparisons to the two bolts that could be torqued. Cutting the bumper cover is typically done by taping the template to the bumper and drilling holes at the four corners of the opening. I used a core drill. A cutting tool like saber saw is then used to cut the outline between the holes, I used a drywall knife and some patience. The edges can be rough as they supply a trim piece that goes over the edge of the hole which requires some patience to cut and install. Reassembly goes quick almost everything just pops in by lining up and pushing hard where the fasteners are.

There are couple of You Tube videos of the process. Given your usage I would skip the trailer connector installation and just cut the hole in the bumper square. The trailer electrical connector requires interior trim removal with a mix of screws and pop connectors. The harness is long enough that they can reside in the spare tire well when not needed and on the rare occasion it is needed, it is just flopped out of the hatch.

If the right tools are available, its a four hour job the first time and probably a bit less the second. I did not put mine up on a lift or jacks. I just laid a blanket on the floor. There are a couple of fasteners in the wheel wells that were somewhat difficult to get to but with some patience they came off without taking off the tires. Depending on shop rate if they bill more than four hours, they are gouging you as with lift it and experience it should go quicker.

 

[peakbagger]

I do not have kick sensor but reading someone's description of the modification my guess is add an hour. If you have seen the You Tube video of the individuals speaking in a European langage, it looks like they were doing it in parking garage with flashlights

 

[peakbagger]

What do you use to charge your Ebike ? My Bosch system does not offer a 12 volt plug in for 36 volt batteries, so the only way is to use an inverter to run my 120 volt charger. I have the parts for a home brew buck and boost charger but have not assembled them yet.

 

[peakbagger]

I use a variable rate charger, that allows me to select the amps and the % of charge, by Chi Battery Systems, that does require 120 VAC, which I provide via a 1 KW pure sine wave inverter (though my experience has been that even the cheap modified Harbor Freight ones work as well for running a charger). I also have a custom charger for my small plane, that boosts it's 12 VDC to 58 VDC (my ebikes are 52 volt), so I can charge while flying. On a road trip or when flying, if time permits and I see something interesting, having the e bike onboard is a nice break from driving and a more fun way to get around. Inverting the car's 12 VDC to 120 VAC and than back down to a lower voltage DC is crude and inefficient but was the simplest and most cost effective way to.....go. I adapted the rack I made for my Prius to the Prime, right before winter hit, and am ready to ride once it stops snowing. View attachment 205069

Thanks, my bosch mid drive is 36 volts and cannot be easily charged except by using the official Bosch 120 V charger. There is a workaround but definitely not factory approved.

 

[peakbagger]

Yup - I agree. Leroy confused a hybrid installation which does require running a wire from the front to rear with a Prime that does not. I personally installed a DIY hitch and a Tekonsha plug in harness on my Prime. I did it in two separate sessions. There is zero interior work required to install the OEM hitch, everything is done from the outside although the rear hatch door needs to be open. The plug in harness for the Prime does require removing the cover over the rear tire, the rear seats need to be folded forward and as shown in the video, the big cargo compartment panels need to be partially removed to access the two harness connectors.

I do not have the optional subwoofer and was surprised at how much space on the driver side that is covered over with the panel. I am surprised someone does not sell a molded plastic box that could be cut into that panel to free up a nice block of space. The other observation is there are quite a few exposed metal surfaces hidden behind an under these panels. Those panels are going to transmit road noise into the interior of the vehicle and someone wanting to reduce interior noise could apply sound dampening material like Kilmat to those surfaces while exposed.

 

[peakbagger]

Same thing with the OEM hitch