etrailer | DIY 2017 Ford Escape Installation for the Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver

Click for more info and reviews of this CURT Trailer Hitch: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc... Check out some similar Trailer Hitch options: https://www.etrailer.com/fitguide.htm Click for more info and reviews of this CURT Trailer Hitch: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc... Check out some similar Trailer Hitch options: https://www.etrailer.com/fitguide.htm Click for more info and reviews of this CURT Trailer Hitch: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc... Check out some similar Trailer Hitch options: https://www.etrailer.com/fitguide.htm Click for more info and reviews of this CURT Trailer Hitch: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitc... Check out some similar Trailer Hitch options: https://www.etrailer.com/fitguide.htm Search for other popular Ford Escape parts and accessories: https://www.etrailer.com/vehicle/2017... https://www.etrailer.com Don’t forget to subscribe!    / etrailertv   Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-t... Today on our 2017 Ford Escape, we're going to be taking a look at and installing the Curt Class 2 Custom Fit Trailer Hitch Receiver, part number C12111. Here's what our hitch looks like fully installed. It's going to be a class two, so we're going to have that inch and a quarter, by inch and a quarter receiver tube opening. It's going to be tucked up just right underneath our bumper. It has a reinforced receiver tube collar which is going to give it added strength, but also giving it a nice finished look. You have the safety chain loops, they're going to be a rolled steel stock style. There's loops welded underneath our receiver tube. They're going to have plenty of room to get most sized hooks on, or off without having to worry about interfering with anything. Our hitch is going to use a standard half inch pin and clip, Our hitch is going to feature the 350 pound tongue weight, which is the amount that's pushing down. It's also going to feature a 3,500 pound gross trailer weight rating, which is the amount that it could pull. I do want to mention you always want to double check with your vehicle's owner's manual to make sure your vehicle can handle that amount of weight. The manufacturer does recommend when you're towing a non trailer load, that you use a stabilization strap. You can pick one of those up on our website using part number 18050. I'm going to give you a few measurements that will help you in deciding for accessories for your new hitch, such as a bike rack, or cargo carrier. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the outermost edge of the bumper, is three and a half inches. From the ground to the inside top edge of the receiver tube opening, is 14 and one quarter inches. Now that we've gone over some of the features, let's show you how we get the hitch installed. To begin our installation, I'm going to remove the lower section of our fascia. We're going to have four fasteners right here and be using a T25 Torx bit to remove them. Right here, we can go ahead and just leave this sitting up in our fascia, because the whole thing will come down. On each side, right on the inside of our mufflers, we're going to have a pushpin fastener. We can just take a flathead screwdriver, you can pop the center section out. Once we have the center section loose, it'll actually take the tension off of the tab. We can pop out the outer portion, which will release our panel. We're going to have one more on the other side and we can take that out as well. If we come to the inside of our bumper here, at the bottom, just outside of our tailpipe, we're going to have a small clip where the silver part of our fascia meets the black plastic. We're going to take a flathead screwdriver and right where that hook is, we're going to push in and then we can actually just push up and out, which will take our clip out. We're going to have another clip like this on the other side, so we're going to remove that as well. With all of our fasteners loose and the clips out, we just come to our fascia and just pull away and out and start working our way across the top. We're going to set this aside for now. We're actually going to tuck this up and out of our way, because this is the sensor for the lift gate assist. With the fascia out of the way, we're going to lower down our exhaust. Normally, I would recommend using a strap to support your exhaust, so it doesn't hang down to low, but if we look right here, it's going to hit the rear axle and support beam before it actually goes anywhere, so we'll be okay. To remove our exhaust, we're going to come to the hangers here. We're going to have two bolts that are holding it on on each side. I'm going to be using a 13 millimeter socket to remove those two bolts. We're going to repeat the same process on the other side as well. We're going to come to our heat shiel