Removing the stock hitch

[jclark]

Has anyone removed the stock hitch before on an 04? I got 4 of the bolts off with no problems, but it looks like the entire bumper has to come off to get the top bolts off. I thought you could just take of the sectional middle piece of the bumper but it's screwed to the side bumper pads as well..

Cheers

 

[leftyrb]

Hi Mr. Clark:

I priced a Hidden Hitch installed on my 4Runner, and the hitch was $277.58, but the installation fee is only $38.50, with the shop knowing that I have a factory installed hitch. I know your price for your hitch was less than my quote, but perhaps check with the hitch shop to determine what the cost would be. You can also talk to Hidden Hitch technical support, as it took them about an hour to remove the factory hitch on an 03 4Runner, with the tech indicating that the factory hitch was well designed, for the purposes it was intended.

Hope this helps.

 

[jclark]

Yeah, I gave them a shout, they found it tricky to remove as well. Looks like the facia has to come off. Ah well, should be fun