Installing a bumper hitch on your truck or SUV can make it much more useful. A bumper hitch allows you to tow trailers, boats, RVs and other attachments or cargo with your vehicle. A bumper hitch is much safer and can pull much more weight than ball hitches on a bumper. Installing a bumper hitch can be done in under an hour even by someone with little mechanical knowledge or experience.
Place the jack under the frame of the vehicle and use the jack to lift it up. Place a jack stand under the frame on each side of the vehicle. Slowly release the jack so that the vehicle frame is resting on the jack stands. If your vehicle sits high in the air, you don't need to lift it at all.
Locate the center of the bumper and hold the hitch up to it. Use the marker to mark the places that need to be drilled, according to the holes in the hitch where the clamps will fit through and where the base will be attached.
Drill the holes that are marked out using a small drill bit. Drill small holes in the center of the marks first. Place the hitch up to them to make sure they are in the correct place. Use a larger bit to make the appropriate size hole required for the hitch hardware.
Install the hitch using the recommended hardware. Tighten all nuts and bolts using the appropriate sized wrenches. Make sure to use a wrench on both the bolt and nut when tightening them so the bolt doesn't turn while the nut is being tightened. Double check all hardware before finishing.
Place the jack underneath the vehicle, jack it up slightly to remove the jack stands. Slowly release the jack until the vehicle is resting on the ground again.
