Has anyone added a towing hitch after?

[Rockslide]

From what I have heard, retail pricing on the "kit" to add the hitch/electrics is ~$2,000 for those without the NATO plug, and ~$3,000 with the NATO plug.

I haven't confirmed this directly with the parts in my hand, but from what I've been told the "kit" is the hitch itself, the trailer control module (this provides all the light outputs as well as interfaces with the rest of the vehicle to automatically turn off rear parking sensors, modify the ABS and stability programming, etc when a trailer is detected), and the complete wiring harness to/through the rear bumper. That harness includes the rear parking sensor wires, trailer connection wiring, and, if optioned, the NATO plug wiring from the interior to the exterior.

An enterprising individual could absolutely purchase the cheaper kit and transfer over the NATO plug wiring form their current bumper harness.

This doesn't include labor, if I were to take a complete guess in the dark, I'd assume 3-5 hours for the install as it also involves some control module recoding to tell the rest of the vehicle that there is now a trailer module in place.

All the above information is specific to MY24/24.2 North American vehicles

Interesting info, thanks. So, if one has the Nato outlet and not the hitch option, is the Nato plug not wired from the factory? I’m more interested in the Nato outlet than the actual hitch at the moment. I’m thinking of adding a ARB to the Nato outlet.

 

[anand]

Interesting info, thanks. So, if one has the Nato outlet and not the hitch option, is the Nato plug not wired from the factory? I’m more interested in the Nato outlet than the actual hitch at the moment. I’m thinking of adding a ARB to the Nato outlet.

NATO and hitch are separate options.

If you have the High amp switch panel (and thus the NATO plug) with or without the hitch the NATO plug works in the same manner.

When you are adding the hitch after production, the wiring harness that you must buy is one piece with the NATO plug wiring (if you have that option), thus the price difference

 

[Fieldmaster3LD]

There is a big difference with semantics here....

The hitch (the physical piece) just bolts on and is just moments to add to any vehicle. This is great if all you want to do is toss on a bike rack or cargo carrier.

The wiring is where the hiccup lies. If you did not order the option from the factory, you are missing the trailer control module. This is what the 7 pin trailer plug connects to on the vehicle side. In addition to providing the correct outputs for the 7 pin trailer connector, it interfaces with the rest of the vehicle and adjusts the other vehicle parameters when a trailer is detected (such as turning off rear parking sensors, altering the stability control profile, etc). There is nothing preventing you from purchasing the factory 7 pin connector and wiring to the trailer module (TRM), and there is nothing preventing you from purchasing the TRM itself. However, when the TRM is connected to the vehicle (the wiring connector that interfaces the rest of the connections to the TRM should exist), the rest of the vehicle will start to throw errors, because those other modules in your vehicle are not coded to have the TRM as part of their system. In theory this could be alleviated, however, the coding is not dealer controlled, but automatically created based upon the initial build/VIN of the vehicle, thus the dealer could not click a few boxes to get the other modules to correctly recognize the TRM on the vehicle's communication bus

Hi, most bike carriers in the uk include lights. Not sure it would be legal to have a 3 bike carrier on the tow ball without the lights working

 

[Fieldmaster3LD]

Hi, most bike carriers in the uk include lights. Not sure it would be legal to have a 3 bike carrier on the tow ball without the lights working

i have this problem :-(

 

[Cheshire cat]

I would say with 90% certainty, it is a legal requirement to have a trailer type board with lights, reg, etc, secured to the most rearward obstacle ie. The bike support base, or bike.

 

[jpohlman]

There is a big difference with semantics here....

The hitch (the physical piece) just bolts on and is just moments to add to any vehicle. This is great if all you want to do is toss on a bike rack or cargo carrier.

The wiring is where the hiccup lies. If you did not order the option from the factory, you are missing the trailer control module. This is what the 7 pin trailer plug connects to on the vehicle side. In addition to providing the correct outputs for the 7 pin trailer connector, it interfaces with the rest of the vehicle and adjusts the other vehicle parameters when a trailer is detected (such as turning off rear parking sensors, altering the stability control profile, etc). There is nothing preventing you from purchasing the factory 7 pin connector and wiring to the trailer module (TRM), and there is nothing preventing you from purchasing the TRM itself. However, when the TRM is connected to the vehicle (the wiring connector that interfaces the rest of the connections to the TRM should exist), the rest of the vehicle will start to throw errors, because those other modules in your vehicle are not coded to have the TRM as part of their system. In theory this could be alleviated, however, the coding is not dealer controlled, but automatically created based upon the initial build/VIN of the vehicle, thus the dealer could not click a few boxes to get the other modules to correctly recognize the TRM on the vehicle's communication bus

Thank you for this input, I too, am dealing without a hitch and wiring. Was told by 2 dealers it would cost $4000.00 to install hitch, wiring harness, and update software. Your information is very helpful, just wish Ineos would expand/allow repair shops to use their software, and have access to parts, the dealers are taking advantage of the situation now, hopefully that changes in future.

 

[anand]

Thank you for this input, I too, am dealing without a hitch and wiring. Was told by 2 dealers it would cost $4000.00 to install hitch, wiring harness, and update software. Your information is very helpful, just wish Ineos would expand/allow repair shops to use their software, and have access to parts, the dealers are taking advantage of the situation now, hopefully that changes in future.

Almost no manufacturers allow repair shops to use their factory scan tool software, generally that market is held by aftermarket companies that write their own software to replicate the manufacturer's scan tool abilities (Autel, SnapOn, the list is rather lengthy, etc). However, with both the newness of the brand and the relatively small number of vehicles, there is little to no incentive for these companies to make scan tools to replicate the manufacturer's.

As for parts, unfortunately as with all manufacturers, the parts start their life through a dealer (unless you can find an OE part direct from a manufacturer, or again, have companies making parts).

The number I've heard is $3000 if you have the NATO plug, but $4k doesn't sound completely ridiculous, especially if the dealer's hourly labor rate is fairly high

 

[jpohlman]

Almost no manufacturers allow repair shops to use their factory scan tool software, generally that market is held by aftermarket companies that write their own software to replicate the manufacturer's scan tool abilities (Autel, SnapOn, the list is rather lengthy, etc). However, with both the newness of the brand and the relatively small number of vehicles, there is little to no incentive for these companies to make scan tools to replicate the manufacturer's.

As for parts, unfortunately as with all manufacturers, the parts start their life through a dealer (unless you can find an OE part direct from a manufacturer, or again, have companies making parts).

The number I've heard is $3000 if you have the NATO plug, but $4k doesn't sound completely ridiculous, especially if the dealer's hourly labor rate is fairly high

Thanks again for your input on the hitch situation, much appreciated.

 

[AZ1266]

Might as well add me to the wanna hitch club. $4k for a simple hitch is ridiculous. Being that I’ve personally installed hitches on several vehicles, mostly pick ups, none have come remotely close to this price and there’s a simple 4 bolt on process for the actual hitch component. The rest sounds like we are installing a flux capacitor in a F22.

I bought a off the lot base and didn’t realize the hitch complexity. So far it’s my only gripe about the grenadier at the moment. This is making something simple for more complex than is necessary.

 

[Tr182md]

I posted this elsewhere but I just did this and what I found was that there are two hitch wiring packages and they do not include the hitch!!
The difference as stated is whether you have the NATO plug or not. Surprisingly if you have the NATO plug the wiring plus install will be over $4500. It is about half that if you do not have the NATO plug. After my heart attack it was explained to me that with the NATO plug and the 500 amp circuit the wiring for the hitch is more complicated. It really is crazy that $850 if you order at build time vs $4534 plus $940 for the hitch also. It is frustrating for sure that more is not prewired but it is a choice Ineos made to have some base models at a lower price point I suppose. In a few years I won’t care anymore about all this.

I paid it because I wanted a new truck with locking diffs, safari, windows, and high load electrical. The MSRP on that was 86k compared to 92k with one that was fully loaded so I figured I can add some stuff. But I lost in that deal for sure. It is way more cost effective to buy at build rather than add later. I would not have done this but The tariffs forced my hand.

 

[AZ1266]

I posted this elsewhere but I just did this and what I found was that there are two hitch wiring packages and they do not include the hitch!!
The difference as stated is whether you have the NATO plug or not. Surprisingly if you have the NATO plug the wiring plus install will be over $4500. It is about half that if you do not have the NATO plug. After my heart attack it was explained to me that with the NATO plug and the 500 amp circuit the wiring for the hitch is more complicated. It really is crazy that $850 if you order at build time vs $4534 plus $940 for the hitch also. It is frustrating for sure that more is not prewired but it is a choice Ineos made to have some base models at a lower price point I suppose. In a few years I won’t care anymore about all this.

I paid it because I wanted a new truck with locking diffs, safari, windows, and high load electrical. The MSRP on that was 86k compared to 92k with one that was fully loaded so I figured I can add some stuff. But I lost in that deal for sure. It is way more cost effective to buy at build rather than add later. I would not have done this but The tariffs forced my hand.

We’ve seen this game played before. Here soon there will be an aftermarket solution , no doubt also expensive but about half the price. And eventually some hacker type will post how they’ve hacked skynet via the Ineos brake controller and list what they bought of Amazon to get it done. In about 3 years dealers will do this for $1399. Eventually you’ll be able to do it yourself with maybe a $200 dealer flash for about $450. Never fails all new vehicles do the same thing just on different things.

Same as always.

 

[BEM-S4]

I was quoted $2,500 parts and labor to get the hitch with wiring, $500 for just the hitch. RDS did the install for me, opted for just the hitch, and confirmed that it's possible to do the wiring later if/when I need it (unlikely since I just need a bike rack).

 

[Manuel4x4]

I have installed it completely for 2000 euros