etrailer | 2017 Mini Cooper EcoHitch Hidden Trailer Hitch Receiver: Complete Installation

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Full transcript: https://www.etrailer.com/tv-install-e...
Hey everybody, Ryan here at etrailer. Today on our 2017 Mini Cooper S Hardtop with the center exhaust, we're gonna be showing you how to install the EcoHitch Trailer Hitch Receiver. But before we do that, why don't we check it out and make sure that this is gonna work for you So when it comes to the Mini Cooper, you know, they're fun cars and people like to get 'em out on nice days and things like that and whenever it's nice out, you wanna get out and do stuff, right And it seems like a lot of people like to use their hitch for bike racks, which makes sense. Get that nice day, wanna go riding, but you wanna take your Mini out as well, having a trailer hitch back here is gonna allow you to do that and use your accessory or use your hitch to plug-in accessories. Something that I do wanna address right away. It seems like there's a lot of confusion about fitment and, you know, there's a lot of different types of these Minis, all a little bit different from the next.

And that's going to kinda justify what trailer hitch is gonna work for your Mini. I know in the past, we've had some here at etrailer that have single exhaust, and I think there's a couple of different options for those available, but I believe we've yet to come across one with the center exhaust like ours has here today. And this hitch actually worked out really well. For this one, sits up above your exhaust pipes. I mean, there's just really nowhere else for it to go.

With that said, though, we have a Hardtop S four-door with the center exhaust, obviously, and we didn't run into any issues as far as fitment or anything like that goes. I would imagine if we had a two-door, it would be set up the same. I highly doubt there's any changes really back here but you know, with that in mind, it's hard to speak to every single one. It seems like they're all just a little bit different but there is several hitches available for different submodels and things like that. So definitely just be sure to use our fit guide and the dropdown menu that allows you to select what model you have.

That way, you can make sure you get a hitch that's going to properly fit your Mini. So this hitch is gonna have the inch and a quarter by inch and a quarter receiver tube opening which is a common size for compact cars like this. At the end, there'll be a reinforced collar for a little bit of extra support. I actually kinda like it too, as opposed to, you know, there's hitches out there maybe not available for this car but that don't have a collar on it and it just kinda looks cheap to me but that's not the case of this one. I actually like it.

It is going to have the half-inch size pinhole. Pin and clip don't come included. If you need one, though, you can grab it here at etrailer and it's tight, but it is manageable to get it in there for sure. The safety chain openings. So there are safety chain openings. They're really, really hard to get to. They're kinda buried up there. Probably not a big deal for a lot of people. You're probably not gonna be using 'em, but if you had to or if you planned on using 'em a lot or something, you know, you can get it up there like this but if I was gonna use it occasionally and stuff, I would probably just cut out a little bit more of this fascia just to make it a little more manageable to get our hook up there. One thing I am actually happy to see is the fact that the end of the hitch does come out pretty much flush with our bumper, maybe even just a hair past it. And I feel like that's a good thing since primarily, a lot of people are gonna be using bike racks with this. That's gonna give you that clearance you need to be able to take that bike rack folded in that upright position and not have to worry about it hitting the back of your Mini. As far as hitch's weight capacities go, it's gonna have a 300-pound maximum gross tongue weight rating and that's gonna be the amount of weight that's pushing down on the hitch. So you could be able to use those one to three, maybe even four bike racks just to kinda give you an example. And as far as the hitch's maximum gross trailer weight rating goes, that's gonna be 2,000 pounds. That's gonna be the amount of weight pulling on the hitch, so the weight of your trailer plus anything you might have on it. I do always like to suggest, so it's never a bad idea just to grab your vehicle's owner's manual. That way, you can make sure your Mini can pull tha