Front Hitch ($410) and Horn ($35)

 When we travel we are usually towing or carrying something on the rear hitch.  When I was a kid, my dad built a custom front hitch for the front of his F250 truck so he could carry his 200cc motorcycle on the front while having his pickup camper on the back. Lucky for me, today there are several pre-manufactured solutions for a front hitch. I purchased mine from Torklift International. 

The install requires removal of the front grill and bumper cover, but overall was not too difficult. 

 

Since I had the grill off, I took this opportunity to replace that horn. The factory horn on the Sprinter sounds like a scooter, very meek.  I replaced it with a Wolo (419) Bad Boy Air Horn from Amazon. It is not a great horn but at least it is not embarrassing. 

I did provide some feedback to the manufacturer about improvements in their documentation. They said they would pass it onto their development team :-).

Here is some feedback on the install, in general the instructions are OK but some things could be pointed out.

- All new sprinters have a DEF tank to deal with, there was no mention of this in the instructions. Fortunately the bolt you provided was long enough to reach through the DEF tank mount and the hitch, but it could have been a bit longer. 

- Removing the bumper takes lots of pull, not a gentle process, it would be helpful to provide a picture of the clips just in front for the wheel well. I actually had to pull the inner fender lining on the passenger side to access a fender screw that was preventing the clips from releasing. 

- I was only shipped one bolt fish wire, there should have been two, I made due, but it complicated things. 

- The star washers need to be better quality or gauge.  One of them did not prevent the bolt head from spinning in the frame, it got tight but it would not fully tighten. I am hopeful that after some time I can re-torque it and it will tighten. 

- I had to cut significantly more of the bumper out than the 5" the instructions stated to prevent the bumper from having a serious frown. It still has a bit of a frown. 

The finished install looks good and works well, we use it all the time. 

With bikes on the front, the fuel efficiency and night visibility are somewhat impacted. I just try not to drive in the dark if possible. 

Overall, the front hitch has been a great addition.