Some cars have factory-designed trailer hitches available, with well-designed attachment points. Other cars, usually ones that aren’t really meant to do any towing, don’t have factory options, so you’d have to get an aftermarket one. I’ve seen a lot of aftermarket hitches, and some look fine, but others do not look like safe designs.

I was looking over a first-generation Honda CR-V, when I noticed that the aftermarket trailer hitch was not safe. I don’t know who would even think this is a good design, because two of the attachment points are simply bolts through the sheet metal of the bottom of the cargo area.

You need to attach trailer hitches to the frame, because as you can see in these pictures, the sheet metal is just ripping and folding from the forces of the trailer hitch.

New blog post or video every Monday, plus pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Watch Mechanical Malarkey on YouTube!

Mechanical Malarkey T-shirts, hats, and stickers are available to order!

-Dan