Re: XC70 trailer hitch installation (brickelman)

I did it myself and, yes, the rivets get drilled out. And they do call for you to reinstall the rivets using a rivet tool; however, I decided to use some small nuts and bolts instead and am quite happy with the result. Someday I will try to put rivets back just to be complete.

The hitch itself installed nicely. The holes were where they said they'd be and the bolt quality is very high (not like some Chinese stuff coming across now that strip on the first tighten). Cutting the bumper cowling was easy enough but I had the after-market skid plate to go through as well and that turned out too rough for my liking. I will most likely replace the plate at some point and cut it before putting it onto the cowling. By the way, there is a rivet underneath that needs to be drilled out as well and then replaced with a machine screw. This later turned out to be untrue. Not sure why.

The wiring was a royal pain in the ass. My hitch came with the round seven pin receiver from Volvo apparently intended for the Swedish market. There are NO converters available - don't let anyone tell you otherwise. So, I went to IPD-USA.com and bought an in-line wiring doo-jack-a-pivey that again came without instructions of any clarity. I decided to go for it and was successful. Don't ask me how. I will tell you this: there was a blue wire that went no where and meant nothing as far as a I could tell. Just ignore it. I cut it at the junction point and again at the 7-pin receiver and yanked it all the way out. Lastly, I decided to yank the 7-pin receiver line altogether, leaving the rubber bushing in place (the wiring may look like it's integral to the bushing, but it isn't). I ran the 4 pin wiring from IPD through the bushing and to the hitch and all looked nice and neat. Here's the rub: from all that I can tell, you need the seven pin wiring from Volvo even though you cut most of it out later (or, I did anyway). That's because you need the wiring jack/plug that comes with it.

I do hope I helped. Let me know.

Joe

 

Re: XC70 trailer hitch installation (jrusso2005)

Thanks for the feedback. My wiring kit comes with retangular plugs for the module and fuse box. Hopefully it will go a little smoother...

 

Where did you guys get the hitches, and how much? Thanks

 

Re: (BellevilleV70)

Got my hardware at Dealerfit.com (http://vparts.dealerfit.com/store/volvo-xc70-v70-accessories-cat126_172.php). I didn't buy the ball from them but the hitch member, wiring harness, wiring module, and ball mount came out to ~$400, including $45 for shipping.

 

Thanks