Hi, does anyone know of a front receiver that fits a 1996 HDJ81 80 series
Receiver for front hitch
- Thread starter zbyg
- Start date
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Be careful if you install this hitch. It hangs very low. Last weekend I was out ruffed grouse hunting and drove down a step bank on a two track logging road. I forgot my front hitch was still installed. When I hit the bottom of the drop the front of the LC face planted on the front hitch so hard it packed the whole front end full of mud and rocks. Guns, coffee, and a dog came flying forward from guys in the back seat. It was packed in bad enough I couldn't even remove the mud at the self serve car wash. I had to put the LC on the lift at work and use tools to clean everything out. I'm lucky not to have punctured the AC condenser or the radiator.
This hitch only requires four bolts to remove or replace. If it wasn't so heavy it'd be an easy job as part of an oil change. Mine goes on and off several times a year whenever I need to position my travel trailer under a car port.
I'm glad I have it, just be careful. Remove it if you plan to go off road at all. They make a skid plate for the front hitch. It wouldn't have helped for how hard I bottomed out. The hitch just hangs too low.
This hitch only requires four bolts to remove or replace. If it wasn't so heavy it'd be an easy job as part of an oil change. Mine goes on and off several times a year whenever I need to position my travel trailer under a car port.
I'm glad I have it, just be careful. Remove it if you plan to go off road at all. They make a skid plate for the front hitch. It wouldn't have helped for how hard I bottomed out. The hitch just hangs too low.
What model LC do you have? and what model hitch do you have?
I have a 200 series Land Cruiser. This is the 200 series forum. The hitch I installed is the Curt hitch this thread was discussing.
Adding a note to this old topic, but to clarify for LX570 owners if you will need to modify skid plate to access oil filter after installing the Curt 31198...
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I have a 2013 LX570 with the 3 segment skid plate.
Installing the Curt 31198 was very easy, 4 bolts off, use same bolts to reinstall, but remove the "Spacers" on each side between the tow hooks and the frame. The bolts are long enough if you don't use the no longer needed spacers.
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At first it looked like I might have to either modify the Skid plate making an opening to access the oil filter, or would need to remove the Hitch each time to change the oil.
However, I found that if you leave off the single (1) bolt on the skid plate that will be directly above the hitch, that, you can actually wiggle/slide that segment of skid plate -FORWARD- towards the grille and have plenty of room to access/replace the oil filter. There are plenty of other bolts holding the plate on securely to allow skipping this one bolt.
It does have some resistance when sliding the plate forward since there is a piece of foam glued to the plate, but, it will compress to allow you to slide it forward at least 10 inches and fully out of the way, but not take completely off. It was a little easier to wiggle it back if I used my hand to also compress the foam whensliding it back.
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I painted a little reminder for myself on the bottom of the skid plate for the next oil change : )
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I have a 2013 LX570 with the 3 segment skid plate.
Installing the Curt 31198 was very easy, 4 bolts off, use same bolts to reinstall, but remove the "Spacers" on each side between the tow hooks and the frame. The bolts are long enough if you don't use the no longer needed spacers.
.
At first it looked like I might have to either modify the Skid plate making an opening to access the oil filter, or would need to remove the Hitch each time to change the oil.
However, I found that if you leave off the single (1) bolt on the skid plate that will be directly above the hitch, that, you can actually wiggle/slide that segment of skid plate -FORWARD- towards the grille and have plenty of room to access/replace the oil filter. There are plenty of other bolts holding the plate on securely to allow skipping this one bolt.
It does have some resistance when sliding the plate forward since there is a piece of foam glued to the plate, but, it will compress to allow you to slide it forward at least 10 inches and fully out of the way, but not take completely off. It was a little easier to wiggle it back if I used my hand to also compress the foam whensliding it back.
.
I painted a little reminder for myself on the bottom of the skid plate for the next oil change : )
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Unfortunately, this kind of invalidates the whole reason I would use it for. My only use would be to put a hitch-mounted winch on it for when I get stuck off-road. Perhaps I should go with the Trail Tailor hidden winch mount instead as a stop-gap measure until I get a "real" bumper for my LX.
Bringing this thread back from the dead. I am thinking about getting the Trail Tailer hidden winch mount and having a plate with a 2" receiver fabricated to that I can attach my winch to the front or back receiver via Anderson quick connects - I did this on my last vehicle - a Colorado ZR2 and it worked fantastic. Anyone do this ? Key for me is to get the front receiver up higher so that it does not impact my approach angle. I know it looks ugly but you only attach the winch when you need it. Otherwise it stays in the garage or inside the vehicle.
dingoboyexplore
SILVER Star
Im wondering if you can get a trailer hitch, and have a fab guy weld it into the cross bar in front at a higher height.
Sub'd
I see we are local to each other. I changed my front bumper out since posting my experiences above in 2019 and now can't use the front hitch with the new bumper. If you're looking to try the Curt front hitch out, I still have mine and would sell it. I'm in the Stillwater area.
I may very well be interested! I'll PM you. Thanks!
