2016 Volvo XC90 Trailer Hitches

The dealer wanted $1400 to install the factory hitch. Wow, right! I decided to go this route because all I need it for is putting a boat in the water (I don't even need to tow it to the river) and to have it for a bike rack. Now that it is installed, I can say it is of very good quality and could carry a lot. Its limitation is the way it mounts. The hitch itself is heavier than the factory hitch mount on my 1 ton truck. The mounting is in a solid location on the vehicle, but the mounting hardware does not leave me comfortable. (I am a mechanical engineer by the way). In the illustrated instructions they show some steal mounting plates that are very solid. For some reason the ones that came in the kit are half the size of the ones pictured and can easily get installed crooked which would compromise the load bearing weight of the mounting hardware. If you are doing this self, plan to have a lot of tooling. In a past lifetime I was a master certified mechanic for a Dodge dealer. It took me about 5 hours to install buy myself. You could shave an hour off with a partner. Make sure you get the vehicle an additional 10" off the ground as you will need the room to lower the exhaust system. This install also requires you to carefully remove the rear bumper cover and a large heat shield (for trimming). The biggest pain is drilling two 1" round holes in the 3/8 inch thick steal where the bumper mounts. This takes a lot of time. Set your drill on low speed or you will burn your bits. You also need to drill two other 9/16 inch holes. For this all these reasons, I rate this installation with a 1. It is very difficult. For appearance, I rate it with a 3. It does hang down below the rear bumper. The factory one has you cut a small section out of the bumper cover and has you cover it with a provided cover so it looks better. Knowing what I know now, I would buy the $975 dollar factory hitch and install it myself.