Late '12 build 2013 Clubman bought off dealer lot 12/12, ~ 60,000 miles now. Considering adding a canoe + trailer to my hobby kit, total no more than 400 pounds.

Anybody got stories of difficulty / things to be wary of / dealer-installed or not? for a Class 1 hitch?

Seems there are options out there for under $200 IF I do the labor myself.

 

I've got one on my clubman been using for years. This is it.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/clubma...ler-hitch.html

 

I just installed one like what Way linked to above. It was very straight ahead and fairly easy to do. They mount behind the bumper and the bumper cover and then you use a hole saw to cut a hole in the bumper cover, behind the license plate.

My only recommendation is to measure where to make the cutout. The instructions I had placed the hole too low and I had to cut a second hole. No big deal since the license plate covers it up, but it's less than ideal.

I also purchased a wiring harness and I'm installing that this weekend, but that mounts in the spare tire area under the false floor in the back and drapes over the bumper when in use.

 

Any pics of it on the care and the receiver cutout?

 

I have not taken photos because I want to clean up my cutout, but here's the instructions I used, which includes pictures, etc: http://l.mashby.com/GjigZB

 

Understood, but my request was directed to the WayMotorWorks post.

 

... and thanks for that link!

I'm pretty handy but unwilling to venture where my abilities could fall short of successful install. I may need hitch to pull trailer I may need for a 17' sailing canoe I've bought (as a kit so this'll take awhile!) that just might not be 'car-top-able' once completed, despite opinion of kit company's owner.

Weight's no big deal as trailer + canoe oughtn't total more than 350#.

 

The install was very straightforward and I'm certainly no expert. It was my first time removing any panels from a vehicle but I found it to be pretty easy.

The hardest part was the narrow space where you unscrew the fastener in the rear wheel wells. I got it done but a tool like TITE-REACH Extension Wrench would have made quick work of it.

Speaking of boat trailers, Harbor Freight has a blog post about it that you might find handy:
http://blog.harborfreight.com/harbor...anoe-trailers/

 

editorial comment

be careful and monitor .....

two different folks locally have had highly rated MINI hitches fail despite assuring all that they were WAY below the maximum tongue weight. In one case the manufacturer replaced the hitch with the 'one they sell today' which has extra plates welded in, to build up the weak place theirs had been prone to fail . . . .

An issue to watch is the length of the hitch bar you extend from the hitch ..... the further the ball is from the hitch cross member the longer the lever arm you create and this lever is what introduces a twisting motion to the hitch .....

In your case the canoe probably weighs less than the trailer so problems are unlikely .... but we all know what happens when the neighbors and friends know you have a hitch and a trailer . . . . . . .

p.s. the discussions I saw on this were all Facebook .... sorry, can't provide the discussion ... weakness of FB versus posting on a web forum ....

 

Thanks for the heads up Capt_bj. That's good to know.