R-Class W251 Trailer Hitch Install Problems

A few weeks ago I bought a DrawTite hitch for my R-class. The first one didn’t fit correctly so I contacted DrawTite tech support who provided me with the measurement specs that the hitch is supposed to meet. After verifying that my hitch was manufactured incorrectly it was replace twice by the store that I bought it from. If you do decided to purchase one of these hitches I would not buy it online since it will probably have to be returned a few times. I have currently given up on this for now but if Santa brings me a welder I’ll buy one again and correct the problems.

The main problem I had with all of the hitches I received was that the distance between the mounting holes were about .5 in too far apart measuring from front to back. This may be clearer if you look at the photos of the front bolt holes not lining up when the back is bolted up. To verify if the hitch you receive is made incorrectly measure it as I did in these photos. If you can’t read the tape or square I measured about 18.75 down on the tape and 9.5 between the base of the square and the tape. Verify that the tape and the square meet at a 90 degree angle.

I also found that you would have to trim about 1.5 inches off of the bumper cover even though they say you don’t have to. You can probably get around this by just not reattaching the bumper cover to the black panel and just letting the hitch hold it. The directions don’t mention it but you also need to remove the exhaust tips during the install which requires a T-25 torx bit. If you buy one of these hitches that is made correctly let me know.