Casteyanqui.com | Electric Vehicles | Installing a Stealth Hitch on our Ioniq 5

Rocinante Got Hitched!
(Click to enlarge)

Installing
a Stealth Hitch
on our Ioniq 5

Mark D Larsen

Over the past several years I have installed two hitches on our EVs. The first one was a TorkLift EcoHitch for our LEAF that we used to mount a bike rack for our e-bikes. Years later, I decided to install a different Torklift EcoHitch on our Model 3 which was expressly designed to remain hidden under the car when not in use. We used that hitch not just to mount our bike rack, but also to tow a small camping trailer.
I really liked the “stealth” feature of the latter hitch, as I don’t like bashing my shins on a ugly, obtrusive receiver bar sticking out the rear of a car when loading and unloading the trunk or hatchback. Unfortunately, TorkLift doesn’t make an EcoHitch like that for the Ioniq 5, so I searched the web to find something similar. I eventually ran across a site for Stealth Hitches that specializes in such products for a wide variety of cars. Yes, the model for my Ioniq 5 was a lot more expensive than the EcoHitches I had installed previously, especially when including the active wiring harness that Hyundai manufactures to interface with the car’s electronics. Still, I decided to bite the bullet and order both the hitch and harness as my early Christmas present this year.
Below is a comparatively short description of my experience installing the hitch by following the provided instructions. To be honest, it was a much more difficult challenge than with the EcoHitches previously, but after a few days of problems and frustrations in my garage… I managed to pull it off. I just hope that it will be the last tow hitch that I ever install.

NOTE: You can click on any of the following photos to enlarge them and the movies to play them.

Here is the Stealth Hitch, removed from its shipping package.

I set up a folding table in the garage and laid out the various parts, bolts, nuts, and tools that I would need for the installation.

I then raised the rear of Rocinante with a hydraulic floor jack and mounted it on my jack stands to keep it safe and secure during the installation.

I figured that the first steps I should take would be to install the wiring harness so that it would be ready to mount onto the hitch. And this is where I encountered the first frustrations. The instructions said to remove the cargo floor and cover to access where the wiring would go.

I was then supposed the remove the brace behind the rear seats. For the life of me, I could not get the plastic "nuts" holding the brace to come off with my socket wrench. The nuts would only spin and spin. My guess is that there must be some corresponding plastic piece under the floor that also spins when turning the nuts. Impossible to get that brace off!

Consequently, without removing that brace, there was no way to also completely remove the panel on the driver's side of the cargo area to have open access to the wiring in the car. The best I could so was at least pry the rear end of the panel inward and then awkwardly stick my arms and hands in that area to connect the active wiring harness to the car's plugs for towing. It was not easy, by any stretch of the fingertips, but I managed to get everything connected through the narrow wedge.

And now came the next frustration. To mount the hitch I first needed to remove the tail lights, something that I had to do with both of the EcoHitches previously. Unfortunately, after removing the mounting screws, the instructions said to "slide" the tail lights off. No way they would budge! I even spoke on the phone with a technician at Stealth Hitches, who said there were two silver inserts in one corner holding each tail light to the body. He suggested that I insert a pry tool behind that particular area and give it a strong tug. "Strong" is an understatement. I had to use all my strength before the tail light finally popped off. What I found was one of the silver inserts, indicated with my pry tool in this photo, but the other one was still stuck in its white plastic sleeve which had pulled entirely out of its hole.

The other tail light… was even harder to get off, and this time both white plastic sleeves pulled out with the silver inserts still stuck inside them. I wasn't sure that I would be able to reinsert them tightly back into their holes when I was finished, but… what else could I do…? I could not get the plastic sleeves off of the silver inserts no matter how hard I twisted and tugged on them. I figured I’d just have to try to stick them back into the holes in the body and hope for the best when that time came.

I then undid the tail light wires, as instructed, by twisting and removing their round caps and then disconnecting the clips inside the lights.

The next step in the instructions was to undo the fasteners that held the bumper, the wheel arches, and linings. Once again I found that the screws in the plastic clips that hold the splash guards onto the bottom of the bumper… would NOT screw out. They would only spin and spin. Trying to pry them out with a tool didn't work, as the threads were tightly securing the clips. I even got out a hacksaw and then my Dremel to try and cut the screws. I only managed to weaken them enough to finally break them out of the clip, but ended up scratching the bottom of the bumper slightly in the process. Well… at least nobody can see those marks underneath unless lying on the ground.

Once I had removed those clips and others holding the wheel arches and lining, I could pull the wheel arch away from the bumper. And then I hit yet another snag in the process. You're supposed to then remove the bumper by pushing back and up at an angle from underneath, as suggested in this video. I tried and tried numerous times, but finally had to give up. Either I am too weak, or too old, or both… but I'll be damned if I could get the bumper to budge even a smidgeon. At this point I resolved that I would have to somehow install the hitch using some other method that didn’t require removing the bumper. I had seen videos to install other hitches in the same location of the Ioniq 5's frame, but with the bumper still attached.

I therefore decided to try to emulate the steps described in one such video by U-Haul. As that video suggests, to make the process easier you need to drop the undercover in front of the bumper. I did so, and then placed the receivers for the Stealth Hitch against the angled panel to keep it out of the way while working. I also removed the clips securing the gravel guard that would cover the hitch.

With the undercover angled away from the bumper, and with the wheel lining loosened and likewise angled forward, I could finally see the three bolt holes in the frame on each side of the car.

It was then fairly easy to screw the supplied bolts through the end pieces of the hitch and into the frame. Thankfully, I did not have to unclip any of the wiring recommended in the video, and could work around those connections just fine.

Getting the hitch up into the area beyond the crash bar and behind the bumper took some real effort. With the help of several choice words, and lifting and shoving, I finally managed to accomplish it, and then bolted it to the end pieces already mounted to the frame. Next, I tightened all those bolts and installed the latch block and safety chain pieces onto the hitch, as you can see looking up and to the side toward that block.

In the previous photo I had not yet cut off the holes for the innermost gravel guard clips, which were no longer necessary, as I had cut out an access hole in that guard for the latch block. In this photo you can see that I had cut off those holes, although the edges where they were cut look rather ruff and ragged. Tsk. No matter, as nobody would ever seen them with the gravel guard remounted over the hitch.

I then put all the other parts back where they belonged (the wheel linings and arches, the undercover, the splash guards, the tail lights, the cargo cover and floor). Now you can see in this photo that the hitch is completely hidden behind the bumper.

When I want to use it, I simply insert and lock into place the different receivers into the latch block. Here is the rack receiver mounted to the hitch. You can see the tow receiver mounted to it in the photo at the top of the page.

One last step for the installation: I had Tamara get in the car to make sure that, with the trailer attached, all the lights and turn signals worked correctly. Phew!

And finally, here I demonstrate that, thanks to the wiring harness installed, Rocinante now boasts control panels with new options for trailer towing. I'll be curious to test out how they effect the car’s driving modes in the future.

Now we can once again use our bike rack to meander the numerous biking trails, and tow our trailer to the camp grounds in this corner of the country to enjoy spending time in nature among its mountains, canyons, and deserts —all without polluting the pristine surroundings with a tailpipe!

Here is the Stealth Hitch, removed from its shipping package.	I set up a folding table in the garage and laid out the various parts, bolts, nuts, and tools that I would need for the installation.
I then raised the rear of Rocinante with a hydraulic floor jack and mounted it on my jack stands to keep it safe and secure during the installation.	I figured that the first steps I should take would be to install the wiring harness so that it would be ready to mount onto the hitch. And this is where I encountered the first frustrations. The instructions said to remove the cargo floor and cover to access where the wiring would go.
I was then supposed the remove the brace behind the rear seats. For the life of me, I could not get the plastic "nuts" holding the brace to come off with my socket wrench. The nuts would only spin and spin. My guess is that there must be some corresponding plastic piece under the floor that also spins when turning the nuts. Impossible to get that brace off!	Consequently, without removing that brace, there was no way to also completely remove the panel on the driver's side of the cargo area to have open access to the wiring in the car. The best I could so was at least pry the rear end of the panel inward and then awkwardly stick my arms and hands in that area to connect the active wiring harness to the car's plugs for towing. It was not easy, by any stretch of the fingertips, but I managed to get everything connected through the narrow wedge.
And now came the next frustration. To mount the hitch I first needed to remove the tail lights, something that I had to do with both of the EcoHitches previously. Unfortunately, after removing the mounting screws, the instructions said to "slide" the tail lights off. No way they would budge! I even spoke on the phone with a technician at Stealth Hitches, who said there were two silver inserts in one corner holding each tail light to the body. He suggested that I insert a pry tool behind that particular area and give it a strong tug. "Strong" is an understatement. I had to use all my strength before the tail light finally popped off. What I found was one of the silver inserts, indicated with my pry tool in this photo, but the other one was still stuck in its white plastic sleeve which had pulled entirely out of its hole.	The other tail light… was even harder to get off, and this time both white plastic sleeves pulled out with the silver inserts still stuck inside them. I wasn't sure that I would be able to reinsert them tightly back into their holes when I was finished, but… what else could I do…? I could not get the plastic sleeves off of the silver inserts no matter how hard I twisted and tugged on them. I figured I’d just have to try to stick them back into the holes in the body and hope for the best when that time came.
I then undid the tail light wires, as instructed, by twisting and removing their round caps and then disconnecting the clips inside the lights.	The next step in the instructions was to undo the fasteners that held the bumper, the wheel arches, and linings. Once again I found that the screws in the plastic clips that hold the splash guards onto the bottom of the bumper… would NOT screw out. They would only spin and spin. Trying to pry them out with a tool didn't work, as the threads were tightly securing the clips. I even got out a hacksaw and then my Dremel to try and cut the screws. I only managed to weaken them enough to finally break them out of the clip, but ended up scratching the bottom of the bumper slightly in the process. Well… at least nobody can see those marks underneath unless lying on the ground.
Once I had removed those clips and others holding the wheel arches and lining, I could pull the wheel arch away from the bumper. And then I hit yet another snag in the process. You're supposed to then remove the bumper by pushing back and up at an angle from underneath, as suggested in this video. I tried and tried numerous times, but finally had to give up. Either I am too weak, or too old, or both… but I'll be damned if I could get the bumper to budge even a smidgeon. At this point I resolved that I would have to somehow install the hitch using some other method that didn’t require removing the bumper. I had seen videos to install other hitches in the same location of the Ioniq 5's frame, but with the bumper still attached.	I therefore decided to try to emulate the steps described in one such video by U-Haul. As that video suggests, to make the process easier you need to drop the undercover in front of the bumper. I did so, and then placed the receivers for the Stealth Hitch against the angled panel to keep it out of the way while working. I also removed the clips securing the gravel guard that would cover the hitch.
With the undercover angled away from the bumper, and with the wheel lining loosened and likewise angled forward, I could finally see the three bolt holes in the frame on each side of the car.	It was then fairly easy to screw the supplied bolts through the end pieces of the hitch and into the frame. Thankfully, I did not have to unclip any of the wiring recommended in the video, and could work around those connections just fine.
Getting the hitch up into the area beyond the crash bar and behind the bumper took some real effort. With the help of several choice words, and lifting and shoving, I finally managed to accomplish it, and then bolted it to the end pieces already mounted to the frame. Next, I tightened all those bolts and installed the latch block and safety chain pieces onto the hitch, as you can see looking up and to the side toward that block.	In the previous photo I had not yet cut off the holes for the innermost gravel guard clips, which were no longer necessary, as I had cut out an access hole in that guard for the latch block. In this photo you can see that I had cut off those holes, although the edges where they were cut look rather ruff and ragged. Tsk. No matter, as nobody would ever seen them with the gravel guard remounted over the hitch.
I then put all the other parts back where they belonged (the wheel linings and arches, the undercover, the splash guards, the tail lights, the cargo cover and floor). Now you can see in this photo that the hitch is completely hidden behind the bumper.	When I want to use it, I simply insert and lock into place the different receivers into the latch block. Here is the rack receiver mounted to the hitch. You can see the tow receiver mounted to it in the photo at the top of the page.
One last step for the installation: I had Tamara get in the car to make sure that, with the trailer attached, all the lights and turn signals worked correctly. Phew!
And finally, here I demonstrate that, thanks to the wiring harness installed, Rocinante now boasts control panels with new options for trailer towing. I'll be curious to test out how they effect the car’s driving modes in the future.