What trailer hitch installation costs in the Denver area

Trailer hitch installation cost by job

Parts ranges come from published prices checked 27 September 2026: receiver hitches from AutoZone and This Old House; wiring harnesses, converters, brake controllers and adapters from U-Haul’s listed prices for wiring and brake controllers; 5th wheel and gooseneck hitches from AutoZone and B&W’s list prices for the Turnoverball, Companion and Companion OEM. Times are our shop’s, and installation is quoted for your truck and hitch.

A receiver’s price follows its class, because the class sets what it can pull. The sources disagree on Class 3: This Old House lists it at 7,500 pounds, and U-Haul, AutoZone and CURT list 8,000. This page uses CURT’s ratings, since CURT builds the hitches: up to 2,000 pounds for Class 1, 3,500 for Class 2, 8,000 for Class 3, 10,000 for Class 4, and 16,000 to 20,000 for Class 5.

The same class of hitch can take more labor on one vehicle than another. CURT’s Class 3 hitch for the Honda CR-V calls for trimming the bumper fascia and temporarily lowering the exhaust, and U-Haul’s hitch kit notes that the frame may need drilling. That is why a quote starts with the year, make and model.

Specialty shop, U-Haul or dealer?

For a receiver and a 4-pin plug on a car or crossover, U-Haul is quick, and its own pages answer the two questions people search most: $100 to $600 for an installation and 2 to 3 hours on average. A specialty shop is the better fit on a truck that tows heavy: a camper with electric brakes, a gooseneck or 5th wheel, or a lifted truck that needs a specific drop. The dealer is the route to a factory hitch with factory wiring, at dealer rates.

Wiring and brake controllers: the two items that move the price

Wiring is where two quotes for the same hitch split. A 4-pin flat plug carries the trailer’s tail lights, turn signals and brake lights plus a ground, and CURT lists it for small utility trailers, pop-up campers and boat trailers. A 7-pin adds a wire for electric brakes, a 12-volt feed and reverse lights (CURT), and it is the plug on campers, fifth-wheel trailers and equipment trailers.

The cheapest wiring plugs into the vehicle’s factory connectors with no splicing. U-Haul lists plug-in 4-pin harnesses at $45.95 to $81.95 depending on the vehicle, and a 7-way harness at $95.95. Vehicles that send the stop, tail and turn signals down three separate wires usually need a powered taillight converter instead, spliced into the vehicle’s wiring; U-Haul lists a CURT converter at $82.95. A spliced converter takes more labor than a plug-in harness. If your truck already has a 7-pin plug at the bumper, that part of the job is done.

A brake controller is the other item that moves the price. It mounts under the dash and powers the trailer’s electric brakes through the 7-pin plug. U-Haul lists controllers from $59.95 to $299.95, and the plug-in adapters that connect one to a vehicle from $14.95 to $29.95. A proportional controller applies the trailer brakes, in CURT’s words, “proportionally to the tow vehicle’s braking force.” We lead with CURT and Husky controllers.

Colorado requires brakes on every trailer of 3,000 pounds gross weight or more. The driver has to be able to apply them from the cab, and they have to apply themselves if the trailer breaks away (C.R.S. 42-4-223). On the long grades of I-70, a controller set up for the loaded trailer lets the trailer’s own brakes slow the trailer, instead of leaving that weight to the truck’s brakes.

Just a bike or ski rack?

A hitch for a bike rack or a cargo carrier is the cheapest hitch job, because it needs no wiring and no brake controller. Parts for the receiver run $150 to $400, and installation is quoted for your truck.

The rack decides the receiver size. CURT’s class ratings put Class 1 and Class 2 hitches on a 1-1/4-inch receiver rated for up to 200 and 350 pounds of tongue weight, and Class 3 on a 2-inch receiver rated for up to 800. Every pound of rack and bikes hangs on the receiver as tongue weight, so a rack carrying two e-bikes can rule out a small receiver. Check the rack maker’s receiver size and weight rating before you pick the hitch. The same goes for a hitch-mounted ski or cargo carrier.

If the rack or the bikes will rest against the bumper, paint protection film on the bumper top takes the scuffs.

5th wheel and gooseneck installation cost

A gooseneck or 5th wheel costs more than a receiver in parts and in labor, and the truck decides a lot of it. AutoZone puts gooseneck hitch parts at about $300 to $800 and 5th wheel hitches at $700 to $1,500. B&W’s list prices show how much the truck changes the parts bill:

• Gooseneck on a truck with factory pucks: B&W OEM ball and safety chain kit, $299
• Gooseneck on a truck without pucks: B&W Turnoverball, from $699
• Rail-mounted 5th wheel: B&W Patriot 18K, $899
• 5th wheel on factory pucks: B&W Companion OEM, $1,299 for the 20K on Ford or GM pucks and $1,499 for Ram and the 25K versions
• 5th wheel on a truck without pucks: B&W Companion, $1,199, on a Turnoverball mount, from $699

Labor follows the same split. A puck-mount 5th wheel drops into the factory holes and pins in place with no drilling. An under-bed mount means cutting a 4-inch hole in the bed and bolting to existing holes in the frame, and B&W states that no welding or bed removal is required. In our shop, a 5th wheel on factory pucks takes about 2 hours and an under-bed system about 4 to 5.

A spray-in bedliner is one more thing to plan around. B&W says either order works, and a liner sprayed after the hole is cut covers the cut edge.

How the two hitches differ is in 5th wheel vs gooseneck.

Can you install a hitch yourself?

A bolt-on receiver is the most DIY-friendly of these jobs. CURT rates its Honda CR-V receiver as a novice install. Read the instructions for your vehicle before you buy the hitch: the CR-V hitch calls for trimming the bumper fascia and lowering the exhaust, and some vehicles need the frame drilled. The bolts go to a torque spec: a CURT installation sheet lists a torque wrench among the tools and 86 ft-lbs for its bolts.

Wiring is fine to do yourself where a plug-in harness exists for your vehicle. A converter has to be spliced into the vehicle’s wiring, which is where a DIY job gets slower.

A brake controller on a truck with a factory plug is mostly mounting and plugging in, with a vehicle-specific harness where one is made. Setting the controller up for the loaded trailer is the part to get right.

A gooseneck or under-bed 5th wheel mount means cutting a 4-inch hole in the bed and bolting rails to the frame, and B&W notes that install times vary with the installer’s experience and tools. That is the job we would bring to a shop.

Mag chloride and a new hitch

CDOT’s de-icers include salt and magnesium chloride, and a hitch sits low behind the rear tires, where the spray lands. Where an install leaves bare metal or mounting points exposed, we treat them against corrosion; what that takes depends on the truck and the hitch.

Questions people ask