Hi everyone new to the forum, I have a 2002 Montero Sport 4x2 Limited. I searched through junk yards found a trailer hitch but then discovered when installing on my vehicle it requires me to remove the spare tire. Does anyone know of a trailer hitch that does not require the spare tire to be removed?

Thank You for your time
Mike

 

I got a Valley hitch ... I think from Advance Auto .. I didn't have to remove the spare to install it. Unfortunately, the wiring for the taillights is still all wonky but hardware-wise it was a snap. This was on a 2000 Montero Sport XLS.

 

I have installed 2 different trailer hitches. Both force the spare tire forward enough to interfere with what I think is a sway bar. Usually if I'm hauling passengers or something heavy, I need to put the spare in the cargo compartment. I'm wondering if using a smaller diameter spare would cause the vehicle any problems, since this would eliminate the interference problem. I seem to recall this vehicle has some sort of limited slip differential (or something similar).

Does anyone know if I would be doing any damage to the vehicle if I were to drive a few hundred miles
on a spare tire that is approximately 4 inches smaller in diameter than the other tires?

 

We have a "Hidden Hitch" brand on our 2002 Montero Sport. It does not interfere with the under mount spare. It is not hidden though.

 

I have a 2001 sport on which I installed a drawtite class III hitch, and during the installation process, the spare tire did get in the way, so we removed it temporarily, but it fit, albeit tightly back in its spot after the hitch was installed. It just took a little persuasion to get it back into place. But I have not experienced any issues with it hitting anything else.