Need a hitch installed on a equinox. We called UHAUL and the quote was $250-$500. Not sure if thats normal pricing.

Not wanting to install it myself because the exhaust needs to be moved.

I contacted a few locations of truck trailer and hitch and they don't have the parts or can't get me in until next month

Croft trailer is a legend in kc, several shops.. , not sure of price , in fact , id bet they are prolly a lil higher than u haul , but their reputation preceeds them. My mom went to school with the orig owners waaaayyy back in the day.

Some of the new hitches have a modified cutout somewhere on the hitch itself that lets it mount to the framework without moving the exhaust.

Check the web or yellow pages to find trailer sales. Most will install hitches and wiring to make work with your vehicle.

One reason it costs so much to install a hitch, is it never goes as planned or how the instructions says it will.

My '05 Escape required a dealer item only at the time I had a hitch installed on it to make a trailer wiring harness work. Cost me an extra to get that wiring harness/control box and have it installed by Ford dealer due to its complexity to vehicle system's electronics.

I had an '05 Escape too, and installed the hitch myself. No problems getting that on, but like you said the wiring is different. I did lots of internet searching about it, and apparently that year Ford put in partial wiring, somewhere behind the panels in the rear compartment. I wasn't about to start taking the inside apart, so I went to a Ford dealer and asked them how much to do it. The service guy hadn't heard about the partial wiring, but he said that it would be $XX per hour (I don't remember the amount), until they figure it out. I said never mind, and just used battery operated flashing lights. I only used the trailer a few times per year, so it wasn't a big deal for me.

The hitch itself was fine.