I have emailed many Hayman Reese retailers in Austraila regarding a towbar for my g8, or ve commodore. and none will ship to the US. I know shipping is going to be a good amount but i would pay it if i could get the towbar i need. what kind of shipping services are available to the US and is there anyway i could check for quotes. There are just no good Towbars in the US available.

Mate I have a couple of contacts. I can see what I can find out but it may come down to having to ship it personally.

Will see what I can find out.

I have emailed many Hayman Reese retailers in Austraila regarding a towbar for my g8, or ve commodore. and none will ship to the US. I know shipping is going to be a good amount but i would pay it if i could get the towbar i need. what kind of shipping services are available to the US and is there anyway i could check for quotes. There are just no good Towbars in the US available.

Shipping is going to cost heaps, the thing weighs about 40 pounds or more. Hayman Reese cost about $450 AU and on top of that you have to buy the genuine wiring harness at around another $110, I guess you can buy that in the US.
Holden sell a genuine tow bar with hitch that looks the same as the Hayman Reese for a lot less. It's rated at 1600Kg (about 3500 lbs). I bought mine for aronnd $290 AU plus the harness for $110. A Melbourne Holden dealer sold it to me at trade price. I'll wait to see what Bonners can do for you. Send me a PM if you get desperate.

Fitting is dead easy once you have the bumper off. It slips into the box chasis like a glove and the bolt holes are already drilled so almost no tools are required.

There are just no good Towbars in the US available.

What is wrong with these because I was going to get one myself?

http://www.hidden-hitch.com/results.aspx?category=hitch&year=2008&make=Pontiac&model=G8

So, Pontiac never came through with the tow package that was supposed to include a transmission oil cooler?

Did ya try Crazy Paul?

What is wrong with these because I was going to get one myself?

http://www.hidden-hitch.com/results.aspx?category=hitch&year=2008&make=Pontiac&model=G8

The price is great but it is only rated at 2000lbs, the Holden and Reese bars are 1600Kg (around 3500lbs) and more if you want. It also looks like it could be the type that doesn't come through the bumper at the hitch but goes all the way down from the inside of the bumper and then back up again on the outside (ugly). Oz tow packs (for auto boxes) rated over 1600Kg come with an auto oil cooler but they get expensive.

The Holden and Hayman Reese bars have box tube accross the back of the bumper (on the inside of the bumper) and the mounting is also box tube which slips straight into the box tube frame of the car. The hitch connecting box tube comes straight off the bar behind the bumper and through the bumper without a bend in it. Unfortunately Oz bumpers aren't cheap but they are bullet proof and don't make a mess of the rear of the car. I leave my hitch on all of the time for those idiots who park by ear. I had one abuse me for leaving it on and messing up his front plate and bumper when he bumped into me whilst parking.

I'd love to see a picture of what those hitches you use down there look like. Maybe we can get a few of us together from the US and order them in batch to save on shipping. I'd also like to know how difficult the install is.

i bought a hidden hitch, its a slightly different design then the curt hitch i have now, hopefully i can sell the curt hitch to someone i guess it will be ebay

I'd love to see a picture of what those hitches you use down there look like. Maybe we can get a few of us together from the US and order them in batch to save on shipping. I'd also like to know how difficult the install is.
I'll take a couple of photos and post them tomorrow. My bumper will look quite different as it's a HSV but I had the genuine Holden bar fitted. Does the G8 have a knock out in the centre of the bumper for the hitch to go through?

I tried to price freight to the US but it was very expensive. It's hard to source a company to deliver to the US unless you are a business. See if you can source a freight company to pick up from Melbourne and deliver to you.

The install isn't difficult. Disconnect the battery for the entire install. Remove the plastic boot lip where the lock is, it pulls up and unclips, remove the plugs holding the trunk liner near each light and bend the fabric liner back towards the rear seat. The lights have two nuts you unscrew from inside the rear guards, unplug the wiring harness and the lights slip out. The bumper has clips or screws on the inside of the rear guard, once they are out the bumper section running up to the rear wheels can be pulled out an inch or two and then the bumper pulls off. There is an alloy box section that runs the width of the car behind the bumper which unbolts. From there you slip the tow bar into the box chassis and then (after removing the floor liner) and drop the bolts through the holes on the chassis add the nuts to the underside.

You need a genuine wiring harness which compensates for extra current and detects when a trailer is electrically connected.

All bolts are in the kit with the fitting instructions.

i ordered a univeral harness, it draws power from the battery as to not overload the factory wiring harness, does the same thing, just isnt plug and play

I'd love to see a picture of what those hitches you use down there look like. Maybe we can get a few of us together from the US and order them in batch to save on shipping. I'd also like to know how difficult the install is.


Sorry about the photo quality, not my forte I'm afraid........
It was getting a bit dark which didn't help. Full size immages are at
http://s390.photobucket.com/albums/oo348/karlinoz1/

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Ok guys

Here is what I can get for you from my contact. This is before shipping and in $AUD

There are 3 options. Box is 900 long and weighs 21kg either option. the weight is going to be the killer on the shipping. Good thing is that UPS head office here in Brisbane is just near my mates work.

Ok so here we go. Not sure of some of them, just repeating his email. All bars are 2100kg.
BTA - $350
Aranda (copy of Reese) - $350
Hayman Reese Genuine - $400
Holden Genuine - $360

You do need a GM specific loom or an auto sparky to wire it due to the ECU. I can get a price for the loom from my dealer.

If you want to do a group buy somehow he says he can probably get the items down further due to a better shipping option. He has said that if it is just the one it is best for me to sort it but if you do want to indeed get some in a group buy he will organise.

Sorry for the late post: has anyone ordered one of these and installed it? Does it fit with our G8 bumper? I would just love to get one......how is the shipping?

I can't find the link now (might be on the other G8 site) but someone had installed the Holden unit on a G8. There was a concern that it wasn't the same size as a 2" receiver, but I think the conclusion that it was close enough that it didn't matter. I kinda wanted one of these also, but I can get a Hidden Hitch one for under $230 with no shipping costs and I wasn't planning on towing anything really heavy anyway

I have a motorcycle trailer that I tow with class 1 hitches on my other cars. Its above the load rating but never had a problem. I just hate to buy the US made class 1 hitches and have the bar below the bumper and look like ass when a Holden hitch is completely inside the bumper and the US bumper has the cutout for the Holden hitch. $900 (with the shipping) from Aust is a bit much.

My plan now is to go to places that make hitches and look into a custom. No idea how I'm gona do it tho.

I have a motorcycle trailer that I tow with class 1 hitches on my other cars. Its above the load rating but never had a problem. I just hate to buy the US made class 1 hitches and have the bar below the bumper and look like ass when a Holden hitch is completely inside the bumper and the US bumper has the cutout for the Holden hitch. $900 (with the shipping) from Aust is a bit much.

My plan now is to go to places that make hitches and look into a custom. No idea how I'm gona do it tho.

I'm thinking the same thing...doing a custom fabricated hitch from a local welding shop. There was a member on here a while back that did that and had it come through the bumper cover cutout (wherein the receiver terminated behind the cover) and then fabricated a new bumper cover cutout for a totally concealed receiver when not in use. So, it can be done.

Anyone looking at the genuine Holden or other hitches from AU might consider Interparcel shipping (www.interparcel.com.au (http://www.interparcel.com.au)) rather than UPS as this is much less costly on shipping to US and you could probably get the shipping cost way down, which has been the major deterrent to importing anything from down under. I have gotten quotes on shipping that are half the cost of UPS rates, which should bring the cost down to around $650-$700 rather than $900-$1000.