I used the weekend to add some stuff to my car, silver xa 06.

I got a few parts from sparks toyota. Center cup holder, window tinted vent/visiors, rear bump protector sheet, 1/4 hood bra.

All went well, but the cup holder took a bit to get the coat hanger jammed between the seat mounts and set in place. It does kind of get in the way of shifting, if you have a stick shift.

I love the tinted window visiors, they make the interior about 20% cooler and darker. The bumper protector is basically a sticker or strip of this textured material with holes in it. I was disappointed to see the holes in it fearing something could get in them and scratch the paint and wished it was fully inclosed. It does look cool

I got a class 2 trailer hitch from an internet company and matching light controller. The hitch bolted right up to where the tow anchor points were in the rear. The only down side is the muffler rattles a bit against it. Gotta do some bending of the pipe that exits the muffler and sticks out the rear of the car. The car seems to handle a bit better with the hitch on it. I am going to get one of those cargo trays you see behind some suvs and a bike rack for extra storage.

If anyone can host and post a link to host some photos, I will have them next week.

 

You can post pics on a free account from photobucket or even use something like tinypic. I am watching for pics...

 

Here you go....

http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/DCP_0154.jpg
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/DCP_0152.jpg
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/DCP_0151.jpg
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x...a/DCP_0150.jpg

I know the hitch and rear bump protector is out of focus, but that was hard to photograph. Also got a photo of the scion floor mats, my floor mats that can hold a qt of water, cruise control lever behind the turn signal switch, aluminum shift **** with blue led lights and arm rest between seats. The cup holder part does stick out in the back and may cause leg room problems with a center rear passenger.

Love the window visiors. Those and the bra are two things all dealers should buy and slap on a scion sitting on their lot. Best 100 bucks you can spend. Love how it makes the interior feel cooler and help cool a rising or setting sun when driving down the road.

Now, off to post about suspension mods to use the hitch to haul a wheelchair carrier since I have MS and may need a chair in the future as I used one for 9 years.

 

I see what you mean with the rear bumper protector. That is worse than useless. I've seen others that were solid.
Does the trl hitch crossbar go above or below the muffler? Have you bent the exhaust allready? The muffler tip seems to be off center.

 

I wished the sticker was sold, but oh well. I like the look and consider it unremovable since it is glued on.

THe cross member for the hitch goes behind the bumper straps and between the car and pipe before the chrome tip. The tip is a little too fat making the rear edge rub the hitch. I am slowly bending it down so it wil not rub the hitch. After a few minutes it quits rubbing as the exhaust expands. A better fix would be to remove the muffler and use a die grinder to cut off a few thousands of an inch from the rear of the tip so it will not rub at all and look normal.

 

Could you elongate the hitch mounting holes and slide the hitch farther foward?

 

Yes, I could do that, slide the hitch more towards the front of the car, but I think it would be easier to use a die grinder to cut the edge of the tip of the muffler outlet near the hitch or bend it back and jam a piece of industrial insulation between it.

 

I went back to double checked my installaion of the hitch. Seems removing the chrome tip to the exhaust pipe fixed the problem. That was rubbing the hitch bracket.