Front Hitch w/pic

I installed a Curt front hitch on my 08' Pro 4X today. Install was fairly straight forward and instructions were good, but it was not as simple as bolting it on (at least with this Pro 4X). Install took about 1.5 hours doing it alone, which includes some small modifications. It's a class III hitch with a standard 2" receiver. I know some use these for snow plows (not me). I will use it to spot my flatbed trailer (easier then backing it up), but ultimately I intend to buy myself one of these within the next few months:

Warn Industries - Ultimate Performance Series: 9.5ti Portable
I believe having the ability to use a winch on the front and rear of the T will allow me to get the most use of it.

Sooo the hitch. I got the hitch here:
2008 Nissan Titan Curt Class 3 FRONT 2" Receiver Hitches | Front Hitch | Curt Hitch
It was $161 with free shipping. It required drilling two 1/2" holes in the frame which was NBD. I also had to use a step drill bit to slightly enlarge two existing holes in the frame that are used to secure the rear of the hitch to the truck frame. Again this was only a slight modification that took 2 seconds to do (provided you have a good drill and a selection of step drill bits on hand).

I asked the question here whether or not these hitches could be added on and still utilize the factory skid plate that comes on the 4X, but nobody seemed to know the answer. The answer is no they cannot. The brackets that hold the front of the skid plate will no longer bolt up because the hitch does not allow for enough clearance. The skid plate wouldn't fit with the hitch either. I don't believe this will be a problem because where the hitch is located it will act a bit like a skid plate by preventing anything from scraping the bottom of the front fascia. I would say the hitch itself may reduce clearance on the front end by about 3" (eyeballing it). But the hitch is SOLID...especially when rammed on with an impact.

The other thing that had to be modified were the factory front tow hooks. I had to remove approximately 1/8" of material from the hooks with a grinder to clearance them so they could be remounted. This will do NOTHING to reduce their strength....they are still solid as a rock. The material I removed was left over from casting the hooks during production. I took the time to shoot some Krylon black paint on the hooks to prevent rusting on the spots I hit with a grinder.

Overall I am very pleased with the appearance and quality of the hitch. Now I can't wait to get the winch and wire it all up. For those trucks without a skid plate up front this would be a simple bolt on.