Torklift Eurohitch - Review and Experiences

[jaycurn]

Alright guys, fitment of this B8.5 Allroad Euro hitch on a B8 A4/S4 had not been confirmed by anyone to my knowledge yet, and I finally had a chance to get mine installed this weekend, so here is goes for anyone that's interested. I know adding a hitch to our beautiful cars is probably not the most popular choice for many, but being a mtn biker and really having the necessity for a rear mounted bike rack, it's truly the best option for me and my 2012 A4 avant! I've had several hitches on past avants, from Curt and others, and always hated the aesthetic eye-sore of them, not to mention the fact they always dragged, scraped and clunked on every low driveway or entry I drove through with a lowered car. This is not only annoying, but also pretty scary when you have a nice bike rack mounted to it, not to mention a few grand in expensive bicycles hanging on for dear life!

I want to start by giving a HUGE shout-out to the guys at Torklift Central in Kent, WA! My experience researching whether the Allroad hitch http://torkliftcentral.com/2013-2014...lroad-ecohitch would fit the B8, purchasing the hitch and then having it installed, was made possible by some of the best customer service I have ever experienced, in any industry, and I am in the business of customer service and have been for almost 20 years! I purchased online, had the hitch delivered to me, then discovered install was significantly more comprehensive than any Curt hitch I had previously installed myself. To add to that, not knowing if the hitch would even fit once I had the bumper cover removed and exhaust dropped etc, I thought it better to leave it to the professionals. Thankfully, the guys at Torklift offered to perform the install for me, then if the hitch was not a fit, they'd take all of the measurements necessary to build a hitch for my car, which could be installed at a later date.

Well, to make a long story short, the hitch fit perfectly and the install was a breeze for the pros. I had the owner of the company and the gentleman that designs all of the Eurohitches performing the install afterall, so I truly could not have asked for a better situation! The hitch is very stealthy (as far as hitches go) the fitment is phenomenal, service and install was amazing, and after a full day of driving around with the rack installed and bikes on the back, neither my Yakima rack nor the hitch receiver made contact with the ground once!

It was a 3 hour drive each way for me to have this hitch installed, but it was worth every minute and we now have confirmation this hitch will fit our cars. Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know, any A4/S4, sedan or avant, from from 2009-2015 are all built on the same chassis, therefor this hitch should be a perfect fit. There was a small amount of cutting to be done on the underside of the lower valence, but that was expected and honestly appreciated, as that meant the fit was even more stealthy and close to the bumper. Ok, on to the pics... any questions or comments feel free to post them up and thanks for reading my long winded experience!

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[jaycurn]

A few pics of the hitch in action:
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[jfo]

Definitely an improvement over the Curt. My Curt was quite visible and rusted badly, making it even worse. I got tired of the look and having to repaint it, so swapped it for a Westfalia. I might have gone for the Torklift if it had been available back then. The Curt hitch for the Sedan and Avant are different, so I assume this will also be the case for the Torklift.

[jaycurn]

Definitely an improvement over the Curt. My Curt was quite visible and rusted badly, making it even worse. I got tired of the look and having to repaint it, so swapped it for a Westfalia. I might have gone for the Torklift if it had been available back then. The Curt hitch for the Sedan and Avant are different, so I assume this will also be the case for the Torklift.

Yes, I've seen the two curt hitches are a bit different, but not sure there is a difference in the vehicles at all structurally other than the exhaust configuration. Pretty sure the sedan and avant are built on the same frame/chassis otherwise.

[mlzervas]

Thank you for confirming the fit. The pictures show it to be much more attractive than the others. When they did the install did they have a template to layout the cut for the valance?

[jaycurn]

Thank you for confirming the fit. The pictures show it to be much more attractive than the others. When they did the install did they have a template to layout the cut for the valance?

I'm not 100% on that one. I did see he had it sketched out on the valence before he made the cuts, but not sure if he just measured the distance to middle or actually had a template.

[Sonicteam120]

nicely done looks like it came out the factory with it on

[AudiTFSI3o3]

very nice.

i have the curt hitch on my S4 and there are times i wished it was more "concealed" than it is. i may look into switching to torklift in the near future!

[bluetori]

What was so difficult about the install, i need to get one on my 09'.

[zcspec]

Much appreciate the thread and review. Coincidentally, I was just looking at a hitch for my AR 2 days ago and watched their youtube video. The best part is, they're 25mins from me and I had no clue! The only concern I have being an AR owner is the rear fascia being cut. I believe it's more sturdy than the B8 Avant's rear fascia so I may have to run up there and check with them.

[redavant]

This is very slick. I wanted a concealed hitch and looked at Westfalia but realized that they don't have the receiver - ball only. So, I ended up with Curt... oh boy, do I get that sucker scratched... :) all the time I have to remember to be uber gentle on a steep driveway.

Congrats on the install and thanks for sharing!

[jaycurn]

nicely done looks like it came out the factory with it on

Yes, it's super stealth and I honestly don't even know if you'd see it if you weren't looking for it.

very nice.

i have the curt hitch on my S4 and there are times i wished it was more "concealed" than it is. i may look into switching to torklift in the near future!

It's an awesome hitch and I had the same issues with the Curt hitches in the last. Ugly as sin and always hitting the ground!

What was so difficult about the install, i need to get one on my 09'.

Nothing technically difficult other than removing the bumper cover. We just didn't know if it was 100% going to be a fit, so I opted to let them do it just in case. That way they could take the necessary measurements to make me a custom hitch if it was a no-go with the AR version, but it was perfect, as I suspected it would be!

[jaycurn]

Much appreciate the thread and review. Coincidentally, I was just looking at a hitch for my AR 2 days ago and watched their youtube video. The best part is, they're 25mins from me and I had no clue! The only concern I have being an AR owner is the rear fascia being cut. I believe it's more sturdy than the B8 Avant's rear fascia so I may have to run up there and check with them.

Yeah, tell them I sent you... absolutely awesome people and service! The only portion that was cut out is actually on the underside of the valence, so it's not even visible and they did great work making a precise cut out and even installing some nice trim after the finish it off, but I can't even see it!

This is very slick. I wanted a concealed hitch and looked at Westfalia but realized that they don't have the receiver - ball only. So, I ended up with Curt... oh boy, do I get that sucker scratched... :) all the time I have to remember to be uber gentle on a steep driveway.

Congrats on the install and thanks for sharing!

Yep, this thing is about as stealth as it gets. The best part is, after having a Curt on my last two hitches and hating how low it hung, I have not hit the ground with this thing once. I am pretty low and even with the rack and bikes on the back, not a single contact with the ground for any reason at all!

[billybob_lee]

Much appreciate the thread and review. Coincidentally, I was just looking at a hitch for my AR 2 days ago and watched their youtube video. The best part is, they're 25mins from me and I had no clue! The only concern I have being an AR owner is the rear fascia being cut. I believe it's more sturdy than the B8 Avant's rear fascia so I may have to run up there and check with them.

I'm also interested in getting the Torklift Ecohitch for my '13 allroad. I was also concerned about having to trim the rear fascia/valence and it wasn't clear in Torklift's photos whether or not any trimming/cutting was performed. I wrote Torklift and asked them for a set of installation instructions, and the instructions do include a step to trim/cut the rear fascia/valence:

I'm kind of torn. If our fascia was black plastic like the B8 Avants, I would still feel bad, but be more willing about having to cut it.

[jaycurn]

Keep in mind, this part of the valence is under the car and is not visible from the rear. Look at the pic above of when they were trimming mine.

[skis4hire]

I'm also interested in getting the Torklift Ecohitch for my '13 allroad. I was also concerned about having to trim the rear fascia/valence and it wasn't clear in Torklift's photos whether or not any trimming/cutting was performed. I wrote Torklift and asked them for a set of installation instructions, and the instructions do include a step to trim/cut the rear fascia/valence:

I'm kind of torn. If our fascia was black plastic like the B8 Avants, I would still feel bad, but be more willing about having to cut it.

You can cut the metal part of the B8 Allroad bumper with a dremel and some patience, or a more heavy duty cutting method of course.
I used a dremel to do the cutout for my Westfalia hitch which is a much larger cut. You basically cut out all of the metal visible in your picture, near the edges of the black plastic liner.

The westfalia cutout looks like this from the back (this is a low angle shot, it's not that noticeable from normal standing height)



Here is a good picture of the final product with the Torklift, the cutout itself is not visible as it is filled in by the hitch:

[jaycurn]

Just a heads-up for any new avant owners looking to install a really nice, low profile, non-eye sore and very hidden hitch; I just had another one of these Torklift hitches installed last weekend on my new avant. Amazing customer service and response time, very high quality product and this thing is not even close to as ugly as the horrible Uhaul and Curt hitches that hang super low and drag on the ground every time you drive out of a driveway or ramp. 10 out of 10, hence I did again!
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