INEOS Grenadier Hitch Receiver: Bolt-On 2" Install & What Owners Learned
INEOS Grenadier Hitch Receiver: Bolt-On 2" Install & What Owners Learned
No factory tow package? You can add a standard 2" hitch receiver in about an hour. Here's what forum owners figured out about spare-wheel clearance, trailer wiring, and getting a bike rack to actually fit.
The INEOS Grenadier's tow hitch is optional in North America. A significant number of buyers took delivery without the factory towing package — then realized they needed a receiver for a bike rack, cargo platform, or trailer. The good news: adding a standard 2" receiver is a straightforward bolt-on job. The complication — which took several forum owners by surprise — is spare-wheel clearance. This guide covers everything: the receiver install itself, why bike racks sometimes don't fold up the way you expect, trailer wiring options, and how roof load planning connects to your GCM budget.
Quick Answer
Can I add a 2" hitch receiver to an INEOS Grenadier that didn't come with the factory tow package? Yes. The Grenadier's rear frame has pre-drilled mounting points for the factory receiver. You remove two Torx bolts covering the opening, then bolt in a 2" receiver using four bolts with thread-locker. Install time is approximately one hour. No cutting or drilling required. The OEM INEOS receiver part number is EI-0000009968 (dealer-orderable). Aftermarket bolt-on options built to the same bolt pattern are also available — DVA Mechanics offers a factory-fitment 2" unit at $299. A hitch extender is typically required to clear the rear spare wheel for bike racks.
Why Many Grenadiers Shipped Without a Hitch
INEOS packaged the tow hitch as an optional add-on for North American market vehicles. Grenadier buyers who focused on off-road configuration — locking differentials, Terrain Response modes, recovery gear — often skipped the towing option and didn't think about it until they wanted to hang a bike rack. Others bought from dealer stock and didn't have the option to configure from scratch.
The Grenadier's frame was designed from the start with towing as a serious use case. The rear mounting provisions are there on every vehicle; the receiver sleeve and wiring harness are what differ between models with and without the factory package. Adding the receiver hardware after delivery is a well-documented dealer procedure, and forum owners have refined the DIY path considerably.
The DVA Bolt-On 2" Rear Hitch Receiver
DVA's Rear 2" Hitch Receiver is built specifically for the Grenadier's factory rear bumper mounting pattern. High-grade steel construction with textured black powder coat that matches the Grenadier's aesthetic. The standard 2" receiver tube accepts any common tow ball, bike rack, cargo platform, or recovery accessory.
Key spec: the design retains full departure angle and ground clearance. Unlike some universal hitch adaptors that drop the receiver tube below the bumper, this unit integrates flush with the factory bumper line — important if you're running the Grenadier off-road between towing trips.
Install: What Forum Owners Found
The install is genuinely simple once you know the sequence. Forum member mji111 documented it clearly on TheIneosForum.com in December 2024:
“You just remove two Torx bolts to take off the plastic cover and then install the hitch receiver with 4 bolts and Loctite. I put a cheap rubber cover in it when the bike rack is not in use.”
— mji111, TheIneosForum.com, Aftermarket hitch thread, December 2024
Owners who went the OEM route found the part orderable through any INEOS dealer. From user anand on the 2" hitch receiver installation thread, March 2024:
“The part number you're looking for is EI-0000009968, should be able to be ordered through any dealer.”
— anand, TheIneosForum.com, 2" hitch receiver installation, March 2024
One caveat worth noting from multiple owners: the factory receiver on some North American-spec vehicles has tighter-than-expected tolerances on the 2" tube opening. Forum user zemtyrion described the issue on TheIneosForum.com in May 2024: standard 2" receivers and racks that measure 2.045" to 2.052" sometimes seat tightly or require a light sand of any surface rust before sliding in smoothly. The workaround is simple — clean the tube, apply a small amount of grease — but it's worth knowing before your first bike-loading day.
The Spare Wheel Problem: Bike Rack Clearance
This is the part that catches the most owners off guard. The Grenadier's rear spare wheel is mounted on the tailgate, and it sits close to where a standard bike rack needs to fold or pivot. Several owners who bought pivot-style 2-bike racks found they couldn't fold the rack up when the spare is in place.
Forum member mtndog posted photos on TheIneosForum.com in March 2024:
“I can tell you that my [pivot-style 2-bike] rack does not clear the rear wheel. I tried it for the first time last weekend when I was going for a ride with my son. I cannot fold it up on the back of the Grenadier and it does not fit 2 bikes when lowered, only 1. I suspect these racks are very similar dimensions. Had to revert to our [other vehicle] for carrying 2 bikes in tow.”
— mtndog, TheIneosForum.com, 2" hitch receiver installation, March 2024
The community-confirmed solution is a hitch extender. It repositions the receiver tube further behind the spare, giving most pivot-style racks the clearance they need. Forum member rovie confirmed the fix on TheIneosForum.com in May 2024:
“I bought a hitch extender to clear the spare wheel. Both the extender and my [platform] bike rack fit the Grenadier fine.”
— rovie, TheIneosForum.com, US Trailer hitch problems, May 2024
Owners using platform-style racks (where bikes don't fold into the vehicle) generally report fewer clearance problems since the rack extends directly behind the spare rather than trying to pivot past it. If you're buying a new rack specifically for the Grenadier, this is worth factoring into your choice.
Trailer Wiring: Factory Package vs. Aftermarket
Adding the receiver tube gives you the mechanical connection. If you need trailer lighting — brake lights, turn signals, running lights — the wiring is a separate piece. The factory towing package includes a 13-pin European-style connector (and adapter for 7-pin flat US connector) plus a trailer brake controller provision. Without the factory package, you're adding that yourself.
The common aftermarket path is tapping into the rear tail light circuits with a T-harness and adding a standard 4- or 7-pin flat connector at the rear. Forum thread “Trailer Wiring and Hitch Install — All Aftermarket” (TheIneosForum.com, November 2024) documented a complete plug-and-play solution including the receiver mount, receiver, ball, trailer plug bracket at the factory location, and all wiring. The consensus: not a complicated job, but it takes more than the 1-hour receiver install alone.
If you're only using the receiver for a bike rack or cargo platform with no trailer lighting needed, wiring is irrelevant — the receiver tube alone does the job.
Weight Budget: Tongue Load, GCM & the Roof Connection
The Grenadier's GCM (Gross Combined Mass) is 7,000 kg (15,432 lb). That's the ceiling for the combined weight of the loaded Grenadier and loaded trailer together. The more you carry in the vehicle — passengers, roof gear, recovery equipment — the less trailer weight falls inside the GCM envelope.
Roof loading connects directly here. The Grenadier's dynamic roof load rating is 330 lb. A roof loaded with crossbars, storage, and a rooftop tent at or near that limit adds real mass to your GCM calculation. Owners planning heavy trailer pulls benefit from keeping roof loads conservative and prioritizing load placement low and forward.
DVA's DualTrack™ Low-Profile Roof Crossbar System is designed for exactly this weight-conscious approach: extruded aluminum construction keeps the system weight minimal while still providing the rail surface needed for awnings, lights, Starlink, and recovery gear. Lower system weight means more margin for payload — whether that's in the cabin or on the tongue.
Beyond the Ball: What Else a 2" Receiver Enables
A rear receiver on the Grenadier opens up more than trailer towing and bike racks. For off-road and overland builds, a 2" receiver at the rear is a mounting point for:
- Recovery boards in a hitch carrier — keeps MaxTrax and similar boards accessible without taking up ladder or roof space
- Cargo platforms — folding basket carriers for camp gear, wet gear, fuel containers
- Hitch-mounted tire carriers — an alternative to the factory rear-door spare position for some builds
- Winch mounts — hitch-cradle winches for vehicles that didn't come with a factory front winch provision
If you're mounting recovery boards specifically, DVA's Ladder-Mounted Recovery Board Carrier is purpose-built for the Grenadier's rear ladder. It mounts MaxTrax MKII and Lite boards on the vertical ladder rails, keeping them off the roof and off the hitch — an option that preserves the hitch receiver for a bike rack or trailer without compromising recovery board access.
Summary: What to Get Right on the First Pass
| Step | What to Do | Owner Note |
|---|---|---|
| Receiver install | Remove 2 Torx bolts, bolt on receiver with 4 bolts + Loctite | ~1 hour, no cutting |
| OEM part | Order EI-0000009968 through any INEOS dealer | Not always in online catalogue — ask service desk |
| Bike rack clearance | Add a 2" hitch extender to clear the rear spare wheel | Confirmed fix by multiple forum owners |
| Trailer wiring | T-harness into tail lights + 4- or 7-pin connector if towing with lights | Not needed for bike racks only |
| Tongue weight | Stay under 772 lb (10% of 7,716 lb tow rating) | Verify against your door sticker |
| GCM planning | Keep roof load minimal on heavy towing days to stay inside 15,432 lb GCM | Light roof crossbars help |
The Grenadier's towing architecture was clearly designed with real work in mind — 7,716 lb capacity, a pre-drilled frame ready for the receiver, and GCM headroom that puts a loaded caravan or off-road trailer well inside the envelope. The receiver install is one of the easier additions you can make to the platform. The spare-wheel clearance issue is the only real wrinkle, and a hitch extender resolves it cleanly.
