I'm looking to put a tow hitch on my '02 SE/SC. I looked at the Nissan hitch today but it sticks out a long way. Do the third party hitches like UHaul and Draw-Tite do this as well?

Does anyone know for sure if the third parties fit on a SC with the larger spare? I did a search on old topics and some people said yes...some said no. I noticed with the third party hitches I'll need to order the frame stiffeners from someone else.

Just put a uhaul on mine last week, and it fit around the 17" spare just fine. Had to drop the spare a little so I could push it back a bit, but it still clears well and isn't up against the differential.

Uhaul bolts on with the 3 factory bolts per side... no stiffeners I don't think (not sure what they look like but it was a 5 minute install). It doesent stick out too bad, actually.

But with the bigger spare, anything that fits will stick out some.. there's just no room otherwise and I haven't found an affordable replacement rear bumper.

Paid $120 for the hitch. Uhaul website did not list anything, but I called them and they had one in stock.
-=RB42

Have a digicam? Could you take a pic showing how far it sticks out?

They all stick out the same amount. I had a Draw-Tite on mine and it was identical to the Nissan hitch. As rb42 mentioned your spare tire comes all the way to the bumper skin so the support tube for the hitch has to come out from the bumper to clear the tire plus allow for a 6 inch receiver tube. There's really no getting around it unless you take the spare out and have something custom fabbed up behind the bumper.

i personaly like the nissan hitch package it looks nice it gives me a step to access the roof without having to lift the leg higher, yeah im a little lazy. and the toung and ball seem to be of good quality, havent had to use it yet i got the tow package becasue it was a decent price, and i know i might get somesort of PWC or bike rack or even a small multipurpos trialer its just one less restriction on what i can do.

I recently just put the draw-tite on my X this weekend. It was about a 15 min install, and got the hitch, hardware, and reciever for 130.00. I did not get the frame stiffeners due to the fact that I won't be hauling more than 750lbs. I know that the hitch sits right at the spare tire with about 1 inch space from the diff. So far no complaints with the draw-tite.

NetJunkie - are you interested in a used Drawtite 2" receiver for your truck? I recntly took mine off because I bought the Calmini rear bumper....e-mail me if interested.

Benjamin