Rebel vs TRX Bumper Tow Connector

[scottmoyer]

I need some help from the RAM gurus. My '21 Rebel was hit in a parking lot denting the rear bumper. I found a replacement from a TRX and started swapping all plastics to the new bumper. The last part I was putting together was the trailer tow connector and that's when I realized my connector won't work on this new bumper. Everything else fits perfect.

The bumper frame on my old bumper held the connector by snapping in. It was rectangular at the top, but round at the bottom. The new bumper frame is rectangular all the way around and doesn't have a raised area for my connector to snap onto. Any ideas as to why and what part number I need to make this work?

Below is my original adaptor


Here is the bumper opening with my original plastics attached to the bumper.


Here's my original bumper, plastics removed, but you can see the shape of the opening and the raised tabs that the adaptor locks onto

 

[HSKR R/T]

I need some help from the RAM gurus. My '21 Rebel was hit in a parking lot denting the rear bumper. I found a replacement from a TRX and started swapping all plastics to the new bumper. The last part I was putting together was the trailer tow connector and that's when I realized my connector won't work on this new bumper. Everything else fits perfect.

The bumper frame on my old bumper held the connector by snapping in. It was rectangular at the top, but round at the bottom. The new bumper frame is rectangular all the way around and doesn't have a raised area for my connector to snap onto. Any ideas as to why and what part number I need to make this work?

Below is my original adaptor
View attachment 206335

Here is the bumper opening with my original plastics attached to the bumper.
View attachment 206336

Here's my original bumper, plastics removed, but you can see the shape of the opening and the raised tabs that the adaptor locks onto

View attachment 206337

Was the bumper from the same model year? Good chance the style of trailer connector changed between model years

 

[scottmoyer]

I'm not sure what year TRX it came off of. Looking online, it appears ALL Ram truck have the same bumper frame structure that my original has. I haven't found a single video online that shows any special adaptors or differences in the TRX bumper from the Rebel.

I did ask Google AI some questions and they responded that the rear bumper is different and the trailer tow connector wiring will need to be extended to fit as the bumper is wider than the Rebel. Well, that was incorrect since I swapped ALL plastics from my bumper to the new one. The outer shell and inner substructure are all I kept from the new one. Even all of the wiring push pin locations align between the two.

Maybe I should just modify the subframe and hope it works.

 

[Eighty]

I looked up the trailer tow connector on a Mopar parts site using my TRX VIN, and here’s what it shows.

https://www.mopar-direct.com/oem-parts/mopar-trailer-tow-connector-5035725aa?c=Zz1lbGVjdHJpY2FsJnM9d2lyaW5nLWJvZHktYW5kLWFjY2Vzc29yaWVzJmw9MSZuPVNlYXJjaCBSZXN1bHRzJmE9cmFtJm89MTUwMCZ5PTIwMjImdD10cngmZT02LTJsLXY4LWdhcw%3D%3D

 

[scottmoyer]

And that's my connector and every other connector I've found, but the bumper substructure doesn't permit this to fit. This is crazy.

 

[scottmoyer]

I went to my local dealer today and asked for assistance. The parts department couldn't help at all, and neither could the service department. I took my old bumper and was driving the truck, so they could see both.

So, I went home and got out the Dremel. 2 minutes and DONE!

The connector snapped right in and appears secure enough that I don't need to worry about it.

 

[Eighty]

I went to my local dealer today and asked for assistance. The parts department couldn't help at all, and neither could the service department. I took my old bumper and was driving the truck, so they could see both.

So, I went home and got out the Dremel. 2 minutes and DONE!

The connector snapped right in and appears secure enough that I don't need to worry about it.

I would have been more impressed if you had mentioned baling wire and duct tape. Those can fix any issues.