You just need to have the bolts off and the bracket loose enough to slip in. Positioning it around can help. Pull it back/perpendicular.
I also needed to use the jack on the hitch to shove it in final position.If anything, using the jack helped me the most. I even got it the back and jumped up and down a few times with the jack in place to help get aligned. That was in addition to using a rubber mallet and everything bit of strength I have (I've done powerlifting too for reference)
I will say, in any kind of factory body work I've seen (outside of Germany, Japan or South Korea), vehicles can be surprisingly off from the factory. To the point bolt holes are not lining up. The engineer in me expects by eye, indestingushable tolerances from the factory in 2021.
My prior 2018 Mustang had bolt holes for OEM additions that were not possible to use. My wrangler is really close in a few spots I've seen. Makes me wonder what they do on the factory floor when they can't actually put the bolts in.
It's like Ikea furniture or something.
Can someone post a video or more photos? I don't see how to get around the two nuts that are welded on. This is what stops the hitch from mounting on.
Sorry for the other long post. They are welded on and you need to keep them. They are permanent. Unscrew from the exhausted side. Don't use a wrench on them at all. The hitch threads back into the welded bolts.
Took me a long while to figure that out!
