etrailer.com Trailer Hitch Installation - 2012 Toyota Highlander

Products Featured in this Video

etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Matte Black Finish - Class III - 2"

650 reviews

Code: e98858

Retail: $363.99

Price:  $188.94

• Trailer Hitch
• Custom Fit Hitch
• Class III
• 750 lbs TW
• 5000 lbs GTW

• 2 Inch Hitch
• Visible Cross Tube
• etrailer

This fully welded trailer hitch receiver bolts onto your vehicle's frame with no welding required. Matte black, powder coated steel is durable and corrosion resistant and creates a rugged look.

Do you have a question about part e98858?more information >     

How to Install the etrailer.com Trailer Hitch on a 2012 Toyota Highlander

Today on our 2012 Toyota Highlander, we're going to be installing etrailer.com's class three, two inch trailer hitch receiver. Part number, E98858. And this is what our hitch is going to look like when it's installed. You are going to be able to see the cross tube sticking out below the bumper and the receiver tube sticking out the back. It's a class three, two inch by two inch hitch receiver, so it's going to be great for all your towing needs. From bike racks to cargo carriers, to trailers.It uses a five eighth inch hitch pin and clip.

Now, one doesn't come included with the hitch, but you can pick one up here on our website. It features plate style safety chain loops. It doesn't have the largest opening, but it still should accommodate most safety chain sizes.It features a 750 pound tongue weight. That's the force going down on top of the receiver and a 5,000 pound gross towing capacity, that's how much it can pull behind it. You want to verify in your vehicle's owner's manual that you're not exceeding its towing capacities.Now, I've got some measurements for you to help you when deciding on accessories.

From the ground to the top inside of the receiver tube, it measures about 14 inches. This is important when determining if you need to drop, rise or raise shank in any of your accessories.We'll begin our installation under the vehicle at the back. We'll need to remove both the underbody panels on both the driver's and passenger side. There'll be several push pins located around our panel that we'll need to remove. You can do this with a flat bladed screwdriver or with a trim panel remover tool.

You'll want to pop out the center of the pin, and then, you can just pull it out. We're going to do that with all the remaining pins around our under body shield.We'll do the ones on our driver's side as well. Next, we'll need to remove several 10 millimeter bolts from both of our covers. There will be two located on your passenger side and here. Four located on your driver's side.

And then, on your passenger side, you'll need to remove one bolt with a 14 millimeter socket.You just need to twist those out of place. We're going to set these aside. We'll be reinstalling them later, but we'll have to trim them to make them fit properly. Next, we'll remove the tow hooks on both the passenger and driver's side using a 14 millimeter socket. There's two bolts that hold your tow hook on, on each side. On your driver's side, along the bottom of the rail, you need to remove the rubber and plastic covering that covers your holes up. They're plastic, they unthread. They're rubber, you just pry them out. And on your passenger side, you'll need to do the same thing as well as some on the side of the frame rail.Now, prepare all of your hardware. Take each bolt and place a conical tooth washer on it with the teeth facing away from the head of the bolt. Now, with an extra set of hands we'll lift our hitch into position. You want to make sure to go up over your exhaust. And once you get one bolt threaded on each side, the hitch will hold itself into position, making it easier to install the rest of your hardware.We're now going to snug up some of the hardware just to make it easier to install the side bolts on our passenger side. Now, we can thread that hardware in easier, but it's lifted all the way up. We can now go back and tighten down all of our hardware using a 17 millimeter socket. And we can go back and torque all of our hardware to the specifications found in our instructions.Next we'll need to trim our panels before we can reinstall them. I've gone ahead and marked out the lines that we'll need to cut. You can use a pair of tin snips, or a cutoff wheel to cut your panels. We're just going to be using some tin snips.And this is what our driver's side will look like when it's cut out. Now, we'll trim our passenger's side. On our passenger side we'll be trimming along this line located here. And this is what our passenger's side will look like when it's trimmed out. We're now ready to re-install our panels.We'll now put our fasteners and bolts back in place. And with everything re-installed, ready to hook up our trailer or favorite accessories and hit the road.And that completes our installation of etrailer.com's class three, two inch trailer hitch receiver on our 2012 Toyota Highlander.