etrailer | DIY Install: EcoHitch Hidden Trailer Hitch Receiver on your 2022 Toyota RAV4

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Hello neighbors, it's Brad here at Etrailer and today we're taking a look and installing the EcoHitch trailer hitch receiver on a 2022 Toyota Rav4. Now adding the hitch to any vehicle really opens up options of what you can do with your vehicle. And sometimes there are some drawbacks and one of the questions a lotta times people have are, are my hands free lift gate, is it still gonna work with that hitch in place And the answer is yes. It is gonna be a little bit trickier. Normally you can kind of just go in that center portion and it'll work. Now there's a hitch in the way so you do have to be a little bit careful.

It's gonna be a little bit more finicky, but if you get it in the right spot off to the side, you can get it to work. So yes, it will be a little bit more tricky, but overall I think having a hitch really outweighs that small convenience. Now this is what your hitch is gonna look like when it's installed and the great part is is this is gonna be a hidden cross tube. So all that you're gonna see hanging down is gonna be the two inch by two inch receiver tube opening and the safety chain loops as the rest of the hitch is hidden behind the rear fascia. And two inch by two inches is gonna be kind of the most standard size for accessories, so you're gonna have tons of options, bike racks, cargo carriers, or ball mounts whatever life throws your way, you should be able to find something.

Now all of your accessories are gonna stay in place with a 5/8 pin and clip. Now this is not included with the hitch so a lot of times your accessories will come with one which is a nice added feature, but if you wanna pick up an extra or a locking version we have those available here at Etrailer. And the locking ones are really nice because once you have your accessories in place you can lock this in and you can leave it on the back of your vehicle without having to worry that someone's gonna come by and take your accessory. Safety chain loops are nice and easy to get to so if you plan on pulling a trailer you can get a standard S hook on there, no problem. Even a larger clevis style will go on there.

And speaking of towing, let's talk about capacities. This thing's rated pretty well with a gross trailer weight rating of 5,000 pounds which is gonna be the weight of the trailer plus the accessories loaded onto it. You also have a tongue weight rating of 750 pounds, which is gonna be the downward pressure that's put on the inside of the receiver tube opening. So that's gonna be a lot of your cargo carriers, bike racks, suspended accessories. And with that weight you could really load this up with a four bike bike rack and all the bikes or a cargo carrier with a bunch of vacation things and it's not gonna really overdo that 750.

That's a pretty hefty number there. Now keep in mind before you just hook up and tow, you're gonna want to check the vehicle's owner's manual to see what it's capable of towing and compare that with the hitch, as well as your other components that you're hooking up to the trailer. Take the lowest of those numbers and that way you're not overloading it. We wanna make sure that you stay safe. Now, many times you're gonna wanna make sure that you have clearance away from your rear fascia. So whether you're hooking up to a trailer or having some of those suspended accessories that stow in a folded position we wanna make sure you're not gonna hit the rear fascia. And this one here is pretty far out so you you should be pretty good on most of 'em. It's four inches, so I don't worry too much if you pick up a cargo carrier bike rack that it's gonna cause any issues. Now as far as ground clearance we're coming in right at 14 inches and that's important. So when choosing accessories, you wanna make sure that you have a decent amount of ground clearance. 14 inches is pretty good. Keep in mind though, when you have suspended accessories as you grow up in incline they're gonna want to tilt towards the ground. So just something to keep in mind when you have those loaded up. This is also an important measurement for if you need to pick up a ball mount for your trailer. You can measure the coupler and then determine whether you need a rise or a drop to get that perfect setup. Now as far as installation goes this one's actually pretty straightforward. You do need to lower down the muffler to gain access to get that hitch up in place. And you will have to trim a little bit just for clearance here so that hitch can live perfectly on the fascia, but you're not gonna see any of that and the hitch fills that spot pretty well. Now one of the