Setting up the etrailer Trailer Hitch Receiver on a 2023 Toyota Highlander

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Hey everybody, Ryan here at etrailer. Today on our 2023 Toyota Highlander we're gonna be showing you how to install the etrailer.com trailer hitch receiver. Before we get into that though why don't we just take a minute, check this out and make sure it's gonna be the right hitch for you. Putting a trailer hitch on a Highlander just makes sense. You know, people use these SUVs to do a ton of different things, you know, pulling trailers around, using accessories like bike racks and cargo carriers just about everything in between. So having this back here looks right at home and it's gonna open up our opportunities on what we're gonna be able to do with our Highlander.

Something I do want to address right off the bat is we get a lot of questions about is your hands-free lift gate assist features still gonna work if your vehicle is equipped with it after you put the trailer hitch on and the answer is yes. Our model here today doesn't come equipped with that feature, but I've done a lot of these in the past and they work, you know. All you're really gonna have to do is kick your foot to either side of the receiver tube opening and everything will open up like it should. This hitch is going to work with all the different types of submodels of the Highlander and it'll also work with hybrid models like we have here today. So regardless of what you got you should be in pretty good shape there.

Compared to some of the other hitches available this one's probably my favorite and really I say that because of the way it's gonna look. Almost completely hidden. You're just gonna be able to see this middle portion. It has a matte black finish and it almost matches the plastic on our bumper perfectly and so to me it almost looks like a factory option. There are some other hitches available, one of 'em is gonna be visible and so it's gonna hang down.

Definitely more noticeable and not as easy on the eyes as this one, but that one has really high weight capacities and you can use a weight distribution system with it as well. So if you're someone that is planning on doing a lot of towing, primarily especially heavier trailers or if you got a camper and wanna use that weight distribution, that hitch may interest you a little bit more. With this being a class three hitch, it's gonna have a two inch by two inch opening, super common size, a lot of different types of accessories will work with it. It is going to use that standard five eights pin and clip. One doesn't come included with the hitch.

If you need one, you can always grab it here at etrailer and a lot of times too if you end up buying a new accessory they'll come with a pin and clip, so just something to think about. The safety chain openings are gonna be a plate-style and although they're not huge they will give us enough space to use just about any size hook that our trailer might have on it. As far as the weight capacities go, this is gonna have a 500 pound maximum gross tongue weight rating. That's gonna be the amount of weight pushing down on the hitch. So pretty high number. You'll be able to use pretty much any size bike rack or cargo carrier that you'd like to for example. As far as the maximum gross trailer weight rating goes that's gonna be 5,000 pounds or the amount of weight pulling on the hitch, so the weight of your trailer plus anything you might have in or on it. With that said though, I do always like to recommend it's never a bad idea just to grab your Toyota's owner's manual. That way you can check in there and make sure that your Highlander can handle that much weight safely. I'm gonna give you a couple of measurements and you can use these to help figure out what type of hitch-mounted accessories will work best. From the ground to the top inside edge of the receiver tube opening, that's gonna be about 16 inches. And if you plan on towing a trailer chances are pretty good you can use a ball mount that has a straight shank. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the edge of the rear bumper, that's going to be about two inches which is really good clearance, so you shouldn't run into any any issues but if need be you can use that to help figure out that if any folding type accessories you might have can be stored in that upright position without hitting the back of your Highlander. When it comes down to it, if I had a Highlander and I was looking for a hitch, this would be the one I'd go with. You know, I just really like the way it looks. It's capable and easy to use and get to, so really can't go wrong. As far as the installation is concerned really not too bad.