Thread: Trailer hitch finish

Received my "Curt" hitch the other day. The finish is a glossy black powder coat, by far IMO the nicest looking finish of all the hitches I've bought. Hopefully with this finish it'll stay new looking and rustfree.

Any photos?

Where did you purchase your hitch? Is it the class III - IV?

Who will be installing it?

Pictures please?

Cheers

David

I bought it at etrailer.com along with the wiring harness, it is a class III. I will be installing it, pics to follow.

Take some photos especially on the T-connector and/or wiring, that would be appreciated

I read somewhere that you have to temporary remove the exhaust for installation, let us know if you need to do that. Thanks.

Hey all....

Installed my Curt Class III hitch today..... it was more involved than the hitch I installed on the 06 RAV4 three years ago.....

I have the I4 but suspect the 6-cyle dual exhaust is going be as challenging.

First off the install is not difficult but the install instructions are a bit lacking in specific detail and a misleading. because of this, Instead of taking 10 minutes to lift and bolt-in, it took about 45 minutes... after a redo I will write-up a detailed install with suggestions to make it easier. Then I installed the T-One wiring harness..... pretty straight forward. HOWEVER, disassembling the rear deck, storage tray(s) removal and trim was another challenge. Ya need to pull the rear interior side panels to access the tail light connectors.

I did take pics and will organize everything and post in the next day or so..... as I have time.

I did this solo with the use of a hydraulic floor jack.... if you try the install and don't have one. second set of hand is almost a necessity.

The one surprise was the sound deadening material behind the side panels....

Despite the minor difficulties, the hitch looks good and is not obtrusive....

The manner and placement of the hitch provides another level of protection in a rear-end impact which is good since there is a lot of plastic back there!!!?!?

Bob

I downloaded the installation instructions from Curt manufacturing web site.
On the v6 you have to drop the exhaust at the rear hangers.
And on the awd you have to remove rear sway bar mounts and add spacers.
I thought about installing this myself , Plan on getting soon.
How hard was the wiring to figure out , does it plug into a "T" or go all the way to the front?

Happy Driving

I installed the Curt on my I4 - what the instructions don't tell you is to drop the hangers just behind the rear tires otherwise you can't slip the hitch bar into place..... cuz the muffler exhaust pipe gets in the way of the hitch crossbar. you'll need to block the exhaust so it doesn't drop too low and put too much stress on the forward exhaust pipes. IF I remember correctly the drawtite instructions tell you to do this.....

as for the T-One connections - VERY simple..... reach into the the tail light where the two bulbs twist in to the tail light assembly - follow the wire down to where it meets a connector. This is where the top side of the "T" connector plugs in to the top (going to the tail light bulbs) and the bottom side of the "T" connector plugs into the wiring harness that the tail light plug did previously.

Now you need to remove the OEM stand-off that attached the original wiring connectors to the small body panel- this holds everything in place.

you then run the black wire (provided in the kit) from the module in the T-One connector harness, under the car to the front of the vehicle engine compartment.

I came down thought the plug at the bottom of the quarter panel well by punching a hole through the middle and running the black wire through... I snaked my way over along some structural pieces and over the left side of the gas tank, then continued along the blake lines towards the engine compartment, went up the firewall and towards the battery, and connected to the positive terminal with the whel in-line fuse wire assembly......


Ok... here's another important tip..... the cargo net hooks are detached by pushing in the center of the button.... all the black clips that hold the panels in place operate the same - push the center button in to release the clips.... to re-install the clips, make sure the buttons are back in position as they were before you removed them - they then just pop in place..... the cargo net hooks just pop in place the as they are spring-loaded of sorts so they don't need to be reset.

AS I said...i do have pics but been really jammed up the past couple of days..... I plan to post everything tomorrow afternoon or friday the latest....

I hope this bit of info is of help,


Bob

OK... here are some pics of the Curt hitch I installed.

This is on the I4 model but the muffler will be similar in how it's hanged under the car.

Follow the Hitch manufacturer's Instructions with the one exception - detach the exhaust pipe from the hangers just behind the rear wheels in ADDITION to removing the rear hangers up near the rear bumper. NOTE: support the exhaust with blocking so as to minimize stress on the forward exhaust system.

BEFORE you install the hitch, I would recommend that you apply an adhesive plastic strip on the bumper cover where the hitch receiver snugs up to the cover. You can get a small roll of adhesive tape at an auto parts store (like AutoZone). This little feature will minimize or eliminate paint abrasion where the bumper and hitch touch.

Position the hitch under the car using a hydraulic jack (if you don't have one, a 2nd set of hands is a necessity)..... pay special attention on the left (driver's side) of the hitch as you position it to the car frame whereas the muffler exhaust and the hitch cross bar can interfere with each other as you attempt to correctly position the hitch up against the frame rails. Once in position, bolt-in the hitch to the frame rails using the 6 bolts and conical lock washers provided (do not tighten).

The hitch flanges may be a bit sprung (spread out vs a perfect 90 degree angle to the hitch bar). position the flange so you have easy insertion of the bolts. NOTE: DO NOT force the bolts if they are are difficult to turn in - IF they are difficult... move the hitch flange so they turn/tighten with your fingers - this will prevent thread damage/cross threading .

Tighten all bolts (no torque specs provided). Re-install the metal hanger just ahead of the rear bumper NOTE: a universal socket offset will help in tightening the metal hanger bracket bolts. Re-install all rubber hanger mounts.

Now install the wiring:

You need to remove the rear moulding, the Left and Right trays in the storage area. you don't have to remove the spare tire but it will make access easier.... NOTE: the black hold-down tabs are very brittle so ya need to take care in removing them by just pressing the button in the middle and and they should just release.

For access to the tail light wiring:

Remove the rear threshold molding. The rear threshold panel just pops off with first constant pulling pressure.

Partially remove the Left/Right side panels. 1st remove the cargo net hooks.
To remove the cargo hooks - simply press the button in the middle of hook and they will just pop off.

Starting down at the deck near the threshold panel area. pull firmly till the corner pops out and work up to the top of the panel. CAUTION! Be very careful with the panel whereas the plastic is thin and will fracture....

You just need as much of the panel pulled back so as to have access to the tail light wiring and the connectors. The tail light wiring has a connector is attached to the vehicle wiring harness connector. This mated pair is attached to the body frame via a clip. Slide the mated connectors slip off the clip. ROMOVE THIS CLIP - doing this is destructive to the OEM clip and renders it unusable. Undo the mated connector and insert the T-One connector per the instructions provided in the kit. The T-One connector is keyed so it only attaches the correct way. The newly mated tail light and T-One connector has a tab that allows you to re-attach/secure the pair to the body frame where the original OEM clip was attached. As instructed, drill a hole in the body frame and attach ground wire. I used the same panel the left tail light and T-One connector mated pair is attached.

Next: run the wiring across the rear threshold to the right side of vehicle. NOTE: I tucked the wiring into the rear body panel channel rather than leave it loose under the threshold cover). Follow same install procedures as the left side.

Install the wiring from the module to the battery:

Remove the plug at the bottom of the quarter panel well make a hole in the middle and insert about 10-12" of the black wire provided in the kit and reinstall the plug. install/run the black wire to the underside of vehicle making certain that you do not attach to any moving part or near heat sources or any part that could cause abrasion to the wire.

NOTE: there IS NOT a lot of excess wire so make the best possible effort to find the most direct path to the front of the vehicle. Once I cleared the left rear suspension area, I went over the fuel tank and then used the brake lines as an attachment point/path to the front of the vehicle. Once at the firewall area, I found a path up the firewall and over to the battery.

Slip and connect the yellow wire with in-line fuse to the battery terminal. I attached the yellow wire to the bolt on the battery connector - not the part that attaches directly to the battery terminal. I then positioned the wire to fit under the red terminal cover.

Recheck all wiring and connections before you insert the fuse provided in the kit. Tighten all tie wraps and begin reinstallation of panels, and trays.

For now, I left the flat-4 connector and wire loose in the tire well/storage area. I will run the wire and fat-4 connector out and under the vehicle to the hitch. I left the flat-4 connector and wire loose on our 6 RAV and it can cause abrasion to the rear bumper paint or clear paint protector.

SPECIAL NOTE: Is used many tie-wraps along the way because I live in the snow belt and am concerned about ice/slush accumulation and didn't want hanging weight anywhere on the wire under the vehicle.

As you traverse the underside of the vehicle and install the back wire, I left the tie wraps loose so I could adjust the wire as necessary. The few provided in the kit are insufficient for my purpose.

Also, because of my background, I applied heat shrink over all mechanical electrical connections. this, in my experience adds strength to the connections as well as weather proofing.

The T-One kit is a fool-proof kit and hitch are easy to install. Install one and you will be an expert... LOL. Seriously, if you take your time and plan your install with adequate tools/help, it will take about an hour or so..... much longer than the RAV4 I did - only because of the OEM muffler install/configuration.

Final recommendation: with the draw bar attached, notice the bumper saver attachment. I added this to save he bumper cover from potential damage when attaching trailer to the ball.

I apologize for not providing more pics of the hitch itself at this time - I have more on another memory still and will add later.

Good luck!


Bob

More info on the Wiring and hitch install:

Drawtite's T-One Install Instructions with Pics. http://www.draw-tite.com/fitguides/pdf/N118482.pdf

Drawtite Hitch Install Instructions with more detail over eTrailer -