Trailer Hitch Installation- 2007 Toyota Tacoma

Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2007 Toyota Tacoma

Today on this 2007 Toyota Tacoma we are going to install part number 13323 from Curt. Alright, this is what the hitch looks like when it is installed on the vehicle. Next, we will give you some measurements that will help you out in ing accessories such as a bicycle rack, cargo carrier, or ball mount. From the top of the receiver opening down to the ground on this particular vehicle is going to be 14-1/4 inches. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the outside edge of the bumper is going to be 3-1/2 inches. Next we will show you how the hitch is installed on the vehicle. 0:33

First thing we need to do on our install is actually remove the bumper. We are going to start by removing electrical from the license plate lights and then we will loosen up the bumper and remove it. Just give this here a twist and pull it right out. We will do both license plate lights the same. This we will loosen up but not remove all the way until we are ready to take off the bumper. For now we are done with the passengers side, let us move over to the drivers side and repeat the same process. Now the bumper is gone and now we need to remove the bumper bracket and we need to take off these three bolts here. This will be the same on both sides. Right now we are looking at the drivers side. 1:15

Alright, next thing we need to do is clean out these threads here on the bottom of the frame. What you want to do is spray them down with some lubricant and then run the hitch bolt that comes with the kit in and out of it a few times to clean it out. Now the newer the vehicle the easier this will be. The older the vehicle you may need a tube brush to clean it out, but worse case scenario use a thread tap to clean out the threads. When the drivers side is done, go ahead and do the same thing on the passengers side. At this point, we can lift the hitch into position. We are going to mount the hitch by using the holes that are on the bottom of the frame. Alright now we can reinstall the bumper bracket, notice there is a pin right here that goes in the slot here that kinda helps hold everything in alignment. However, sometimes when you push the hitch up it will actually bump against it and get in the way. If that is the case it is no big deal, all you have to do is just take a small cut off wheel and just basically remove it and it will be just fine. 2:17

We will use the hitch to hold itself in position while I put the bumper bracket on it. Now that I have all of the hardware installed on the drivers side, we will move to the passengers side and repeat the same process. Just make sure to keep everything loose so we can move around as we need to. When all the hardware is installed, we will snug it down, then reinstall the bumper, and then torque everything down as specified in the instructions. Now the next step is to go ahead and reinstall the bumper. However you will notice that the bumper brackets are spaced out about a quarter-inch away from their original position, that is because the hitch is in between them now. The kit does come with spacers that you put between the bumper and bumper bracket to take up that gap. 3:00

What we are going to do is take the spacer block and just tape them to the bumper bracket and then put the bumper over it. Hopefully this will hold everything in place. When the drivers side is done, go ahead and do the same thing on the passengers side. Alright at this point, we will reinstall the bumper and reinstall the bolts. Now with the bumper bolts in place, we will go ahead and snug those down and then we can also torque those down as specified in the instructions. When all the hardware is torqued down, we can reinstall the license plate lights. That will finish our install of part number 13323 from Curt.