TowSmart Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class III - 2"
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2013 Ford Taurus
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2013 Ford Taurus
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With a 4,500 lbs gross trailer weight rating and 675 lbs tongue weight capacity, this Class III hitch gives you the muscle for small trailers, utility loads, and cargo carriers. The 2" x 2" receiver is the standard size for most ball mounts, bike racks, and storage trays, so you can easily swap between setups without needing special adapters. Whether you’re hauling gear for work or heading out for the weekend, it’s built for everyday towing and transport needs.
This hitch is designed to bolt right onto the frame using existing weld nuts—no drilling or welding required. The included hardware and instructions make it a straightforward driveway install with common hand tools. Everything lines up with factory holes for a precise fit, so there’s no guesswork or modification involved. Once in place, it sits under the bumper to keep access clear while offering solid support when you’re loading up.
The fully welded carbon steel construction ensures long-term strength and stability. It’s powder coated in matte black for superior corrosion resistance that holds up against road salt and weather wear. That finish also keeps a clean look under your bumper while helping hide scuffs from everyday use. With this sturdy build, you get dependable performance trip after trip.
The concealed cross tube keeps most of the hitch tucked out of sight so only the receiver shows below the bumper. It maintains a neat appearance while staying ready for towing or cargo duty whenever you need it. It’s a practical setup that blends strength, simplicity, and a low-profile look that doesn’t get in the way of your daily routine.
Customer Satisfaction Score:
96% were satisfied with this product
4% of customers were not satisfied
Ratings & Reviews
Great build! As others have said the packaging needs improvement. On a hybrid model the mounting bolts are extremely difficult to get started because of limited clearance due to the battery housing. There is no way to put a torque wrench on these bolts without a special torque extension tool so I’ll have to take it to my tire shop to get it torqued properly.
Passenger side bolts weee very hard to put in, otherwise piece of cake.
Two things tha were disappointing:
1. The exhaust needed to be lowered. Your discription did not indicate
2/ A hitch extension is needed.
Getting a lot of bent hitches. etrailer makes good on it but it messes with our plans.
Excellent product
The trailer hitch is well built. But the installation is challenging on the passenger side because of the tight fit caused by the battery (for hybrid RAV4). The Etrailer customer forum is very helpful. I adopted the idea of using two car stands to stabilize and raise the heavy trailer hitch, then use a car jack to lift the hitch up to align the holes. It worked. One thing I added is to back up my car from the drive way to the entrance of the garage to maximize extra clearance. It was a very tight fit to lift the trailer hitch without loosen the exhaust pipes. Lastly, the hitch arrived with some scratches. The packing tneeds to be improved for such a heavy hitch. There is too much space in the package for other things to poke thru and scratch the hitch. I have received other heavier packages with no damages to the contents before.
Everything came as described and was installed at one of tge recommended places. So, I guess everything is good
Seems well built. Easy install with two people.
the hitch was shipped quickly and the installation was very simple. Many other hitches required moving the exhaust or even removing the rear bumper and cutting out a notch for the hitch. The TowSmart just needed to be bolted in place. It took my son and I about 30 - 45 minutes if you include the time spent raising the car and putting it on jack stands to have more room to work.
Easy install perfect fit! Best of all, it’s somewhat hidden so it looks great
This hitch has been great, the instructional video has a great help with the installation process. So far the hitch has only been used for a bike rack, but I’m sure it would function very well if I were to tow something with it.
works perfectly! fairly easy to install. seems very solid. very satisfied!
easy install on 2025 RAV 4. Followed instructions in the etrailer video. I like that the receiver sits below rear bumper fascia with the rest of hitch concealed behind the fascia.
The hitch fit perfectly on my 2025 RAV4, only needed to lower the exhaust by sliding off the rubber hangers. Only gave 4 stars due to the hitch sticking out both corners of the box and because it appeared someone had tried installing it previously. The paint was completely scraped off to shiny bare metal all around one of the bolt holes. It was 1/4” thick steel so it won’t appear the life of the hitch.
The box was damaged and some paint was scratched upon arrival. Fortunately the hitch was not bent. Installation on my 2025 RAV4 hybrid was easy although I had to remove the factory installed tow attachment to get the hitch on. My husband and I were able to install the hitch without removing the exhaust or using jack stands. We just raised the car with ramps and lifted the hitch into place. Watching the etrailer video was extremely helpful.
Hitch arrived with paint rubbed of the part of the hitch that shows.You can see rust starting before being unwrapped.
Fast delivery and secure packaging. Took 40 minutes to install and did not have to remove exhaust hangers. Backed up the RAV 4 on ramps for more clearance and used jack stands to hold it in place. Took some time to wiggle into place and make sure the screw holes lined up. Once the hitch was aligned the screws went in easy and used a 19mm socket to tighten the passenger side bolts and a 19mm flat wrench to tighten the driver side bolts. The driver's side is easy to access, and the passenger side is tight, but you just have to have patience. Great experience with e-trailer and installation. Thanks!
Rizzor
6/5/2026
Hitch working well after one year. Mainly use for light towing but no concerns with wear or performance.
Heather A.
6/5/2026
There is no instructions to the hitch. Should have some quick tips on trying to hold it up while you work on it or how to fish it around the tailpipes. Having a Floor jack totally helps to support most of the weight in the center. Passenger side bolts are extremely difficult to thread in. But all in all seems Quality.
The Tow Smart hitch took me a little longer to install, after watching the videos on installing this hitch, I noticed a few differences in my installation. 1, I had to lower my exhaust all the way to the ground in order to get hitch assembly above it to have enough clearance to get it aligned with the tow vehicles frame.2nd when installing the hold down bolts on the passenger side, there is minimal clearance to get the front one in, and I never had enough clearance to get my socket with torque wrench onthe heads to properly torque the bolts so i needed to improvise using a box end 19mm with cheater pipe. Other then that the hitch looks great installed
Eassy to install, four bolts and 30 minutes later I was done. Used it in a trip to FL over the winter with two E-Bikes on it - no issues. Folds out of the way when at not using. Screw in bold for the receiver hitch is a BIG increase in security.
Installed the hitch on my 2025 Rav4 by myself with the car on the ground using my floor jack and jack stands. It was necessary to loosen the muffler from the car frame by removing the four silver bolts holding the muffler hangers to the frame (2 each side per picture below). I did not need to install any supporting strap for the muffler or exhaust. The hardest part of the install was getting the bolts into the threaded holes on the passenger side of the car as clearance was tight and these bolts were tightened with a ratcheting flat wrench only due to clearance issues. Reattachment of muffler was easy after hitch was fully installed. Total time for install was about 60-75 minutes due to working under the car while it was on the ground.
Gwendolyn Y.
4/22/2025
Hey Steve! Thanks for sharing all your pictures with us. I like that you showed where the bolts were for the muffler hanger. What are you going to be hauling/carrying with your RAV4?
I can't believe what auto repair shops are charging for such a simple installation. To install the hitch, I had to loosen the tailpipe to slide the hitch into place. I made use of a floor jack to help hold up the hitch while I bolted in in place. The bolt holes lined up perfectly with the hitch. Total installation time was about an hour.
A pretty simple installation and a well made hitch. There was a glitch in the installation that is not covered in the installation video. My RAV4 Hybrid has/had a rear tow eye (for towing vehicles in an emergency) bolted to the frame that prevented the installation of the hitch. At first I was frustrated and thought I'd have to return the hitch. Then I realized that duh, I'm installing a hitch and don't need the tow eye. Two bolts were easily removed, and the eye was removed so the new hitch was then easily installed.
Gwendolyn Y.
6/4/2025
Thanks for pointing out the tow eye, Mel! I'll forward this to the manufacturer so that hopefully they can get it added into the instructions so no one else has confusion when installing. What are you going to be using the hitch for?
2022 RAV4 LE.
Installation time: 45 min
Experience level: novice.
Recommended equipment: 2 jack lifts, 1 jack, headlamp, 3/4” wrenches
No lowering exhaust required. Not cutting required. Simply lifted it up, bolted it on.
To make the process easier, we placed the hitch on 2 Jack lifts. We then put on a head lamp and slid under the car. The headlamp was very helpful in lining up the holes. We lifted one side of the hitch, and bolted that side to the frame. Then we used a jack to raise the other side to the exact height, and bolted it to the frame. The hardest thing was getting the passenger side thread started. It’s a pretty small space, but we were able to do it without any special tools. I slid my iPhone to the hole and took a pic to ensure I had the holes lined up well before bolting.
Brooke M.
5/22/2025
I'm actually super impressed with the iPhone snapshot of the bolt hole. It's such a genius idea, and I think it's nice for other folks to be able to visualize it too! Thanks for sharing the ins and outs of what your experience was with this and what made it easier. 'Preciate ya, Macy!
Installed by myself in a few hours. had to drop the muffler. I used jack stands and a floor jack to raise it into place. The leading edge needs to be slid above the muffler pipes first to facilitate installation. It is a very tight fit side-to-side and both sides need to be started on each side to fit in place. Once this is done, the floor jack can raise and lower the hitch to align with the threaded holes. I did it with the tools shown in the photos. I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND INSTALLING THE REAR BOLT HOLES FIRST THEN ROTATING THE HITCH TO INSTALL THE FRONT BOLTS. THE USE OF A DEAD BLOW HAMMER HELPS TREMENDOUSLY!!!! Prybars would also be helpful for added leverage. I had a thin ratcheting wrench that really came in handy installing the passenger side bolts. This fit in the small area between the vehicle frame and the mounting plate of the hitch.
Lazer S.
5/29/2026
Thanks for the tips, Richard! Doing the rear bolts first and then rotating the hitch to get the rest of the bolts in place is a great idea! What are you going to be using this for now that it's installed?
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Brooke M.
6/27/2025
Happy to hear it a good fit for the newer 2025 Toyota RAV4's. The concealed look is super sleek. :) What will you be towing?