Video Transcript for Trailer Mate Class III Trailer Hitch Step-By-Step Install - 2020 Toyota Highlander

Hi, I'm Daniel with etrailer, and today we're gonna take a look at and I'm gonna show you how to install the Trailer Mate Trailer Hitch on our 2020 Toyota Highlander. Now let's get right into how this looks on your Highlander. This looks really good, and the cross tubes are completely hidden around the rear fascia here. Now, something to keep in mind is that spare tire is really close to the back of this hitch. This hitch will allow you to tow some small utility trailers or even a small boat, and its towing capacity is gonna be 5,000 pounds, and that is gonna be the trailer plus what's packed inside of it. Now, its tongue weight is gonna be 500 pounds, and that's the weight pushing down on the hitch receiver, and that's gonna allow you to have accessories back here, like bike racks or cargo carriers.

And that weight allows you to know how much you can pack those up. This hitch has a two inch by two inch hitch receiver opening and a lot of the other hitches that we have in the market has this welded-on collar on the front. So, this is a little bit more of a simple design and you will need a 5/8-inch pin and clip to secure your accessory in your hitch. Now, this won't come with the hitch, but usually it'll come with the accessory when you buy one. Now, I would recommend upgrading to a locking pin, just so you have that, you know, extra sense of security.

No one can come and take your accessory when you have it when you're out on the trail. Now, on the bottom, it's got these loop-style safety chain loops, and that can easily accept a clevis-style or an S-hook safety chain. Now, I'll go ahead and get you a couple measurements here. So from the ground to the top of the inside of the hitch receiver, it's gonna be about 17 inches. So that's a good measurement to know if you have any longer accessories back here, maybe a longer bike rack or a cargo carrier.

And you wanna make sure those don't bottom out when you're going up a steep incline. Now, the next measurement is gonna be from the center of the hitch pin hole to the outside of the bumper, and that's gonna be about three inches. So, that's good to know if you have a bike rack that's folding that doesn't hit your bumper when you have that folded up. Now, if you have any further questions about what hitch is gonna be best for you and your Toyota Highlander or any questions about your spare tire size, feel free to reach out to us at etrailer. We'd love to help you out.

Now, as far as the install goes, this is really simple. There's just four bolts, and you already have threaded holes in your frame. But if you don't have the time or tools to do this yourself, you can check out our Dealer Locator, and we can find a professional that's in your area that can get this done for you. But, if you wanna do it yourself, follow along and I'll walk you through it. First off, we wanna remove that spare tire, so we can have more room to work under there. And you just wanna open your hatch, and there's gonna be on the passenger side, just a circular cap. Let's get that removed. And you should have a five-point socket back here and some tools to get this removed. Now, we need to remove this underbody panel so we can get up to the frame. I got a 10-millimeter socket and there's gonna be various fasteners here. I'm just gonna start the mud flap (drill whirring) and get these removed. (drill whirring) There's gonna be one more closer to the bumper. (drill whirring) And there's gonna be a couple push-pin-style fasteners. I'm just gonna get a flathead. Stick it in one of those grooves, twist it down. Just be careful. (tool whirring) If there's a lot of gunk in areas, it could be difficult to get out. (tool whirring) Once that center section is pulled out, you should be able to pull these out. Now, if they're proving to be difficult, you can pick up a trim panel tool. It makes it a little easier to get these out. And there was three of these push-pin-style fasteners and there's gonna be two more. Now, these are gonna be a 12-millimeter socket, and you're gonna wanna pull down. (drill whirring) As you loosen these up, they won't detach. (drill whirring) And once you get those removed, you should be able to just pull this down. (underbody panel clattering) (underbody panel popping) So there's a clip in the corner that you can just get your thumb on. (underbody panel clattering) And once you've done that, we can set this to the side. Now, there's gonna be five caps on the frame, and we'll just get those all removed. I'm just gonna use a flat head. (caps popping) There's gonna be a plate on the passenger side that we'll have to remove. I got a 10-millimeter socket, I'm gonna just remove these two bolts. (drill whirring) And that bigger one is gonna be a 17-millimeter. (drill whirring) It's gonna be a bumper support bracket and it's gonna be secured with a push pin fastener. And we'll just take these out on either side and just get those bent down. Now, we can lift the hitch in position. I got Jesse over there to help me out. And it's pretty tight next to the exhaust, so I just wanna slip it over that first. Once you've done that, you're able to put it into place. (hitch clanging) And we got our hardware started on both sides just so we can hold the weight of the hitch. And you just want that conical tooth washer on your bolt. Just have those teeth facing the metal so it bites in. And now, we can get the rest of our hardware in. (bolt clattering) When lifting in place, something to look out for is this piece of plastic. You don't want that pinched in there. Just make sure you lift that below the hitch. (hitch clanging) Now that you got all the hardware hand-tight, I'll come back through with a 19-millimeter socket and get everything tightened down. (drill whirring) And we can torque everything down to the specs of the instructions. Now, if you don't have a torque wrench at home, you can usually rent one from a local auto parts store or you can buy one from us at etrailer. (torque wrench beeping) (torque wrench clattering) (torque wrench beeping) Yeah, you can put your underbody panel back on. You just wanna hold it up to where it was fastened, and just mark where that hitch is and trim out so you can put this back in place. But today, we're not putting this back up, so I'll just get this back to the neighbor. Now, the last thing to do is to put your spare tire back in place. And once you've done that, you're good to go, you're ready to start using your Trailer Mate Trailer Hitch on your 2020 Toyota Highlander.