Trailer Hitch Installation - 2013 Toyota RAV4 - Draw-Tite

How to Install the Draw-Tite Trailer Hitch on a 2013 Toyota RAV4

Speaker 1: Today on our 2013 Toyota Rav Four, we're going to be taking a look at and showing you how to install the Draw Tite Class Three Custom Fit Trailer Hitch Receiver, part number 75235. So here's what our hitch looks like once we have it installed. Now, the cross tube is gonna stick out, just below our bumper, but mainly what we're really gonna see is that receiver tube sticking out. It is a Class Three hitch, which means it's gonna give us that two inch by two inch receiver tube opening. And it has a nice reinforced collar, giving it added strength and just an overall clean look.Now the way we're gonna attach all of our accessories to our hitch is gonna be in this forward hole on the side here. This'll be our hitch pin hole.

And it's gonna accept a standard 5/8 pin and clip. Now, those aren't included, but you can pick it up on our website using part number PC3. Now, the secondary hole, towards the back of the receiver tube here, that's gonna be for the J-pin stabilization device. And that's gonna be nice if any of your accessories don't have a built in anti-rattle. It's gonna keep it nice and snug when you're going down the road.Now, the safety chain connection points are gonna be a plate style.

They're gonna be welded to the bottom of the receiver tube and the cross tube here. And as you can see, we're gonna have plenty of room to get most size hooks on or off. And what's really gonna be nice is the fact that they're just slightly offset towards the front of our car from where our hitch pin hole is, so we're not gonna have to worry about anything interfering if we're using a locking device.Our hitch is gonna feature a 675 pound tongue weight, along with a 4,500 pound gross trailer weight rating. Now, it is designed to work with weight distribution systems. And those weights are gonna stay the same.

With all of that in mind, I want to recommend that you double check your vehicle's owner's manual and do not exceed the manufacturer's recommended weight ratings.I'd like to give you a few measurements that will help you when deciding for accessories for your new hitch. Such as a ball mount, a bike rack, or even a cargo carrier. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the outer-most edge of the bumper is gonna be right about three inches. And from the ground to the inside, top edge of the receiver tube opening the depth's gonna be about 12 3/4 inches.Now that we've gone over some of the features, and seen what our hitch looks like, let's go and show you how to put it on.To begin our installation, we're gonna come underneath our vehicle. And on the driver's side we're gonna have a tow bracket right here, and we're gonna have two bolts that are holding it into the bottom of the frame.

I'll be using a 17 millimeter socket to pull those bolts out. We'll go ahead and hold onto this, 'cause it will be reinstalled.Now over on the passenger's side, where our muffler is, we're gonna need to lower down our exhaust. So, I'm gonna spray down the hanger right here. That's gonna be right in front of the tailpipe, towards the front of the vehicle. Little bit of spray lubricant, that's gonna help slide off a little bit easier.Now, before we let the exhaust down, I'm gonna take a strap and I'm gonna come back towards the front of the car a little bit, right by the rear axle. I'm gonna make sure that it's nice and supported, that way it doesn't do any damage. Then we just take a pry bar, and we're just gonna push that rubber isolator off the hanger. We should have plenty of room to work now.Now, on top of our muffler, towards the driver's side, we're gonna have this hook. Now, there is no isolator that it goes into, but there's gonna be two bolts on top that are holding it in place. We'll use a 12 millimeter socket to pull those out, and we'll remove the hook. And we're not gonna be reinstalling this bar.On the driver's side here, where we pulled those two bolts out for the hook, those are also gonna be our mounting locations for our hitch. Now, if we move forward, we should have either a black plastic cover, or you'll have it exposed and there's gonna be a weld nut. So we're gonna go ahead and pull this cover off. And this is gonna be the forward most attachment point for our hitch. I'm just gonna take a flat blade screw driver, and scrape it until we can get it to come off all the way. And on the passenger side we're gonna have to remove those as well.Now, here, over on the passenger's side, we're only going to have two mounting locations. One right behind the exhaust hanger, and then if we move forward, there's gonna be another one that's gonna be an existing weld nut further down, away from the exhaust hanger. Now, even though these we're covered up by stickers, if yours weren't go ahead and take a little bit of spray lubricant. Just spray it right into the weld nut that's inside the frame. And I'm gonna come back with a nylon brush, and I'm gonna clean out all the threads, making sure that those bolts will go in there nice and easy. You're gonna want to do that for each one of the weld nuts, making sure that there's no dirt, debris, or any rust trapped inside of there.Now, before we get ready to put our hitch in place, I'd like to go over to the hardware combination that we're gonna be using. We're gonna have some M12 bolts in our kit. And we're gonna follow those up with a conical toothed washer, and we're gonna want to make sure that the teeth are facing towards our hitch. Now, here on the driver's side it's gonna be a little bit different. We're gonna have our hitch in place, and then we're gonna line up our three holes with our hitch. And then we're actually gonna take that bracket, and we're gonna sandwich the hitch in between and then take our hardware, and go through our bracket, through the hitch, and then secure it into the frame.Now with an extra set of hands, we're gonna put our hitch into position. You'll want to go over your exhaust, and you're gonna line up the holes in the hitch with the holes in the frame. And we take our bolts and turn them into those weld nuts. Now, here on the driver's side, I suggest getting the forward one in first, just to help support the hitch. Then we can work on getting that bracket and the rest of our hardware in place. Then we're gonna take our bracket, and again, lining up the holes, and sandwiching the hitch between the bracket and the frame, we can thread in the hardware. We're gonna come back with an 18 millimeter socket, and we're gonna snug up all of our hardware.For the forward bolt here on the passenger's side, you may have to push the muffler out of the way to get it nice and snug. I'm gonna come back with that same 18 millimeter socket, and I'm gonna torque down all my hardware to the specified amount in the instructions. You'll want to repeat that for all of your remaining hardware.So with our hitch tightened down, we go ahead and lift our exhaust back into place. Just gonna bend that rubber isolator out, and then slide it back onto the hanger. Then finally, we can remove the strap. And that'll finish up our installation.And that'll finish up our look at the Draw Tite Class Three Custom Fit Trailer Hitch Receiver, part number 75235 on our 2013 Toyota Rav Four.