Toyota RAV4 Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Garage Forums

Rav4 Prime Tow Hitch Options

Jump to Latest
41 - 60 of 68 Posts
#41 ·
Aaronsurf77 said:
I installed the Torklift Eco Hitch on my Rav4 Prime with the premium package.
Click to expand...
Hey Aaron, I didn't see any comments about the other conundrum: does your Kick Sensor still work? Seems like for the 'no-cut' install you did presumably the part of the bumper (I guess it's just the plastic bumper cover that was bent?) that was bent also moved the Kick Sensor bracket a bit with it, so seems like you may have retained function of the sensor?

Also, can you do a well illuminated close up of the your install so I can see clearly how much the bumper cover was bent?

Thanks a whole bunch!
 
Discussion starter · #42 ·
I didn't use the foot sensor before, but has to be bent a little. Think is I don't care about the foot sensor. Haha! We have a key and a button on the door. Suppose some people love it.

The bend is not as bad as it looks in the pic. If I'm looking back, I might have taken the time to cut it. Actually maybe not. Works fine, looks good, and shouldn't affect resale. Also, the possibility of messing up the cut.
168563


Also, this hitch is solid.
 
#43 ·
Aaronsurf77 said:
I didn't use the foot sensor before, but has to be bent a little. Think is I don't care about the foot sensor. Haha! We have a key and a button on the door. Suppose some people love it.

The bend is not as bad as it looks in the pic.

Also, this hitch is solid.
Click to expand...
Great job it looks decent for sure. I see what you mean unless you get way down low you can probably hardly see the bend. Can you try the kick sensor to see if still works? Could you also run a tape measure from the low point on EcoHitch to the garage/road floor? I can relate to this measurement as our Subaru's Forester's Curt Hitch is exactly 11.25". Thanks so much for doing this!
 
#46 ·
Aaronsurf77 said:
My hitch is about even with the exhaust. I don't see any issues. The oem is about 2 inches higher from what I saw, but I don't see it scraping on anything that the exhaust wouldn't scrape. The bike rack I got extends up and out so clearance should be good.

Great deal on that install! The dealers are trying to make that money I guess.
Click to expand...
Now that you'e had this for 4 months I'm curious if you've encountered any issues with your bike rack scraping on driveways or inclines? I'm debating between the OEM hitch and ecohitch and would love to save some effort and get the ecohitch but some people here have gotten me paranoid that I'll wish I had the extra couple inches of height.
 
#47 ·
jimmyrules712 said:
Now that you'e had this for 4 months I'm curious if you've encountered any issues with your bike rack scraping on driveways or inclines? I'm debating between the OEM hitch and ecohitch and would love to save some effort and get the ecohitch but some people here have gotten me paranoid that I'll wish I had the extra couple inches of height.
Click to expand...
Me too! Aaron's report of 10.25" contrasts w/ someone on another thread who said his Curt hitch was 11.25", and from all photos it looks like the Curt hitch is the lowest of the bunch. I wonder if tires are different perhaps to explain this? Our 2015 Forester's Curt Hitch is also 11.25" from the ground so a bit confused now! If the Curt was really 11.25" I'd do it and perhaps it would spare the kick sensor. But truthfully I don't care if the kick sensor is removed it's a bit of gimmicky overkill IMO. Seems a nice compromise is EcoHitch w/ a trimmed bumper, and just remove the sensor. But this necessitates getting to the kicksensor bracket, whereas as Aaron did you can just push up and deform the bumper trim to very little avail.
 
#48 ·
NoelinColorado said:
Me too! Aaron's report of 10.25" contrasts w/ someone on another thread who said his Curt hitch was 11.25", and from all photos it looks like the Curt hitch is the lowest of the bunch.
Click to expand...
Either 11.25" is the top of the hitch or some significant tire / suspension changes are involved. Top of the 2" hole is what you measure when trying to figure out drop or rise for towing, which could explain someone posting that.
 
#49 ·
The Curt hitch was actually a photograph w/ a tape measure and it was to the lowest part of hitch to ground. And the 10.25" on the EcoHitch was from Aaron's report was also from the lowest point. Towing relavance per se was not what I was after, just interested with regard to bottoming out w/ a heavier bike rack.

Thanks
 
#50 ·
NoelinColorado said:
The Curt hitch was actually a photograph w/ a tape measure and it was to the lowest part of hitch to ground. And the 10.25" on the EcoHitch was from Aaron's report was also from the lowest point.
Click to expand...
Aaron's number seems about right. The picture you saw probably involved changes elsewhere as both the curt and draw-tite are lower than the EcoHitch, not requiring to bend the bumper cover.
 
#53 · (Edited)
Finally installed my curt hitch. The hardest part was convincing the muffler's rubbers out of the pins. I'm not on super flat ground, but I measured 9.75 inch clearance, stock tires.

Had to remove that nice pull hook that came with my rav4, too bad, it was sturdy.

(Edit: it was the larger C13416 model)
 
#54 ·
maxlem said:
Finally installed my curt hitch. The hardest part was convincing the muffler's rubbers out of the pins. I'm not on super flat ground, but I measured 9.75 inch clearance, stock tires.
Click to expand...
I should add that hitch clearance varies considerably with tire pressure which is why some measurements vary, even with the same OEM tires/rims. I also measured about 9.75" at ~37 psi cold with the Curt C13416.

The important thing is that regardless of air pressure, the undercarriage down the center of the vehicle is roughly 0.25" lower than the lowest point of the Curt 2" hitch. So, you do NOT lose ground clearance even with the Curt. You do lose departure angle, since the Curt receiver sits lower than the exhaust and sticks out farther. That may be important if you are backing on an incline with a flat bike rack or cargo tray.

One nice aspect of the Curt is it's easy to DIY and U-Haul only charged $30 to install, so I was out the door at $200 plus tax with lifetime unlimited warranty. So, if you do bottom out and rust out after a few years, they replace it. Since there's no removal of the bumper or reinforcement like with the OEM hitch, you are actually adding some metal in back with the Curt, Draw-Tite or Ecohitch. I would love to see an Ecohitch stealth, since we don't use ours a lot and it would be nice to remove the receiver for daily driving.
 
#55 ·
Safedad said:
I would love to see an Ecohitch stealth, since we don't use ours a lot and it would be nice to remove the receiver for daily driving.
Click to expand...
Me too. I'm surprised nobody has made a stealth hitch for the RAV4 yet considering how popular the car is. I went with the Curt hitch via U-Haul. It's low, but I liked the idea of being able to have it replaced for free when it starts to rust. My kick sensor does not work with the hitch installed, which is kind of a bummer but not the end of the world.
 
#57 ·
Jumping in a little late here, but I’m trying to help my father in law figure out what hitch he needs for his vehicle. He has a 2022 rav 4 prime se, and I’m not finding anything online about the 2022’s not even on the Toyota website.
he was told by u-haul that they didn’t have one that would fit, and I just want to confirm it’s the same as the 2021.
 
#58 ·
2022rav4prime said:
Jumping in a little late here, but I’m trying to help my father in law figure out what hitch he needs for his vehicle. He has a 2022 rav 4 prime se, and I’m not finding anything online about the 2022’s not even on the Toyota website.
he was told by u-haul that they didn’t have one that would fit, and I just want to confirm it’s the same as the 2021.
Click to expand...
Are you sure it’s a 2022? When did he buy it? I wasn’t aware any were off the ships yet. To answer your question, a 2021 hitch will fit a 2022 just fine.
 
#59 ·
generaltso said:
Are you sure it’s a 2022? When did he buy it? I wasn’t aware any were off the ships yet. To answer your question, a 2021 hitch will fit a 2022 just fine.
Click to expand...
Turns out I was wrong, it’s a ‘21 and not a ‘22. Can someone tell me the part number from uhaul? He’s reached out to them and been told they don’t make them for a ‘21 rav4 prime. Trying to get it taken care of for him.
 
#60 ·
2022rav4prime said:
Turns out I was wrong, it’s a ‘21 and not a ‘22. Can someone tell me the part number from uhaul? He’s reached out to them and been told they don’t make them for a ‘21 rav4 prime. Trying to get it taken care of for him.
Click to expand...
There are a couple different hitches to choose from. Just go to the U-Haul website and the RAV4 Prime is listed in their hitch configurator. You can even purchase and book an installation appointment right from there. No need to talk to anyone.
 
41 - 60 of 68 Posts
About this Discussion
67 Replies
32 Participants
Last post:
peakbagger
Toyota RAV4 Forums
posts
1.1M
members
174K
Since
2004
Rav 4 World is the internet's largest Toyota Rav4 SUV and EV online forum community. Discuss towing, modifications, and more.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
4.3 General 4.3 Mechanical 4.5 RAV4 Hybrid (except Prime) 4.5 RAV4 Prime 4.3 Exterior