trailer hitch

looking to add a hitch to my truck its a 2005 where can I get one with spending a arm and a leg!!!

 

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc....m37.l1313&satitle=05+tacoma+hitch&category0=

 

Uhall put one on my friends truck for 250.00

 

^The best thread ever.

 

I got a Curt hitch for around $150 and a T-One plug & play wiring harness for about $40 from eTrailer.com (shipping is free on orders over $150). My brother and I installed it.

 

I did the same thing but also ordered the drawbar and ball from eTrailer in the same order. Everything was bubble wrapped with no scratches on anything.

 

Be sure to use the proper wiring harness adapter. All of the light plugs for my '09 were behind the tail lights which you had to unbolt which was no big deal so you did not have to do any wire splicing. Mine was plug and play. Installation instructions come with the wiring harnesses also. Usually you can find the isntructions online also.

 

I just put mine on this weekend - etrailer.com has a great site for researching by make and model; however, I found the Valley Hitch and Valley plug-n-play wire harness on Amazon all for under $150.00 w/free shipping. Intallation of the Valley hitch took less than an hour and I didn't have to remove the bumper (I just had to retro-fit the plugs that came out of the bumper so they fit back in afterward - imo this was the most time consuming part of the installation). The wiring harness takes about 30 minutes. Now I'm ready 2 pull my jon boat & do some fish'in!!

 

Does any one know if this adapter will work for an 09?

http://www.brandsport.com/toy-08921-35860.html

 

StormyDay, From the link you provided I cannot determine if that harness will fit the 2009.
This is the one I bought for my 2009 less than two weeks ago for $34.50, for some reason it is now selling for $53.92???

$49 Valley Tow 30127 T-Connector

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RDFYUG

Here is one for $39.95

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-VWH~118393.htm?vehicleid=20096955

Let me know how you make out...

 

Thanks!!! That is what I am looking for. I don't want to pay the stealership $100 for one.

Just about everyone I see is putting a hitch on theirs. Whatever happen to just using the bumper... especially for the light weight occasional user a myself? I plan on pulling a small lawnmower trailer or PWC at most... and that would be over a short distance and at low speeds.

 

I've been to U-Haul twice now for hitches. They do a great job and a quick job and costs $250. Which I think is a great deal!

 

I think you'd be just fine towing that kind of load with a ball on the bumper. I don't know if the '09 bumper structure underneath (where the ball would attach to) was strengthened for '09 or not, but after reading some of the comments on here, I expected it to be pretty flimsy. I was surprised at how stout it looked when I was under there installing my hitch. You'd be perfectly fine towing the kind of load you mentioned. Besides, you can always add a frame-mounted hitch later if your needs change. $10 ball vs. $150 hitch for what YOU need to pull? No brainer.

I'm planning to occasionally tow an 18' boat with mine (2000-2500 lbs depending on fuel/gear load), so I felt like I needed something a little stronger - otherwise I would have just put a ball on the bumper and called it a day myself.

 

I thought about using the bumper mount to pull my 16 'boat, it was rated for the weight of the boat. The problem was going to be the day I needed to rent a U-Haul or pull a buddy's boat or something else. For the price of the Curt hitch I don't have any worries. The limits are now the rated amount for the truck instead of the rated amount for the bumper. The peace of mind was worth every penny.

 

I also used etrailer.whatever and bought the curt, the harness I bought came from either wally world or an autozone, but it was plug and play, the only thing I did was use an existing threaded nut to ground the harness, I had to lenghten the adaptor ground to do this. Did it myself, had to pull the bumper off, and an impact wrench helps but can be done with basic hand tools, just make sure to torque the bolts down good, I just hit them with my impact wrench and they haven't gone anywhere.

 

I have been told that adding an aftermarket hitch alone can void the warranty. I bought my truck with the tow package which included a beefed up the alternator and a tranny cooler. I have heard this from a few mechanics and they solely recommend installing the entire package to their toyota customers.

 

Transmission coolers are for automatics only - due to the heat the torque converter generates. They don't put 'em on manuals (mine is a manual). The stock alternator is plenty strong enough to run the two extra tail/brake lights on my boat trailer or small utility trailer. Now, if you're pulling a huge camper with lots of marker lights and electric trailer brakes, then the larger alternator might be a good idea.

 

Go to U Haul. They do a good job and aren't too expensive.

 

I did the same on my '09. The Curt hitch is very nice. The wiring harness seems a tad expensive but it is plug and play. You just unbolt the taillights from the side next to the tailgate and the harness plugs right with no splicing. The '09 might be different from the '05 because of the LED lights. Many of the online dealers that offer the harness also have online installation instructions you can browse before you order. If you don't want to mess with it yourself the local shop I got my stuff from charged $40 for labor to install the hitch and harness.

 

I went Uhaul, they were the cheapest and had free shipping (t's really a valley hitch with a Uhaul sticker). It mounts the same as the factory hitch by bolting to the frame and the rear bumper. The others mount between the bumper mounts and frame so it's a bit harder to install. Only con is that when bolted to the bumper the plastic bumper pop-off covers don't fit anymore.