new member receiver hitch

I just bought an 09 4cyl, SR5 access cab 4X4 manual and I need a receiver hitch. Dealer wants $495 plus $149 wiring harness installed....I looked at aftermarket hitches. 50 year old married woman w' husband gone working in AK...He told me to get a receiver hitch thrown in "for nothing" when I bought it but it wasn't gonna happen. My question is. Is it worth the money to have Toyota do the install w/ Toyota parts or is the aftermarket harness and hitch worth the savings?? Also do different dealers give different deals on service/install/parts or is it the same pretty much dealer to dealer. Montana

 

Go by an aftermarket hitch (Draw-tite, valley, etc) the total cost with the wiring and install should omly be about $300-$350. The hitch and wiring are simple to mount and most people save the $$$ and install themself or find someone. It is important to know/find out the tow capacities of your truck, which are generally less then capacity noted on the hitch.

 

I have been looking at receivers for my 09 4 binger..
I have seen receivers for $119 on ebay. Seeing as they are bolt on, install should be a snap! A guy I work with just paid $350 to have his put on..

 

If you want the genuine article, this is about the lowest price :
https://www.xtremetoyotatrucks.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=347
The topside bolt covers and receiver cover come with the hitch package.
If you want a genuine harness: (both 7-pin and 4-pin are shown in photo)
4-pin = approx $95 (better price in the link below)
http://conicellitoyota.oemdealer.com/tacoma-hitch-wire-harness-prod385_600_17426.php
7-pin = approx $150

Make a 4-pin look like OEM 7-pin :
#12-707
#12-711
http://www.allbatterysalesandservice.com/browse.cfm/2,867.html

The OEM stuff is higher quality than aftermarket and fitment is top notch....just depends on how much you want to spend.
As you can see prices vary from dealer to dealer.....my local prices are all MSRP

 

Yeah higher quality parts and ESPECIALLY "top notch fitment" are most important to me...I looked at the Toyota receiver hitches at the dealer lot and then at the pics of the aftermarket and Toyota part fitment looked much better to me...that was my major dilemma w/ the aftermarket... All I need is a 4pin harness and really feel most comfortable with Dealer install on the harness...I don't want my wiring messed with and then have a problem and have Toyota tell me I voided my warranty because Toyota didn't do the work. Same with the hitch really... I think I got the answer I needed here, Thanks. "Yes, I can get genuine Toyota receiver hitch with perfect fitment cheaper than the dealer where I bought the truck AND I can shop dealers for price on install and parts as well as buy the Toyota parts online and take them to dealer for install (maybe) if they can't/won't come close to online Toyota parts prices." I just gotta pay for Toyota labor.... but if they do it wrong they have to make it good.
Why would I want a 4pin look like a 7pin? Fitment?? probably showing my ignorance here.

 

I wouldn't see a problem with an aftermarket one. Just make sure it's atleast a class 2 in your case so that the towing capacity of the truck isn't limited to the capacity of the hitch.

I've had aftermarket hitches on both the previous suvs that I used to use for lawn care a BMW X5 and a Nissan Rogue both of them worked great and I never had a problem, got them both a Uhaul.

 

I got this one. Fit perfect! Make sure you read the install instructions on the site and not the ones they send you. The site tells you the torque settings, and the paper ones do not.
(1st one on the list)
(I also got the wire harness)

http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2009_Toyota_Tacoma%20Pickup.htm

 

Valley makes good stuff, in fact they build under contract for some Jeep and GM applications. My Mopar (Jeep) part was stamped "Valley" off in one corner.
Please post the part numbers that you used in case someone wants to take that route.

 

Direct Links
Hitch

Wire Adapter

NOTE: These will not work on the X-Runner

 

My first thought was to go to U-Haul. I still might...I think they use Valley. I'm gonna shop around now that I've gotten all this info. Thanks

 

Uhaul sells Valley, the Valley hitch is a class III. It also happens to tuck out of the way the best, I would strongly recommend going to Toyota for the wiring.

 

Yes that is what I'm thinking..I paid $23,407 for this SR5 This includes $179 documentation and the $1000 cash back from Toyota... dealer said this is $750 over invoice ...I found that invoice differs from dealer to dealer ??....that's alot of money to get cheap on a wiring harness...The guy that sold it to me (inventory manager) says that the labor on the wiring install is about 3 hours @$95 an hour...I find this hard to believe...Factory hitch at www.texastoyota is $250. This dealership wants $495 for the hitch and $149 for the harness (7pin) installed.This is the first new vehicle that I ever bought...One dealer wouldn't budge much off MSRP...I have 2 other dealerships to price the hitch install with and see if there is a difference in price. There should be a set amount of time listed for this install and I wonder if it's really 3 hrs?? This was the inventory manager not the service mng that told me 3hrs.

 

Yea thats way to much.
It took me a total of 30 minutes for everything. The hardest part was starting the first bolt on the hitch. A little tough holding it by myself and starting a bolt at the same time.
I personally like the wiring harness.
"I saved allot of money by switching to Etrailer" lol
Almost enough for a set of tires. (And yes that sucker hides well. All you see is the 2x2 hitch. The rest of it is up past the bumper)

 

I went with UHAUL myself, 2009 Taco, $126 out the door, did the install myself, looks great. I am now looking for some OEM wiring.

 

I wouldn't pay the dealer $95 per hour for 3 hours to install the wiring harness. I bought mine from www.hitchesforless.com. for $40. It took me about 15 minutes total. This was the easiest part of the install. I also ordered the hitch. The total with shipping was $266. Here is everything I ordered. I used a motorcycle jack to lift the hitch into place. Worked great.

118393 $49.95 1 T-one connector
2913 $21.95 1 Ball Mount
63826 $10.70 1 Hitch Ball 2 inch Chrome
75236 $148.29 1 MAX-FRAME RECEIVER HITCH

I had everything within a few days. The most difficult part was torquing the bolts. I actually snapped one off. Still trying to figure out how to fix that.

 

I purchased a Curt Hitch and a wiring harness from etrailer.com and had U haul install them for me. Best $40 my sore old back ever spent.

 

Great info! I just ordered the valley from etrailer with harness and some other goodies. Thanks all!

 

if you can be patient, good deals on the OEM receiver can be found on ebay or elsewhere on the net. junkyards are a good option too (it's just a hunk of steel, it will almost always have surface corrosion which can be sanded off and repainted) I picked up a used one on here for $100 shipped.

And yeah, I know I shouldn't tow 6500 pounds without the rest of the tow package, but there is value to me in having an OEM product...especially when its specs exceed anything on the aftermarket. It think it looks much better than the aftermarket receivers as well.

As for fitting the factory receiver, it's not as hard as some make it out to be. It is easiest to just remove the rear bumper, remove the brackets from the bumper, bolt the receiver to the bumper (this part is hard, as it is a tight fight but it WILL go on by hand) then get a friend to help you refit the whole assembly back on the frame. There are two pins that will bear the weight of the bumper while you line up and install the bolts. It took me and my girlfriend about 15 minutes...would probably take about 5 minutes if I had to do it again.

 

I dont know why you would want to take the bumper off. The Valley hitch bolts directly to the frame (In the OEM holes) and then 2 bolts to the bumper (in the OEM holes).