Test drove an '07 V6 yesterday. I also test drove the '07 CR-V, which is a very nice car. But I was grinning ear to ear by the time I got that pocket rocket back to to the dealership. It feels almost as quick as my Z28 (stock LT-1, 1996). So I guess that deceision has been made.
The rav I drove had the Tow prep, but no hitch. Do you have to order the hitch separately? Can you pick between 1 1/4'' and 2'' receiver?
Also, it seems nobdy in DC has one with the third row. Are they that hard to find?
Test drove an '07 V6 yesterday. I also test drove the '07 CR-V, which is a very nice car. But I was grinning ear to ear by the time I got that pocket rocket back to to the dealership. It feels almost as quick as my Z28 (stock LT-1, 1996). So I guess that deceision has been made.
The rav I drove had the Tow prep, but no hitch. Do you have to order the hitch separately? Can you pick between 1 1/4'' and 2'' receiver?
Also, it seems nobdy in DC has one with the third row. Are they that hard to find?
Steve
Hey Steve--I don't know if this will help you much or not but I wanted to tell you about my hitch experience with my new V6 RAV4. I ordered my car with the tow prep package, like you did, and the dealer got back to me and said the 2" receiver type hitch could be added at port so I went with that. They put on a really good quality Reese hitch but I don't care for the look. It's not at all integrated into the rear and just hangs down pretty low under the bumper. Maybe there's no other way it can be done on this particular car. I called Toyota and was told this is the only hitch available. It's very noticeable but I guess I'll have to live with it. The receiver is so low that I couldn't even use the straight ballmount that came with it. I had to get another one with a 2" drop and turn it upside down.
BTW, you're right...this thing flys. I love the performance of my V6. We'll probably have to be careful to routinely rotate the tires because I'm always spinning the fronts. It's all to easy to break traction when you're taking off. Talk about fun to drive... Thanks-Ken B.
Thanks. Not really sure why I want a hitch. Its part of the reasoning I'm using to convince my wife that we need the V6 - See honey, this one can tow 3500 lbs. So what if I never tow anything. Anyway, that's what the Sequoia is for.
I had thought I'd use it for the bike rack, but it will get in the way of the door, and its just easier to put the bikes on top. On Rav4world several people complained about the hitch. Its not a deal breaker at this point.
The OEM hitch isn't as low as the aftermarket hitches, the dealer that told you the Reese was the only hitch available is full of BS. It is a dealer installed item tho, no '06-07 Rav4s come with hitches from the factory, the hitch and harness are both dealer installed items, even if the hitch and harness was included when the vehicle was special ordered. My sales person was real confused about the tow prep and told me it included the hitch and wiring, only to find out after the fact that it didn't, but I got him to include it in the deal for $450 installed w/the 3500lb hitch, not the 1500lb OEM hitch.
If you just want to use the hitch for a bike rack, the aftermarket hitches sell for about $130 and only use 4 bolts for attachment, the 3500lb OEM hitch uses 6 main attachment to the frame sub rails and several more at the bumper extensions and frame side rails.
Quickdtoo--Thanks for the pictures and for straightening out the situation on dealer-installed hitches. Yours looks much better than the Reese my dealer had installed and I'm thinking, at this point, of going back and asking for a replacement. From what you said, your factory hitch can handle the full advertised specs due to more mounting points than the aftermarket Reese that I got. Thanks again for your comments. --Ken B.
Hey Quickdtoo--You've been a great help in sending the pictures of your official Toyota hitch. I sent that to my dealer and asked why he put on the aftermarket Reese hitch instead of this much better looking one. He says that the Toyota dealers in the Southeast didn't have access to the nicer Toyota hitch. Now, however, he thinks he has found a way to get one for me but he says it costs quite a bit more. He wants another $350 for the difference. Since I paid somewhere around $350 for the first one, I guess that puts the price of your hitch around $700. That seems a bit high to me but it does look a lot better and I'm planning on doing it. Thanks again for your help.--Ken B.
The best price I've seen on the PT228-42060 OEM hitch was $350. My hitch was $450 total, including the harness and its installation which is at least a couple hours labor by itself.
Again, Quickdtoo, you have helped me considerably. With this information, I should be able to get my dealer to come down considerably on what he proposed to charge. Supposedly, he was charging me cost difference between the 2 hitches but, in reality, he was selling me the new one for almost full price and taking back my original. If he doesn't make this right, this dealer will never sell me another car, that's for sure. Thanks again-Ken B.
Just an update for you...Since you were such a great help to me with my hitch situation, I wanted to update you on the latest. Armed with your picture and description, I went back to my dealer and demanded to have the Reese aftermarket hitch removed and the OEM hitch installed. Ultimately, to get me satisfied, they agreed to make the switch for no charge. I offered to pay any real cost difference between the two hitches but they decided to stick with no charge.
The switch was done a couple of days ago. It took them about 2 hours to get it done. Man, you were right...there are way more fasteners on the OEM hitch. It looks so much better too. I did have a little work to do after I got it home though. They had left one of my tailpipe supports disconnected so my tailpipe was hanging down. I fixed that back in about 30 seconds. I also had to tidy up the mounting of the electrical plug and more thoroughly secure the wiring. We're all done now and it is finally like it should have been done to begin with. I definitely owe it all to you because I seriously doubt I could have made a strong enough case to my dealer without your information. Thanks again!
Hey, that's great news, glad they finally came thru for ya, and all is well in the end. Too bad they didn't take care of it to begin with like a good dealership should have, makes ya wonder sometimes!
How do you add the hitch?
Linear Mode
