Draw-Tite Hitch Install

[Sodium Duck]

Here's my little write up on installing the Draw-Tite hitch.

I can't imagine anyone installing this without taking your rear bumper off. It would be just about impossible. So make life easy, and yank it.

1. There are two bolts on the sides of the hatch area, when you open it - take them off.

2. Next there are two of those push tab button type things behind the rear wheel, on the corner of the wheel well - take them off, too. They just pull out easily.

3. Underneath the bumper, almost directly below where the bolts from step 1 are, are two more of those button plug type things. I have no idea how to get them off. They definitely do not pull out easily. I broke one previously from another project; the tab that it is attached to just sheared off, so be careful with it. I think I jammed a screwdriver into the part above and pushed down - I duno, if someone knows how to properly remove it, chime in.

4. Take out your license plate light. You just push that little tab forward and it slides out. Then you just unplug it.

5. Then just grab a corner and it'll pop off. Again, be careful with this step. I snapped another little tab thing doing this. But my bumper stays on pretty good regardless.

6. Okay, bumper off. Next are the bolts. Take out the four I circled. I hope you either have a really small hand, or a great set of small tools.

7. The hitch comes with conical tooth washers. The teeth go against the hitch like the picture shows.

8. I found that there are two tabs that block the hitch from laying flush to the car. One was this random one directly in the middle of the hitch, the other was from the button bolt clip thing on the drivers side of the car from step 3.

9. Magically bolt on your hitch now. In my install, one of the bolts was stubborn as hell. I was unable to fit a socket wrench in to get at the top bolts, which of course is the bolt I had an issue with. I had to use a crescent wrench, 1/4 of a turn at a time, forever. I tried a hundred different times to get the threading to line up, I don't know what the issue was. There was a point where it just wouldn't budge. I left it for a while, came back, and just forced it through. After a few turns it went in smoothly.

10. Important things to remember before you just slap your bumper on and call it a day. Remember to fish your license plate light wire through the hole, or you may trap it and have to remove the bumper again (I know what you're thinking, but no I didn't do that... sort of. I had to use a long screw driver to fish it back out). Otherwise, just reverse the steps and enjoy the fruits of your busted knuckles/fingers and labor.

[CTScott]

Nice. Did you wire up the trailer lights connector yet?

[Sodium Duck]

Nope, that's the next step. Probably going to Autozone or something tomorrow. I'll add that to this as well after.

[Sodium Duck]

Autzone doesn't stock them in store, I guess I'll just order one offline.

[CTScott]

Autzone doesn't stock them in store, I guess I'll just order one offline.

Try Walmart. I picked one up there a few years ago.

[Sodium Duck]

I picked up a trailer from Craigslist yesterday. What a steal. They sell these online for $199.99 at places like HarborFreight, or CAP. I paid $250.00, fully assembled, deck installed (which they don't come with), sides made and installed, and they guy even put on those easy grease wheel things so when I need to grease the wheels I just hook a gun up and shoot it in and it'll grease the inner and outer bearings.

I guess this guy hand builds trailers, and some guy had brought this in because his motorcycle didn't fit on it. So he let him trade it in for a bigger one.

Anyways, it's about 4' X 4' and weighs at most 150lbs. I had to bring it home in my dads Tacoma, and lifting it up and down from the bed was nothing.

Now I just need to pick up a reciever, ball, and wiring... and get this thing registered.

[Sodium Duck]

A few artistic poses. Hahaha.

I bought the receiver at Wally World. For some reason (probably so you are forced to buy theirs), the Draw-Tite hitch has a stop inside of it, so the receiver would stop going in and I couldn't get the pin through. I took a hacksaw to it, and 20 minutes later it fit, lol.

Now I just need to wait for my wiring kit to get shipped.

[CTScott]

That's a nice little trailer. It is proportioned perfectly for the Yaris. With it being so low, be careful of idiots not seeing it and bumping into it. I was towing home a little freebie jetski trailer and at a stop light a woman in a big ol' SUV bumped right into it.

[Sodium Duck]

Yea, I see your point. I can't even see it in any of my mirrors. I'm going to get a pair of those orange marker pole things for marking driveways and screw them to the rear corners.

[talnlnky]

i'm very tempted to do this... just to carry bikes.... I tiny trailer would be nice too... tho I think I'd want one with taller sides... and i'd probably use a higher quality of wood too... Baltic birch plywood is nice... tho spendy.

edit: Hehehehe... does that trailer have its own braking system... hahahaha.... oh man that'd be funny if it did. Tiny drum brakes powered by a couple D cell batteries.

[Sodium Duck]

These trailer kits don't come with decks or sides, so it'd be really easy to build whatever you wanted. Lucky me just happened to find one all together. :)

It would've been nice to find a smallish trailer with brakes, but they don't really make those in America for a reasonable price.

I've been thinking about teardrop trailers though... they seem really fun.

[talnlnky]

These trailer kits don't come with decks or sides, so it'd be really easy to build whatever you wanted. Lucky me just happened to find one all together. :)

It would've been nice to find a smallish trailer with brakes, but they don't really make those in America for a reasonable price.

I've been thinking about teardrop trailers though... they seem really fun.
yeah... i went on to the harbor freight site and saw the kt.... the tires say max speed is 55... i'd want to pull at 70-80mph if I had one... would be tempted to get better tires.... maybe a trailer with slightly larger tires. Reason being is that i'd use a trailer when moving... between the fiance and I we have a lot of crap... last time we moved we had to do 2 trips... with 2 vehicles each time.... 16hr round trip drives aren't much fun.

[Altitude]

Very nice!

So what will you be hauling with that thing?

[Sodium Duck]

Trash to the dump mainly, tubes for river trips, moving bulky irregular items, or anything else really dirty or smelly that I don't want in my car.

[Sodium Duck]

Yea, high speed tires aren't that much more expensive, 30 bucks each at Northern Tool.

I don't plan to be on the highway with this thing, so I'm all set.

[nick.dollimount]

Trash to the dump mainly, tubes for river trips, moving bulky irregular items, or anything else really dirty or smelly that I don't want in my car.

That's not a bad idea. Unfortunately, with apartment living, I wouldn't have any place to store the thing while not in use. :frown:

[Sodium Duck]

Get a cool landlord; mine doesn't seem to care -- then again, I told her I'd call her on Saturdays so she can put her trash on there with mine. =]

[WeeYari]

Have you done the wiring for it yet?

[Sodium Duck]

I just did the wiring today. I ended up mixing the tail light wire and left turn signal wire. That was a pain.

So anyways, You need to buy yourself this hot little item. $15.00 at any auto parts store: Reese 60 inch 4 Way Connector Tail Light Converter (http://www.autozone.com/autozone/catalog/accessories/accProductDetails.jsp?displayName=TailLightConvert er&itemId=prod62293&navValue=101184&parentId=cat30084&productId=182754&fromString=&itemIdentifier=182754_0_0_&filterByKeyWord=&categoryNValue=&store=3476&skuDisplayName=60in.4WayConnectorTailLightConverte r&categoryDisplayName=&_requestid=108197) For reasons beyond my knowledge, you just need it to have the converter box thing.

So first step is to get at your tail lights. Pull the little vent cover thing off of each side.

Then remove your trunk floor, and cargo cover thing to make room for yourself.

Next, you're going to want to yank out the center trim piece. There are two pop rivet type things on the front of it, so just pop them out and the piece slides easily up.

Then on the side plastics, there is one pop rivet. Just yank a little till it lets go so later on you'll be able to get some fingers in there and pull wires through.

Now starts the wiring. First, I put the converter box under the cover for the rear shock on the DRIVERS side. I thought this was a convenient spot for it. You have to get creative running the wires, just take your time.

So next, you run the green wire from the converter box out under the plastic pieces, across where the center piece was removed, and over to the PASSENGER side tail light. This gets connected to the only yellow wire there.

Then back to the DRIVERS side. The red wire from the box goes to the purple wire. The yellow wire from the box, goes to the LIGHT GREEN wire. The brown wire from the box goes to the DARK GREEN wire. And the white wire from the box goes to the white wire with a black stripe.

Route the 4-pin flat connector out to the hatch area, and you're done. Just button it up.

I accidentally mixed up the green wires when I first did this, so be careful. I hit my left turn signal, and both tail lights were flashing on the trailer. Whoops!

[the_boss]

WOW! that's how I luv my DIY! explained in clear details on how to connect the wires! good job!

[Sodium Duck]

Just got my trailer registered today, 23 bucks. Not bad.

[CTScott]

Just got my trailer registered today, 23 bucks. Not bad.

That's why I own a trailer rather than a pickup. In CT we also pay property tax on motor vehicles, boats, etc. as well. Property tax for my trailer is only $8 per year, as opposed to $100+ for a car or truck.

[Sodium Duck]

Haha, thanks YarisWorld!

[Sodium Duck]

$5.00 tax on my trailer in the mail today! Damn it! lol

I also added some white fiberglass poles to the end of the trailer, because without them the trailer is completely out of my site when I look behind -- I couldn't back it up right. Now, I can see where it's going.

[firemachine69]

Sorry to revive this from the dead (even though stickied), but the Reese hitch is a direct copy (or vice-versa) of the Draw-Tite, correct?


I just got a smoking deal on a Reese. Picked up the hitch with the all the bits for $80CAD + $18 shipping via Greyhound, brand new. :thumbup:

[WeeYari]

Sorry firemachine, but I just had to dig these up. :wink:

The HITCH itself is rated for that much: the vehicle may NOT legally tow anything IN THE UNITED STATES do to liability reasons. If you HAVE AN ACCIDENT (and only then) will you be legally held criminally responsible for someone's death, and if not, expect to be sued for everything you own.

Judge: "Your manual specifically states that towing is NOT recommended, why did you so believe you could go against the recommendation?"

Defendant: "Because I'm a hard-headed idiot?"


As well, the uni-frame is incredibly thin, making twisting a possibility at the attachment points.

If ever I need to HAUL something, I either rent a truck, or borrow one. Really.

Our manual in Canada is rated at 70lbs tongue (which feels like nothing, literally), and a 700lbs max load. Most small trailers already eat up 100-200 pounds.

Do the math on how easy it would be to exceed the rated maximum. The Yaris is just not made to tow, from the flimsy sheet metal, to the ultra-soft suspension, to the super-short wheelbase, to the low-traction stock tires... You get the idea...


Like I said, the liability is just not worth it.



Like Mike Holmes says: "Do it right the first time." The Yaris is NOT doing it right, it's half-assing it... Like trying to build a house with a multi-tool.

Have you changed your point of view, or getting ready for hitch mount bike carriers?

[Sodium Duck]

whoaaaaaaaa! lol

[firemachine69]

Sorry firemachine, but I just had to dig these up. :wink:





Have you changed your point of view, or getting ready for hitch mount bike carriers?





One of those tear-drop shaped mini Uhaul trailers. Well within spec. I do rent a truck (a little more frequently than I'd like, too, and never for myself! :rolleyes:) But feel free to punch in Sudbury, Ontario, to Edmonton, Alberta on any truck-rental website, for the understanding why I'm succombing to getting a hitch. Yes, it does feel sort of half-assed. But I can't justify a 1K truck move for a quarter-filled bed/box! The move is already going to cost me a fortune as-is!

My advice for American Yarii owners still stands. Liability is immense down south. I was just watching the news, and some mother in the US just successfully sued Louisville Sluggers because her son got hit in the head with a baseball (and succombed afterwards), which just so happen to be hit with one of their bats. Her reasoning and the jury's acceptance? It didn't come with a warning sticker. :rolleyes:

Your standard Home Depot galvanized trailer can't carry any worthwhile weight (again, if you stay within spec). That Harbour Freight one, however, might be made so cheap that it weighs next to nothing... Except we don't have HF in Canada. :redface:

[exit90a]

This is a great how-to. I just ordered a drawtite hitch and I'll be using my Yaris to tow a 250lb trailer and either my CBR1000RR or SM510R, depending on destination. Total weight with the heavier motorcycle(CBR) is right at 700lbs, 525lbs with the motard. I don't have the slightest reservation about using the yaris to tow lighter loads with the proper setup. A friend tows a much larger, heavier trailer/motorcycle combo with his base model 2001 Celica without issue. I guess we will see how tow worthy this little car is this time next year when the riding season is done.

EDIT- I do have a question, could you get a measurement from the ground to the bottom or top of the hitch? My trailer needs a 13" ball height so I'll need to find out how much rise I need for the ball mount/draw bar. Thanks!!!

[Sodium Duck]

I'll check on that tomorrow for you.

[Sodium Duck]

To the center of the receiver is approximately 11.5". So if you buy the hitch I talk about in post #7, and install the ball upside down on it, it would probably be fine.

[exit90a]

Thanks for your help. I assume your car is not lowered and has close to oem size tires/wheels? :biggrin:Thanks again.

[Sodium Duck]

Yup. All stock.

[Cortland Yaris User]

bump

[En4sir]

Comparing a Yaris to a Celica when it comes to pulling a trailer can be more like comparing apples to oranges. The clutch components in a 5-speed Yaris are light-weight compared to a Celica transmission not to mention Celica engines are more powerful. So if your 1.5 liter Yaris has a manual transmission, hauling 700 pounds should be done only on a limited basis (especially in hilly areas) if at all. You probably have a little less to worry about if you have an automatic, but you should still exercise caution.

[cdilmore]

Wow - great write-up!
Thanks!