600

Spoiler alert!
Post 3: Camry/Avalon Hitch installed
Post 7: Trailer light harness installed

Hey guys, currently have a ‘19 ES350 and a truck. Looking to downsize to just the ES and it’d work perfectly if I could install a hitch to pull a really small trailer once or twice a year.

I’ve looked around and it seems they only make hitches for up to ‘18 ES350 so far, curious if anyone has any insight. Thanks!

600

Seems like bolting on a trailer hitch is not as popular on the 2019+ ES350 compared to the 2018+ Camry and 2019+ Avalon. Before someone says I should just get a RX/GX/truck, there's already one in the garage slated to be sold next week. I'm downsizing to just the sedan for various reasons and will have all of my bases covered if I can just tow a light trailer once or twice a year.

Documenting my experience in case anyone else is looking to do this in the future.

Knowing that the ES underpinnings are the same as the Avalon and not too different from the Camry, I started looking around for options for those vehicles. I found a couple install pictures and videos for the current generation Camry/Avalons on eTrailer and lo and behold everything looks almost identical to the ES. The main plastic cover under the spare looks to be the same part between the three (in dual exhaust trims) and the frame where the receiver mounts look to have the same holes/bend.

Apologies on picture quality, some of the below are screen captures.

2019 ES350:




Camry:




There are a couple options from different manufacturers. I'm going to take a leap of faith with the Curt 11576 because it looks the nicest. The crossbar is tucked up behind the bumper and the only thing you can see is the receiver. Pretty clean.


As far as trailer light wiring goes, I'm a big fan of no splice/cut kits. There's actually a Curt kit that is confirmed to fit the 2019+ ES350 on eTrailer. It utilizes a t-plug setup and is plug-n-play in between the tail lights and the wire harness. Interesting that it is confirmed to fit the 2019+ ES350 but there are no confirmed fitting receiver mounts, so we shall see.

Will update when the goods arrive.

600

First, the finished product:






Details for anyone interested in this setup below. Install at your own risk since it is not officially a confirmed fit by the hitch manufacturers. Before you order one of these up, peruse the installation videos/instructions online to make sure you know what you're getting into. The Curt kit calls for widening an existing frame hole, not sure what the Draw-tite procedure is.

• The same frame holes referenced in the instructions for the Camry/Avalon are present on the ES. You can follow the mounting instructions to a tee.
• The ES has some sheet metal that hangs lower than its Toyota siblings. To use the Curt offering, you will need to trim a small notch for the hitch to clear. Nothing structural. Trim, seal with spray paint.
• The instructions for the Camry/Avalon call for trimming the exhaust heat shields and plastic undercarriage cover. It applies more or less to the ES in the same fashion, but I cut conservatively until I was happy with the fitment.
  • The rear bumper cover has slightly different dimensions from the Camry/Avalon as expected. I trimmed the lower black plastic trim where the hitch receiver pops out by about centimeter to clear the hitch. None of the trimming is visible with or without the receiver installed unless you climb underneath and inspect.. and even then it is quite minor.
• All fasteners are retained.

Here is when I mocked up the hitch and you can see it hits some sheet metal that comes down lower than on the Camry/Avalon.


Trimmed a notch to clear and sealed the bare metal. Didn't come close to the spot weld, what you see here allowed ample clearance.

Driver side.


Passenger side.


In summary, very pleased with how it turned out. 200lb tongue weight / 1000lb towing capacity per documentation for the Toyotas. The trailer and bike are roughly around 700lbs with ~60-70lbs on the tongue. Pulls the trailer nicely for the occasional track day.

Cheers.

EV02is

iTrader: (1)

Exactly what I was looking for! Thank you for documenting your install to make my life easier.

NCGator25

Thanks for posting! I've been searching/monitoring for a hitch option from Curt for the last two years. I didn't think to look at the other car models for one.

600

Some lighter duty hauling today

600

Update: We have light! Installed a fully functional trailer light harness. Noticed our tail light setup (brake lights and indicators on the outer corners) is the same as on the current Camry. The plug and play no splice Curt #56417 kit is what I ended up using. Connectors are the same and fit well, however upon initial testing the turn signals on the trailer did not work. Easy fix with a quick wire repin.

Top plug is Curt harness. Bottom is OEM tail light.


Left side tail light plug- controller gets brake light signal from this side.
Black- Ground
Yellow- Signal
Red- Running tail light 12v
Blue- Brake light 12v


Male plug is right side tail light OEM plug, female plug is Curt harness how it comes. The trailer light controller only pulls the indicator signal from the right side (green wire). The kit as delivered had the signal wire connected to the OEM ground wire, which explains no turn signals at first.


Using a dental pick, I released the pin lock and swapped the signal wire to the yellow turn signal wire position on the OEM plug.


Rest of it is straight forward, snake the power wire through one of the plugs in the spare wheel well all the way to the battery in the front.


End product- functioning running tail lamp, brake lights, and turn signals.

atomz4peac

Maybe I missed it, but which model from Curt did you go with? Thanks!

E46CT

Nice job. This is what community is for. Finding solutions and fixes and sharing them.

EV02is

iTrader: (1)

That’s awesome. I wonder how much I can tow with my hybrid.

E46CT

I googled 2018 Camry hybrid towing capacity and it appears to be 880 lbs or 400kg. Given its the same unibody and drivetrain, I'm sure it applies directly or is extremely similar. But verify for yourself first!

User 41924

What an awesome thread! Thank you, 600! Really well done!

600

Hey! I used the Curt 11576. It's very discreet and well constructed. You may get away with no trimming using the other hitches but this one looks the best imo.

LexFinally

I found a copy of the Canadian Lexus ES owner's manual for 2021. It says this:

"Lexus does not recommend towing a trailer with your vehicle. Lexus also does not recommend the installation of a tow hitch or the use of a tow hitch carrier for a wheelchair, scooter, bicycle, etc. Your vehicle is not designed for trailer towing or for the use of tow hitch mounted carriers."

Obviously based on OP's experience, the car is nearly identical to Avalon and Camry for the purpose and does the job just fine. I wonder why Lexus is taking this stance?

600

Legal jargon to shed liability? “Didn’t come factory so we can’t endorse it, but a GX please!”

Similarly, Toyota USA provides no literature on tow capacity for the Prius, but Toyota EU says you can pull 725kg, go figure.