rowfei

I am looking for the Hitch Receiver Cover. What the difference between those two:

Curt Manufacturing 22272 2 Inch Trailer Hitch Receiver Cover $4.99
Curt Manufacturing 21728 Protective Rubber Cap $7.71

Thanks,

sjsperry

thanks for the feedback. atleast i know i can't go wrong with the curt or toyota hitch. i'm not sure if we got a towing prep-package or not, but I was under the impression all of the 2010s had it. after reading through the thread, it looks like i'll find out when i start opening things up.


Pepboys has said they will refund my money, but i may have to fight on a 20% restocking fee...

davidjanko

I went to my local Pep Boys and got the same quote that sjsperry received. Seems like a good deal but when I asked them to order the hitch I learned that Pep Boys uses the Reese hitch, not the Curt hitch. When I compared the part # Pep Boys was going to order with the Reese web site there was a mis-match, which raised a red flag.

I've decided to go to an authorized Curt installer in my local area. I'll end up paying about $100 more than I would at Pep Boys, but I'll be getting a Curt hitch and still saving over $500 from what Lexus wants.

The Curt installation instructions look pretty easy if you have the car on a rack. I don't have a rack in my garage so I'll leave this in the hands of the professionals.

mac12

[QUOTE=sjsperry;6678988]thanks for the feedback. atleast i know i can't go wrong with the curt or toyota hitch. i'm not sure if we got a towing prep-package or not, but I was under the impression all of the 2010s had it. after reading through the thread, it looks like i'll find out when i start opening things up.


Probably the easiest way to tell if you have the towing package is to look between the driver's side front tire and the bumper for the transmission oil cooler. You have to look from underneath the front bumper. It looks like a small radiator with two oil lines going to it.

sjsperry

Update: I installed the Curt hitch tonight in less than an hour. Got it from Amazon and I didn't have the heart to overnight all 35LBS of it for $3.99.

My installation hint: I propped up the passenger side of the hitch along the top of the exhaust pipe, then half-tightened the driver side bolts. As for the lights, the Curt Manufacturing 56083 T-Connector plugged right in to the socket on the driver side corner of the bumper.

The hitch fit like a glove and it's obvious that Pep Boys ordered the incorrect hitch like davidjanko said. It's not even close to touching the pipe once the bolts have been tightened down.

Sixtyplus

Just finished installing my Curt 13541 hitch on 2011 RX350. Went quite well until I went to reinstall facia. Could not get it to slide back up on driver's side no matter what I did. Had a look at situation and realized that the mud flap was holding the wheel well facia, took off mud flap and up it went. Canadian RX's must come with the mudflaps as it was not listed on my options list and for sure the dealer would not have just thrown them in!!! LOL

Anyways, great fit, great service from Hitchweb - ordered on Monday, delivered on Wednesday - and came in at $207 US after our HST with T connection and receiver cover. Took me about 1 1/2 hours but must have spent 45 minutes fiddling with facia reinstall, taking back down, trying again until I figured out what was wrong. I have a good garage with impact wrenches, jacks etc to make job go easy. I have advised Curt of the issue with mudflap.

davidjanko

I went to the Curt website and saw that Keith's Auto Electric in Encinitas is an authorized dealer and installer for Curt. Over the phone they quoted my ~$300 installed. They ordered the hitch, and when it arrived at Keith's I brought my Lexus in. The install took a little more than 45 minutes. It looks great and carries my bike carrier with no worries.

Lexus ought to be ashamed for wanting $800+ to do this job.

mdv

The reason the Lexus one cost more, the hitch is alot stronger and the way it is mounted is alot better. You have to remove the bumper to get it on. They are not the same quality at all

natecrna

You should only be towing 3500lbs or less. Class III is a standard. One hitch can't be stronger than another. The way it's mounted may be different but as to the strength of the hitch they will all be rated based on class. There is a sticker on all hitches with weight ratings for the consumer.

Hope this helps

Btw I just installed a class III on my 2012 RX AWD last weekend. Purchased Draw-tite and wiring harness for 7 blade RV hook up with elec brakes and aux power for 250.00.

sjsperry

The bumper removal should be a max of one hour of labor. I hear you on the Lexus brand hitch, but that doesn't explain why it costs more than the Toyota brand hitch...

Personally, we spent a lot of money on this car and I don't plan on towing the max (3,500-4,000lbs). However, I felt quite comfortable pulling a boat that weighed in at a total weight of 3,000lbs.