Curt 13105 Class 3 Receiver Hitch

I previously owned a 2005 Sienna and installed a Hidden Hitch on it. I now own a 2011 Sienna and this Curt Hitch is a much better hitch. The fit is better, the design is better, and it just looks better. The hitch on my 2005 Sienna was purchased from a popular online hitch/trailer store. Amazon offered significantly better prices for all of the Sienna hitches, and although this other online store offered 110% price guarantee, who really wants to bother with that? Price it right the first time like Amazon does! The Hidden Hitch from this other online store came to me in basically a cardboard "bag", which resulted in one of the mounts being bent during shipping. I cannot imagine how abused this hitch was during shipping to get it to bend like that, because I had a difficult time getting it back into shape to install it. The Curt hitch came to me in huge Amazon "smile" box, no damage at all! In reading the reviews at the other online store, shipping damage is rather common, so I like that Amazon boxes these hitches. The installation was pretty straight forward. Although I did this before with my 2005 Sienna, the 2011 Sienna has that undercarriage protector that makes the otherwise easy install a bit of a hassle. I also quickly saw a flaw in the recommended install method -- if you simply cut a rectangular hole in the undercarriage protector, you will not be able to remove it with completely removing the hitch. That's just silly. So, in addition to cutting out the rectangle, I made a single cut all the way to the front edge. This not only allowed me to install the hitch and then put this undercarriage protector on afterwards, but it will also allow me to remove the protector without completely uninstalling the hitch. After looking at the finished install, I decided to drill four holes and "stitch" the cut piece back together with two zip-ties because the smaller cut section was a little flimsy since it's only attached to the stock "mini mud flap". I was worried it would rattle in the wind at high speeds, but the zip-tie solution made it nice and tight again. If I ever need to remove the protector, it's a simple matter to cut the two zip-ties. If your driveway has a significant incline, this hitch will likely scrape when entering it and leaving it. I recommend buying the Air Lift 1000 suspension kit to help with this and also improve towing and other hitch use on your Sienna. Air Lift says that it will maintain the OEM riding height of the vehicle even under a heavy load, but it actually raises the vehicle a little (when the vehicle is empty or under a light load). That helps with the hitch scraping. You can also usually avoid hitch scrapes by entering the driveway at an angle (like at the 10 or 2 o'clock position). I also installed the Curt 56106 T-Connector wiring kit. This was also very different in the 2011 Sienna, as I had to run a positive connection to the battery all the way at the front of the vehicle, which was a pain. Curt recommended running it underneath the car, but I ran it inside the cabin (under the door jams) instead. "50 minutes" for a DIY install time? NO WAY! And I'm good at this kind of stuff, too. The hitch took me 2 hours (from the time I walked out to the garage to the when I was done and washing my hands), and that was without encountering any real problems. All of my bolts went in just fine by hand with a little WD-40 on them, the notching of the undercarriage protector went without incident (and the extra cut that I did only took seconds), but I'd be very surprised to find someone who could do it under an hour. It's not too difficult, but just don't expect 50 minutes, especially if this is your first time. I did take a little extra time jacking up the van and putting it on stands instead of using my ramps which would've been much faster, but that would've reduced the time by maybe 10 minutes. Edit: I agree with the comment on one other review -- you can easily do this install without ever removing the undercarriage protector -- just cut the notch with the protector still installed and then install the hitch. That would've saved a ton of time in my installation.

Received this MONSTER of a package in the promised two days. The poor mail carrier; no way she could get it to my door by herself, so I happily helped her carry it up our stairs. Happily surprised to see it in a HUGE box, even though I did not request it to be shipped in a box. Heavy as hell! Unpackaged it quickly and found it in excellent order. I was a little apprehensive because although I had ordered the item based on my Sienna model year, I REALLY hoped this thing would fit. Have never put on a trailer hitch before. So I actually waxed the hitch before installation to protect the coating - something you can't really fully do properly after installation. So I put my rear wheels of my Sienna up on ramps, which, with cardboard on the ground (the huge shipping box would have been perfect, but I saved it in case it didn't fit), made accessing the hitch mount points easy. Ran to Ace Hardware for a 1/2" steel wire brush to fit the cordless drill. Damn, totally well spent money. I looked at the exhaust and hoped I could install without removing any of the mounts. It moved to the side surprisingly easily, so I thought it would work. Before going further, I got my air compressor hose, some hand brushes, old clothes and safety glasses and brushed off the underside of the car where the hitch would mount. Then ran the wire brush in and out of the mounting holes several times. I used a drill bit extender on the wire brush to get past the exhaust pipe (so glad I have one of those too). The compressed air kept most of the falling debris off of me. Then, before moving the hitch into place under the car, I measured the mounting holes in the car and on the rack and was VERY happy to see they matched! Once confirmed, I then tool one bolt and ran it into and out of each mounting hole in the car with my cordless drill. I just wanted to be sure each hole's threads were clear and there were no surprises. All were fine, which was nice, given the van is a 2004 - lots of time for debris, junk & corrosion to foul the threads. I then used some empty cat litter containers to hold the hitch up off the ground, and under the vehicle. This turned out working so well, I was able to install this hitch by myself. With it elevated off the ground, I raised the right side of the hitch up and slid it between the exhaust and up to the vehicle. Then put in the center bolt & washer just about four turns to hold it up. Then did the same to the left side so the hitch was suspended under the car. Then snugged them both down so the hitch was in place. Then I installed the remaining bolts, snugged them down sequentially until final torque. The only tool I was lacking was an extension for my 1/2" socket set, so I torqued with my 3/8" driver set. Only after checking two neighbors for an extension, did it occur to me that my four-way lug wrench would have worked! (Plus, you can apply torque in a true circular motion with two handles instead of just one.) Oh well, live and learn! Hitch fits just right and I'm so glad this worked out so well. Now I'm on the hunt for the right Kuat hitch rack. Only after obtaining this can I comment on the functionality of the hitch, but I can't imagine I'll have any issues. The thing's so beefy and well built, it should be bombproof.

This unit works well, fit perfectly on my 2012 Sienna. Installation wasn't too bad. I managed it myself, with no lift or ramps. At 5' 5" I'm a small guy, so that may have helped. My car had stickers over the bolt holes that people say need to be cleaned, so they were pristine. A few tips: I found it a pain in the rear to try to drop the exhaust as the instructions say. There wasn't any play in the exhaust, meaning I'd have to stretch the grommet significantly to remove it. That is one solid hunk of rubber. My advice: don't bother. The hitch will easily slide up between the undercarriage and exhaust, and you can easily maneuver a socket wrench in the space, especially with 3" and 6" extensions handy. I easily spent half of my time trying to get that thing off, wasn't worth it. The plastic cowl is held on by a combination of white/black clips, screws, and these large washer/slotted bolt things. The first and last just unscrew, but for the clips you need to pry the white piece out of the black. If you try to pry the black plastic up, you'll trash the clip. Cut the hole in the cowl as shown in the instructions. A razor knife makes quick work of it, or tin snips as the instructions call for. It mentions in the instructions that you may need to cut the lip, I didn't understand or think I had the lip, but it was because I was looking at it from the inside, where it is a trough. Basically, if you look under the van and see a downward swoop on the cowl where it meets the bumper, that will need to be trimmed off because it is right where the horizontal hitch bar goes. To install this heavy thing on my own. I first set the assembly down under the bumper, then laid down and got the exhaust side slid roughly into place. The exhaust will actually help hold up this side while you go to the other side, slide the cowl in, lift that side, and loosely screw a few bolts in. Then go back to the exhaust side and screw its bolts in loosely. I then tightened all of the bolts while the cowl was loose, I found it gave me easier access to the driver's side bolts. Then reinstall the cowl. Ground clearance on mine is exactly 9", which is pretty good considering it was high enough for me to still slide under and install the cowl. Hope this helps someone out there.

This is a great hitch for the money and was relatively easy to put on. After I had watched several youtube videos on this hitch and read some of the comments, I decided to give it a go. I was planning on having one helper as the hitch is sturdy (read heavy) and would definitely need help as the fit to the frame is snug. Read all the comments from others who have installed this hitch as they are invaluable. I particularly relied on the review by C. Pilot who gave very insightful comments. I especially think the hint about not removing the plastic cover before installing was very good. I did not and only cut out the sections required with an Oscillating Multi-Tool. As I did not have help, I used a cargo strap to secure the hitch to a floor jack and then raised the hitch to the proper placement. If you do not have the following, it will be very challenging : 1) Car ramps to raise the rear of the car to a height where you can get to the securing nuts in the frame 2) Some way to raise the hitch to position. I used a floor jack as mentioned above 3) Large hammer to help get the hitch in position as the nuts in the frame may not be perfectly straight 4) Some tool to cut the protective cover on the underside of the car ( I used an Oscillating Multi-Tool which worked great.)

Overall, a really nice product! This hitch fit great on a our 2008 Toyota Sienna LE. When installed, it fits snugly under the back bumper, about a high as you can get it. The hitch itself is built like a tank, nicely welded and powder coated in gloss black. There is a durable sticker (visible after install) showing the Class 3 rating and weight limits. On my install, all six bolts lined up perfectly, no need to drop the exhaust, and no need to cut or remove any plastic panels. I would guess the hitch weight at 50 pounds; I used a 8" high cardboard box to support the hitch while I started the bolts, which made it way easier. The bolts are M12-1.25, and the instructions ask for 80 foot-pounds of torque. I had a 3/8" drive torque wrench which worked great for that. When I ordered it, Amazon kept telling me that it would not fit my auto (again, a 2008 Siennna). I double checked the Curt manufacturing webpage, and it was clear this was the right hitch (#13105). I am assuming Amazon will get this corrected soon. The hitch was shipped without any box or strong wrapping, which seems odd. Mine had a few dings on the powdercoat, but not enough to worry me. (it's on a minivan with 180K -- others may differ!) I think Amazon should fix this, and put the hitch in a box for shipping. In addition to 180,000 miles, the minivan has seen ten Wisconsin winters. It has welded nuts on the frame, which were pretty rusty. I used a M12-1.25 tap ($8 at Ace HW) to clean up the threads. That was a pain, because the passenger side holes are hard to access. The exhaust pipe needed to be pushed to the side, but not removed (whew!). Since these are fine thread bolts, getting the tap started straight is a bit hard. However, cleaning the threads made the hitch installation go smoothly. I would recommend this hitch -- nicely built, fit perfectly, and pretty easy to install. Thanks for reading!

Bought this hitch for our 2016 Toyota Sienna. Our plan is to use it for trailering our Hobie kayaks. I went with the class 3 since I don’t know what the future holds, but it’s overkill for a kayak trailer. This hitch is built like a tank. The fit was absolutely perfect. The packaging left a lot to be desired, but the hitch was intact and not scratched or bent or scraped or damaged in any way. The important things to know for any potential buyer are: It’s built well. It fits perfectly. The design makes it as high an install as possible. (This is a good thing. The back of a Sienna is pretty low, and I can’t imagine any hitch being tucked up any tighter to the underside of the chassis than this is.) It’s (relatively) easy to install. Know that it’s pretty heavy and you’ll need a 2nd pair of hands to hold it in place while you start the (included) hardware. Also know that you will have to cut a rectangle out of the plastic shield that the hitch will install THROUGH on the driver’s side. The tailpipe is on the right (passenger) side and the shield doesn’t cover the well nuts (already there on your Sienna). If you’re reasonably mechanically inclined, this is no issue. If any of that scares you... get some help. It’s really not hard but everyone’s mechanical expertise is different. There are 6 already-there nuts on the frame waiting for the supplied bolts to be installed into. The torque requirement on the bolts is 79 ft/lbs or 950 in/lbs. That’s a lot of torque. More than you would think. (I own a torque wrench) BTW, they recommend loosening or removing the muffler to install. NOT necessary. I pushed the tailpipe over a bit and had direct access to the bolts. Not an issue. If you need a hitch and are looking in the $100 price range, get this thing. Don’t think twice. It’s a solid, easy 5-star item

I installed this myself with a break light controller on my 2017 Sienna XLE. I did have to make some minor cuts in the plastic cover, but overall it was a straightforward process. This product fit well and aligned perfectly to the van’s mounting locations. I like that this hitch receiver sits close up under the vehicle, but it did require me to purchase a separate lift extender in addition to an adjustable height hitch. I successfully towed an 8’ x 12’ U-Haul trailer using that setup. I am pleased with the design and quality of the product.

With the first hitch I received, the box was severely damaged. Two corners were significantly broken open, and the 2-inch tube broke through the box, also. The tape on the tube was not enough to keep the paint from getting scratched. I could see all this through the box, so I didn't even open it. The box looked mistreated during shipping, like it was thrown around and dragged. The first hitch came via FedEx. I'm not sure if Curt or FedEx mistreated this package. I sent it back for a replacement. I just tried to install the replacement hitch, and it didn't fit. I'm not very happy about this. The passenger side bracket was bent between the main tube and the bolting flange. The bend caused the bolt holes to move towards the opposite side holes. The box was damaged only slightly, one corner had a small tear. Can't remember if the 2-inch tube broke through on this one, but the tape was in good condition. Dad told me not to force things growing up, so I stopped trying to push the hitch up during installation; however, I still think the outer well metal was slightly scratched on my van. I'm going to be dropping a boat in saltwater, so I'm not happy about this. Now I'll have to carefully clean around the well and apply some anti-rust coating as a preventative. Wow a 30 minute job is going to take hours now. Not happy at all! When I inspected what was damaged, I noticed the bend in the bracket. I felt it with my fingers and the paint chipped off. It came off in big pieces. It makes me think it was not cleaned enough prior to painting or something. I can't remember power coated paint coming off like this. I'm not very confident rocks and other bumps on the hitch will keep from cracking off the paint. Time will tell, I guess. With all this, I'm still going to try to get an acceptable hitch. I like that it is contoured to the bumper. This hitch, an undamaged one that is, will be VERY easy to install. I took extra care to clean out the female threads with WD-40 and "precondition" (run the bolt in and out) the bolts. For my 2006 Sienna, you just angle the hitch and hang it on the tail pipe. Then, loosely thread in the bolts on the driver side, then go to the passenger side. I only got one bolt started, though. I was going to put one bolt on each side to prevent dropping of the hitch. Well, I started a return and will let you know how an acceptable hitch installs. I'll let you know if I get more damaged ones. Oh the second hitch came via UPS. Update 1: UPS guy came and helped me tape up the box. We noticed the 2-inch tube had broken through the box, and it was significantly taped in this location. This proved that the hitch was abused during transit.