What’s The Best Trailer Hitch for a Toyota Highlander?

When you bought your Toyota Highlander, you knew you wanted to go on adventures. One of the best ways to elevate your adventures is by adding a trailer hitch to your Highlander!

Being the largest aftermarket hitch installer in North America, U-Haul knows exactly what trailer hitch is going to fit your exciting lifestyle. In this article, we will talk about the good, better, and best trailer hitch options and what makes each unique for your Toyota Highlander.

Good: Curt CMF13453

This Curt trailer hitch is the standard Toyota Highlander hitch and is made right here in the U.S.

Offering a gross trailer weight rating of 5,000 pounds, this hitch is a great, affordable option for your lightweight towing needs, such as a small boat, bikes, U-Haul cargo and utility trailers, teardrop, and A-frame campers.

The tongue weight rating of this hitch is 675 pounds (13.5% of the gross trailer weight), which is more than the average 500-pound weight rating this hitch normally has. The difference? Curt adds custom parts to this hitch for U-Haul customers that increase the strength of the hitch.

Due to the Highlander’s exhaust flaps needing modification, the weight of the hitch, and tricky trailer wiring, this hitch can be tricky for a DIY installer. With a U-Haul hitch installation, you can rest easy knowing that our Hitch Professionals will install everything safely and securely.

Better: B&W RH670220

Think of the B&W trailer hitch as the bigger and stronger older brother of the Curt hitch for a few reasons.

This hitch does have the same gross trailer weight rating as the Curt at 5000 pounds, but it comes with a beefier gross tongue weight rating of 750 pounds, which is 11% more of the gross tongue weight rating than the Curt hitch and 15% of the total gross weight rating.

Why is this important? Think about a cargo carrier, if your gross tongue weight rating is only 500 pounds, then the combined weight of a cargo carrier and cargo that total up toa max of 500 pounds A typical carrier weighs around 50 pounds, meaning if the capacity of the carrier has a max of 500 pounds, you can only put 450 pounds worth of items into the carrier.

With a higher gross tongue weight rating, it means you can pack up to the max, because your gross tongue weight rating is higher than 550 pounds!

Like the Curt hitch, this installation also needs some plastic pieces trimmed, but unlike the Curt hitch, this hitch installation is easier because of B&W's removable side plates. This allows one side of the hitch to be bolted on, affixing the cross tube before bolting on the other side, making installation much easier.

One more bonus of the B&W hitch? The cross tube is completely hidden behind the bumper of the Highlander, with only the hitch receiver visible, giving it a cleaner look.

Best: U-Haul Adventure Series AP3002A

Adventure Series is a brand-new U-Haul exclusive trailer hitch. This refreshing hitch design offers a 5,000-pound gross trailer weight rating and a 750-pound tongue weight rating. While that is the same as the B&W hitch, there are a few reasons why it should not be considered in the same category.

The Adventure Series is manufactured to meet not only the United States’ SAE standards for static and fatigue testing, but also Europe’s CAR Loading Standard Trailer Coupling test (CARLOS TC) developed by TÜV Austria (an independent product and technology tester for over 150 years) and the renowned German testing facility, the Fraunhofer Institute.

Engineering for this hitch was done by the premier Australian hitch manufacturer: AutoPacifica Group. Designed with industry-leading safety and aesthetic features, this hitch is stronger and more durable than other hitches on the market.

So, what makes this hitch stand out from the rest? With most hitches, they will only attach to one side of the frame bracket. The Adventure Series changes that by providing brackets to both sides of the frame. Why is that important? By using OEM hitch mounting points, it distributes weight across your vehicle much more evenly, without putting added stress on your vehicle, and giving you a more comfortable tow.

You also get an easier install with Adventure Series ‘castle lock’ feature. This feature allows the hitch cross tube to attach to the side plates before inserting any bolts. With this hitch installation, you can take your time and get the best fit possible.

The Adventure Series hitch also comes with major cosmetic and practical upgrades to standard hitches. This cosmetic upgrade conceals the hitch behind the Toyota Highlander’s bumper with minimal modifications. You only see the hitch receiver and are not sacrificing additional rear ground clearance, unlike most hitches on the market.

The biggest practical upgrade to this hitch is the use of the U-Haul patented HitchHush™. This device limits rattling, road noise and when not in use, serves as a sleek hitch cover. The HitchHush™ is not just for ball mounts; use it for bike racks and cargo, and wheelchair carriers.

The Adventure Series hitch by U-Haul is the best-designed and tested hitch for the Toyota Highlander. Its international certifications, double-bracket design, and hitch-hush technology are why you can have the utmost confidence in what you tow.

Whatever hitch you decide to go with, all these hitches are available at U-Haul and can be installed by your local hitch professional. Use our digital hitch finder to find the best tow package for your Highlander and then come down to a U-Haul Moving and Storage center to have it installed!