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Installing OEM tow hitch/wiring harness?

19K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  Winterpeg 
#1 ·
I'm thinking of purchasing the oem tow hitch and wiring harness...the hitch isn't that hard to install, but I was wondering about the wiring harness.....
How hard to install and does it just plug and play?
 
#9 ·
I have a 4 plug wiring harness presently and want to install a brake controller 7 plug from e-Trailer. I saw the video on how to install the system, but it was for a Tocoma not a FJ. The video said to pick up the brake signal blue wire from the harness plug under the dash and splice it into the brake controller by e-Trailer. Question, where do you find this brake signal wire on the FJ.
 
#10 ·
Hey gents!
Almost had a perfect day yesterday........
I installed my Curt hitch by myself and a floor jack. All went well until I cross threaded one of the hitch bolts.
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I may have been running out of gusto as I was pushing the exhaust aside, I drove in the center bolt cock-eyed by accident. I will have to fix that I suppose.....
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But here's the thing where I could use some help -
After reading tow hitch wiring harness instructions for 45 minutes, do I understand this correctly-
Even though I have a wiring harness run to the driver's underside rear of my truck, I still have to install all this wiring and converters and fuses and relays, just to power 2 lights on a trailer?
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Please let me know.....thanks in advance.
Johnny

P.S. Since I'm bitching, please tell me I'm not the only one who ALWAYS has to take a grinder to a tow hitch or use a hammer and piece of 2x4 to get it to go into the receiver!
 

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#11 ·
DO NOT use an aftermarket trailer wiring harness. The OEM Toyota wiring kit plugs directly into the FJ's trailer lighting connector on the rear of the LH frame rail, and includes all the wiring, electronic control box, relays, and fuses that were designed by Toyota to be plug-and-play, and provide complete isolation between the trailer electrical system and the FJ's electrical system (e.g. a short circuit in the trailer lighting will not disable the FJ's lighting system).

The OEM Toyota kit doesn't require any cutting or tapping into the vehicle's wiring harness or use any unreliable crimp connections.

The Toyota kit isn't cheap, but it's by far the safest and most reliable way to get your trailer lighting system working.

Here's the wiring kit: https://www.amazon.com/TOYOTA-Genui...+trailer+wiring+harness&qid=1630279767&sr=8-4

Any reason that you went with an aftermarket hitch. vs the OEM Toyota hitch? The aftermarket hitches sacrifice several inches of ground clearance.

Probably too late for you, but here's the OEM hitch and harness as a package, keeping everything genuine Toyota:
Amazon.com: Oem Toyota Fj Cruiser Hitch and Harness Kit : Automotive
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the fast reply buddy.
I've been digesting massive amounts of information since I got my truck last week, honestly I didn't even think about a Toyota factory hitch! I can't believe how small it is! My Curt weighs sixty pounds and has incredibly strong attachment points, how does that little thing do the same thing? Crazy.
I'll take your advice on the toyota wiring harness and I did pick up in the threads that it isolates the trailer electrical from the truck electrical, but I thought an inline fuse for the trailer harness would do the same.
And yeah, probably too late to return especially since it got scratched up during the install.
I'm selling my Ram 1500 in exchange for the FJ and now I am trying to get ready for hunting trip. With the FJ I now need to buy a 4x8 trailer and tow my quad instead of putting in a bed.
I guess I was just moving too fast and missed out on the factory option, but hey! I am apparently shitting out money lately, so maybe I will switch to the Toyota!
Thanks again FJtest
 
#13 ·
A frame mounted hitch is good with a weight distributing and sway control setup, otherwise the OEM receiver is fine for those that aren't pushing the vehicles max towing limit.

Try a TAP in the bolt holes with some oil. The frame is EDP coated and that has to be removed before putting a bolt in. That goes for the slider mounts too. Your avatar pic shows body mounted side steps, not 4 point frame mounted sliders.
 
#14 ·
A frame mounted hitch is good with a weight distributing and sway control setup, otherwise the OEM receiver is fine for those that aren't pushing the vehicles max towing limit.

Try a TAP in the bolt holes with some oil. The frame is EDP coated and that has to be removed before putting a bolt in. That goes for the slider mounts too. Your avatar pic shows body mounted side steps, not 4 point frame mounted sliders.
Hey Hannibal, you have the same username as my 18 year old cat that passed last year!
I figured I would try re-tapping the hole to fix my screw up, thanks for the advice.
Why do you mention my side steps?
J
 
#15 ·
No protection and could damage the body. If you switch to sliders, you'll have to Tap those holes too. Getting that 6th bolt in on the OEM receiver is a bi7ch to line up. Much discussion on it here, over the years.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Slightest of clarifications ... all the mounting holes for the sliders are already 'tapped' (they are weld-nuts, projection welded to the far side of the frame). What you want to do is run an M8 x 1.25 tap through the holes to clear the debris out of the threads ("chasing" the threads), and not actually remove any metal via 'tapping'. If you are cutting any significant amount of metal when running the tap through the holes, you have the wrong thread pitch tap, or are cross-threading the nut.

The entire frame is electro-coated with paint after fabrication, so all the threads in the nuts will have a fairly heavy build up of paint that may cause the bolts to bind during installation. Additionally, years of accumulated road grime, dust and sand will also settle in the lower portion of the threads and may cause a bolt to seize during installation.

After chasing the threads, blow out each nut with compressed air, and then liberally coat the bolt threads with anti-seize before installing them. This is critical, because if one of your slider bolts (or skid plate or hitch bolts) rusts solidly in the weld nut, and for some reason you have to remove the accessory, applying enough torque may break the weld nut free from the frame, and you'll have a free-spinning bolt that cannot be removed except with great difficulty.

If you didn't apply anti-seize to your hitch mounting bolts, you might want to pull them and apply some.
 
#18 ·
Yeah man, I read a whole bunch last night about a several dudes living the nightmare of retrieving bolts with snapped heads, etc out of their frames.
I fully understand now, and will do! At least I Kroiled the holes prior to inseriton because I sensed WAY too much resistance.
My trip isn't until Nov, so I got time to do it right.
I'm gonna run this hitch because the least of my worries at this point in my life is decreased departure angles - but I will spend the dough on the toyota wire harness for safety and oem reasons.
Thanks bro, you're the man!
J
 
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