I do not have a hitch and am assuming I have to get one of those "hook type" racks that hang on the lift gate. I

Don't do that....Get a hitch. Yes the overall cost is more, but it'll be well worth it. If you don't plan on towing then don't bother with the wiring as you could always add that in later.

With the kind that clips in the back you have to be real careful not to scratch the paint. And every time you want to open the lift gate you need to remove the rack.

 

I'm a total newbie when it comes to hitches... What is the wiring for?

How/where do I get a hitch installed?

I googled UHaul and, in addition to the "square hole" hitch that I believe I need to put a hitch bike rack in, they have options including "Ball mount", "Hitch ball", "Pin and clip", and "Wiring". I do not plan to use the hitch to tow, just to install a hitch bike rack. Do I need these 4 parts?

Thanks!

 

If you only need 2 bikes, you could look at a roof set-up. For 3+ on an SUV, I would get a hitch rack too as Mike recommended.

 

If you only need 2 bikes, you could look at a roof set-up. For 3+ on an SUV,

I had that on my 1990 pathfinder. Those can be a real pain too. The bikes can stick up 9-10 feet off the ground. I've seen people do major damage to their roof because they forgot to remove the bikes before entering a garage. And with all the attachments it's not much less money then a hitch.

 

Wiring is for hooking up brake lights to your trailer, in the event you were towing a trailer.

The ball mount sticks out of the hitch, and then a trailer has a "cap" that goes over the ball. Don't worry about this, since you're not towing a trailer.

I don't think you need any of that stuff, just the hitch and the bike rack. Although you might need the pin and clip to keep the bike rack attached to the hitch? You can either install the hitch yourself (I don't think it's too difficult from the videos I've watched, but I've never done it myself), or buy the hitch and take it to a mechanic for installation. Any mechanic can do it.

Curt also makes a very good hitch at a decent price.

 

I’ve not done a hitch install on this highlander, but I’ve installed several others. It’s not terribly hard, but does require some patience and (probably) a helper. Planning on putting one on both our highlanders soon.
My previous vehicle was a Toyota Matrix (loved that car!), and I had a Saris Bones rack that strapped onto the lift gate. It worked great, but isn’t a good option on either one of our HLs.

 

This is what I got. It was easy to install. You need to do a little trimming of some plastic underneath. It's a little heavy so it would be good to have someone to help lift it into place but I did it alone.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/Toyota/Highlander/2019/C13200.html?VehicleID=201929871

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Hollywood-Racks/HR1400Z.html

 

Toyota factory trailer hitches are the way to go if you go the hitch route. $340 (give or take) from places like toyotapartsdeal.com . You can sometimes find deals at your local dealer on accessories, you can show your local dealer the online price and see if they'll match it. Looks much nicer and comes with everything you need to install it. There is some minor cutting you will need to do to the lower rear splash shields to accommodate the hitch mounting rails. Not that bad to do if you're handy. Hardest part was holding it up under the car while trying to thread the screws to hold it up so you can relax your arms. Lol. Only thing you'll need if you actually decide to tow something is the wiring kit.
As for the bike rack the Thule Apex bike rack has served us well. We have been able to squeeze all 5 of our bikes on it (jenga like😁) but it works great. Only issue i have had is that I had my smart key in my pocket and it somehow popped the rear hatch while the rack was on and opened into it. Pissed me off! Didn't damage anything thankfully but that was my only negative.

 

Here's a pic of my platform bike carrier. It's on my Tribute but you get the idea.

 

Others have handled the car hitch question quite well. There are a number of places to have one installed if you do a Google search for your area.

A 3 bike hanging rack (trunk style) will be one hot mess. It is a pain to install/uninstall and to make sure the bikes are secure and they won't scratch/rub the other bikes on the rack. The different bike configurations also make it difficult to hang them properly.

I would definitely consider a hitch rack. There are many good options out there. If you are looking to carry 3 bikes, you will most likely need a 2" hitch which will accommodate the bike racks needed for the weight of the three bikes. If you have an e-bike (battery), you will need to pay close attention to the carrying capacity of the bike rack.

etrailer has a great system to walk you through the type of bike rack you might need. You enter the size of hitch, number of bikes, weight of the bikes, etc. and it will give you some options.

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Hitch_Bike_Racks.aspx

Personally, I have a Kuat tray style bike rack which can accommodate up to four bikes and folds down and away to allow access through the hatch back. It handles e-bikes, fat tire bikes and about anything else you can throw at it. It is also the quickest when mounting the bike to the rack (one swing arm and one strap). It is pricey but there are other options. They occasionally go on sale and I got a 20% discount from REI this past spring.

Good luck with your search.

 

Hitch with a tray style rack like thule or 1UP USA, DO NOT cheap out on this. Expect to spend $1000 all in. You will damage your car and bikes otherwise and you'll never want to go riding because it's such a pain to faff with a cheap one.

Invest in a Kuat, Thule, 1UPUSA, etc.

 

Yes, there are cheap ones out there. I'd particularly stay away from Harbor Freight brands and similar on Amazon where the metal is pretty thin.

There are also inexpensive platform carriers that work very well. Check out MaxxHaul on Amazon for under $100. It is well made, I've used it on all kinds of terrain.

https://www.amazon.com/MaxxHaul-50027-Hitch-Platform-2-Bike/dp/B07GBPBW1T/ref=sr_1_15

 

+1 on the platform rack. A family friend uses one on their Pilot and another on their CX-9. I like them a lot better than the regular hitch racks where you attach the bike to the rack by the center bar. Getting a hitch + a platform bike rack was one of the main reasons I looked into getting a SUV instead of a minivan, but I ended up with the minivan anyway which is too low to use the platform rack.

 

You need something like this.

70070 | maxxhaul

www.maxxhaul.com

 

I am selling my Thule aero 3 bike carrier if you’re interested.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I used my 1UPUSA rack on my IS300 which was lowered. The design of it puts the bikes up high by default.

 

That is indeed a very fine bike rack, and a prime attractant is that it locks the wheels in place. I'd have one of those except for a frugal finance manager!