[sighttomtom]

I have also installed trailer light adopter and have pulled 2000lb+ trailer to haul trash. it struggled on hills but it was short trips to the recycling facility and home depot without an issue. I have also used for bike rack and cargo hitch to really expand the cargo capacity. combine it with cargo top, I can do most activities I used my past RX350 for.

 

[sighttomtom]

Just out of curiosity, how much clearance is there between the bottom of the hitch and the ground? Any issues with scraping?

I have a two inch riser and use it reverse mounted. no clearance issue on Uhaul trailers as it typically has higher mount level. for regular trailers, straight hitch should be ok as it has plenty of ground clearance. I also ran the power wires internally as to prevent exposer to the element. top of the cable comes out of one of the hole on the firewall and connect to the power source on the junction box. works perfectly when carrying cargo box that as brake/turn lights.

 

[sighttomtom]

Thank you for your reply! I had installed a Curt hitch on my Soul and was surprised how many times the hitch receiver (no drawbar inserted) scraped the asphalt/concrete when going up driveways. Seems like the Niro is closer to the ground than the Soul.

actual height may look differ? ground clearance is about the same for both Niro and Soul at about 6 inches. lowest point in the hitch mount to the ground is 9 inches on my Niro. this means hitch ball will be 11 inches off the ground. My other Lexus is about 12 inches off the ground and I use 1 inch drop hitch and uhaul will mount leveled with little lean inwards.

 

[sighttomtom]

Hi. What trailer wiring adapter did you use? I ordered one from etrailer and the plugs were different (6pin light harness instead of three pin on my 23 PHEV)

Even for diy wiring, in finding it difficult to get the trim off to even get to the indicator/ reverse harness.

I have the standard 4 pin type from etrailer. most common plug type for light weight trailers. if you have newer 7 pin type, you can get an adopter for $20-$30. plastic cover removal is not too bad, it probably took about an hour or so from start to end. most time was taken removing side panels as I ran the cable inside the vehicle instead of outside as shown in etailer example.

 

[sighttomtom]

I actually have trim removal tools but this first bottom peice is not obvious how to come out. I got the two plugs out however pulling forward or up isn't working. Do I have to remove the sides first?

2019 has the screw for tie down which I had to remove. you should also be able to see the other screws holding down the panels once you pull off the side using your hand. since yours is a newer vehicle, don't worry about breaking the trim clips so use some force when removing.

 

[sighttomtom]

Yes. It'll be interesting to know.

I saw a Tesla Model 3 pulling a cheap little trailer the other day, and I didn't notice if their trailer lights were working or not. But I imagine they were facing the same issue. Where to get 12V for the trailer lights with LED tail lights that aren't 12 Volts.

The Niro tail light plug is easy access under that panel in the trunk. I just haven't had the time to put a multi meter on it.

12 volt accessory battery provides power to everything "accessory" in all vehicles including full EV. from Curtis website the 2019[mine] and 2023[yours] has the same connector. if this is true, it's straight forward installation. power source is your accessory battery which has full power even when the ignition is in off state. only pain point is removal of the lot of plastic panels and bolts that hold them. I ran mine inside the vehicle unlike Curtis example of running the cable outside/underbody. I think full EV has accessory battery located in the back of the vehicle? if this is true for Gen2, you should be able to wire this up in few minutes.

 

[sighttomtom]

Mystery solved, as indicated in service manual and measured, It's 12V for sure. It is likely driven by CAN bus further up the chain, but at this point it is good ol 12V.

The unfortunate bit is the turn signal harness is buried under the rear bumper. Honestly though missing turn signals isn't critical and probably won't bother with it. At best I'll get that cheap rf bike turn signal thing and harvest the remote and wire up the signal lines to it's led output. I really don't want to tear apart the bumper

you don't want to use just any power source as it can overload on the source. Power should be connected directly to the battery with provided fused line [heavy duty] to ensure it can safely accommodate power needed for the trailer even if it's just a simple parking/brake lights.