There comes a time in every dads life when he has to swallow his pride and submit to the minivan.Just kidding. I was pumped to get a minivan. My only regret is not doing it sooner. Essentially a larger version of one of the best bike vehicles ever made (the Honda Element), minivans are arguably the better choice for many families than the typical cookie-cutter SUV. What other vehicle fits 7-8 passengers, full sheets of 4 x 8 plywood, can be parked in a standard garage, and gets 36mpg? One of the only negatives Ive run into so far with my new Toyota Sienna is the limited and mostly underwhelming options for a trailer hitch. For this to be a true bicycle adventure vehicle, it needs a trailer hitch. And a 2 hitch, at that.Toyota completely fails here and doesnt offer any 2 hitches from the factory, and the majority of aftermarket 2 hitches compatible with the current Sienna hang down below the bumper and reduce departure angle, leading to scraping. Theyre also rated fairly low when it comes to tongue weight.What is a tongue weight rating?The tongue weight rating is the maximum downward weight/force that a trailer hitch can withstand. When were talking about bike racks rather than towing a trailer, the entire weight of the rack + bikes must be considered in the tongue weight of the trailer hitch because theres no additional axle to support the weight. But to make it more complicated, the leverage of the bike rack sticking out from the vehicle has to be factored in as well, since this leverage can increase the force exerted on the hitch when you hit a bump. This is something thats not really talked about much with bike racks, and is usually buried deep in the manual if mentioned at all. So, I asked as many bike rack companies as I could to find what theyd recommend. So far, Thule and Kuat have replied, with Thule stating their general rule of thumb is that the tongue weight rating should be at least equal to the weight of the rack plus the weight of the bikes. Kuat states they dont set a required minimum trailer hitch class rating for their current bike racks, but do require a Class III+ hitch for the Pivot V3 and Pivot XD. If you really want to nerd out on hitch capacity, I found this Hitch Bike Rack Calculator created by someone on reddit that factors in the distance from the hitch to give you a much better idea of how close you are to the maximum weight limit of your hitchs tongue weight rating. If youre buying a van, theres a good chance youll need to carry at least 4 bikes or more. Which means theres also a good chance youll be interested in vertical hanging racks like the Yakima HangTight 6, Thule Revert, Velocirax, etc. Most of these racks require a Class III hitch, with some like Velocirax requiring a 500lb tongue weight rating. That immediately disqualifies almost every hitch for the 4th Gen Toyota Sienna. Thats where the Torklift EcoHitch for the 2021-2027 Toyota Sienna comes in. Not only does this hitch offer a class-leading 700 lb tongue weight and 4,500lb trailer weight rating (more than the vans 3,500lb tow rating), but its mostly hidden design yields better ground clearance. The design also allows for the kick sensor for the rear liftgate of the van to still work (with a few modifications). Torklift also makes a claim that theyre the only company using a patent-pending stainless steel receiver to prevent rust.Sounds great, right? Well, there are definitely some trade-offs. First, at $427.24, it is one of the most expensive hitch options for the vehicle (you do get free shipping, though). Then theres the installation most people will probably pay to have this installed, though it can be DIYd if you have the time, tools, and dont mind a few modifications to your van. Removing a crossmember?Among those modifications is a controversial one: the removal of a factory aluminum crossmember. This aluminum cross member is designed to crush in an impact and acts as part of the bumper system. The Torklift hitch replaces this aluminum cross member with a steel tube, which theoretically will crush less easily.According to Torklift, this aluminum cross member is designed only to absorb energy in low-speed impacts, particularly at 2.5 mph, as mandated by 49 CFR Part 581. Theres no rule that says you cant modify this system to install a trailer hitch, and Torklift claims, There is no evidence that a properly engineered, vehicle-specific hitch like the EcoHitch compromises occupant safety in a rear-end collision. However, they also mention that [they] have not conducted full vehicle crash testing for this hitch application, and its not typical for hitch manufacturers to do so. You can read more in a reddit thread where Torklift responds here. Ultimately, what swayed me into going forward with the install is that I leave a bike rack on my car almost the entire year except for the saltiest winter months. If a rack is installed in the hitch, it doesnt matter what that cross member is made of, since a rear-end impact will be transferred through the rack, into the hitch, and then into the vehicle, so it seems like a moot point. I know a lot of people wont leave a rack on their vehicle at all times, though, so use your own judgment based on the info above. Buy these before you start the installation:It took a while after receiving the hitch to get it installed on the van. That was partially due to my hesitation to pull apart a brand new van, but also to make sure I had everything on hand before I got started. If you want to install trailer light wiring, this is definitely the time to do it. Torklift sent their $103.35 wiring harness along with the hitch, which seemed to be the standard Curt T-Connector wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector. Thats important to know, because access to the installation area isnt easy if you dont have a spare tire, so the installation video I found on etrailer.com was critical. Im a perfectionist and wanted the completed install to look as factory as possible, so I ordered some edge trim from Amazon. There are a number of different options here, but I found that this stuff was easy-ish to install and doesnt use any adhesives, instead relying on a mechanical grip that is extremely secure once installed. You dont need much, so the 10 for $5.10 is plenty. I had most of the tools needed already, but you will need a good pair of tin snips, sockets with extensions, a torque wrench capable of 45-65 ft lbs, and a set of box-end wrenches at minimum. I also found that a Dremel tool with a plastic cutoff wheel came in handy, along with a clip removal tool and a set of auto trim removal tools. Finally, youll want a moving blanket or similar to set the bumper cover on to keep it safe, and some painters tape to protect the edges, as well as electrical tape for the sensor modification. How to install Toyota Sienna Torklift EcoHitchIncluded with the hitch are the main beam, two end plates, and a bag of hardware. Dont sweat if the mounting plates on the ends of the beam look bent on arrival; theyre supposed to be that way.Once you have all the materials to start the installation, set aside a big block of time to get this done so youre not rushing. It took me the better part of 12 hours to do the hitch, wiring harness, and mud guard installation, but I was also trying to document the process while taking breaks to do other things. Knowing what I know now, and having all this info ahead of time, I feel like I could do it again in less than 4hrs if I wasnt documenting it, but thats still a decent chunk of time. Part of what took so long is that there is no single source of installation instructions that covers everything for this particular van/hitch combination. With all due respect to Torklift, their installation videos and instructions provided with the hitch are lacking in detail, especially when it comes to modifying the kick sensor to work with the hitch. After delivery, Torklift provided an updated installation instruction guide (below), which is improved, but still different in spots compared with what Id recommend. 2021 Sienna Torklift HitchX7422S-INST(1)DownloadThe best installation video I found was actually from U-Haul, but even it has things that could be done better. U-Haul actually mentions in the comments that theyve figured out a better way to do the kick sensor installation and that there will be a follow-up video, but it doesnt seem to exist yet. I tried so many times and in different ways to reach out to them to get more information, and got zero replies.This thread on Siennachat.com was one of the better sources for info on modifying the kick sensor, and there is also an excellent PDF from bmcnally82 on page 2 with useful notes on the installation. Its worth noting that this thread was created when the EcoHitch was first introduced for the Sienna, and there are a number of comments about having to bend the studs to make it fit, or having to use washers, etc. None of this seems to be the case today, in 2026 my EcoHitch fit perfectly without any modifications to the hitch or the mounting studs needed. A better wayBut even after scouring the internet for every detail on the installation of this hitch, I still found that there were better ways to do it that required fewer permanent modifications. Starting with removing the aluminum cross member, theres no need to fully remove the metal tape covering the holes. Simply use a heat gun to warm it up, and you can peel back the corners to access the bolts. Do it this way, and you can save the crossmember in case you want to put it back to stock for some reason in the future, and you can even reuse the tape. No plans to reuse it? Doing it this way is still easier and saves time/effort. Top left image is a screenshot from the U-Haul Video; all other photos c. BikeRumorEveryone says you need to cut this tab off since it interferes with the hitch placement dont do it! Instead, make a small vertical snip (red line in the photo above, left) and then simply bend it upwards at a 90 angle. This does two things: it preserves the tab in case you ever want to go back, but it also provides a nice mounting point for a zip tie. Instead of routing the wiring harness for the kick sensor around the front of the hitch, I rerouted it under and then zip-tied it to this tab to keep it in place. Another permanent modification that is required: cutting a hole in the bumper cover. The new instructions from Torklift tell you to cut a smaller hole than before, which is more similar to what I did. I followed the guidance from the U-Hual video to use the seam as the back edge of the cut (and how to center it), and made mine just 4 1/4 wide. This provided plenty of room for any horizontal variation in the placement of the hitch (though you should have centered it before torquing it down, so wiggle room isnt really needed). As mentioned, I used the edge trim to give it a finished look, and tried to round the corners of the cut a bit to give the edge trim a better radius. I did most of the cutting with the Dremel tool and a plastic cutoff wheel, though you can do this with tin snips in a pinch. Another piece you will need to trim is the underbody panel on the left side of the van. Again, all the instructional materials I found said to make a much bigger cutout than you actually need. Most say to make it 2 wide, which causes you to lose the mounting hole to the right of the cut, which is used for one of the clips that holds this piece to the bumper cover. I found that there is no need to make this cut wider than about an inch, which preserves that mounting hole I was able to reuse all the mounting clips for the bumper cover. I couldnt stand the idea of losing clips due to the installation of this hitch, which could result in movement of the various pieces and potential noise down the road. The cut also doesnt need to be nearly as long as specified. I made mine about 4 3/4 long from the front of the panel, and that ended up about an inch longer than necessary. Theres a potential here that the hitch could be slightly shifted due to bolt/stud placement, manufacturing tolerances, etc., so my advice is to start small. Make a small cut, then install it and check the clearance. Only cut out as much as you need, and take your time. Do it this way, and youll end up with a perfect fitment without losing any of the factory mounting clips. Kick Sensor ModificationThe last permanent modification is a biggie. One of the big selling features of the EcoHitch is that the liftgate kick sensor still works with the installation of the hitch. Read the comments online, and that turns out to be partially true. Some say theirs still works fine; others say theirs doesnt work at all.This seems to come down to how the kick sensor is either repositioned or modified, as there are a number of ways to do it. The official way seems to be drilling new holes in the kick sensor and relocating it on the bumper cover above the hole you have to cut out for the hitch. However, the effectiveness of the sensor in this position seems questionable. Some owners have had luck with moving the sensor to one side of the hitch, but again, that requires drilling and modifications that may or may not be worth it.I saw a method on the SeinnaChat forum where you modified the sensor bracket to route the wires above the hole in the bumper cover, and those who tried it reported it working very well, so I figured Id give it a shot if it didnt work, I could simply buy a new kick sensor. But if it did work (and it does) then you have a better result without any other modifications.The sensor works by transmitting a signal through these wire loops, which sit behind the bumper cover. Because of that, its very important not to cut the wires, but you can remove them from the housing and then cut the housing to fit over the hole in the bumper cover. Removing the wires from the spring-loaded tabs on the end gives you more slack, so you can move the wires out of the way, and youll also need to remove the clips holding the wires in place near the cut. I made sure to arrange the wires so that they werent overlapping and there was space between each wire, then used electrical tape to hold them in place. The result is a kick sensor that uses all of the factory mounting positions, and one that still works on both sides of the hitch. As far as I can tell, there has been zero impact on the performance of the kick sensor with this modification in fact, it might actually work too well. Make sure you dont have your key in your pocket when youre installing your racks hitch pin, or it will sense your movements and try to open the liftgate into your rack. One last thing to cut (that no one mentions)If you have a Limited or Platinum Sienna with a chrome bumper insert, you should have these tabs sticking through the bumper cover (other van trim levels may have something similar, not sure). These tabs will impact the hitch when you go to reinstall the bumper cover, so if you dont cut them, the bumper will stick out oddly, or even break those chrome inserts out of the bumper. Fortunately, you can cut these easily with tin snips without causing that chrome piece to fall out. They seem to be extra long to act as guides during the installation process, so you can cut them almost flush with the back of the bumper cover without affecting their function. An experimental modificationFull disclosure: I like to overthink things sometimes, but I think this was worth the extra hassle. When you compare the stock aluminum crossmember to the steel beam from Torklift, that aluminum crossmember sticks out 5.5 from the body of the van. The steel beam from Torklift only sticks out about 3. As far as Im aware, that aluminum crossmember is all that supports the bumper cover from behind in the center, so removing it and replacing it with the Torklift hitch means there is about a 2.5 gap of unsupported space behind the cover.Watching my child jump in and out of the van and push against the bumper, I realized that having some support for that bumper cover may be important just to keep it from deforming to the point where its stressing the mounting clips, or potentially cracking the paint.So I decided to make an experimental support structure out of XPS foam to mount to the EcoHitch beam. I used a piece of 1 thick XPS, which I then used a hot knife to cut in half to give me 2.5 in total when stacked (1 + 1 + 0.5). I tried to glue this to the hitch using a glue that was supposedly compatible with both XPS foam and metal, but that didnt work, so I ended up just zip-tying it to the beam. This isnt structural or anything; its just to prevent the bumper cover from being pushed in too far.Installation of the bumper cover went smoothly, and it does feel like the foam is doing something to support the bumper cover when you push on it. It doesnt seem like this could hurt at all, and it was easy to do, so Id recommend it. It should go without saying, though: make any of these modifications at your own risk. The payoffObviously, this is a lot of work to install a trailer hitch compared to many vehicles, which often require just a few bolts. Having done it, though, Im extremely pleased with the result. It looks great; it offers the most ground clearance (no scraping on anything yet), it offers the highest tongue weight rating, and the stainless receiver tube seems to work well with every bike rack Ive tried so far (the opening seems a little larger than most hitches, but the anti-wobble mechanisms on most bike racks keep it rock solid).Yes, there should be better installation instructions. Yes, it would be great if it required fewer modifications. But until Toyota engineers the next generation of vans with a factory 2 hitch that is ideal for todays larger bike racks and heavier e-bikes, the Torklift EcoHitch is probably the best hitch option for your 2021-2027 Toyota Sienna.torkliftcentral.com