Toyota Towbar Failure

[butane8 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close butane8]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

:cry: oops..nasty learnin' curve... butane..

[dereki Member Find all posts View Profile Close dereki]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

I had a commodore once (v6 one)... It did have a heavy duty tow kit on it, which included bits of steel plate bolted into the boot area, larger auto cooler etc... Sounds like they didn't even have that installed. I wonder if the insurance company paid up.

[karrathaprado2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close karrathaprado2]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

Some poeple are just numpties...they should have taken up the swap.

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

hi guysi have just had this message from my post on explor oz
dont think cannot happen to you :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

I recently had the same tow bar failure as you, which looks exactly the same, however I lost the caravan on the Hume Highway just outside Melbourne. It was a Genuine Toyota bar as was yours. The van has been written off and I am currently having the towbar tested by a Forensic Engineer.

Could you provide me with your phone number so I can discuss this with you.

Sincerely,

hey felia
Yes it was a 1metre jump up of soft dirt/grassy ground and i was traveling at 2 ks / hr as i was at the camp site where was going to stay for 2 weeks.



:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

Gee man, you sure expect a lot from a standard tow bar if you are doing that sort of thing to it.
Ever thought of asking the manufacturers what they can supply to take that sort of pounding.
Hell of a lot different to towing a caravan on reasonable roads, as most people do.
I have seen "off road vans specially built, with 2" WATER PIPE around the tray section, just so he could slip along trees etc. Didn't break the chassis or body, but DESTROYED the insides of van through the pounding it got, then he had the hide to try to get warranty claim through.

snail

MOD EDIT- I've re-worded your post in the interests of keeping the peace. Please consider your wording carefully before submitting posts in future thanks.

[Hutch Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hutch]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

Correct me if i am wrong but are any of these failures not related to towing heavy vans and or WDH been involved?? is their any failures from recoveries, and or normal light use, for example camper trailers etc.

[Guest Close Guest]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

Hi All
I have had a look at a 150 Series Prado Gueione Toyota Tow bar and what a difference a few breakages does to make a complete chaings to the desigen of the Genuine Toyota Towbar for the 150 series Prado. No cast iron in site it looks just like a normal tow bar and no waring about using a non Toyota tounge. It looks terrific.
snailbate

[mumstruk Member Find all posts View Profile Close mumstruk]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

Interesting posts and as usual a bit of controversy. To me the tojo bar looks substantial but I think that the major problem is is that it is cast, see the 150. From my experience belting old cars around race tracks, cast metals crack, steels distort. Things like cast king pins and other cast suspension parts on many old historic racers are looked at very closely and crack tested regularly ( if their owners value theirs and other competitors safety ), even on new parts particularly. This is for extreme use to say the least but worthwile as even new parts can and do show fractures.

Think about this.

I bought a new Jayco Swan Outback last year and got the dealers to fit a number of accessories including a second water tank and extra gas bottle, extended drawbar and Fiamma wind out awning. When I got the thing home from the dealers I checked the compliance plate. By memory the ATM was only 200 kgs more than the Tare. That is, I can legally have a payload of 200kgs in the van. If I filled my second water tank and the second gas bottle and added the weight of the other various accessories fitted by the dealers I was left with a useable payload of about 25 kg :shock: . Two full water tanks weigh in at 170kgs.Jayco reckon that the spare is included in the Tare but many manufacturers dont. This means that If I threw in a carton of beer and dropped in the 120 amp hour battery that Jayco provided a nice spot for I was over the ATM and the thing was illegal to tow. Forget about the fishing gear and a pair of double pluggers. The dealers response --- Dont fill the second water tank :shock: :shock: :shock: . I rang Jayco Head Office and the nice people sent me a new compliance plate that gave me an extra 100kgs ATM.I pointed out that the product brochure has a picture of a van like mine with a tinny on the roof.. My point here and it may not apply to all is that there are many many vans out there that are way over their ATM and I am just as guilty.

One thing I always do is disconnect my WDH bars if I am near any thing that is remotely offroad to allow the full articulation of my tow hitch. By the way, I swapped the original fixed on-road tow hitch to a 3.5 tonne Hyland as I found that I was running out of articulation, even on relatively small inclines like driving into a Maccas. The hitch was binding up on the tojo tongue. May be this has been happening to others without them being aware.

[dereki Member Find all posts View Profile Close dereki]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

One thing I always do is disconnect my WDH bars if I am near any thing that is remotely offroad to allow the full articulation of my tow hitch. By the way, I swapped the original fixed on-road tow hitch to a 3.5 tonne Hyland as I found that I was running out of articulation, even on relatively small inclines like driving into a Maccas. The hitch was binding up on the tojo tongue. May be this has been happening to others without them being aware.

Do you have the special tow ball that goes with the hyland? It has an extra long neck or something.

D

[mumstruk Member Find all posts View Profile Close mumstruk]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

I bought a new 3.5 tonne ball from the same place I got the Hyland from. They threw it in for an extra $10. It is taller than the original one. Yes, I did a fair bit of research before I decided on the Hyland. I could have bought the 2.5 tonne hitch and it would have done the job but for not a lot extra I went for the 3.5 for the extra insurance.

[dereki Member Find all posts View Profile Close dereki]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

I bought a new 3.5 tonne ball from the same place I got the Hyland from. They threw it in for an extra $10. It is taller than the original one. Yes, I did a fair bit of research before I decided on the Hyland. I could have bought the 2.5 tonne hitch and it would have done the job but for not a lot extra I went for the 3.5 for the extra insurance.

I have been contemplating getting on off road hitch, cos I suspected that the articulation at the ball was rubbish, which you have confirmed. I am now leaning towards the hyland.

[newtoy2 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close newtoy2]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure 90 or 120 series?

Sorry to bring back an old thread but is the failures of the Toyota towbars just restricted to the 120 series or does it also include the towbars for the 90 series as well. I gather the issue is due to the use of a casting in the manufacture of the units. The toyota towbar on my 2001 95 series doesn't appear to have any casting on it and looks completely different from the photos that appeared earlier in this thread.
As I haven't had the vehicle that long and will be starting to tow my 18ft caravan soon I would like to clarify the safety of my setup before I start.
Your thoughts or (professional) oppinions please.
Roger

[mumstruk Member Find all posts View Profile Close mumstruk]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

Hello Newtoy.

I am not an expert but you will need to fit a weight distribution hitch. The 18 foot van will have a tow ball weight of anything between say 160 kg to 250 kg depending on how the van is loaded, axle location on the van, how many axles the van has. You can measure this with some reasonable accuracy with a set of bathroom scales under the jockey wheel. The other thing to consider is the amount of gear sitting over the rear axle of the Prado. All of these things add to the (in) stability and safety of your rig on the road. I am not sure but some where there is a thread that says that the fitment of any other type of hitch to the Toyota receiver will void any warranty. To this end you may need to fit a whole new tow bar.

I went to the Hayman Reese website and got in touch with the local distributor. They were very thorough and professional and gave me the right advice. They recommended a new tow bar and the 555lb WDH which is rated at 130 to 250 kgs. I used to use a secondhand light weight WDH with the four inverted bars and a cast base plate. This was OK until I really loaded the van. The Grande has self leveling suspension so it was difficult to detect just by looking at the van that there was a weight imbalance problem but as soon as you got behind the wheel you noticed that the van would push the car around a lot and if you were driving on some twisty bits of road with a bit of pace it was really seat of the pants stuff and very demanding. Not enjoyable at all. The Hayman Reese WDH has cured all of this.

[Gingerbeer Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gingerbeer]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

For all you trivia roosters out there;
the aftermarket towbars made for the 120 series that attach to the chassis rails , fit the 150 series without modification. Appears the rear chassis is the same.

[Shaker Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Shaker]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

I keep reading on different forums about the Toyota tow bars failing.
Even if it has only happened once or twice, surely Toyota should do something to allay people's fears, it is a bit like driving with a ticking time bomb behind you & could cause serious injury or death.

Has anybody else approached Toyota to ask if they will indemnify an owner against claims, in the event of the Toyota tow bar failing? I did, & oviously they said that they had never heard of it happening, said that they were very concerned & would get back to me, that was a fortnight ago.
Personally, I feel like contacting Vicroads Road Safety Division & let them sort it out.

[Dustybum Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dustybum]

Re: Toyota Towbar Failure

For all you trivia roosters out there;
the aftermarket towbars made for the 120 series that attach to the chassis rails , fit the 150 series without modification. Appears the rear chassis is the same.

I have recently fitted the 150 series HR towbar to my 120 series Prado, definitely a well made and strong hitch receiver, much more substantial than the OEM toyota hitch/towbar.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7866&p=134137#p134137

:lol: