Hitch for towbar too high when towing a caravan.

[Black120]

So i just travelled 3000kms with the WDH on the genuine towbar, no worries at all, had the recall done inbetween. Ill get a Hayman reese towbar later on for the future.

[rubbishcop]

So i have lifted the Prado and I'm very happy with it. Hooked on the van on the weekend and set it all up, all good. I am booked in to get the towbar recall done on the 14th. I read that the dealership will swap the Hayman Reese for a genuine one, is this correct?

I got a recall notice from Brighton Toyota as the original owner. They took the rest of the HR bits I had left, got a replacement Toyota LDH setup complete. New Toyota LDH tounge has a sticker 250Kg / 2500Kg ratings on it and Original Toyota square socket has a new sticker on it saying use a non-genuine LDH at your own risk.

[gspy4u]

I tossed the original as it was crap and only fixes with 6 bolts in the middle and put on a HR one with 12 bolts across to both chasis rails as well. Sits slightly lower but not much.

[MRW82]

You could fit a Hayman Reese towbar and get rid of the crappy factory Toyota one. Then your all good with the WDH too. I believe the Hayman Reese towbar receiver sits lower.

[404pug]

A related question........ any major issues in using a non- Toyota tongue? I have one which is about 50-60 mm longer to the tow ball point which allows me to open the rear door fully when the camper is on. I do not use a weight distributing hitch and tow ball weight is about 110-120 kg when fully loaded. Also the Toyota tongue allows some movement of the treg hitch which doesn't sit on it as well.

[Black120]

Cheers, when i get back ill just put another towbar on i think.

Have a look in at post #111 in this thread for a photo : http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ighlight=hitch

Direct link to post #111 is here
http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...l=1#post443307

[120D4D]

That's right blacky but be aware that the genuine LDH will sit much higher than the drop hitch in your top photo.

Have a look in at post #111 in this thread for a photo : http://www.pradopoint.com/showthread...ighlight=hitch

I would swap the towbar with a HR one and not bother with the recall.

[Black120]

So i have lifted the Prado and I'm very happy with it. Hooked on the van on the weekend and set it all up, all good. I am booked in to get the towbar recall done on the 14th. I read that the dealership will swap the Hayman Reese for a genuine one, is this correct?

[dagree]

One of the reasons I removed my genuine tow bar and fitted a HR 2500kg one!

[rubbishcop]

The genuine Toyota Hitch is a short cantilever length load distribution hitch. The vital part of the equation IMHO is that the Toyota hitch has a very short moment arm when compared with a common adjustable hitch that has a long cantilever or dropped gooseneck distance. Vital to remember that the longer the cantilever, either straight out or straight down, the greater the bending moment is applied to the square cast steel Prado tow hitch socket, the part that I was told has allegedly snapped off from a Prado, complete with gooseneck and caravan, safety chains and WDH bars and all.
IMHO, a genuine Toyota towbar WDH setup, and an engineered lift of the tow hitch on the caravan, or an engineered lift of the caravan ride height, or a caravan built for lifted vehicles from the outset would eliminate the need for using a non genuine long gooseneck.
I think the point to work around is the ability of the cast steel Prado tow bar socket to handle its 2500Kg rating, and not overload it with long non genuine dropped and long cantilever length tow ball hitches.

[05oiler]

I have lifted my Prado and have a 1999 Jayco Westport. I moved the axle below the springs which raised the caravan about 100mm. I use a similar WDH as you. Although I set them at 5 links of the chains so that the bars are level when tensioned. The car and van are level. Alternatively there are different drop hitches. 6, 8 and 10 inch. Although I suspect the longer one's would put a real strain on the Toyota hitch.

Regards

Garry

[rubbishcop]

Beware of the Prado Towbar Recall. The square socket castings were being overloaded and cracking off. I had my HR Assy, complete, including bars and dropped gooseneck taken off me by Brighton Toyota and replaced FOC by a genuine Toyota gooseneck and bars. The long cantilever of the HR gooseneck either out horiz. or down vert. measured from towball to casting, would IMHO be a possible cause of overloading of the socket casting. The genuine Toyota gooseneck is nowhere as long as the HR adjustable. See my other post on the subject of the towbar safety recall. Remember leverage is calculated by the force multiplied by the distance

i.e. given the same load of your caravan, applied over the longer distance of a dropped or longer gooseneck, IMHO the greater the load on the square casting will be applied.

[Heath74]

I read it as spacing it down. Probably by using a 2" SHS same as that used for towbar tongues.

Correct, between the draw bar A frame and the trailer hitch add a spacer, such as 2" SHS. it's a common fix for this issue, so I can't claim credit!

But it's Zuttas call. Just throwing an option out there