Removing Tow Ball

[Selthy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Selthy]

I recently had a new Tow Bar installed. Main purpose is to carry a bike rack that slides into the hitch. As such, I need to remove the tow ball.

To remove the ball, along with the pin, do I need to unscrew the bolt at the bottom of the hitch? It looks like it screws into the ball from underneath. It also appears to be a bolt with a secondary nut acting like some sort of washer. Any tips will be appreciated. I have grabbed this pic from a thread about installing the tow bar.

[kenny5000 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close kenny5000]

Unscrew the bolt in the centre underneath, pull the R clip and pin and the hitch will slide straight out!

[Coolcol Moderated member Find all posts View Profile Close Coolcol]

That looks like a locking pin so best put the key in it or unlock it.

[MDS69 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close MDS69]

As other have said undo the bolt etc etc. The bolt is an anti rattle device. My Triton didn't have one and it was annoying when towing a box trailer.

[Guest Close Guest]

That is the anti-rattle bolt. Only to be tightened if you are not towing anything. If you are towing, the bolt needs to be backed out and nut tightened (if it has a secondary lock nut) so that the bolt has no pressure on the towbar tongue.

[Selthy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Selthy]

Thanks for the replies.

[OzDriver Member Find all posts View Profile Close OzDriver]

Agree with the above advice (dealer did not know about the locking bolt). The manual say to leave the plastic plug/cover in place if no tow ball bar is attached to keep out dirt etc. - but I found it actually helped collect dirt/water if used, so I leave my plastic plug out and clean the socket if required before use (also means I don't need the pin in place). Currently I only use the tow bar for the bike rack, so I just leave the tow ball/bar out. Another finding was that a Thule bike rack bolt is a bit short on the Prado tow bar (only a few turns), so I obtained a longer one (along with some bigger washers).

[Selthy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Selthy]

Agree with the above advice (dealer did not know about the locking bolt). The manual say to leave the plastic plug/cover in place if no tow ball bar is attached to keep out dirt etc. - but I found it actually helped collect dirt/water if used, so I leave my plastic plug out and clean the socket if required before use (also means I don't need the pin in place). Currently I only use the tow bar for the bike rack, so I just leave the tow ball/bar out. Another finding was that a Thule bike rack bolt is a bit short on the Prado tow bar (only a few turns), so I obtained a longer one (along with some bigger washers).

My setup exactly. I was going to remove the ball to test my Thule bike carrier. Looks like I will be making a trip to the hardware store for another bolt.

[Selthy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Selthy]

I'm still trying to find a solution for my Thule bike rack. The screw and washers don't seem to hold the rack tight in the hitch. I can easily wobble it up and down by hand with not much pressure. My local ARB store was very helpful but the 2 guys who looked at the tow bar said they had never seen anything like the Toyota hitch design. The Toyota bar seems to have a 2 layer eye for the bolts (where the pin goes through) to hold the rack tight in the hitch. The most inner eye is the same size as every other hitch I have seen, however the outer is much bigger. This is causing the bolt and washers not to fit flush on the hitch as the bolt and washer cannot get past the larger eye.

Is there any specific benefit to Toyota's design?
OzDriver, what size bolt and washer did you buy and does this hold the rack firm?
The ARB guys suggested to tighten the anti rattle bolt to help hold the rack in place. Your thoughts on this?

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I have an iSi bike rack. It comes with a longer bolt for the Prado and an internal 'nut' that wedges the rack against one side of the hitch. Works beautifully. Have a look on the iSi site. You might be able to make up something for your bike rack.

[wv1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wv1]

This is what I did to solve the looseness when using a bike rack. Purchased from ebay a locking bolt and ground down the fittings to fit the Toyota bar.
Just an aside on the ISI rack. I nearly lost my bike on a corrugated road as the Uhook holding the bike top tube rode up the securing pole and so the bike was being held in the bottom carrier bracket only.
You will notice that the ISI opposition gripsport has changed his design so it uses locking straps so this can not happen and from ISI response to me when I notified them of the problem I do not think my experience was an isolated case.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

I've never had an issue but I do tighten the little T bolt with a spanner. I also compress the suspension a little to preload the hook. Thanks for the heads up, I will keep more of an eye on it.

[OzDriver Member Find all posts View Profile Close OzDriver]

It is an M12 bolt. I think I went for a 65mm length high tensile steel bolt (about 20mm longer than the standard one) plus a wide washer and spring washer from a hardware store. Works fine. Too long would cause other problems since the Thule thread does not go all the way through on the carrier (on mine). Best to take the Thule one into the store as a guide.

[mjrandom Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close mjrandom]

M12 seems small? I think the iSi is M20????

[OzDriver Member Find all posts View Profile Close OzDriver]

Bolt Size

I checked the bolt size I purchased: it is actually 50mm (M12 high tensile). I think you might be able to go to about 60mm, but not much more. I think the standard Thule one is about 35mm.