WARNING to those with factory hitch

[vinnyd]

Hello all. I want to share my towing experience as a caution to those who plan on pulling a trailer this summer. I have a 2008 Highlander Sport with tow package.

I purchased my first trailer in Mar 2010. It is a 21' Pacific Coachworks Tango Twist. Dry weight of 3710 lbs, and tongue weight of 440 lbs.
It has dual axles, and rides very low to the ground.

I have a Toyota OEM hitch with a Reese SC weight distribution system which has a 800lb tongue wt. limit.

Upon first set up, I noticed immediately the trailer was not riding level with the back too low. I lowered the ball to the lowest holes on the drop shank and tried this for a while, but still was not satisfied.
About the middle of last summer I purchased a longer drop shank so that I could bring the front of the trailer down (keeping in mind the vehicle was riding level). This did the trick, until after a few more trips, I noticed the top of the drop shank was beginning to tilt forwards and basically twist the hitch upwards. The first contact point between the hitch and the top of the cover started to bulge upwards to the point that it almost interfered with the opening of the hatch.
Here is a pic.

Basically, I must have surpassed the 500 lbs tongue weight limit of the OEM hitch. (this wasn't hard to do with just some propane added to the tanks and some stuff in the back of the Highlander). Add to this, a longer drop shank that acted like one powerful lever.

Going forward I may swap the hitch with a Valley 81312 hitch, which IS rated for weight distribution up to 600lbs tongue wt.
OR, I may trade in my other vehicle for a truck.

Anyways, be careful. I was lucky the hitch didn't break while driving.

[Zembonez]

Unfortunately, you are trying to do truck stuff when you don't own a truck. Weight distribution hitches should NEVER be used on a unibody vehicle. They exert tremendous forces (both up and down) on a tow vehicle and unibody construction is not strong enough to take it. I'd bet your hitch is fine and the unibody is bent.

[nov0798]

I think the problem is the drop shank. When you add leverage to something, you dont need as much to bend something else. Bottom line is if you had not used the drop shank, then you probably would not have bent the hitch. Switching to a different hitch will not accomplish anything if you continue to use the drop on it. Unless you strengthen the area around the receiver, a new hitch will do the same thing. You probably need a class 4 hitch, but dont think they make them for our highlanders.

Also, I find it funny that folks black out their license plates, yet drive around with them uncovered all day??

[AXMACD]

He probably wants to avoid the hassle of being recognized, there would be nothing worse than somebody going up to you in a parking lot, hi vinnyd from Toyota Nation, how's your hitch doing?!

[vinnyd]

The Valley hitch I quoted is listed as a Class IV on their website.
It also sits lower to the ground and therefore allows for a shorter drop shank.

[gturcotte]

I have a Valley class IV hitch on my 09 HL Sport and it did not bend. I've been using it for 1 year now and I drove about 2200km last summer with my travel trailer (4500lbs loaded, 500 + lbs tongue weight).

The valley hitch is sitting pretty low and I had to buy a longer shank to raise the ball because my TT is pretty high from the ground. My TT has an extension directly over the 2 axles, that is why the floor has to sit completly over the axles.

Here is some pictures. I use an eaz-lift round bars weight distribution hitch.

[vinnyd]

Good to know gturcotte.
I noticed your drop shank does tilt slightly forward. Does your Valley receiver sit horizontal when you don't have the trailer hooked up?.
If it does, I would keep an eye on this angle to see if it increases.

[gturcotte]

The shank is level, this is an illusion because on the picture, the terrain is uneven. Trailer wheels are lower than the HL wheels on the ground.

There is also the fact that the ball mount is tilted rearward, that create the impression that the shank is not level, or square vs the hitch.

[Zembonez]

Pulling 4500 pounds behind a highlander must be a seriously white knuckle experience. You are MUCH braver than I.

[gturcotte]

Originally Posted by Zembonez

Pulling 4500 pounds behind a highlander must be a seriously white knuckle experience. You are MUCH braver than I.

Towing 4500lbs with the Highlander is fine for me. I've never felt uncomfortable or unsecure on any of my 10 trips last summer. I've seen a couple HL towing 23 to 25ft trailers last summer and to me, this could be too big.

With my TT, I'm within the HL specs and I did not feel the SUV to be overloaded. The engine is powerful enough for that weight. There is enough power left when climbing a hill or passing a slow moving vehicle on the hwy.

The HL does about 14MPG when towing my trailer.

For sure, a F150 would be a better tow vehicle, but we make 8 to 10 campings trips per year, mostly 2 to 3 days, except for our 3 weeks vacation in july. So 90% of the time we are not towing and we did not want to ride in a pickup truck all the time.

The HL is a good compromise and that is why we bought a 19ft travel trailer. With a F150, I would have bought a 25ft trailer.

[Zembonez]

Originally Posted by gturcotte

The HL is a good compromise and that is why we bought a 19ft travel trailer. With a F150, I would have bought a 25ft trailer.

I stand corrected somewhat. I would not feel comfy towing that heavy with a unibody SUV but it does sound as if you have done your homework.

Be safe!