Inverted hitch

Submitted: Tuesday, Feb 12, 2019 at 15:28
ThreadID: 137805 Views:8200 Replies:8 FollowUps:14
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Hi I have just purchased a hilux 4x4 and was wondering why the factory does not recommend inverting the hitch. My camper tilts and what I don’t understand is my friend has a 4x2 hilux and it says you can invert the hitch but only for towing up to 2.25 tonnes rather than the standard 2.5 tonnes does this mean I can get away with inverting the hitch on my hilux ? My camper is only 1.5 tonnes surely this will not put a strain on the hitch ??
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Reply By: Member - ACD 1 - Tuesday, Feb 12, 2019 at 18:10

Tuesday, Feb 12, 2019 at 18:10
Johnny

Simple answer is you can do it! However, you must have the correctly rated tongue.

Google Toyota Towing Tongues and search the images and you will find examples of tongues that can and cant be used in both orientations.

You need to make sure that yours is one that can - or change it to one that can.

Cheers

Anthony
AnswerID: 623809

Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Tuesday, Feb 12, 2019 at 19:44

Tuesday, Feb 12, 2019 at 19:44
Hi Johnnykluger

We we purchased our Ultimate camper, I wanted an inverted hitch and to have it extended by 50mm so we could open the rear door fully on our Prado.

The simple answer was a 50mm, inverted hitch by Hayman Reese.


Cheers



Stephen

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Follow Up By: Johnnykluger - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 10:01

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 10:01
Stephen did you buy this directly from Hayman Reece ? I cannot find them anywhere?
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 18:02

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 18:02
Hi Johnnykluger

I purchased it from a major towbar place in Adelaide that had them straight off the shelf

They had many types of Hayman Reese tounges in stock, from the standard type to the extended, both in normal and inverted.


Cheers


Stephen
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Friday, Feb 15, 2019 at 08:44

Friday, Feb 15, 2019 at 08:44
I also have a Prado & would be very nervous about using a longer hitch in the original cast receiver as these have been known to break releasing both the hitch & chains attachment point.
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Friday, Feb 15, 2019 at 12:19

Friday, Feb 15, 2019 at 12:19
Who would design a hitch where any failure in the tongue releases both the trailer and the chains??

I can't see where that would be meet any legal requirement. I wouldn't buy any towbar that didn't have a secure chain connection welded to the main beam of the towbar.

Cheers, Ron.
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Friday, Feb 15, 2019 at 17:54

Friday, Feb 15, 2019 at 17:54
It has a Toyota logo cast into it so I would assume Toyota.
It also voids any warranty or claim against Toyota by using a non-genuine hitch as above.
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Follow Up By: HKB Electronics - Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 10:15

Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 10:15
As pointed out by shaker, there have been instances of the genuine Toyota tow bar hitch failing where after market weight distribution devices have been fitted.


Toyota did a recall to supposedly check the securing bolts where correct torqued, while they had the vehicle they removed any non genuine Toyota weight distribution hitches and fitted there own. They also place stickers on the hitches, inside the service book and on the vehicle indicating that only genuine Toyota weight distribution hitches etc are to be used.

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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 10:30

Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 10:30


This broke off road, fortunately when just entering a camp site, I believe he was using a non-genuine hitch but no WDH.
As you can see where it breaks also lets the chain attachment point go as well.
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Follow Up By: Ron N - Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 12:39

Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 12:39
Well, that says it all - "non-genuine hitch". You pays your money and you go with the gamble.

The problem with using a non-genuine hitch, is the lack of information-sharing between the towbar design engineers, and the maker of the non-genuine hitch.

I personally reckon there should be mandatory, random roadside inspections of towing arrangements.
I've seen too many towbar and hitch setups that don't even meet basic strength requirements, let alone legal requirements.

Cheers, Ron.
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 13:57

Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 13:57
As you can see above, Stephen is living dangerously, even more so by not only having a non-genuine hitch but by extending it & putting further leverage on the receiver. It would be better to extend the draw bar on the camper.
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Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 19:40

Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 19:40
Non genuine hitch has nothing to do with living dangerously Shaker.

The hitch is made by a professional towbar manufacturer......Haymsn Reese, and yes it does comply with Australian Standard Ron.

The town bar connected that I have seen damaged were caused by using weight distribution hitches and when put through some serious angels would weaken the towbar and after multiple time, metal fatigue would cause it to break.

How much weight do you Ron and Shaker put on your towbar ball

I bet you can not beat my weight, but only if you tow an Ultimate , as my ball weight is only 40 kilos.....not the 200 kg that have caused the bars to break.

All your vans would be more than triple my weight, so say no more.

Stephen
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 20:36

Saturday, Feb 16, 2019 at 20:36
Show me another brand of tow bar that breaks like that. I have a Prado with that tow bar & stopped using the non-genuine hitch, regardless of who made it, after I saw that issue. I can fully open my back door with both my Tvan & AOR Quantum.
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Follow Up By: HKB Electronics - Monday, Feb 18, 2019 at 10:27

Monday, Feb 18, 2019 at 10:27
Another point that was raised with the Prado tow bar above is that the genuine toung is made out of alloy, It has been discussed that changing the alloy toung for a steel one might also contribute to the failures above. It was suggested a steel toung may place move stress on specific areas causing the receiver to crack.

This is an interesting point as apparently there have been instances where the alloy toungs have fatigued at it has been suggested to change them for steel ones.

I tow a Vista with the unit above off road, over sand dunes, in and out of rivers very rough terrain etc and have never issue. I do inspect both the toung and receiver very carefully though after each trip for signs of cracking and fatigue.

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Reply By: Ron N - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 00:41

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 00:41
Johnnykluger - All the towing information you need, is in the Toyota Towing Guide.

Page 6 explains how some Toyota towbar tongues can be inverted, and some can't.

The reason why some Toyota towbar tongues can't be inverted, is because it alters the tow hitch position, to the point where the load rating may be affected adversely.

Toyota Towing Guide

Cheers, Ron.
AnswerID: 623818

Reply By: Member - DOZER - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 08:23

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 08:23
It comes down to design. Alot of Toyota hitches are welded at 45 degrees to vertical. You should not invert these, but the ones like the photo above, welded to the square on a vertical orientation are ok to invert.
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 20:10

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 20:10


You will see that the diagram is angle welded.
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Reply By: qldcamper - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 11:00

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 11:00
You can do anything you like, but if it causes an injury be prepaired to spend time in prison.
There are 2 sets of specs for hilux. The SR5 has a fancy rear step which requires a bar with the ball further away from the mounting holes. The SR it is ok to invert the tongue with reduced capacity, the SR5 you cant, so changing the tongue without engineering approval leaves you leagally liable. The legal specs are clearly printed on the lable and refers to the entire bar and mounting design, not just the tongue.

Yes many people just do it ignorantly and mostly get away with it, the specs are to cope with max weights so lighter trailers wont be a problem but without that piece of metal with it stamped on it any change is illegal. Have any sort of accident that is investigated it will be looked at especially by the insurance companies.

Phrase that comes to mind....

INVOLANTARY MANSLAUGHTER.
AnswerID: 623821

Reply By: RMD - Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 12:36

Wednesday, Feb 13, 2019 at 12:36
If it is an angle welded one as dozer mentioned, inverting them makes the top weld near the bend to become directly in tension and that is also where the tongue will flex slightly. After heavy load and many flex cycles, the weld will start to crack and the tongue may leave the square tube. Not recmmended.
AnswerID: 623825

Reply By: swampy - Thursday, Feb 14, 2019 at 22:33

Thursday, Feb 14, 2019 at 22:33
Hi
Makes me laugh how Toyota have missed there target for awhile now .

SR5 leather interior and 10 speakers over practical capacity .
This is not Toyota Japan its Toyota OZZY making bringing in these low spec vehicles .

Then again terrorists donot tow vans or plumbing equipment .

""Can it carry a f```n huge gun . "" is whats important here .

AnswerID: 623853

Follow Up By: Greg J1 - Tuesday, Feb 26, 2019 at 19:24

Tuesday, Feb 26, 2019 at 19:24
Toyota haters have just moved up a notch.

Showing massive intelligence their swampy. Would have taken a few beers to write that hey !!!

Cheers Greg
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FollowupID: 897498

Reply By: bellony - Tuesday, Feb 26, 2019 at 00:04

Tuesday, Feb 26, 2019 at 00:04
Delivered from the factory on a 100 series cruiser, same load rating either way up. Also have a factory Nissan bar that the official rating drops about 100kg when inverted, so no hard rule on its ok or not.
AnswerID: 624093

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