Prado tow bar problem

Image Could Not Be FoundOn our recent travels, and we are still travelling, we experienced a complete failure of our genuine Toyota Prado towbar which was fitted in September 2008 by our local Toyota dealer. We have travelled some 20,000kms in the vehicle, but not of these kms had the van attached, we estimate around 15,000 kms with the van attached.
We had just arrived at Yarloop West Australia for the HF Club Meeting and we we driving up a slight incline into the camping area when we heard a loud bang and someone told us that we had lost our Hayman Reese. We stopped the vehicle and got out and to our surprise the caravan was not attached to the vehicle but was at the bottom of the incline with the towbar broken and dug into the ground.
With the assistance of the Club Members our caravan was parked and then the looking began. We discovered that the towbar had cracked with the safety chains attached to the part that was on the ground. The safety factor of the towbar, when used with a Hayman Reese Weight Distribution Hitch, not in question as the towbar is rated at 2,500 kilos (caravan tare is 1700 kilos). The rated towball rate of the towbar is 250 kilos (estimated towball weight of the caravan is 200 kilos).
If you are using the same towbar and Hayman Reese Weight Distribution Hitch you should take a good look at it.
We were at the Busselton Image Could Not Be FoundGet Together where this caused a great deal of discussion and interest amongst Club members.
If you would like to discuss this with me or receive a photo please leave me a message and I will reply. This could take a while as we are on the road until mid December.
snailbate