hooking up a robin wdt to 4runner

i'm hooking up my new robin wdh (#20830 )and don't want to guess which set of holes on the shank bar to use to be right for the 4runner. my guess is that they would be the same.
can't back to TV up the the TM cause i live in hilly area and driveway is not near level.
thanks in advance
jack

[commodor47]

Jack,

The typical ball height (top of the ball to the ground) is about 19 1/2 inches.

Dick

[rickst29]

because my 2619 is built with the big tires and axle assembly of the 3023 and 3124 models. (The resulting height of my TM frame is nonstandard, matching neither WITH nor WITHOUT the "lift kit".)

If you can level just your TRAILER, and then tell me the height to the BOTTOM flange of the coupler (surrounding the hole into which the hitch ball is inserted), then I can tell you which holes to use.

the hgt of the bottom flange is 141/2".
if the ball were seated in the socket @ this pointk it would have an approx ht of 17" & if i set up the ball to that ht i would use the lowest set of holes (with the longest arm of the shank bar pointed down). bill jeffrey's very helpfull link says to set the ball 1" higher than that 17" dim.
this tells me that i use the 2nd set of holes from the bottom. does that make sense?
always the "white knuckle" tower, i'm thank you for your input which gives me a greater sense of confidence.
jack

[rickst29]

My 4R is placed right next to the wall of the garage, and it's over 100 degrees today/tomorrow. I forgot, I've got it somewhat raised on the lifts to avoid making flat spots in the tires.... and so, I can't make an accurate measure of MY coupler height-off-the-ground until I lower it back down. (Which I'd like to do on Tuesday morning.) Can you wait a bit for my response?

The other thing you COULD do, if you're in a hurry, to is pull the TM just a short distance while using the Toyota- provided "dead-weight" hitch bar and ball: go to a level street, disconnect and chock and level the TM there, then take your measurement. I did this originally, because my driveway angles upwards (sharply) from my garage floor. For a short drive of just a few blocks at very low speeds, using the "weight carrying" bar is just fine.

[Bill]

I've watched all the posts (in this thread and others) about "How high should I set up the hitch ball?" with some interest. The answer is usually something like "19 inches when the TM is level".

The OP presumably then sets up his hitch so the top of the ball is 19" off the ground. But then, when he drops the coupler on the hitch ball, the trailer's tongue weight makes the rear end of the tow vehicle drop - sometimes a couple inches or more. So now the ball is only 17" off the ground. A properly-adjusted WDH will lift the rear end, but not to its original height. So now the OP finds himself with a TM that is low in front.

Remember, the function of a WDH is to provide EQUAL drop on the front and rear of the tow vehicle - but it will not return either the front or the rear to its original height.

Somewhere we lost track of the original rule of thumb, which was to set up the hitch ball to 1" ABOVE level (or 20" in this example). Then when the coupler is dropped on the ball, the rear end drops to about 18", and when the springbars are lifted, it comes back up to 19", which is what we desired. NOW the TM is level.

Of course, the 1" is just a rule of thumb. If you have a small vehicle with a soft suspension, the 1" rule may not be right.

And of course, once you have set the initial hitch height, you must set the springbars for equal drop on the front and rear of the tow vehicle. See this article for a review of how to set up the springbars. Once the springbars are set correctly, now is the time to see if the TM is close to level. If it is not, you go back to the beginning and set a different initial hitch ball height.

Bill

[rickst29]

you need to either check once with WDH clamped into the shank a bit loose (around 100-150 ft-lbs, so that you can take it apart for re-adjustment until the TM is level all the way across). Or, the lazy way, take 1/3 to 1/2 the of the additional drop which TM creates on the "weight carrying" hitch and add it back on (equivalent to the 1" rule.

But in this particular case, the TV and WDH are identical models to mine, and I already did the careful adjustment with the shank and head clamped a bit looser before fully tightening. So, once I know how Jack's TM coupler height differs from mine with the TM leveled, he can just apply that difference to bolt hole selection which I made.

sure appreciate all the responses. i have temporarelly set it up with the ball skosh higher than the hitch with the TM level. that is the lowest set of holes.
when i cinched the chain up it did seem to level everything out at least eyeballing it. my drive isn't level so i jury rigged it so as to level and raise up the 4R. don't have a wrench big enuf for the ball so i won't be able to try it out on the road yet.
meanwhile keep those cards and letters rolling in
thanks so much jack