Toyota 4Runner replaces Honda ODY

[Denny_A]

[quote author=Denny_A link=board=20;threadid=1379;start=msg9950#msg9950 date=1065577536]
I have my dealer's top mechanic in the process of getting a definitive answer from Toyota. Said it could take a couple of days.
Denny_A
[/quote]
Here's the answer, and they're sticking to it! It's from the manufacturer, via the local Toyota Service Manager.

"A load adjusting hitch (WDH) puts extra weight on the 4Runner. This can result in the *trailer having a tendancy to steer the tow vehicle*, reducing resistance to sway/instability". [Paraphrasing here. I had it repeated, so I'm sure I understood "what he said", but not why!]

He could not elaborate. As in, those words (as from a Parrot) stood on their own. No further logical investigation possible.

So, here's my interpretation of what that could mean.

IF the max tongue weight were 500 lbs, and if one were to use a 100 lb WDH, then the max "trailer tongue weight " has just been reduced to 400 lbs (500 lbs - 100 lb hitch). Use of a bar and a ball (maybe 15 lbs), would not reduce the useful "tongue weight" limit by very much. Therefore, if a WDH is in use, the hapless owner might overload the receiver, causing instability, and allowing the trailer to "steer" the tow vehicle. That's the closest I can come to something sounding logical.

If a really fancy, heavy WDH were used, the weight might be as much as 150 lbs (?). Then only 350 lbs of tongue weight is left for the trailer. Is a Reese really heavy? Don't know, or care.

The logic missing, from this simple analysis, is that a WDH transfers a portion of the tongue weight + hitch wt back to the wheels, while simultaneously providing a torque moment around the TV's rear wheels. That moment transfers some of the "hitch / tongue wt to the front wheels.

Here's how I will proceed from now on. Measure front and rear TV bumper distances from the ground w/o the WDH hitch (mine's 90 lbs) in the receiver. Install the hitch and connect the trailer. Hookup the springs bars. Measure the new front/ rear
bumper heights. If the front bumper is more than an inch higher (Delta "h" - height difference) than the rear bumper, then go back and drop another link and adjust, etc., until satisfied.

Now that the vehicle is close to level I can logically surmise the following. If the hitch + tongue weight were 540 lbs total (arbitrary #), then 2/3 , or 360 lbs is carried by the TV and 1/3, or 180 lbs. is carried by the trailer axle. At the very least, the issue of the trailer steering the TV is bogus if the TV is level, and the hitch is within load limits. That's because part of the load has been "redistributed".

I will continue to ignore Toyota's recommendation to not use a WDH. That's my story and ............

Denny_A