Is my Toyota Highlander worthy?

Originally Posted by sagbags1

I just purchased a 2000 2720sl. After reading the forums, especially about the awning and air conditioner not being included in the total weight. I figured I had better double check everything. I am towing the tm with a 2007 toyota highlander v6 with a transmission cooler. toyota said that my total combined weight with a trailer is 7985 lbs. From advisement from this forum I loaded the tm,my car,filled the gas tank and and had it weighed at the scales with me, jane and the dog. The total weight was 7210 lbs. That is without water in the tm.
On paper it sounds like I have 700 lbs leadway. I have read about mountains,that I know will create a problem but generally do you experts feel that I will be ok. Don't want to mention any names but would expecially like advise from someone who's name rhymes with freon. from saxet. thanks Ken

We just towed our 2006 2720 from Colorado to Michigan and back with no towing problems (except a flat on the trailer!). We have a 2006 Hybrid Highlander. The trailer was stable at all speeds (even up to 75 mph on interstate when I wasn't watching how fast I was going!).

Thanks PaulinCo. Checks in the mail. Ken

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by sagbags1

If I don't put anything in the back seat or back end of my car,would that maybe help instead of a wdh. It appears to tow beautifully and doesn't feel like the back end is weighted down.

Reducing weight in the middle (between the axles, on the back seat) will have almost no effect. And because the hitch is further from the axle than the "rear" of the interior, it has much less effect: The length of distance, the so-called "moment", at which the force is applied is multiplied by force to obtain the torque. (It helps some, but much less.)

Unless you go to a scale and measure how much lighter your front axle is, you won't KNOW how bad it really is. A quick guess can be made by measuring the height from ground to the top of wheel well at front and rear tires WITHOUT either the hitch or the TM attached, link 'em up, and then measure how more the lip of the rear wheel well went down than the front wheel well. This shows how out-of-balance your TV has become (and it's gonna be a lot, without a WDH).

The "3500 lbs max" can be exceeded by quite a bit, driving with care. It's not a "hard" number. But because ALL of the steering and MOST of the braking happens at the front wheels, you need to keep them from getting lifted up in comparison to the rear. Although stressing a unibody with the "corrective" torque from a WDH can create some ill effects on a unibody, you puts some it has some ill effects to stress a unibody, you should use a WDH if you prefer to have good control. Regardless of how you think it feels, it really is a lot less than optimal to tow without one.

Can you "get by" without a WDH? Maybe. But for $300, I think it's a good investment of money and hookup time to defend your 25K Highlander, your 15K Trailmanor, and yourselves. If you see signs of unibody damage (cracking paint, door frames no longer aligning with doors, visible "stress" points when its on a lift) then back off a chain link or two of adjustment-- but do use at least some compensation. Unless you find lots of potholes while towing, the Highlander can probably take a TM's WDH at "full" compensation, I don't think that there's any 2720 owners who crank it past about 600 lbs, no matter how they load their TMs and how long their WDH ball arms extend behind the TV.

Thanks rickst29. I really appreciate the thought you put in your post. I think the problem is that I just don't know anything about a wdh hitch,who installs them do I have to have the other hitch taken off.
I talked to the garage that put my hitch on. They say that toyota wanted them to put on a class 2 hitch. He said that he put a class 3 on and also said that the hitch he put on is a wdh. Now I'm really confused cause their are no springs or anything to adjust. It's just a class 3 hidden hitch. Jane bought a cement bird bath today that weighed 277lbs. I noticed the front end of my car was up. But when I tow the trailmanor, which has got to have more than 277lbs.on the rear,The front end is not elevated. I will measure to be sure but that bird bath raised the front of my car and the tm doesn't. could the garage (Michigan Spring) be right. Ken.

[Denny_A]

Originally Posted by sagbags1

...snip.... I think the problem is that I just don't know anything about a wdh hitch,who installs them do I have to have the other hitch taken off.

.....HELP! This link is to a Class III Hitch for a late model Hilander: 2004-2006 Toyota Highlander - "NO-DRILL" class III trailer hitch

Go to that site now and scroll down to Tech Information. It says that with a WDH, the gross trailer weight can go to 4000 lbs (but you will limit to 3500 lbs) and the tongue weight capacity to 400 lbs. Assume you are able to keep the tongue wt. at 420 lbs (close enuf fer gu'mint work), then the tongue wt is exactly 12% of the trailer weight. Ideal!

It seems that if you have a standard Class III hitch, you willl be good to go with a WDH.

I talked to the garage that put my hitch on. They say that toyota wanted them to put on a class 2 hitch. He said that he put a class 3 on and also said that the hitch he put on is a wdh.

A hitch is a hitch is a hitch RECEIVER. The WDH is plugged into the receiver (the 2" square hole). Here's a WDH: Standard Weight Distributing Hitch

click on the drop down btton and see 750A Standard Adjustable. That's the one I used for my 2720SL. Simple...effective. It plugs into the receiver. The hitch ball is mounted on top. Spring bars, protruding from a pivot point just below the hitch ball, are under many pounds of up force. The snap up brackets, to which chains are attached, maintain the upward load. The force applied at the hitch is TORQUE. The torque creates downward force on the front axles springs, and a lifting force on the rear axle's springs. Finally the down ward pull on the trailer's frame (where the chains are under tension), creates a download on the trailer's axle.

If all has gone well with this setup, the result of the 420 lb tongue weight at the hitch ball is: ONLY 140 lbs of additional load at the hitch ball, +140 lbs additional down force at the tow vehicle front axle and + 140 lbs additional down force at the trailer's axle. Total 3x140= 420 lbs. The weight is still there---- but, its been redistributed! The trailer will ride level (if setup is correct0, will not bound and bob and weave over undulations, and the front wheels (steering response) will be firmly in contact with the road. YOU MUST USE A WDH!

Now I'm really confused cause their are no springs or anything to adjust. It's just a class 3 hidden hitch. .....snip..... could the garage (Michigan Spring) be right. Ken.

NO. A WDH must be assembled, setup properly, and when connecting, requires tensioning the chains (see link) to load the spring bars. Seems to me you dropped the trailer connector onto a standard hitch ball mounted on a square tube which was plugged into the receiver. Probably over the 350 lb limit a bit.

After you find a WDH (some find that U-Haul sells a good, serviceable unit), others here will be able to answer questions which are bound to arise.

HTH

Denny_A

P.S. : Here's a link to several photos of a complete WDH setup. Check post #16.

[fcatwo]

I've asked this here and elsewhere before but got no responses so will try again: Has anyone experienced, or know someone who has experienced problems from using a WDH on a modern unibody vehicle? We speculate a lot about possible ills but there have been a lot of them out there (including us for a full three yrs and 20,000mi) and if it is a real issue someone would have had problems and reported it.

As an aside, we were out over the weekend and saw what must have been a 30ft, multi-slide TT being pulled by a late-model standard Chevy Trailblazer. We passed them on a climb and I looked over expecting to see a laboring diesel PU and had my standards re-set. I didn't get a look at their hitch but I hope it was a Hensley or equal.

[Denny_A]

Originally Posted by fcatwo

I've asked this here and elsewhere before but got no responses so will try again: Has anyone experienced, or know someone who has experienced problems from using a WDH on a modern unibody vehicle? We speculate a lot about possible ills but there have been a lot of them out there (including us for a full three yrs and 20,000mi) and if it is a real issue someone would have had problems and reported it.

.....rickst29 should be able to sight any number of examples. He's the resident expert.


Denny_A

[CAmark]

FWIW -- we have ~ 6000 miles with a 2720SL behind an 04 Honda (Unibody Pilot) and I use the WDH - would not go without it in fact - Honda advised to not use one. I have seen many posts regarding the "dangers" of unibody failure with a WDH but cannot find the hard evidence to back this up. IMHO knowledge and care go a long way to allowing a WDH and unibody to co-exist on a "modern" TV; especially with the advantages of a TM.
I also am a strong proponent of weighing your rig when loaded for a trip; try dropping different numbers of links to see the impact. This will give you facts upon which to base decisions rather than guessing.
Lastly, I suggest to Sagbags that you find the "everything you wanted to know about WDH" article by Rocky Mt Ray....it explains the whole contraption and was a real educational piece for me. He does brake controllers a great service as well.
Mark

I'm in agreement with the yehsayers My Highlander does a fine job pulling my 2619, but again, I'd advise not pushing your luck in the mountainous areas. You have to realize that many of us discovered Trailmanors with minivans as the tow vehicle, and knowing how well they handled, could translate that into the expected performance with crossover vehicles.

Thanks everyone. Lot's of information. Toyota told jane today to absolutely not put a wdh on a highlander. I hooked up the tm today and measured the front and back in the wheel wells. Their was about 3/4 inch difference from the front and back. It does tow great and breaks good. I know some are saying that it's dangerous, but it just feels so grounded. I've towed alot of things before that you can tell are borderline safe. I would sure hate to just blow toyota off because I believe they build a great car and their input is worth something. On the other hand I want to be safe and protect that 32k hard dollars we paid for our highlander. Jane says that if it comes down to the toyota or the tm, the tm will have to go. We camped in it for the first time this weekend and with the exception of me almost knocking down the bathroom wall getting out of bed in middle of the night, we had a great time.
I will look up the info. suggested on wdh. whew..........ken