Trailer Hitch Recommendation for 2004 Toyota 4Runner that is Compatible with Weight Distribution

Updated 08/22/2024 | Published 04/15/2019

Products Featured in This Question

Draw-Tite Max-Frame Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class III - 2"

(71)

$211.87

Draw-Tite Max-Frame Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class IV - 2"

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$259.82

Question:

Tow Vehicle: 2004, Toyota, 4Runner, v6 Hitch: Andersen No-Sway Weight Distribution Hitch Trailer: Casita Travel Trailer Spirit Deluxe, Dry Weight: 2480 lbs. Hi! My wife and I have a 4Runner and are buying a travel trailer to tow behind it. The travel trailer manufacturer is installing an Anderson weight distribution hitch for us. When reviewing my 4Runner manual, I determined that we have a hitch like the one in the attached picture which is marked as For weight carrying hitch. This comes along with a note which says Do not install weight distributing hitch to weight carrying hitch re-ceiver because it will be damaged your vehicle.. This raises several questions: - Is the Anderson weight distribution hitch what they are referring to here? - Do we need a new receiver installed? - What type of damage might they be talking about? - What is exactly the problem Toyota might see with this setup? Thanks,

asked by: Noah

Helpful Expert Reply:

You have a hitch that should not be used with the Andersen weight distribution they are installing on your trailer currently. Best option we have would be to replace it with a hitch like the Draw Tite part # 75155 which is rated for use with a weight distribution system. WD system put a different type of strain on the vehicle frame and hitch. If the hitch was not designed for this additional strain it most likely will bend or brake which could then damage the vehicle frame.

expert reply by: Jameson C

Benjamin

8/10/2024

It's really the same question for the LandCruiser, And, as described on the recent thread, a trailer weight ( dry) as 3581 lbs. But the question is about the receiver hitch- it s a Toyota Class three hitch, bolted on, but now thirty years old, as the LC is a 1994. And, second point: the Owner's manual uses an interesting phrase: it says it an not " recommend a WDH". Some have interpreted this to mean there is no contractual relationship between Toyota and any WDH manufacturer, so it is neither a warning, nor an endorsement. The question I think, therefore, is that ( since it was too complicated to describe how to use a WDH in the owner's manual), is a class three hitch good enough? And I am not yet sure of where that class three hitch is attached to the vehicle, whether to the crossmember, or the frame or what?

Jameson C.

8/11/2024

@Benjamin I would have to lean on that being that you shouldn't use a WD system. Its not just the hitch Class as it is also based on the chassis design of the vehicle and the way the hitch can attach to it.

Ben

8/12/2024

@JamesonC Sorry if I wasn't clear. First question: can my class three hitch support a WDH? I looked and it seems the class three hitch seems to be bolted to the frame. I took a picture. But is the cross member part of the frame? I can't really tell if the hitch is bolted to the bumper or the frame (I'm guessing the frame). Then the next point is that the LC is not a unibody construction as is the Highlander, so that point is moot. Dan Busey, curator of LC museum in Utah, thinks that Toyota may have not recommended the WDH because of the 4WD/ABS system possibly getting confused? Have you had other ABS systems be a problem with a WDH? Nobody actually knows why Toyota said that. You must have had this question before, as to why Toyota does not recommend a WDH, Yes?

Jameson C.

8/12/2024

@Ben Not all Class III hitches are rated for weight distribution. If it's a Toyota hitch we don't have anymore insight into whether it can be used with a WD system than you but we can't go against what Toyota recommends as they are who made the hitch, the vehicle, and the towing capacity numbers. We've never heard of an ABS system having anything to do with weight distribution or 4WD. On newer vehicles it can mess with the auto load leveling suspension but even that there are work arounds for.