Are these hitches standard class III

[Outback Paul]

I've got a hitch haul/basket thingy that I used with my hitch on my Dodge Ram but now I try to put it on my 4Runner hitch and it will not fit. It seems that it's a tiny bit smaller on the ID of the hitch receiver.

The hitch that came in the box also has to be wrong. The pin holes will not line up. The pin holes on the hitch are closer to the front than the one on the receiver by like 3 inches. I guess they gave me the wrong hitch, I don't know. Has this happened to anyone else?

Also, the hitch I did have was longer behind the pin holes and it bumps up against the tire so much that it looks like I will have to trash this hitch.

What a mess I've had with the hitch.

Paul

 

[leftyrb]

Paul:

You will need to go to an RV dealer to find a drawbar with the hole spacing to accomodate the spare tire. You can find one, and it will do the job. I believe that the standard 2" drawbar works, as it does with mine.

 

[pbm317]

I don't think the hitch is meant to slide all the way in. There was a TSB about the tow hitches too.. i don't know if it would apply to your truck, seeing as you have a 2004.

 

[SteveM]

Two things I found with mine:

1. The i.d. of the receiver on mine is slightly undersized compared to receivers on other cars. I had to make sure there were no burrs or other deformities on the ballmount in order for it to slide in smoothly.

2. The depth of the receiver on my 2003 4runner is shallower than most receivers on other cars. I had to cut down the ballmount by about an inch in order to get it in far enough to align the pin and still have spare tire claearance. The unmodified ballmount was about a half a diameter away from fitting.

 

[Guest]

Yes the 4R hitch is shallow but I loosened the spare and pushed it forward as much as possible and tightened back up. This gave me just enough clearance to slide in to the reciever.

Maybe that will work for you- it's good for about 2"

 

[TechWrench]

This is a known problem with the '03/'04 hitches. I just went around with my dealer service dept. on this. The ball mount that came with the vehicle is a 2" drop and fit OK, but not a lot of room to spare. I needed a 4" drop for one of my trailers and Toyota doesn't sell any separate ball mounts for the 4Runner hitch. I picked up one from Napa, and found that I had to 'tap' it in and out with a hammer to use it. When I complained to them, their answer was the factory ball mount fits, it's not our problem.
I mentioned the TSB to them, and they said my VIN wasn't within the recall range. I went back to Napa and measured all the ball mounts they had in stock, and found they varied as much as 3/32s of an inch in width. I got the smallest one they had and it fits, just like the Toyota one. On mine, the ball mount has to be just under 2" square to work. Anything over that won't work. You can try complaining to the dealer, they might be willing to switch yours. If not, you will have to shop around for a ball mount that fits or replace the entire hitch with a Hidden Hitch unit which is built to a looser spec.

 

[Outback Paul]

This is really fustrating. I can't just go an get another hitch because I'm trying to mount the basket onto this hitch. This basket cost me over $200 many years ago. I guess I'll have to get my brother-in-law to grind it down enough to make it fit.

About the hitch that came with it... I pushed it all the way in and the pin hole on the hitch was about an inch shy of making it to the holes on the receiver.

Paul

 

[Guest]

paul,
Did you try and loosen the spare? It gave me a good 2" more room

 

[TechWrench]

This is really fustrating. I can't just go an get another hitch because I'm trying to mount the basket onto this hitch. This basket cost me over $200 many years ago. I guess I'll have to get my brother-in-law to grind it down enough to make it fit.

About the hitch that came with it... I pushed it all the way in and the pin hole on the hitch was about an inch shy of making it to the holes on the receiver.

Paul

Unless you are in a real rush, I would hold off on grinding the 'basket' shaft until you talk to the dealer about your problem. I would also measure the depth of the shaft, to see if you will have a problem getting the hitch pin holes to line up on it also. I would put the basket unit in the back of the truck, along with the Toyota ball mount that doesn't fit, and ask the service manager to demonstrate to you how they are supposed to work. That might be enough to make them order you a new hitch.

 

[Outback Paul]

I would put the basket unit in the back of the truck, along with the Toyota ball mount that doesn't fit, and ask the service manager to demonstrate to you how they are supposed to work. That might be enough to make them order you a new hitch.

I'll do that next week. Sounds like a good idea to me...

 

[Outback Paul]

Well, went to my local dealer today and asked the to show me how this hitch is supposed to work. So I produced the hitch and handed it to him. Before he put it on he said that this wouldn't work and that this is the first time he'd seen this. He finally looked at the hole for the ball and said that this was supposed to go with a Tundra. I then showed him the basket and we tried to put it on. He said that I had an older basket(well, it wasn't rusted and it is a few years old) and that it wouldn't work with a newer vehicle. I thought it was total BS. When I asked for the right hitch, he said it would be cheaper if I went to Wally World.

Off to my brother-in-law's garage tomorrow to have the basket ground down. I'll write a letter to the dealership I bought it from which is about 80 miles away and see if I can get the right hitch.

Paul

 

[sire]

After reading these post I thought I would have problems reusing the extended ball mount and basket I used on my 99 Jeep GC.

I was unsure if they would work when I saw the spare almost right up on the hitch.

At least something has gone right. Both basket and ball mount work fine with no adjustments, grinding, or cutting. This is on my 04 sport edition with the better factory hitch.

I can relay specific info if anyone is interested

Mike