my Highlander's Curt hitch broke again!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Roger Kimble

I had a Curt hitch on my Chevy 1500 van, it rusted out in Michigan, I replaced it with a Curt catagory 1V, the old one was a 1996 model

RUST! that's my problem with the Curt hitch on my Escape I have scraped and repainted it several times and it is only 6 years old. the Drawtite on my Ranger still looks good after 11 years.

While this is the only problem I have had with the Curt, I will buy a Drawtite next time. I have owned Reese and others as well over the years and the Drawtite has been the best so far. My Escape has towed my Scamp 13, or less, almost exclusively. My Ranger has towed everthing including my car dolly, car trailer, Scamp, utility trailer and other closed and open trailers.
I have never seen a broken ClassIII hitch before, but that design IS rather unique.
BIG THANKS to Mike for the reality check! Thanks too for the pictures and the narrative. You have surely caused a lot of "safety checks" on a lot of hitches and their attachment points

[floyd]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Perhaps after market "bolt on" accessories should be avoided and owners should purchase vehicles with factory hitches. Not aware of any OEM failures.

Ya think the Toyota hitch is not bolted on? Likely time to think again, in fact in most cases, aftermarket hitches use factory supplied attachment points and are engineered to meet or exceed OEM specs.

This case is an anomaly, in engineering, capacity, or build quality.
No cause to indict an entire industry with a reputation which is at least equal to OEM.
I have no doubt that my Ranger could be crane lifted using an eyebolt on a drawbar as the only attachment point to my aftermarket Drawtite hitch.

[honda03842]

After this thread I went out and inspected my hitch for cracks and bolt tighteness.

Often when metal fails it's due to repeated metal flexure. Flexure is part of every hitch and occurs continuously. For example when one leans against a brick wall, the wall flexes in response to your weight. Every hitch continually flexes due to applied forces.

The danger comes when things are allowed to flex too much. This can happen when bolts loosen.

While inspecting my Curt Hitch it was obvious that the muffler side is hard to check and the bolts hard to tighten, partially hidden by the muffler.

I'm not saying this was Mike's issue but rather an observation while inspecting my hitch.

Actually in the process of checking I was able to tighten two bolts about a 1/4 turn, maybe I'm stronger than when I installed the hitch.

I also took some time to check the weld areas of the hitch. Everything looked fine.

Certainly I will check the hitch more frequently now due to Mike's post.....

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Perhaps after market "bolt on" accessories should be avoided and owners should purchase vehicles with factory hitches. Not aware of any OEM failures.

Jim, how many vehicle factories do you think actually make the hitches they install?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Perry J

I think U-Haul is the King of Hitch installers.
Why not try them?
I have used their hitches for years.
Towing everything from 6 horse trailers, stock trailers to my Lil Bigfoot and have never had a problem.
John

I have a U-haul hitch and although it appears to be sound I am worried as after 4.5 years its is showing a lot of rust!!

[Mike Magee]

The Draw-Tite 75726 that I'm getting can be seen on etrailer or on Draw-Tite's site. It is listed at 750 lbs. tongue weight. The vertical piece on the driver's side will help support it on the damaged side. That will give me a little more wiggle room and peace of mind (note that I do not intend to try and take advantage of it with more tongue weight!). The place I'm buying from will weld the frame cracks and install the receiver for $100 extra... seems pretty reasonable for a certified welder and all. By Wednesday evening my Highlander should be ready to tow again, and I'll feel confident in it again. But a more frequent inspection routine is in order, too.

My dear son is studying engineering and has taken classes in such things as mechanical metallurgy. He took my trailer weight (fully loaded) and distance from axle to ball, added a center of gravity height estimate of 3' and a braking deceleration of .6G, and came up with an extra 650 lbs. of downward force being placed on the receiver in a hard stop. He thinks something like this may have started a crack which grew to the eventual point of failure.

[honda03842]

Carol,

I simply carry a can of spray rustoleum with me and give any rust I see a spray. This holds true for my tow vehicle and trailer frame as well.

When we had a motorhome I sprayed the bottom every year, a nice summer day project. It always made the mechanics who inspected our Motorhome each year feel good about our rig.

[BCDave]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

My dear son is studying engineering and has taken classes in such things as mechanical metallurgy. He took my trailer weight (fully loaded) and distance from axle to ball, added a center of gravity height estimate of 3' and a braking deceleration of .6G, and came up with an extra 650 lbs. of downward force being placed on the receiver in a hard stop. He thinks something like this may have started a crack which grew to the eventual point of failure.

But if the trailer has brakes, it will (sorta) pull back on the hitch.

Yes, additional nose-down weight will happen, but it will be much easier on everything than adding nose-down weight AND g-loads while braking hard.

[Bill MacDermod]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Jim, how many vehicle factories do you think actually make the hitches they install?

I just checked the tow rating for the Highlander, the 2012 is rated for 5,000 lbs "when properly equipped"
I notice looking at the Trailer Life tow ratings that many of the same model cars can have different tow ratings, same engine, same running gear same everything. The Factory tow pkg is more than just a hitch, it includes a higher output alternator, a transmission cooler, most times a beefier suspension the wiring is already to plug up, etc. Your suggestion of the hitch not being built by their car factory is probably true but whoever makes it you can bet it meets their specs, they really don't want call backs or law suits.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Perhaps after market "bolt on" accessories should be avoided and owners should purchase vehicles with factory hitches. Not aware of any OEM failures.

Originally Posted by Laura & Rick

The OEM hitch is a different design than the after market hitches. It "blends" into the bumper such that the attachment points do not need the loop around the muffler. And, being at bumper height, the OEM hitch is higher off the ground preventing any scraping with the ground. The OEM hitch is expensive compared to after market hitches but does not have any issues that come with the after market hitches.

I realize the Tow Vehicle in question is a 2008 Toyota Highlander, and these observations may be true for this vehicle. However, my first Reese receiver on my 2003 Honda Odyssey was absolutely physically identical to Honda's OEM receiver of that year. Newer Odysseys may have a more integrated receiver design.

The only differences between Honda OEM and Reese aftermarket:

• Honda down-rated theirs to 3500 pounds with WDH while Reese rates theirs 3500 pounds without WDH and 5000 pounds with WDH. (I always followed Honda's recommendations)
• Honda's list price for the receiver and the 4-pin flat electrical connection was $800, which I negotiated down to $400. Camping World charged me $275 for the Reese aftermarket versions.

[Perry J]

Originally Posted by Carol H

I have a U-haul hitch and although it appears to be sound I am worried as after 4.5 years its is showing a lot of rust!!

They all rust.
I'm fortunate to live in an area where we get very little rain.
Get a wire brush and some Rusteoleum spray paint.
It will last longer than your TV.
John

[Perry J]

After I retired I became bored and went to work for a Honda dealership.
Every vehicle sold with a Tow package went to an RV shop or U-Haul for the hitch and wiring.
If coolers were part of the TP they were installed by the dealership.
The Honda store across the street did the same thing.
John

[floyd]

CORRECTION!!
I went out and looked under my 2001 Ranger and discovered that I had the brand name wrong! It is NOT a Drawtite... It is a "HiddenHitch"

It is so rust free that the painted label over the powder coating is still perfectly legible after 11 years and 150 thousand miles!
I have installed Drawtite in the past and I am sure they are just fine,But I must give credit where it is due,
It is the "HiddenHitch" (not the Drawtite) which is the finest hitch I have ever owned or installed.
Sorry for my mistake.

http://www.hiddenhitch.com/content/default.aspx

[ruscal]

Preventing rust is a good thing, and would be considered normal maintenance, but probably didn't cause the hitch to fail. Looking at the picture that Andrew posted you can see the compromise the designers were faced with. The exhaust passes right through the place where the beam should be. That bent strap (a big "C") is heavy metal but flexes when the trailer bounces, and pushes and pulls. The point where the heavy C is welded to the lighter vertical strap looks to be where the metal flexed most. People that do extended periods of towing put a lot of fatigue cycles on the hitch. In those cases it may be better to relocate the exhaust system to accommodate an un-compromised hitch. Alternately, you could just replace the hitch every so many towing miles. Heavier trailers or bad roads would accelerate the replacement time.
Russ

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Perry J

After I retired I became bored and went to work for a Honda dealership.
Every vehicle sold with a Tow package went to an RV shop or U-Haul for the hitch and wiring.
If coolers were part of the TP they were installed by the dealership.
The Honda store across the street did the same thing.
John

John up until a couple of years ago Subaru did the same thing - they still do if you want something more than a class II and want to having working trailer brakes. Only difference is they do not make a cooler either.

[Laura & Rick]

Originally Posted by ruscal

. . .Looking at the picture that Andrew posted you can see the compromise the designers were faced with. The exhaust passes right through the place where the beam should be. That bent strap (a big "C") is heavy metal but flexes when the trailer bounces, and pushes and pulls. The point where the heavy C is welded to the lighter vertical strap looks to be where the metal flexed most. People that do extended periods of towing put a lot of fatigue cycles on the hitch. In those cases it may be better to relocate the exhaust system to accommodate an un-compromised hitch . . . .
Russ

That is exactly why the OEM Toyota hitch works. It is intergrated into the bumper and goes straight over the muffler without the need of any "C" or "U" loops.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Carol H

John up until a couple of years ago Subaru did the same thing - they still do if you want something more than a class II and want to having working trailer brakes. Only difference is they do not make a cooler either.

Dealer equipped hitches are not the same as factory tow packages. The majority of stock foreign cars from Japan are shipped stripped to save on import duties with a lot of accessories added by a dealer. Tow hitches are secured stateside. As mentioned above, the dealer sends it to the local hitch place. Is that as good as OEM from the factory? As mentioned, anyone can have a hitch installed at U-Haul. While looking at Nissan and Subaru I mentioned I wanted a tow package, the dealer said "We can put one on here" I asked is it the same as what comes from the factory, he said yes, but there are no cooling nor electrical upgrades offered from the factory either. That does not give me a good feeling that the vehicle is designed for towing.

But the above scenario is not the same as a factory tow package with heavy duty cooling, bigger alternator, thicker wiring and a hitch receiver attached at the factory. Wheels and suspension plus transmission upgrades are also part of a factory tow package. It is a whole package, not just the hitch receiver.

[Bill MacDermod]

amen

[Mike Magee]

I do have the factory tow prep package on my Highlander (so it is "properly equipped"). I made sure it was one of the options on the unit I chose to dicker on. The hitch receiver and wiring plug are not part of that package, though.

Russ, as heavy as that steel is, I think you're right about the flexing.

Downward force on the trailer's front in a stop is the same as that experienced in the car or truck. You brake, the nose goes down. The trailer is no different. Even if it has brakes, it noses down. A downward force is being exerted on the tongue when that happens. Meanwhile, the tow vehicle's back end is exerting a bit extra upward force as it's front goes down.

My trailer brakes quit working a couple of months ago, and it took me a week or so before I could spare it to have it worked on. Perhaps the extra force of the unbraked trailer pushing on the receiver started that crack. I hadn't thought of that until just now.

[floyd]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Dealer equipped hitches are not the same as factory tow packages. The majority of stock foreign cars from Japan are shipped stripped to save on import duties with a lot of accessories added by a dealer. Tow hitches are secured stateside. As mentioned above, the dealer sends it to the local hitch place. Is that as good as OEM from the factory? As mentioned, anyone can have a hitch installed at U-Haul. While looking at Nissan and Subaru I mentioned I wanted a tow package, the dealer said "We can put one on here" I asked is it the same as what comes from the factory, he said yes, but there are no cooling nor electrical upgrades offered from the factory either. That does not give me a good feeling that the vehicle is designed for towing.

But the above scenario is not the same as a factory tow package with heavy duty cooling, bigger alternator, thicker wiring and a hitch receiver attached at the factory. Wheels and suspension plus transmission upgrades are also part of a factory tow package. It is a whole package, not just the hitch receiver.

My Ranger Edge came without the tow package,... but the heavy duty cooling, 130 amp alternator and load package,upgraded brakes,and a four plug were all standard.
There are no special towing wheels, and drivetrain components are fullsized .
I added the HiddenHitch, an RV plug, a brake controller, and trailer battery charge system.
I agree that you should know what you are buying, whether you are going to tow or not, but too many people are more interested in image than substance. Buyer be(A)ware.