Hayman Reese Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH)

[Rjstokes]

Hi all,

Does anyone have a Hayman Reese WDH on their Fortuner into a genuine Toyota Towbar? I've got the Toyota one but it won't work with an offload caravan hitch (when driving on-road). Not sure if the HR WDH shank will fit into the bar with the spare tyre positioned where it is?

Otherwise, anyone towing a van with ball weight around 250kg with upgraded springs in the rear? Not the same as a WDH but may help I guess?

Cheers.

[RVIV]

Hi RJstokes,

I have a GXL model and tow a caravan with 2540kg max weight, tow ball max weight 254kg. I had a genuine Toyota tow bar fitted at purchase 15 months ago. I organised the caravan dealer to fit a HR WDH. The shank I had was a HR unit part no. 50153 which fitted ok and although tight, the spare wheel can still be lowered without disconnecting the van.

We travelled from Melbourne to Uluru then to Katherine. The rear springs are soft. In towing the van to this point I noted the rear springs had dropped further and when in Darwin it was just far too low. I fitted 2 Kings Springs in the rear and 2 air bags in Darwin. The rear does rise by about 38mm with the news springs which helped a lot. Yes the rear springs are quite firm but do not drop as much. You may need to fit better shock absorbers to reduce thumping when driving over speed humps. I am thinking of fitting Koni fully adjustable shockers soon to better control the rear. I have to say our towing from Darwin to Port Douglas and back to Melbourne via the Coast was vastly improved.

Today the height of our tow ball is still a little too low. In my situation I need to buy a new HR Shank part no. 50152 which will make the van virtually level when on the road.
It is a question of balance in safety and comfort. Just now we put up with a little thumping over speed humps in the meantime.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[Rjstokes]

Thanks RVIV for your post. Top info. As it turns out I've got the car booked in to get progressive King Springs fitted to the rear retaining our airbags. I'm hoping that will fix the sag without compromising the ride too much. Or like you say, a set of Konis may be necessary at some point.

So so are you still using the HR WDH still? My aim is to get rid of it if possible, mostly because of the articulation issue. Our Highland hitch hits the WDH receiver block if we turn tightly. Do you have a DO35 hitch with the vehicle components 'extender' fitted?

We did a 12000km trip last year with the Fortuner and averaged 16.5 l/100 km towing a 2500kg van. Didn't miss a beat. Aside from the whole hitch issue!

Cheers,

Ryan

[RVIV]

Hi Rjstokes,

Sorry for the delay. The dealer for the caravan arranged the HR WDH but was in a hurry to fit it. It looked a bit low initially but when fully laden I saw the drop of the rear of the car in addition to a further drop of the van at the tow ball. I made some changes to the shank to but by the time I arrived in Darwin I had to install King Springs for the rear. I chose the 20% improved (in strength). Big improvement as I said.

Still have the HR WDH but have modified it to increase tight turns. Still need to fit a shorter shank in order to level the van. Had to install better and longer chains and also had to reweld part of the A frame. That will fix all my problems. I have been advised by a number of van mechanics to use the HR WDH for my dual axle off-road van. It will ride a lot smoother. The DO35 & it's opponent Highland are both good. I need more time to have a good look at Vehicle Components in Queensland next time I am in the area.

Cheers