Tow Bar Information

[John Allen]

Tow Ball and Alko Hitch dimensions

I have just had a genuine Toyota Towbar with horizontal removeable tow hook fitted by a Toyota main dealer. Brink are the manufacturer according to the installation instructions..
The tow ball height is 500 mm without any people, luggage, carvan noseweight (and all the other crap us caravanners carry). The EC directive 94/20/EC requires the towball centre to be between 350-420 mm from the ground when there are 4 occupants of 68 Kg each (just a dream) and 28 kg of luggage. On my 2017 Swift Conqueror 480 (MTPLM 1550 kg), which has the Alko 3400 Stabiliser, the centre of towball acceptor is 420mm from the ground when the caravan is horizontal. I used the Milenco nose weight gauge and moved quite a bit of stuff to behind the axle to get the noseweight down to 85 kg. I was obviously towing with excessive noseweight with my old Rav4.

Tow ball centre distance from rear bumper of car 73 mm (Alko 3400 requires 68 mm). This visually looks tight but is actually ok.

Actual gap from rubber protector on front of Alko hitch when kooked up is about 12mm which means you have to be very careful when hooking up. Bumper can easily take a small amount of impact but is likely to get scratched. Suggest using a piece of rubber door mat, or similar, hanging out of back tailgate whilst hooking up or some other protective shield such as the Milenco gel pad. Hooking up with the reversing camera is very easy and very precise - so much better than the camera on the previous version (2014 Rav4 2.2 Diesel Automatic). I left the motor mover engaged to hook up but didn't actually need to use it possibly because of the more subtle control of the Hybrid in comparison to an Auo Diesel. Once hooked up the centre of the towball was exactly 420 mm above the ground, the top end of the 94/20/EC requirement.

Towing experience: The towing was fine both up hills and on a dual carriagway without the excessive engine noise mentioned by some reviewers on other forums. It might not have quite the capability of the Rav4 2.2D Auto if you are stuck in a muddy field but the overall towing experience is much more pleasant. I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised. Considering I was happy to put up with a poor towing experience in comparison with my 2014 Rav4 2.3D Auto on a few days of the year for the benefit of having a Hybrid the rest of the time I have been very pleasantly surprised. One bonus was that the rear parking sensors work perfectly even with the tow ball in place. If anyone has any questions I will try to provide the answer.

[Flatcoat]

What year and model is your car? For my 2021 MY PHEV the nose weight is 70kg….. 

[John Allen]

My car is a2020 Excel Hev AWD. I think the Phev towing capacity is also less. (1500 kg?) All probably due to having bigger and heavier Battery.

[Flatcoat]

I thought the nose weight is the same…. We looked long and hard at the HEV and PHEV before deciding on the latter. In part due to additional power - we cover some long distance trips (such as Austria) involving long climbs.  

[John Allen]

We are both wrong.  It is actually 80kg according to the Toyota Installation Instructions.  Grateful that you prompted me to look at it. I have attached a copy for info.

1781802246_Rav4TowbarPW960-42008-InstallationInstructions.pdf

[Flatcoat]

No, that is wrong! That is the supplying manufacturers limit for the tow ball, NOT the car. Due to that confusion I contacted Toyota before buying the car and the vehicle nose weight limit is most definitely 70kg - at the time I enquired. Somewhere I should have the info. 

[Flatcoat]

Check this out:

https://mag.toyota.co.uk/toyota-towing-capacities/

[philip42h]

You should both have a Certificate of Conformity applicable to your car (VIN) - this states:

19.  Technically permissible maximum static vertical mass at the coupling point

For my 2020 HEV Excel this is 70kg ... so while I wouldn't take the information published in the 'mag' as gospel, in this case it appears to be correct! 🙂

[John Allen]

Thank for this info guys, I will look into and adjust noseweight to 70 kg anyway to be on the safe side.You would think that the Tow Ball instruction book would have the correct info for every model in the Toyota range that it can be fitted too. 

[John Allen]

Hi guys.  I have now established from the online manual (P582) and the physical manual supplied with my car (P174) that as stated by Adrian earlier in this thread that the correct figure for Drawbar Load is 70 kg.  Only Toyota know why they don't put a table of vehicle specific loads in the generic user instruction on how to safely secure te detachable tow ball. And why does the Toyota Vehicle Specific Towbar Installation Instructions quote 80kg Vertical Coupling Load.  That may well be the manufacturer's (Brink) maximumum load for the towbar but it misleading to quote it in the fitting instructions if the vehicle capability is only 70 kg.  I used to work as an engineer in the MoD producing ammunition performance and test specifications for both UK and NATO.  If we let ambiguity like that happen we would very quickly be invited to a meeting without coffee.

Thanks for all your input and help guys.  Hopefully this thread will provide a lot of answers for any future members who are thinking of having a towbar fitted.

[Flatcoat]

At the end of the day the information on vehicle nose weight is not hard to find - and it is the vehicle data that matters when determining which is the lowest; the caravans nose weight, the tow bar or the towing vehicle. I checked this out before I ordered the car having been told by the dealer it was 70kg and having seen reference to 80kg. The onus is on the car driver to ensure the outfit is legally compliant. It is a bu88er getting the nose weight down in our Swift caravan - Swifts are notoriously nose heavy and while I readily get to 75kg, losing that last 5kg is a real struggle. Having said that the imposed oscillating loads through braking, road undulations and driving downhill will significantly exceed 70kg, albeit fleetingly or at worst, short term so in reality I doubt that 5kg would have any real adverse impact. If you want a higher nose weight then buy a Highlander or similar or another brand. Interestingly Toyota say the low nose weight is to stop the front wheels lifting off the ground…… what a load of garbage. Clueless technically illiterate sales speak. And, don’t forget when coupled, the nose weight becomes part of the vehicle payload. The towed weight is the weight on the caravan axle. I tow a van with an MTPLM of 1550kg and it perfectly legal and compliant. 

[John Allen]

50 minutes ago, Flatcoat said:

At the end of the day the information on vehicle nose weight is not hard to find - and it is the vehicle data that matters when determining which is the lowest; the caravans nose weight, the tow bar or the towing vehicle. I checked this out before I ordered the car having been told by the dealer it was 70kg and having seen reference to 80kg. The onus is on the car driver to ensure the outfit is legally compliant. It is a bu88er getting the nose weight down in our Swift caravan - Swifts are notoriously nose heavy and while I readily get to 75kg, losing that last 5kg is a real struggle. Having said that the imposed oscillating loads through braking, road undulations and driving downhill will significantly exceed 70kg, albeit fleetingly or at worst, short term so in reality I doubt that 5kg would have any real adverse impact. If you want a higher nose weight then buy a Highlander or similar or another brand. Interestingly Toyota say the low nose weight is to stop the front wheels lifting off the ground…… what a load of garbage. Clueless technically illiterate sales speak. And, don’t forget when coupled, the nose weight becomes part of the vehicle payload. The towed weight is the weight on the caravan axle. I tow a van with an MTPLM of 1550kg and it perfectly legal and compliant. 

My 2017 Swift Conqueror 480 is uprated to 1550 kg MTPLM and it was almost up to it in a weighbridge test in August.  I adjusted the position of some of the stuff we carry and got the noseweight down to 70 kg this afternoon. Hooked up and Towball height at centre was about 430 mm with nobody in the car. This was with the 30 kg Isabella Awning in the luggage area at the back,  I am sure with 4 x 68 kg adults in the car it would drop a bit more. Went for another test run and towed just fine, including at 60mph on a short stretch of motorway. 

[Puggo]

On 1/27/2023 at 10:06 PM, John Allen said:

Tow Ball and Alko Hitch dimensions

I have just had a genuine Toyota Towbar with horizontal removeable tow hook fitted by a Toyota main dealer. Brink are the manufacturer according to the installation instructions..
The tow ball height is 500 mm without any people, luggage, carvan noseweight (and all the other crap us caravanners carry). The EC directive 94/20/EC requires the towball centre to be between 350-420 mm from the ground when there are 4 occupants of 68 Kg each (just a dream) and 28 kg of luggage. On my 2017 Swift Conqueror 480 (MTPLM 1550 kg), which has the Alko 3400 Stabiliser, the centre of towball acceptor is 420mm from the ground when the caravan is horizontal. I used the Milenco nose weight gauge and moved quite a bit of stuff to behind the axle to get the noseweight down to 85 kg. I was obviously towing with excessive noseweight with my old Rav4.

Tow ball centre distance from rear bumper of car 73 mm (Alko 3400 requires 68 mm). This visually looks tight but is actually ok.

Actual gap from rubber protector on front of Alko hitch when kooked up is about 12mm which means you have to be very careful when hooking up. Bumper can easily take a small amount of impact but is likely to get scratched. Suggest using a piece of rubber door mat, or similar, hanging out of back tailgate whilst hooking up or some other protective shield such as the Milenco gel pad. Hooking up with the reversing camera is very easy and very precise - so much better than the camera on the previous version (2014 Rav4 2.2 Diesel Automatic). I left the motor mover engaged to hook up but didn't actually need to use it possibly because of the more subtle control of the Hybrid in comparison to an Auo Diesel. Once hooked up the centre of the towball was exactly 420 mm above the ground, the top end of the 94/20/EC requirement.

Towing experience: The towing was fine both up hills and on a dual carriagway without the excessive engine noise mentioned by some reviewers on other forums. It might not have quite the capability of the Rav4 2.2D Auto if you are stuck in a muddy field but the overall towing experience is much more pleasant. I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised. Considering I was happy to put up with a poor towing experience in comparison with my 2014 Rav4 2.3D Auto on a few days of the year for the benefit of having a Hybrid the rest of the time I have been very pleasantly surprised. One bonus was that the rear parking sensors work perfectly even with the tow ball in place. If anyone has any questions I will try to provide the answer.

Hi John, I am looking to get a removable hook fitted to my car and Toyota had quoted me £1500, which seemed a bit steep to me. Do you mind me asking how much yours cost to do?

[Flatcoat]

Try your local towbar fitter. Should be under half that…… I had mine fitted as factory order for £650 fully wired to 13pin socket for caravan.  

[John Allen]

4 hours ago, Puggo said:

Hi John, I am looking to get a removable hook fitted to my car and Toyota had quoted me £1500, which seemed a bit steep to me. Do you mind me asking how much yours cost to do?

Hi Laimis, In total for wiring and towbar it cost about £990 but maybe I paid a bit more because I had the wiring loom fitted a bit earlier as the Towbar was not available to order and they didn't know when it was going to be back in stock. I was going to wait until March as we do not start caravanning until then before venturing down the 3rd party route for the bar but fortunately it became available last week. 

[Puggo]

14 hours ago, Flatcoat said:

Try your local towbar fitter. Should be under half that…… I had mine fitted as factory order for £650 fully wired to 13pin socket for caravan.  

Thanks, I imagine it would have been cheaper as a factory option but certainly didn't expect the £1500 quote. Will see what (if anything) I can negotiate with Toyota following your and John's numbers before going down to the local fitters. 

Thanks!

[Flatcoat]

26 minutes ago, Puggo said:

Thanks, I imagine it would have been cheaper as a factory option but certainly didn't expect the £1500 quote. Will see what (if anything) I can negotiate with Toyota following your and John's numbers before going down to the local fitters. 

Thanks!

The factory option is actually fitted in the UK….. it is supplied by Brinks. I would use the factory fit price and knowledge it is UK sourced and fitted as your starting point for discussion with your dealer. However, what model and year is your Toyota? We might be comparing apples with bananas…..! 

[Puggo]

42 minutes ago, Flatcoat said:

The factory option is actually fitted in the UK….. it is supplied by Brinks. I would use the factory fit price and knowledge it is UK sourced and fitted as your starting point for discussion with your dealer. However, what model and year is your Toyota? We might be comparing apples with bananas…..! 

Thanks for the advice.

My car is a 2021 Rav4 AWD Hybrid Black edition