Towbar Height

[Flatcoat]

12 hours ago, John Allen said:

It is supposed to be 80 kg, was typing in a hurry.  Try curbing your aggressive attitude and politely offer the correction for the benifit of other members of this forum as you obviously know everything.

Having looked at your profile you appear to have a RAV4.5. If that is the case, and unless Toyota changed the specification, according to Toyota UK Magazine dated 11th April 2022, the vehicle nose weight limit IS 70kg. The tow ball is rated at 80kg. This latter figure is however largely irrelevant given the maximum permissible nose weight is the LOWEST of the car, tow ball or trailer. I did initially have a struggle to get the noseweight down on our Swift caravan but after trial and error managed it without causing any weight distribution or balance problems. 

[John Allen]

I have actually found the 70 kg at the top of page 583 in the vehicle manual.  I still think that the 85 kg quoted in the towbar installation manual should have a warning by it saying that that it is not necessarily the load permitted for the vehicle, especially as the page with cut out lines in the fitting instructions was photocopied and given to me by the Toyota dealer with the fitting invoice.  I know what you mean about getting the noseweight down on the caravan.  We have a Swift Conqueror 480 and it was surprising how much we had to move stuff rearwards which is a pain when travelling and you want stop for lunch or a cup of tea as it is all in the way.

[Flatcoat]

Swift vans are notoriously nose heavy, I have had 4 and it is one of their few failings. That apart I find my RAV PHEV a phenomenal tow car, main problem is low tow weight limit at 1500kg. 

[John Allen]

I am a bit luckier there as being a HEV I have a 1650 kg limit.  We also had our van capacity uprated offially with a new Vin plate allowing us 1550 kg MTPLM.  We were quite close to it when we checked on the weighbridge.