Trailer Hitch question

Hi,

My 2023 premium off road 4runner I purchased about a month ago is the first vehicle I've owned with a trailer hitch. It is a 2" opening and comes with the vehicle when purchased.

I had a question/concern regarding the length. I'm not that familiar with trailer hitches, but when I see a big truck with one they are typically longer than what mine appears to be. This seems to be in part because the 4runner hitch stops where the spare tire is, so it can't be too long.

I'm wanting to get a bike rack. The UP1 2 bike rack and a 2 bike extension, so it would be 4 bikes. Should I have any concern about the length of the 4runner standard trailer hitch?

Much appreciated!

Tim Z

 

The 4Runner can tow 5000 pounds, your bikes weigh less than 200 pounds.

 

You'll be fine. No worries.

 

Thank you! Much appreciated.

 

Certainly.
The length of the "tube" part of the hitch is fairly short, but what's key is that the length of the stem on your bike rack inserts far enough into it -- some distance past the pin hole -- and that you secure the pin.

Depending on how well your rack fits the hitch, you may want to install an anti-rattle (anti-wobble) device, too. It's a gadget that draws the rack stem up tight against the hitch tube. Not expensive at all, and well worth it in my opinion.

 

Anti-rattle gadget example: https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Anti~Rattle/Pro-Series/PS63091.html

Cheap and effective.

 

Welcome to the forum from North Carolina. Bike hitch away, you will be 100% fine!

 

Great advice offer here.
You may need to cut shorter the bike hitch part that goes into your receive so the "hitch pin" lines up.
I have transported many bikes when my kids were young , including a trailer bike and Mt. tandem. Usually 4 for a whole family outing or 2 for a local ride. Currently I carry either my beach cruiser semi-recumbent or my dual suspension Mt.Bike.
I pieced together a DIY bike carrier from a Reese hitch and a bike carrier upright.

 

Nobody likes a show off Hungry hawk, some of us don't have mountains to look at, although we do have hills and sink holes here in the southern part of The Peoples Republic of Illinois.

 

A quick trip to the garage and back shows there's about 3" from the center of the pin hole to the forward end of the hitch tube.
(For what it's worth, there's roughly another inch available after that before contacting the spare tire.)

 

The 1 up rack fits without issue, I have one myself. It goes in deep enough for the tensioning ball to engage without problem.

 

I didn't think about it when I got Thule 2 bike hitch rack and hitch part almost touched spare tire when I put it in. I was all right, but you might want to look up measurement on rack manufacturer or a dealer web site.

 

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sub'd

 

I wish I had known about this five years ago. Anytime I trailered anything with my Pathfinder it rattled like hell if there was no load on it. My 4runner doesn't rattle but good to know this piece is available if ever needed.

Thanks for sharing!

 

Pathfinder, eh? Do tell!
I'm rolling one right now with almost 340k miles. If my 4Runner holds up as well, I'll be a very happy man.

(And yes, that's the vehicle that taught me to get the anti-rattle critter.)

 

I know right???

Anyway, back on topic, if you look at my recovey hitch on the reciever, it’s nice and short, barely extends past the end. I think that’s a benefit, it keeps twisting forces down on the crossmember it’s mounted on.



Kinda hard to see in this picture, so maybe its not the best to illustrate my point…Whatever my point may be.

 

Another tip I put fluid film regularly inside and outside the hitch, hitches and racks slide in easier, and helps prevent rusting when the paint chips. I just use wax applicator pad and apply

 

You suck. Maybe tomorrow I'll take some pictures of cows and post them.

 

Lol. I actually drove down to south Illinois for the total eclipse. Palestine, I believe it was. I will say this…the farm roads down there are quite the hoot to drive down. At least in a 4runner. Smooth, but wildly rolling and pitching. Great fun at 60ish mph. I can’t say I got bored driving back up to Wisconsin. It was a surprisingly epic drive, clear up to east central IL.

Don’t you guys have kentucky just a hoot and holler away? Gotta be some nice roads and vistas down there.

 

There's not a lot to see in The Peoples Republic of Illinois, we're about 2 hours from Kentucky, 11 miles from St. Louis, not much to see there either.

 

Although there’s no issue with what OP wants to do, you can’t put 5000 lbs vertically on the hitch either

 

I agree, the hitch box just does not seem deep enough for a hitch. (2024 4Runner)

 

I've got a 1Up rack set up for 2 Ebikes on my RV. Probably put 2,000 miles on it hauling my 55 lbs. x2 Ebikes. So far so good!

 

Seriously? The point is, if you can tow 5000 pounds , you can carry a few bicycles, use a little common sense.

 

It’s called tongue weight and it’s about 500 lbs. You’d be surprised how many people have bent their hitch thinking they could load a bunch of things because their vehicle can tow a few thousand pounds

 

A little common sense can go a long way.

 

You keep saying that but telling people “your truck can tow 5000 lbs, you’ll be fine with 200 lbs of bikes” is less helpful than saying “your tongue weight is 500 lbs, you’ll be fine with 200 lbs of bikes”.

The way you say it sounds like you can put 800 lbs no issue on top of that hitch

common sense and safe practices don’t always go hand in hand

 

I can't believe you're making such a big deal out of nothing, maybe you should try being a little nicer and more tolerant instead of bitching and whining about a post.

 

I literally clarified your initial post to make sure people that don’t know better would not misinterpret what you said and your reply to that was “seriously? use a little common sense”. Then when I explain you what is tongue weight you start insulting.
Maybe you should look yourself in the mirror before insulting others. I’m done arguing on this topic, it’s pointless and does not bring any information to this thread.