Towing Casita Camper with 2000 Tacoma Xtracab 3.4 L V6 4x4 SR5

Hi All,

I have been on a journey with my 2000 Taco with a restoration and upgrade project (frame repair, suspension upgrades, 4-Runner heated seats, camper shell setup, break controller, etc.). I'm very happy with the progress and believe I have a solid truck (only 110k miles).

I recently towed my Casita camper through the Rockies (about 80 miles with OD off) and was pleased with the performance. When I did an inspection after the towing I noticed that my hitch received bent down out of shape significantly. I believe I have a class III curt but I'm not 100% certain. I see first gen tacomas with heavier loads than my casita so I'm wondering was my hitch receiver a dud? I really want to tow the Casita with this truck and before I change out the receiver (I was thinking Draw-tite) I wanted to get some thoughts from the community on this issue here. The Casita is less than 3k lbs with a tounge weight of ~350 lbs.

I've included pictures of the failure and the one picture after a multi-month frame repair project and suspension upgrade (grinding and hammering out rust, welding in safet caps and steel reinforcement plates and por-15 coating the full frame).

 

I think the issue with your hitch is that it only attaches to the bottom of the frame, and that is what allowed it to bend. Most of the class 3 hitches I've seen attach to the side and bottom of frame to prevent the problem you had. I think any decent quality class 3 hitch will be good to go for your uses.

 

Hard to tell from the photos provided, but looking at the first picture I would of installed the hitch mount inside the frame rail. The way it's mounted underneath the frame rail while bolted up, doesn't show a lot of support.

I would also clean up that wiring. Mount it some kind of weather proof box.