waterman7474 wrote:
the receiver is not welded to the cross member, it is bolted and that might be an issue with then with the rotational forces?
It's not the manner of attachment that matters so much; properly torqued bolts are as good as welds. Sometimes better.
The problem is the 6cyl OEM receiver's design, and especially
where it's attached. In your case, just to the rear crossbeam. That component can't stand the rotational stresses of W/D. The hitch that went on the 8-cyls was attached to the frame rails of the vehicle- much better suited to the purposes of W/D.
Here's a link to a 4Runner forum thread that explains it better than I can- sounds like the O.P. there has exactly the same receiver you do, and is therefore limited to using only a weight bearing, standard ballmount.
And do be sure to point these differences out to the hitch experts you're going to talk to- if they just look at the receiver opening without crawling under the rig to take a look, they might be deceived about what that receiver is capable of.
