Woodbert

Has anyone actually mounted a 265-70-17 spare on their 4th Gen with a hitchbar inserted in the receiver? Does it fit?

BlkSS1755

i'm pretty sure it does.. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/showth...ighlight=4rotm

sfrolich

No Problem. I did it myself.

Scott

TechWrench

My '03 came with the 17" alloy wheels and the 265/65 Bridgestones and I have had a problem with aftermarket ball mounts hitting the tire before you can get the hitch pin in place. The Toyota factory ball mount has a very short reach inside the receiver, and according to my dealer it is not available as an individual item. I needed a second ball mount for a second trailer I have. They have different size receivers and I didn't want to keep switching balls on the mount. The only aftermarket ball mount I found that will fit is from NAPA, and it is close. I would imagine if I put a bigger diameter tire in the spare position I would have to trim the ball mount to get it to fit. Another side point I have noted. It seems the Toyota 2" receiver is somewhat undersized. I and some friends have had problems getting aftermarket accessories to fit into the receivers without using some type of impact persuasion.

Woodbert

Thanks guys. I've got my fifth REVO that should be here Monday and I'm going to rotate and include the spare.

I've got a Hidden Hitch draw bar and I have about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of space with the 65. I'll probably have to grind down or trim the draw bar a bit or leave a little air out of the spare and "percussian maintenance" it into place.

Colemanfu

Had the same problem - reciever hitting the spare. I figured that was why Toyota included there own hitch. I had the problem with my Versa Hauler - allows you to sit a motorcycle across the back. I just got out the Sawsall and cut a little less than an inch. Had not affect on the regidity of the Hauler. I was suprised that the wt. of the Hauler and the bike did not bottom out the rear springs. Thats over 300 pounds of wt. just on the hitch!

tom4416

The Toyota hitch works fine and so does the 3" drop I bought at Wally World. It comes within a 1/8" of hitting the spare but no problem. My handy hauler also fits without modification. I wonder if Toyota made any kind of running change to the hitch setup so that everything would fit?

Woodbert

Well I got the spare balanced and mounted while doing a free tire rotation by the dealer. The REVO just barely fit and is touching the ball mount but no trouble.

Interesting tire rotation directions in the owners manual. Basically a cross pattern with the left front going to spare and the spare going to left rear.

TechWrench

If we have the same owners manual, it looks like to me, they are recommending a non-crossing pattern. My manual, on page 330, calls for rotating the each side front to back and inserting the spare in the right side rotation. To me, this means the left side tires will get a third more street time then the right and wear faster? If you check the Bridgestone site, they recommend a crossing pattern for 4WD, and I think (IMHO) that is the better method. With the way tires are built today, I don't think maintaining rotation direction is an issue unless the tire tread is specifically designed to function in one direction only.

Woodbert

My owners manual is in Japanese. Here is a picture of the page on tire rotation and how Toyota says to do it which is what my dealer did.

2003 Tire Rotation. They recommend rotation every 10,000 KM or 6200 miles.

TechWrench

Strange, I guess Toyota thinks the tires on a HiLux wear differently than a 4Runner. :wtf: