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I'm assuming that Toyota designed the new double-wall hitch receiver with structural integrity in mind, and maybe the design is what gives the hitch it's class 4 rating.
That's all well and good if you're towing something but what if you want to use the receiver to mount a shelf, swing out, bike rack, etc...? Again, all good until it comes to installing a pinch style anti-rattle clip of some sort like this.
Many rack manufacturers have a pinch style insert anti-rattle clip that is included with the rack. My Alta bike rack has a fancy version of this built into the insert and my RakAttach swing-out uses one as well. These things work great in most receivers and completely eliminate any movement but in order to completely take out the movement you really have to crank down on them. Some manufacturers, like Kuat, use a wedge style insert with a long screw inserts down the receiver tube but that's pretty rare.
Here's the problem. The double-wall receiver actually has two walls (duh!), the inner receiver and an outer shell. There's a ~1/4 inch air gap between the two and the outer shell is fairly thin....you see where this is going....when you torque down on the bolt the outer wall deforms. If you continued you might eventually pinch the outer wall all the way down against the inner receiver tube, but it seems likely to me that somewhere in that process you'll break a weld or some other bad thing.
I have a friend with a '24 Tacoma and he's used a Recon bike rack for a while now. He never noticed it but when we looked at his truck the outer wall was significantly deformed. Every time he puts the rack on it bends just a little more. It also seems to me that when you're driving on rough roads the constant twisting and pulling will probably deform it more and lead to it being loose over time.
I puzzled over how to fix this. There are external devices like this and for most people that's probably the best solution. They work pretty well and prevent most movement. I don't think they're as good as the internal pinch clips though, and my Alta rack actually uses both together to prevent the rack from moving.
In the end, here's what I did. I took my die grinder and reamed out the outer wall until I had enough room to fit a 5/8" steel bushing in. Now the bolt is pressing against the inner receiver and not the outer wall. Not many people will want to take a die grinder to their receiver but I'm not most people....
The reality is Toyota screwed this one up. If they really felt like we needed the double walled receiver they should have put an insert in so any force on the outer wall would be transferred to the inner receiver. Since they didn't you get to design your own solution!
Here's a video I sent to 1UP (maker of the Rakattach) showing them the problem. It's not their fault but I can see someone coming back and suing them for breaking their truck. Some of the video are my other comments on the swing-out (I love it) so you don't really need to watch the whole thing if you don't want.
RakAttach Video
Gratuitous pics of my set up. I have some cleanup to do but it's 90% there!
That's all well and good if you're towing something but what if you want to use the receiver to mount a shelf, swing out, bike rack, etc...? Again, all good until it comes to installing a pinch style anti-rattle clip of some sort like this.
Many rack manufacturers have a pinch style insert anti-rattle clip that is included with the rack. My Alta bike rack has a fancy version of this built into the insert and my RakAttach swing-out uses one as well. These things work great in most receivers and completely eliminate any movement but in order to completely take out the movement you really have to crank down on them. Some manufacturers, like Kuat, use a wedge style insert with a long screw inserts down the receiver tube but that's pretty rare.
Here's the problem. The double-wall receiver actually has two walls (duh!), the inner receiver and an outer shell. There's a ~1/4 inch air gap between the two and the outer shell is fairly thin....you see where this is going....when you torque down on the bolt the outer wall deforms. If you continued you might eventually pinch the outer wall all the way down against the inner receiver tube, but it seems likely to me that somewhere in that process you'll break a weld or some other bad thing.
I have a friend with a '24 Tacoma and he's used a Recon bike rack for a while now. He never noticed it but when we looked at his truck the outer wall was significantly deformed. Every time he puts the rack on it bends just a little more. It also seems to me that when you're driving on rough roads the constant twisting and pulling will probably deform it more and lead to it being loose over time.
I puzzled over how to fix this. There are external devices like this and for most people that's probably the best solution. They work pretty well and prevent most movement. I don't think they're as good as the internal pinch clips though, and my Alta rack actually uses both together to prevent the rack from moving.
In the end, here's what I did. I took my die grinder and reamed out the outer wall until I had enough room to fit a 5/8" steel bushing in. Now the bolt is pressing against the inner receiver and not the outer wall. Not many people will want to take a die grinder to their receiver but I'm not most people....
The reality is Toyota screwed this one up. If they really felt like we needed the double walled receiver they should have put an insert in so any force on the outer wall would be transferred to the inner receiver. Since they didn't you get to design your own solution!
Here's a video I sent to 1UP (maker of the Rakattach) showing them the problem. It's not their fault but I can see someone coming back and suing them for breaking their truck. Some of the video are my other comments on the swing-out (I love it) so you don't really need to watch the whole thing if you don't want.
RakAttach Video
Gratuitous pics of my set up. I have some cleanup to do but it's 90% there!
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