Why no weight-distribution hitch since 2009?

That's interesting - thanks! If one ever hits the lot at my local dealer long enough to take a look, I'd like to see it for myself.

And I know what you mean about finding space to work on the trailer. I am blessed in that we live on a corner next to a wash, so no one minds much if I have it parked out there a day or two for loading/unloading or doing minor repairs. The HOA is fine with 48 hours (and if I need to go over that by a day, I know the HOA president well).

Hey - have you ever had to seal your Airstream to prevent water leaking into the seems? I've heard it said that Airstreams need their seams sealed every so often. But I've heard other Airstream owners say that's not true . . .

 

It's probably a frame mounted but I understand your wanting to see for yourself. I'm the same way. I would still go in and talk to someone at a dealership known for not being jerks. Unfortunately, Toyota dealerships are in the same boat as everyone else. Best to look at some Google reviews of local dealerships.

When we first bought the Airstream (AS) and had it out for a few times we noticed a soft spot developing in the front. The wife said she could smell something bad. I removed everything in the front third of the interior and found a very wet soft spot. I made an appointment with AS and we pulled it up to the Mother Ship in Jackson Center, OH. I had them repair that spot and then work on the roof as well. I had them strip off the current / old sealant and apply new stuff. The recommendation is every 4 years I think. I also had them perform a pressure test (they seal the doors and windows, soap up the outside and pressurize the interior. They look for any bubbles on the exterior and seal the holes. They did a spray test where high pressure jets spray the exterior and they look for leaks that way too.

They said everything looked good and the soft spot had been repaired once but the owner didn't dry out the area below it in the belly pan. There's insulation there which was soaked and was rotting the floor. They removed that, sealed that area and replaced the insulation. That took 2 days and cost a grand.

I keep an eye on the roof sealant and mostly AS did a good job. It all looks good. We noticed a second soft spot developing in front of the toilet. We lived with it for a while but during storage when Covid happened the bathroom vent was leaking and I didn't realize it until spring. The floor was discolored and the discoloration ran under the bed base. I replaced the vent and resealed it, put tubs to catch any rain water. (None since the repair. We never opened or used the bath vent again) We made an appointment with AS to fix the soft spot. AS notified me they had bad, bad news. The leak had been happening for a while and the entire back third of the trailer floor was rotted. They had to remove everything in that area and remove the floor, replace it with new wood and cover it with vinyl flooring that almost matches the rest...almost. That was a week and set me back 11 grand. There has been a persistent drip from the A/C, both condensation and rain. It's either not there or it drips, depending on which way the trailer leans or the wind blows. It's very, very small but I put a tub under there too when in storage. When the A/C needs to be replaced that should go away as part of the installation.

I've done a lot or repairs and replacements of things over the years. Trailers (probably RVs too) are just a money pit but it's what I classify as entertainment and there's no justification for that. It's what we work for, so we can enjoy the things we like.

 

Wow! Well there goes the theory that Airstreams are basically maintenance free! Sorry for all the costly issues you had - especially the 2nd one. It was interesting about how they did that pressure test . . .

 

Everything needs maintenance Even if the aluminum body was impervious to the elements, all of the appliances, electrical stuff, rubber around the windows, even the caulk wears out eventually. I've not had to replace any aluminum panels yet. Those are probably eternal

 

Back to the question of using a WD hitching system on the 6th gen. Ran across this video of a couple guys who have been doing towing tests and videos for some time. Here they load up a non-hybrid with about a 5500 lb trailer and use a WD system with it: https://youtu.be/H4J8RHwHvTg (see around the 6 minute mark for mention of WD)

 

I hate the way YouTube now shows a line of other videos to watch when you pause the video to look at something. It's a real pain. Google always seems to be going downhill with everything they touch.

In the video I can't really see how the receiver is installed; cross member or frame. I do like the Weigh Safe hitch but I'll stick with the Equalizer; tried and true. I already have a scale to show me tongue weight anyway.

Thanks for posting the video

 

So, after reading a ton of stuff and watching a bunch of videos, I think I've realized what is going on with the 6th gen's hitch receiver. Since all Toyota's new body on frame trucks and SUVs (including Lexus GX550) all share the new TNGA-F platform, they all have weight distribution (WD) capabilities. I looked at a GX550 hitch receiver yesterday, and it looks to be the same setup that's on the current 4Runner. And the GX can tow around 9000 lbs. and obviously requires a WD hitching system - therefore the 4Runner on the same TNGA-F platform must have WD capabilities built in.

What threw me off before was that on the 5th gen, the hitch receiver was bolted to the rear-most cross member, and was not very robust. And if someone tried to put a WD hitch on a 5th gen, it could easily twist the cross member. The new TNGA-F platform is much beefier back there, and even though it looks like the receiver is on a cross member like the 5th gen was, that new cross member is much more robust than the previous generation's frame.

At least that's my current theory . . .

Can anyone verify this?