Recommended Hitch Expander that Extends Past Bumper on 2011 Toyota Avalon

Question:

I bought a 1 1/4 hitch from a local shop before I found your website which was probably a mistake, but its on the car now so I have to live with it. The hitch is hidden really well, sits way back in fact, so far back that a converter I bought to convert it from a 1 1/4 to a 2 inch will not fit because where it gets wider for the 2inch part it hits the bottom of my black plastic bumper. So, My question is, do you sell a converter 1 1/4 to 2inch that has a long neck, at least 4 inches from the hole where you slide the pin into the hitch to where the converter get wider to accommodate the 2 inch hitch? I have a nice 4 place Reese bike rack but it takes a 2inch hitch.. Otherwise looks like I might have to buy a different bike rack with a long straight 1 1/4 bar ? Thanks, Bill

asked by: Bill L

Expert Reply:

We do have a couple of options that should work well to extend the hitch receiver out far enough to clear the rear bumper on your 2011 Toyota Avalon, while also providing an expanded 2 inch receiver for hitch-mounted accessories.

The Brophy Hitch Adapter # HTAD is a really nice product that will convert the 1-1/4 inch receiver to a 2 inch opening. It features a distance of 7-1/4 inches from the hitch pin hole to the new pin hole on the 2 inch receiver. You can take a quick measurement on your existing hitch to see where exactly that 7-1/4 inches will take you from the hitch pin hole on your hitch.

If that does not give you quite enough clearance, the only other longer option is the Tow Ready # 80303. This has a greater distance of 8 inches from hitch pin hole to pin hole. It is important to note that this adapter is only rated to be used with Class II 1-1/4" hitches. I have attached a couple of short video demonstrations on both of these products so you can get a better idea of their design.

A couple of things you will want to keep in mind as it relates to the trailer hitch on your Avalon. The first thing to note is that the use of these or any other similar hitch adapter is going to reduce the tongue weight capacity of the trailer hitch by 50 percent. This means that if the trailer hitch on your vehicle has a tongue weight capacity of 200 pounds, this will be reduced to 100 pounds when using the adapter. You just need to make sure you remain under this reduced capacity with the combined weight of your bike rack and bikes.

Also, based on my research, it appears that the available trailer hitches that are confirmed to fit your vehicle are all Class I models. I recommend verifying this information on your existing hitch, which should be labeled with a sticker located on the hitch itself. Because of the lighter duty nature of Class I hitches, they are only able to carry a maximum of 2 bikes with a hitch-mounted bike rack. You can still use your existing 4-bike rack, but you will only be able to safely load 2 bikes onto the carrier.

expert reply by: Chris R