What type of hitch do I need?

[SassyGirl1966]

Hi Everyone

We have a medium-sized Jayco pop-up camper and will be towing it with a V6 Toyota Camry.  We need a hitch with a 2" ball.  Would a Class II cut it?

Thanks.

[wavery]

Hi Everyone

We have a medium-sized Jayco pop-up camper and will be towing it with a V6 Toyota Camry.  We need a hitch with a 2" ball.  Would a Class II cut it?

Thanks.

The answer to your question is not that simple. You must first determine if the Camry can safely tow that trailer at all. Then you need some facts to determine which hitch is suitable for the weight of the trailer. Then (and only then) you can determine what class hitch you can (or can't) use.

It depends on the weight of the trailer and the towing and cargo hauling capacity of the Camry, which isn't much.

Think long and hard about towing with your Camry. You could cause a lot of very costly damage to your vehicle.

What is the fully loaded weight of the trailer (not the dry weight)?
What is the tongue weight on the trailer?
What is the GCWR (Gross combined Weight Rating) on the Camry?
What is the tow rating on the Camry?
What State do you live in?
How many passengers and weight of cargo will be in the Camry?

[SassyGirl1966]

Thanks.  We've actually towed with a Camry before - our last car was a V6 Camry and we towed our pop-up with it with no problems.  I just can't remember what class hitch we had on it.

[wavery]

Thanks.  We've actually towed with a Camry before - our last car was a V6 Camry and we towed our pop-up with it with no problems.  I just can't remember what class hitch we had on it.

The class of the hitch is determined by the weight of the trailer.

These weights are fully loaded trailer weights.
Class 1 - up to 2000 lbs. GTW
Class 2 - 3500 lbs. GTW
Class 3 - 5,000 lbs.

However, just because you install a Class 2 hitch on the Camry does not mean that the Camry can safely handle a 2000# load (including trailer, passengers, cargo and fuel).

There is no doubt that the Camry can "Pull" the load (a garden tractor can pull the load). The question is, can it "stop" that load under all highway conditions and situations. You might want to consider the stresses of towing with a vehicle that was not designed to tow. Just because you got away with it once doesn't mean that you won't suffer some pretty serious and expensive damage this time. Just food for thought.