1st REPORT: V8 4Runner pulling 26' Travel Trailer

TeryT

TeryT

New member
I did a rather detailed report on towing our new Rockwood 2502, ultralight travel trailer over on the RV.net forum. The 4Runner did very well indeed! Thought I would just post the link, as it's longer, with pix, etc.

RV.net Forum Message

:guitar2: :guitar2: :clap: :clap: :love: :dancin: :cheers:
 
Register to hide this ad
Looks like the 4Runner did well. That's good to hear. Another reason that makes me want to kick myself for not going with the V8. Nice write up!
 
I still can't believe the V8 is rated for 7,000 pounds.

However, it seems that the Toyota 4.7 is a very good stout engine, even if it's not a Cummins stump puller.

The gas mileages appears to be normal when comapred to larger tow vehicles. I suspect that using a Ford F150, Chevy 5.3 1500 would get you about the same mpg.
 
Very cool! I have been looking at rockwoods.....hybirds and pups mainly. Glad to read your positive thoughts with this setup.
What size Revos do you have?
 
HuntRunner said:
Very cool! I have been looking at rockwoods.....hybirds and pups mainly. Glad to read your positive thoughts with this setup.
What size Revos do you have?
Click to expand...
Just went with the stock standard size.
 
TeryT said:
Just went with the stock standard size.
Click to expand...

Probably a good choice.....I debated on switching to the 270/70/17 from the stock size but it would change the effective drive ratio from 3.73 to 3.61. Not much of a difference, but i do not want to lose any just for towing purposes.
 
Last edited:
How did you tell which gear the transmission was at, given it's a auto tran? I suppose you put your auto shift lever at "4" ("D" would be overdrive ON and you said it wasnt appropriate for towing this sz trailer). Then the auto tran did its work behind the scene as you drive up the hill ... it probably downshifted to "3" when you climbed. But how could one tell which gear the auto tran is at other than the gear you shift to initially ? I dont suppose you use the auto tran as a manual tran sometimes and shifted on the fly? thanks.

THE V8 4RUNNER

Many on here lamented the idea of using the short wheelbase (110") 4Runner for towing a travel trailer. But let me tell you, it does very well. That 4.7 L V8 has an incredibly flat torque curve, and hits the 330 foot lbs. very early. Some of the grades were steep & long on this road. The trip has over a 6,000 foot elevation rise, and I ran it about 50 MPH up these hills, and about 60 MPH otherwise. Pulling steep hills it liked 3rd gear the best, and I think only twice went down briefly to 2nd gear. Didn
 
Thank you for the post. Most interesting. Can you post some pictures here of the site you were camping at? Possibly showing the degree of difficulty of the terrain?

I'm envious of your setup:D
 
Re: Re: 1st REPORT: V8 4Runner pulling 26' Travel Trailer

tcpoob said:
How did you tell which gear the transmission was at, given it's a auto tran? I suppose you put your auto shift lever at "4" ("D" would be overdrive ON and you said it wasnt appropriate for towing this sz trailer). Then the auto tran did its work behind the scene as you drive up the hill ... it probably downshifted to "3" when you climbed. But how could one tell which gear the auto tran is at other than the gear you shift to initially ? I dont suppose you use the auto tran as a manual tran sometimes and shifted on the fly? thanks.
Click to expand...
Yes to the above. When I shift into 4th & it downshifts, then I know it's in 3rd. The way the gated shifter is, it is then real convenient to manually shift between 4th & 3rd. I can tell when it needs to go down into 3rd. Sometimes, even though it's running along in 4th OK going up a good hill, you can feel it has no power - then I just bump it into 3rd manually. I could do the same by nudging the gas, but I can just feel that it would be better in the lower gear. Also, this is to keep it from hunting.

Very quickly, I am getting a good feel for how it pulls in what gear the best.
 
04Runner said:
Thank you for the post. Most interesting. Can you post some pictures here of the site you were camping at? Possibly showing the degree of difficulty of the terrain?

I'm envious of your setup:D
Click to expand...
Sorry, but I don't have pictures of the forest road. It is not really that bad, but after all the rains, most cars would be having problems with bottoming out. There were a few holes that were about a foot deep. The biggest thing was the soft ground. But the 4R & the lifted trailer had no problem.

At one point I felt the rig bog down, but I just gave it a little more gas, and it pulled the trailer into the spot where we camped. When I got out, I saw a very large rock a couple foot across, had lodged under the trailer tire, and had dug into the ground. It had made a good sized rut as I had drug it along about 30 feet. Fortunately there was no damage to the trailer! The 4R never even spun a tire!
 
Very good write up. My Tow Hauler weighs about the same empty. Its weighed in at 5280 loaded. My trailer is smaller, only 18 ft box, 21 overall, and i never had a problem. I want to out a bigger cooler like you did since the stock one is quite small.

I had a 04 Tundra DC 4x4 before. The 4runner has more power towing, but the tundra felt a bit more stable.

David V
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 708 (members: 4, guests: 704)

Forum statistics

Threads
278,312
Messages
3,554,089
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Share this page

Trending content

Back
Top