I really appreciate the input on this. I hit the road first thing this morning on my journey from Dallas to Bozeman.

I reorganized my trailer, moving the weight back.

Installed a heavy duty hitch, (in a pinch on NYE, had to go with aftermarket rather than OEM)

Installed a Curt WDH.

Much better.




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Great, you'll be a happy tower from here on out!!

Just saw this post. Glad you upgraded the receiver and used a WDH. I just have 2 questions. Are you using a brake controller? And have you considered air bags for your rear springs?

With the V6 the air bags will help with the ride quality and help level the rear droop even better. They are no replacement for a WDH but they really do help.

And I hope that trailer has brakes built in or you are putting all the brake load on the 4Runner which is a recipe for disaster. Any trailer over 1k should have brakes integrated so you can use a brake controller to neutralize the trailer's weight.

I pull a 3800# trailer using a WDH, Prodigy P2 brake controller and Firestone air bags. Even with the V8 the brake controller makes a huge difference and is by far the biggest safety feature since the mine came with the tow package (transmission cooler, 7 pin connector, and 7300# receiver).

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Interesting stuff. I have an 06 V6 SR5 2WD. We are considering getting a 13 or 16 foot Casita or similar hard side camper, but not until we are sure we can pull it (and I get a few other mechanical issues sorted out). I just looked at my Reese Hitch. It has 2 ratings of 6,000 and 7,300 pounds. I was told when I bought that it was a factory tow package. It has the additional mirrors in the cargo area, but I am not sure what I am looking for under the hood to see if it has the coolers.
Any tips or ideas on what our tow capacity would be as it is (providing springs and shocks are all solid)?

Great point about brake controller. I took that for granted as the owners manual states to use one for towing >1000 lbs. I'm using a Tekonsha Prodigy P2.

The V6 has a 5000# tow capacity with a 500# max tongue weight. This is not determined by the receiver but by the engine, brakes, suspension, etc. There a ultra light campers the V6 can pull but focus on the tongue weight because that will be your limiting factor as a lot of RV manufacturers over load the tongue weights even though they keep the overall weight of the camper down. Also you will need a WDH rated for the tongue weight of the camper as well as a brake controller if you want to do it right.

All these factors were the reason I went out and bought the V8 4Runner. My 2WD is rated at 7300#/730# and the 5 speed automatic is super smooth. Right now I pull a 3800# pop up but my end game is a Lance 1995 which is about as much as I would be willing to handle though the 4Runner can theoretically handle more.

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Thank you!

I have stock springs on my V8 with airlift 1000 airbags. Sits perfect pulling any weight. I've pulled about 7500 lbs a couple times. Heavy two axle car hauler with various vehicles. The V8 with airbags pulls it great. Trailer brakes and proper tongue weight is critical.




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First off that is the worst designed trailer I have ever seen. The main purpose of a trailer is to carry the weight you don't want on your vehicle. That is why tongue weight is usually around 500-700 lbs on smaller vehicles like ours, that trailer you have does none of those things. The only reason the v8 is rated higher is because of the hitch, I have a v8 factory hitch on my v6 and it will tow anything a v8 will maybe need to give her a little more juice on the hills but that is it. If you are towing a trailer that has brakes on it go get a brake controller. Better yet buy the right vehicle

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe most if not all V8 4th Gens come with external transmission coolers as well. (mine has one). So the hitch is not the only difference, especially if you are towing a load long distance. I agree that having a brake controller is smart if your trailer has controllable (non-surge) style brakes. I tow with disc brakes on both axles of my trailer and it definitely makes a difference. But this thread isn't comparing the V8 to V6 towing which has been beaten to death several times over.

The trailer the OP has is fine, and he stated that he has moved the load around to lessen his tongue weight. With his new hitch, and modifying how he loaded the trailer, he already has the "right vehicle" to get the job done.