I'm thinking about buying a teardrop trailer and looking for thoughts on whether this is a good idea to hook it up to my aging 4Runner. Am I going to kill it prematurely if I start using it as a tow vehicle?

I bought my 2005 with about 170k on the odometer and it's at 230,000 now. I have every intention of taking it to 300 before I really give a lot of thought to replacing it. It was a stock street runner, with good service records and one prior owner. I have lifted it with a Dobinson's suspension, added sliders, replaced belts, hoses, alternator preemptively, and done all the fluids and plugs routinely. When I bought it, I didn't know 2005 head gasket problems were a thing. I had no symptoms except a very slow coolant loss and a Blackstone analysis with coolant in the oil, so I bit the bullet and spent $3500 to have the head gaskets replaced. Overall, this has been a great rig for 60,000 miles, considering I've only got a total of about $13k into it.

Ive done a few uhauls, no issues. I think if you stay within the towing rating you should be okay. Sounds like you upgraded your suspension, because yea towing in an old 4r suspension will bounce around pretty good.


I think part of the question is where you are towing. Is it primarily flat or a lot of hills/ Mtns.

Id just make sure you have a way to monitor the transmission temp if towing for long periods of time

I have used mine to move family members and cars with full load in truck( w/seats down) and even roof carriers all loaded up travelling over 500-1000 miles with over 200,000 miles. The vehicle tows very well, make sure you do not over load the tongue, or overload the tail of the carrier ... keep it well loaded and you will have no problems.

Seems like it's been cared for and you have done additional maintenance. As our vehicles age, there's a somewhat greater chance that some component will fail at some point but that's true with any vehicle, some more than others. I've done a lot of towing with mine and it's surprised me with how well it does towing. A small teardrop trailer shouldn't be a problem for your 4runner. Just remember to slow down and brake early when towing.

I think the most important thing is to monitor transmission temperature while towing. That's the one that can get ya.

If your radiator is in 100% perfect shape, and the cap is new(ish), there's probably no reason to worry about engine heat.

Otherwise, stay in 4th gear and out of overdrive. I recall reading somewhere that there's a particular bearing that doesn't get lubricated well in overdrive due to shaft speeds, so it's not good to overload the truck in overdrive. Not withstanding the obvious heat problem.

Best luck!

Been there, done that. If you know how to drive you'll be fine. Keep it in 4th gear, if you have the 5spd or 3rd gear if you have the 4spd auto. Get an ATF cooler if you don't already and a V8 hitch/frame mounted one from Uhaul or similar.

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When trailering use 4th gear. It will lock up the torque convertor and run cooler than in drive/OD. It wont be hunting for gears either. Refresh your rear diff oil and transfer case oil to synthetic. And install a tranny cooler. This is when you want good shocks to absorb the extra forces of braking and cornering. And if lifted, make sure to buy the correct drop hitch so the trailer is level. You dont want the trailer to lift the back end of the truck when braking

I tow my 3500 lbs boat and it does great. Im at 230,000 miles as well.

Thanks for all the feedback.

You got a bunch of good advice. I would not hesitate to tow a tear drop, following this advice.
I still think you are in a better position with the 4Rnr than you could be with many other newer vehicles.
I would add one bit of info. I as well am running a Dobinsons lift. And when I’m fully loaded and towing I have some Firestone airbags that I can put in a few pounds of air pressure in to keep the rear level.

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10k miles towing and many more to come! V8, Blue Ox WDH/Sway, AirLift 1000, FJ springs/Bilstein 5100

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I was going to post this exact advice.

Airbags are the best thing since sliced bread. Highly recommend Firestone as well.

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I towed a race car (Miata) on a dual axle trailer with brakes on both axles (kind of critical) all over the US from Virginia to California and everywhere in between. Monitored trans temps through a ScanGauge II and special programming for it (on their website if not standard by now). Synthetic fluids changed under the severe conditions schedule, transmission (my 03 still has a trans dipstick) fluid every 50K, 6 ply tires and locked it out of OD unless on dead flat roads like in the southwest. Gas mileage was horrendous with the V6 but it never struggled and even in the mountains, never overheated the trans although I usually dropped the speed back to 50-55. Also towed boats, jetskis, a 8 position golf cart carrier fully loaded (that one was a bit much but short hop). Air bags in the rear shocks but don't remember which ones as I put them in almost as soon as I bought the vehicle new in 2003. I would have enjoyed the V8 version more but they were essentially selling for over list in 2003.

Do the firestones install without pulling the springs? Do you just cut off the rubber bump stop?

I am surprised no one mentioned a weight distributing hitch? I pulled a 8,000 trailer from California to Florida. As has been said, 4th is best. Not having a v8, you should install a trans cooler just to be safe if you will routinely tow. Air bags are nice, but I will tell you especially being lifted on aftermarket suspension (I run 2.5" Fox FWIW), the WDS is an amazing amount of a difference in stability and ease.

Correction, I did not tow it across the country moving...my wife did. I had a new F250 pulling 24,000 lbs (gross weight). Anyways, she was nervous a bit never having towed, as it swayed on the highway, and it was a little tongue heavy. WDS fixed that all fully. You can find decent ones in the 10k lb range lightly used for like $150-200. Worth it all day every day.

As for brakes, if your trailer has them and you dont want to wire in a brake controller, Curt makes a wireless controller that worked fantastic for us.

Other than that, simply make sure you do and keep up on all your all your preventative maintenance items.

I discounted the rear shock lowers and dropped the axles done to get them in. And yes trimmed the bumps to give the bags room.
I originally ran the red AirSpring 1000’s (?) but when I added the lift I got the Firestone’s that allowed for getting extended bags. Learned that stuff here on this forum.