So I looked up the tow rating on my 2014 4runner and it shows 4,700lbs. I'll be moving 1,700 miles away and rather than having my wife drive her car the same distance, I thought I could just tow her car there instead. Her car weights in at 3,000lbs and I was going to rent a U-Haul car dolly. According to U-Haul, the dolly itself weighs 750lbs empty so combined with her car, it should be 3,750, leaving 950lbs wiggle room. We will be loading the vehicles up with some items such as clothes, TV, miscellaneous items, etc. If I were to guess the additional weight of these items, maybe 500lbs or so. This will push us around 4,250 +/-

Since we're nearing the max tow rating, would you guys recommend towing such a long distance? I've never towed long distance before and the only other time I've towed was with my friend's truck so no direct experience with the 4Runner. Would I be OK or should I pay to have her car transported?

Cars and boats tend to tow better because they are aerodynamic, but the 4Runner is not a long distance towing rig and even if you likely won't damage anything, it will suck ass on hills and with braking.

There's also to TC and no brake controller.

Can you do it? Yes.

Will you hate it? Yes.

Where'd you get that number? The manual specifies 5k lbs.

https://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/docu...f/OM35A83U.pdf

Ideally you should not tow that much weight without trailer brakes. I like the added stopping power of trailer brakes on loads as light as 1k lbs. That said, the 4R will pull it fine, but you'll probably need to stay in 4th to prevent the transmission from searching for overdrive and overheating.

If you're packing the 4Runner full of stuff too, you're probably going to be over the GCWR.

I'd probably load both vehicles with junk and drive them - you'll make better time and will spend a comparable amount on gas $$.

Correct.
But what about the manly factor of towing with the 4R, which at best, suited for a jetski?

A few years ago I towed my VW GTI from Los Angeles to Alabama with my 2001 4runner. I had zero issues, minus horrible gas mileage. I think I averaged 10 MPG. If you decide on towing just take your time, don't rush, allow a few extra days and enjoy the ride. Also, I had a transmission cooler installed. I'm not sure if the new T4R's come with those or if its required.

You’ll be fine towing 4,000 lbs. It just sucks towing with the 4Runner because it’s underpowered and the power it has is up in the RPM range, so it always feels like you have to flog it and ride it hard to get the power out of it. But it’ll drive all day at 4,000 rpm no problem, it won’t hurt the engine, it just gets old and your gas mileage will be crap.

I regularly tow an off-road trailer in the 3,000-3,500 lb range.

Edit: I do have a brake controller and brakes on my trailer, so that might be an area of concern if the trailer you will be towing has no brakes.


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Towing limit should be 5000lbs. I tow a 19" Jayco and when it's loaded with water and gear it's topping out at 4000lbs. Other than horrible gas mileage and gearing down for hills it tows it just fine. I do have a brake controller so that definitely helps on declines.

Towed a close-to-5000# Uhaul 1500 miles a couple years back. Towed fine, but as noted above leave plenty of room to accelerate or brake.

S4 on the transmission and leave it there on the highway and expect high rpms. We were turning 4 grand most of the trip and the oil analysis on 5w-20 came out really nice so nothing will get hurt in the engine.

Managed the transmission a bit, for example if I was starting off going uphill I'd manually go through the gears and shift when I wanted, letting off the gas to remove stress from the transmission (maybe unnecessary). Only used 5th while going downhill not-too-steep for long stretches, otherwise if left in "D" or S5 it was 5-4-5-4 shifts frequently - which is where the wear occurs.

Expect 10-11 mpg.

This year we bought a 21.5’ trailer rated at 3,000#. Loaded up probably 3,500 or so I’d guess. We tow with a weight distribution hitch and a brake controller and I added a transmission cooler.

Aside from lacking a V8 authoritative power, I would have zero issue going across the country and back tomorrow.

If the load and trailer is set up correctly, it’s a totally comfortable experience. Keep it in S4 gear. 5th is useless.