2003 V8 towing question

[jlmilligan]

I plan on going ice fishing with some buddies in Feb. To make the ride more comfortable, we may take my 4Runner towing my friends trailer. Hitch to taillight is 30 feet long, 6 ft inside height, dual axle, V nose aluminum enclosed trailer with a GVWR of 6600 lbs. I will be putting 3 snowmobiles and our gear in the trailer. I do not have the trailer brake hookup on my T4R. This will be the first time towing a trailer of that size. I normally pull a clamshell with no issues at all. My question is: ride in comfort with the T4R or ride in the extended cab of my buddies 2007 GMC?

 

[4boer]

6600 lbs + no trailer brakes + possible icy roads = Hello friend!

 

[CJ3Flyr]

The very good progressive controllers cost $120. The install is quick and easy. Toyota supplied a harness to hook the controller to when the vehicle was new...

 

[SubSonic]

I definitely recommend adding a trailer brake controller or taking your friend's truck, and I would do so whether the roads were icy or dry.

But you may could get away with it since a GVWR is a "rating" and not the actual weight, correct? If the trailer and load didn't surpass 4k-5k dry/actual lbs, you *might* be able to comfortably handle it without trailer brakes - but I personally wouldn't want to.

 

[charlier180]

jlmilligan, you might want to check the hitch on you 4Runner for a sticker that has it's capacity on it.
IIRC, some of the 2003 V8 models came from then factory with the 5K hitch instead of the 7K hitch.
Might be good to know which hitch you have before towing something that might potentially be over weight for your hitch.

Also, towing a 30 foot trailer weighing 5-6K pounds with the 4Runner may create a trailer sway situation.
This could be a very dangerous situation especially if the load in the trailer is not balanced properly and the tongue weight is too heavy.

Personally, I would think twice about towing a 30 foot trailer weighing 5-6K pounds without a weight distributing hitch with sway control.
Then again, when it comes to towing, I would rather be safe than sorry.

 

[jlmilligan]

It is actually a 24 ft trailer but by the time you add the v-nose and the tongue it measures in at 30'. Trailer weight loaded should be around 5k or a little under. I didn't see anything noted on the hitch on which type it is. Is there any visual indication that would tell me? My buddy with the trailer has a "anti-sway" hitch that slides into the reciever so I would be using that. I really didn't want to buy a brake controller because this is probably the only time I will ever use the trailer.

 

[eskimochaos]

It is actually a 24 ft trailer but by the time you add the v-nose and the tongue it measures in at 30'. Trailer weight loaded should be around 5k or a little under. I didn't see anything noted on the hitch on which type it is. Is there any visual indication that would tell me? My buddy with the trailer has a "anti-sway" hitch that slides into the reciever so I would be using that. I really didn't want to buy a brake controller because this is probably the only time I will ever use the trailer.

Yea but it will be that only time you will have to stop your 12k moving brick without trailer breaks when you say to yourself as you continue to skid towards the car in front of you....sh1t, maybe i shouldnt have been so cheap and gotten trailer breaks.

$120 is nothing if it means you can stop your car.

my $.02.

once, I had about 75 cases of beer in my car with 4 passengers. Total weight of cargo around 1.5k. Even stopping that was a scary. I cant imagine 5k.

 

[jlmilligan]

Yea but it will be that only time you will have to stop your 12k moving brick without trailer breaks when you say to yourself as you continue to skid towards the car in front of you....sh1t, maybe i shouldnt have been so cheap and gotten trailer breaks.

$120 is nothing if it means you can stop your car.

my $.02.

once, I had about 75 cases of beer in my car with 4 passengers. Total weight of cargo around 1.5k. Even stopping that was a scary. I cant imagine 5k.

I agree, but rather than spend $120, I may just ride in friends truck. The T4R would just be more comfortable for the 2 hour ride. Besides, an extra $120 on a brake controller would seriously hurt the Captain Morgan budget and that is what I like to call a "non-negotiable".

 

[argar865]

legal

Some states actually require electric or hydraulic brakes if the load is more than 2,000 pounds.

A load that heavy may be okay to move 2-10 minutes away without trailer brakes but for 2 hours it is just asking for an accident. Remember it is 2 hours there and 2 hours back. There are extremely high odds for an accident!!!

I have been researching the 2003 hitch dilemma. From what I can tell is if you can see your hitch receiver underneath the rear bumper (tubular frame) then it is the higher rated hitch (with this and brakes you should be fine), but there were a few prior to April 2003 that were produced with one that is virtually hidden by the rear bumper which were only rated for 5,000 (deal breaker to tow at maximum rating (remember you will have everyone inside the 4runner as weight as well+the captain and his several glass friends!) you should be able to tell by the model number as well, apparently the Models that end in A were the 5k towing capacity and the C the 7k towing capacity. However that has not been verified and is heresay...

All in all check your towing capacity sticker to check for sure...

However I have a bit of towing experience with travel trailers and I would not even dream of towing that more than about 10 minutes on flat dry ground without a brake controller... Maybe your friend can loan you his from his truck. They are really easy to wire to the original harness, plus you can order extra ones on ebay for $5-10...

there is my $0.02