Can It Take It? Long Trip with Trailer.

[Robb235]

I've towed the uHaul 6x12 completely packed with heavy furniture and boxes from south Georgia to Chattanooga. I didn't have to climb or descend any mountains, yet I was still glad I had the 231mm Tundra Brake Upgrade. That is a must, in my opinion, especially going across country.

I would also find a way to monitor transmission temps, whether it's with a Scangauge or a smartphone app. You don't want to overheat your transmission.

Make sure the front end of the trailer has the heaviest stuff. I thought I had loaded the front end of the trailer heavier, but then we were trying to cram as much stuff into that trailer as we could, so I guess it got heavier in the back. It swayed if I went at all over 55mph. Kind of spooky the first time it happened.

Make sure your tires, especially your rear ones, are pumped up to the max rated pressure listed on the sidewall. You may be surprised at how fast your gas gauge drops while towing. I went from getting 21-22mpg on the highway, to 13-14mpg towing the 6x12.

It may be worth it to put air springs in the rear, especially if you have rear sag issues already. Part of my trip was on south Georgia country roads, and I scrapped pretty good crossing some railroad tracks. My T4R with the '99 tall coils sags in the rear, and obviously with a heavy trailer it just made it that much worse, as I was literally dragging ass the whole way. Airbags in the rear springs would have been nice to level things out.

Do not do this!!

Ummmm.. don't do what? Don't keep proper inflation on your tires? You do realize that the max psi listed on your tires are for when you have heavier loads on them, right?

 

[vanion2]

Ummmm.. don't do what? Don't keep proper inflation on your tires? You do realize that the max psi listed on your tires are for when you have heavier loads on them, right?

I agree. I didn't see where there was anything wrong with your statement. I drive a 15k lbs motor home and the back wheels are at 80 psi (their max) per the manufacturers recommendation to handle the maximum load. The fronts are at 65 psi for the same reason. I check the pressures regularly because failing to keep them at those pressures can cause premature tire failure and a blow out. Not something you want to do while driving a big vehicle or towing under any circumstances.

Makes for a rougher ride but the higher the tow load the higher the tire pressures need to be (up to their max). And ironically this will potentially increase you mpg. I say potentially because less tire flex means more power to the road but any real gains would be lost due to the increased load. The reason why no one rides with their tires aired to the max is because it's like riding on a wheel made of rock.

 

[vanion2]

2500 lbs won't require mods of any kind. That's half the tow rating. I tow 4,000 pounds regularly and the truck handles it well. I wouldn't want to tow right up to the rating on long distances, but I'm sure it would handle that fine too.

This is true. You don't need a WDH, brake controller, anti-sway bar, etc. BUT I tried that in the past and then added the brake controller and WDH (never needed anti-sway bars because I loaded my trailer properly) and the difference it made in both comfort and driveability were two different worlds. The brake controller alone negates the need to do anything to your brakes (though I would still agree with your recommendation to do the Tundra upgrade). The WDH distributes the weight evenly over all axles of your 4Runner and the trailer making for a much stabler ride. These are one time costs that are worth their weight in gold in my opinion.