Can these trucks tow??

DeclansDaddy

DeclansDaddy

New member
Greetings from the Classic Forum. Got a quick question for you 3rd gen guys. I just bought a boat and I know damn well my 1st gen isn't going to be the ideal tow vehicle. I hate the thought of buying a gas guzzling SUV as I will need to carry my family with me (2 adults, 2 children) so I was thinking about maybe picking up a 3rd gen. I know I've seen plenty of 4th and up gens pulling boats but don't really see a lot of 3rd and I want a truck not a grocery getter. I'm not sure exactly what the boat weighs but it's a 1994 22' Striper center console. Any thoughts on if I'd be asking too much of the 4runner? Also I might add I live 3 miles from the marina it will be launched from so not like I have to go far.
 
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Yes, they can.



I had no problems with this one, and it was around 3400lbs. Fro mthe house to the water was about 50 miles. Mostly flat, but there were a few decent sized hills. I also towed a 20ft pontoon a couple times. It was lighter, but taller, so it caught more wind. Still didn't have any problems, just lost a bit of mileage.

If you go with a 3rd gen, I would suggest a tranny cooler and the Tundra brake upgrade. Neither one are needed, but both are beneficial with hauling.
 
With that size cc, you'll probably be at or close to the tow limit. 5000lbs. If it's just a few miles, it will be fine... If it's an auto get a trans cooler and scan gauge to monitor trans temps. I added two in series, but I also was towing about 30 mins on highway, and up hills. The 3.4 just isn't strong enough for extended highway towing. But for shorter trips it's a great tow vehicle due to the great visibility through the rear window for hooking up/ boat ramp, and the nimble manoeuvrability.
 
i just got on here to ask the same thing. i want to pick up a car and tow it back on a Uhaul trailer but was told the truck won't hold the weight. it is a 96 caprice police car, that are somewhere in the 4k+ pounds range. i wouldn't want to burn the trans, although i have a cooler and the big brakes. the car is 4-5 hours away, so the round trip 8-10 hours.
 
I would say that they can handle towing a load quite well. As long as you don't mind being the slowest person on the road. I have towed this trailer numerous times loaded with anything from trees to mulch or rock and done just fine. Now put that trailer behind my Yukon XL 2500 and I wouldn't know it was back there.
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These trucks get about 16-18mpg, less when towing. Turning Overdrive off will limit your highway speed to 68mph before you are over 3k RPMs. I'd get rear airbags or OME 906 springs if I was doing a lot of towing with mine. 3rd gens are great trucks and can tow fine. They can be better with a few easy mods. They will never go fast and tow. They will always eat gas. I know because I towed a 15 foot boat around for 5 years. It was able to tow and did fine, but I would not recommend a 3rd gen 4runner as a dedicated tow vehicle. A 3rd gen will be much better than your 1st gen. But a 4th gen will be much better than a 3rd gen at towing.
 
I'll chime in - I recently towed my first gen (3800lb plus or minus) on a tow dolly (200lb) across town, and that was enough to make me run out and buy a full size truck in case I ever have to do that again. It was nerve wracking. Braking was severely compromised, my rear end was all over the place, I couldn't even safely maintain the speed of traffic on surface streets. I'll never do that again.

Granted, a lifted SUV on a tow dolly is not anything like a much lighter boat on a platform optimized for towing, but I just thought I'd throw that out there. If you were planning on regularly towing anything over 3000lbs with a 3gen, I'd upgrade the brakes, trans cooler, and add a WDH. If you already had the 3gen that'd be one thing, but if you're going to buy something just to tow the boat, do it right and get a full size truck or SUV.
 
Figure out the weight of everything and if it under 4000lbs, then I would say sure. If it is over, then IMO, find a 4th Gen with a V8 that comes with a weight distributing hitch on it.

Or, as others have said, buy a truck.
 
lhsoulrebel said:
With that size cc, you'll probably be at or close to the tow limit. 5000lbs. If it's just a few miles, it will be fine... If it's an auto get a trans cooler and scan gauge to monitor trans temps. I added two in series, but I also was towing about 30 mins on highway, and up hills. The 3.4 just isn't strong enough for extended highway towing. But for shorter trips it's a great tow vehicle due to the great visibility through the rear window for hooking up/ boat ramp, and the nimble manoeuvrability.
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I disagree. I towed a loaded 6X12 closed U Haul trailer from Phoenix, AZ to Seattle, WA last December. Truck never skipped a beat. I actually have to relocate back to AZ next month and will be using this same setup. It is no monster but with the trans cooler and careful driving it does fine.
 

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This question comes up fairly often, and I usually post my Sister's experience.

02SE said:
My Sister has towed a boat probably twenty times per Summer, for the last 13 years. Combined with the trailer, and a full fuel tank, the towed weight is essentially right at the 5000 lbs. her 4Runner is rated to tow. She has an equalizer hitch, and the boat trailer has brakes.

She is not over any weight ratings, as verified at a certified scale. She lives at approx. 4500 ft in elevation, and usually drives up mountain roads to reach higher elevation lakes and reservoirs.

She has an '01 V6, 4wd, with slightly oversized LT 265/75R16 C tires. No problems at all in those 13 years. Just regular preventive maintenance, as performed by me.
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01thunder said:
i just got on here to ask the same thing. i want to pick up a car and tow it back on a Uhaul trailer but was told the truck won't hold the weight. it is a 96 caprice police car, that are somewhere in the 4k+ pounds range. i wouldn't want to burn the trans, although i have a cooler and the big brakes. the car is 4-5 hours away, so the round trip 8-10 hours.
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Don't do it with a 4Runner. The Uhaul trailers are heavy as hell not including that caprice.
 
As far as a 22' center console I can say that I used to tow my 19' Boston Whaler that was rigged with a very heavy Ttop tower and bench tackle center plus 2 huge 86 qt ice chest as rear seats plus 100 gallons of fuel and crap load of gear.
The dry hull weight was 1300# with at least 800+# in Ttop, chest, tackle center. Then Twin Yamaha 75hp outboards which is about 500+# for both, then about 600# in fuel then another couple 100# in gear thats about 3500+# then the Trailer was a nice twin axle with trailer brakes which was at least 1250#

Put me right at about 4800# and I had a fair amount of windage because of the Ttop.
I towed that with a 1985 Ford BroncoII with no real problems and did so for about 6 years.
3 trips were from Newport Beach Cal to Cabo San Lucas which is a bit over 1100 miles each way and it was HARD miles plus along the way in various places I even Beach Launched in the sand right into the surf.

Now this was towing with a BroncoII smaller than a 4Runner, lighter and with considerably less HP it had a 2.8 L Cologne V-6 which surprisingly was German Built engine, probably why I didn't have any problems.
But was only 115HP.

Now if I could tow that with a BroncoII 2.8L 115HP I refuse to accept that the 4Runner wouldn't do at least as well.

Most people on here seem to think that these vehicles would be burdened if someone tied tin cans behind it during a wedding.
I find it a bit hard to believe.

Least I hope so because I am about to buy soon as I can find one used, a 20' 3000# camping trailer that fully loaded should come to probably a bit over 4000#.

However having said that, if you do not already have a 3rd gen then I think you would be better served with a V8 4th gen anyway, I bet it even gets better gas mileage to boot.
 
A bit of squat from the oem suspension but did okay.
ECT on though to keep the revs up.
Car and trailer was close to the 5k limit.
 

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COG on that load seems awfully far forward. Not surprised it's weighed down. Max. tongue load is only 500lbs.
 
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