Close to buying a trail edition. Q about highway and towing

[roadracer30]

Hi guys,
Im pretty close to buying a trail edition with kdss, but after the test drive, Im a little concerned about spending that much on a truck that is a little wheezy on the highway.

Anyone want to tell me everything is going to be ok? Ill be trading in my econline with a 5.4l v8 and my truck before that was a diesel f350.

Ive been slowly downsizing as I race motorcycles less and less, but I still want to be able to put a hitch mount dirt bike carrier on the 4r and tow the occasional trailer for a big trip. For instance: last year I competed in the mexican 1000, which involved driving from boston to the tip of baja and back again with a 14' aluminum cargo trailer. In mexico, there were only 80ish miles in the truck that had to be dirt.

I know it won't tow like my f350 (i could pull my 28' race hauler up hills at 80mph), but will i be able to go 65-75 on the flats without feeling like Im killing it?

How about those of you in the mountains? How is it on the highways on decent grades without a trailer?

Thanks!

 

[SigSense]

The max tow rating for the 'Runner is 5K lbs. As long as you stay under that, you should be OK. I personally have not towed more than 4K, but the trailer, quad, extra fuel, and gear I towed with mine did just fine.

 

[Jtraskell]

Test drive on the Hwy without towing, yet feeling "wheezy"? Too me, in my IMHO, it's the crappy OEM tires. Do a search on this forum regarding the OEM tires, I think you will find why you are questioning the ride. New shoes should solve your concerns. If you agree, make the new shoes a part of your purchace agreement, save some bucks.....be safe.

 

[Ryan1975]

The max tow rating for the 'Runner is 5K lbs. As long as you stay under that, you should be OK. I personally have not towed more than 4K, but the trailer, quad, extra fuel, and gear I towed with mine did just fine.

Correction: 5,500 everywhere I've looked.

Corvette is 2,200lbs
Trailer is 1,200lbs
Avg Mpg ~14-15

 

[Semi-Hex]

I find that the stock tires and shocks have got to go. It didn't even cross my mind to have them changed when I purchased the rig. The truck does have issues with the stock tires with the wind blowing so be careful. Even the service reps kind of laugh when I tell them the tires are not good.
I pull a log splitter with no problem.

 

[Jtraskell]

Correction: 5,500 everywhere I've looked.

Corvette is 2,200lbs
Trailer is 1,200lbs
Avg Mpg ~14-15

Ryan, from the 2010 Owners Manual. It is also my understanding nothing has change through the 2013 model, no matter which version. Your might be confusing "Tongue weight" which is normally 10% of the towing weight, but you should not add that weight to the total safe towing rate as stated in the manual....be safe.

 

[westwind77]

Correction: 5,500 everywhere I've looked.

Where is 'everywhere'? Sounds like multiple locations. Curious how so many locations can have it WRONG!

Toyota 4Runner - 2013 Performance & Specifications

5,000k - been the same 10' - 13'

 

[02SE]

Where is 'everywhere'? Sounds like multiple locations. Curious how so many locations can have it WRONG!

Toyota 4Runner - 2013 Performance & Specifications

5,000k - been the same 10' - 13'

5,000,000 lbs is A LOT more than I was expecting the 5th gen's towing capacity to be.

 

[H2O_Doc]

5,000,000 lbs is A LOT more than I was expecting the 5th gen's towing capacity to be.

Maybe with a cold air intake and a sufficient number of window stickers. It would be close though.

 

[bRunner]

Haven't towed any trailers approaching 5k. I do regularly haul my 250lb dual sport bike via a hitch hauler on the hwy (80mph +) and up significant grades to mountains for riding and have not had any problems or noticed a lack of power or constant downshifting etc. This is also while running 33s and a 3" lift. Take it for what it's worth.

-bh

 

[1engineer]

Here is truth:
Will the 4Runner pull your trailer? Sure it wiil.
Will it be as good as a V8 or Diesel? No. Torque curve is totally different. While it will pull just fine the RPM's have to be much higher than other engines.
Diesel is best, followed by V8, then 6 cyl with an adder, followed by plain V6 then others. You have to try it to see if it will meet YOUR expectations. Good luck and test test test.

 

[roadracer30]

well, I stopped being a chicken and picked up the 4runner! I got a dark grey one with kdss + nav. Good deal, too, from the nice folks at putnam toyota in burnlingame, ca.

Excited!

 

[vicpick58]

well, I stopped being a chicken and picked up the 4runner! I got a dark grey one with kdss + nav. Good deal, too, from the nice folks at putnam toyota in burnlingame, ca.

Excited!

Congrats, and welcome.

I was reluctant to go from a V8 Grand Cherokee to a 6 cylinder too, but am very happy with the performance of the TE. I do a lot of driving around the bay area and northern CA, no regrets so far.

I searched for quite a while for a TE and finally found mine at Elk Grove Toyota. In the six months that I have had mine I have put 22k miles on it and have only seen two other trail editions in traffic here in northern CA.

Another thing that is kind of hard to believe (coming from a former Jeep owner), I have not had any problems with this vehicle yet.

It did take a little while for me to get used to the brakes and the associated nose dive in a panic stop. But all is well once you get the feel of how it is going to react to the laying of the foot to the brake pedal.

The KDSS and sport mode is awesome in the mountains.

I rarely use the navigation but have found it not to be real accurate in some areas, especially where the highways and local streets have been changed in the last few years.

Enjoy your new Trail Edition.

 

[westwind77]

5,000,000 lbs is A LOT more than I was expecting the 5th gen's towing capacity to be.

:moon::moon::moon:

 

[1engineer]

well, I stopped being a chicken and picked up the 4runner! I got a dark grey one with kdss + nav. Good deal, too, from the nice folks at putnam toyota in burnlingame, ca.

Excited!

I hope you test drove it a lot.
So, you posted a serious question on a performance issue for your intended use and you bought it six hours later? Good luck hope it works for you because I personally don't want to see another thread a few months from now saying "This 4Runner sucks. When I put 4K behind it it downshifts like crazy going through the mountains and I only get 14 mpg and I can only go about 50 mph and it is running at 4600 RPM in order to do that! My diesel was much better at towing!"

 

[JohnnyT]

I say you'll see that complaint in about..... oh..... say 3 weeks.... give or take a few hours.

 

[Stifler]

I say you'll see that complaint in about..... oh..... say 3 weeks.... give or take a few hours.

dang you made it

 

[JohnnyT]

dang you made it

Never in doubt.

Spent the past few days rescuing stuck 5th gens with KDSS. Least I could do.

 

[roadracer30]

I over-research everything, including this purchase. I didn't make a snap decision in the last 6 hours, I was just getting a little gun shy when they added up all those numbers =).

Truck drives great. I'm sure it won't be quite as good as my van at towing, but with a lot more miles on the highway already, I can see it's going to be just fine.

 

[Ryan1975]

I over-research everything, including this purchase. I didn't make a snap decision in the last 6 hours, I was just getting a little gun shy when they added up all those numbers =).

Truck drives great. I'm sure it won't be quite as good as my van at towing, but with a lot more miles on the highway already, I can see it's going to be just fine.

I towed that Corvette from Upstate NY to Upper Michigan and back down to Kansas City. You will be fine with your trailer. I have an electronic brake controller as you will probably get.

Enjoy.