1engineer
Moderator
Wonderful photoshop skills!
Cross country towing
- Thread starter STLDAVE
- Start date
Wonderful photoshop skills!
LandCruiser
New member
And I continue to argue that if you want a tow vehicle for use in the MOUNTAINS and plan on dragging a camper everywhere why are you buying a V6 SUV that's biased for off road use? The TE is closest in performance to any of my old Land Cruisers except a Jeep, and much more livable. It's a no brainer why I bought one, living a few miles off of any paved road.
I'd like the 4Runner to be the end-all best vehicle at everything it does, but it isn't. And that's a good thing, otherwise Toyota would have made the current model even bigger and fatter, or maybe into a long wheelbase mommy mobile with three rows of seats, or more car-like with independent rear suspension.
stanleybb50
New member
I don't think it's spoken enough that the op is talking about a pop up trailer here - know what I mean? Mountains or no mountains.
OP's question is not whether the 4runner is the perfect towing vehicle, nor is it whether he should buy a 4runner for regular towing. OP already has a 4runner and asked for advice regarding towing a popup trailer.
If your position is that a 4runner cannot handle that trailer then you should certainly state so. If your position is that a 4runner can handle the trailer, but that a truck is better (which is how your comments read), then that's not nearly as beneficial. I, like most people, don't have multiple vehicles for each specialized purpose. You trailer a lot so you do. I don't, so if I need to do X and my 4runner can handle X, guess what vehicle I use... If I ask my 4runner can handle a summer road trip up the coast, don't bother telling me I should have purchased a convertible instead.
1engineer
Moderator
Look, if I were going to tow all the time it's a no brainer to get a LWB Diesel pickup. Again, the OP wants opinions on if his 4Runner will pull a pop up occasionally in the mountains. Yes, of course it will, as justified by data posted by others and real world applications from the rest who have already done it. BTW the 4,600 lb trailer I pulled 2K miles was through the Appalachian mountains. Not the Rockies but its all we have lol.
philsey
New member
philsey
New member
![1eng[1].jpg](https://www.toyota-4runner.org/data/attachments/68/68611-6e4e2a027b958680afaca653b93c949f.jpg?hash=yOsWZOC4dq "1eng[1].jpg")
![chicken-legs[1].jpg](https://www.toyota-4runner.org/data/attachments/68/68613-eaa706864deeb525ce757a7047c8431f.jpg?hash=Nf4tb1fmxY "chicken-legs[1].jpg")
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Antman
Elite Member
hahahahahahahahaaaaaaa!
Titanpat57
Senior Member
I'm using MS Paint....I need a new free program...then the fun would never end...lol. Uncle Greg was a feeling a little bloody this morning, so I kinda of got inspired.
Good thing he's good natured! :hippie:
1engineer
Moderator
Phil, go back to sleep. Someone will wake you when it's time to go to bed.
Pat, I was wondering if anyone gets my arcane references. You do!
Now, Jeff... enjoy those laughs now 'cause one of these days you will have to meet me in person lol. BTW I was up in your neck of the woods last Sunday. Drove the TE right through DC to go to RFK stadium to see USA-Germany game.
My apologies. I'm in Canada, and ours come with tranny coolers.
Can't speak for USA.
STLDAVE
Member
The USA versions route the tranny fluid through the lower part of the radiator to provide some cooling effect. Is this what you are referring too, or do the Canadian versions have a separate cooler? If there's a separate cooler can you provide a photo?
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STLDAVE
Member
Lots of input here. Safety is, of course, important and first and foremost in my mind. However, my main concern is the wear and tear on the vehicle, primarily the engine and transmission. I plan on keeping this TE for at least ten years and 150k-200k miles.
It seems like the general consensus, with a few exceptions, is that I would be OK towing this pop-up (at <3000 lbs.)across the plains of Kansas, Nebraska, or South Dakota and across the Rockies. But, I do wonder about the affects of all that time in 4th gear with the engine running at high RPM. I would be making this trip once or twice per year (average 4k-5k miles/trip). There would also be several shorter trips around St. Louis averaging probably 300 miles.
Does this change anybody's advise?
It seems like the general consensus, with a few exceptions, is that I would be OK towing this pop-up (at <3000 lbs.)across the plains of Kansas, Nebraska, or South Dakota and across the Rockies. But, I do wonder about the affects of all that time in 4th gear with the engine running at high RPM. I would be making this trip once or twice per year (average 4k-5k miles/trip). There would also be several shorter trips around St. Louis averaging probably 300 miles.
Does this change anybody's advise?
harper7
Senior Member
Let's see some pics of this Canadian tranny cooler!! I've read that some come with the factory block heater but not external tranny coolers:worthless
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I don't have pics, but here's a PDF for the Canadian models.
Scroll to the end at the Specs section to see Transmission Cooler as standard on all models.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/toyota.site.p01/toyota/media/content/vehicles/4runner/2013/124runner_e.pdf
I'm not all that car/truck savvy, so if the above is implying just an addition to the radiator - as opposed to a true auxiliary cooler - then my apologies.
Scroll to the end at the Specs section to see Transmission Cooler as standard on all models.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/toyota.site.p01/toyota/media/content/vehicles/4runner/2013/124runner_e.pdf
I'm not all that car/truck savvy, so if the above is implying just an addition to the radiator - as opposed to a true auxiliary cooler - then my apologies.
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harper7
Senior Member
Pretty sure that is referring to the same one we have too here in the states which is more of a radiator fluid/tranny fluid heat exchanger and why they say tranny cooler and next they say tranny fluid warmer.Pretty sure we would have seen or heard about a Canadian factory external one by now.
The tranny fluid is run through the radiator which is held to constant by the thermostat and cools the fluid when hot and heats it up to operating temp faster when cold.
Cars .com list it here but don't see it on the Toyota website.... 2013 Toyota 4Runner Specifications
