Has anyone towed horses with your V8 T4R?

[2003Can4runner]

I've come from a 5.7L Tundra. I loved the truck and towed my girlfriends horses like nothing was there. She has a 16ft stock trailer that can fit up to 4 horses, but usually only has 2. I'm not sure on the weight of the trailer itself. I'm just curious if my 2005 V8 4runner can tow them OK? I don't plan on going on long trips like I did with the Tundra but just want to know if I could tow them around town somewhat comfortably. Has anyone towed horses with their 4runner?

 

[charlier180]

IMHO, a trailer with 4 horses is probably too much for your 4Runner for a couple of reasons.
I am no expert on horses but don't many of them weigh 1000 to 2000 pounds each?
If they are all close to 2K each you are way over the 4Runner's limit right there (towing 4 horses) without the weight of the trailer factored in.

It would be a good idea for you to find out EXACTLY what the trailer weighs as well as all the horses that may be towed in it.
In the event of an accident the first thing the police will look into is if you were overweight or not. If you were overweight it will be your butt that is (legally) hanging out in the breeze when it comes to potential lawsuits against you.

Even more important that that is ther fact that horses are LIVING, BREATHING animals that have been know to get excited/upset while being towed.
When that happens and they start moving around in the trailer shifting their weight, that is when it can get VERY NASTY when towing.
That is according to people I know that do tow horses (not with a 4Runner however)

IIRC, the Tundra was rated at at 10K lbs for towing and the 4Runner is rated at 7K lbs. That 3K weight difference could be meaningful.

You have towed the horses before so you probably know all this already. I apologize if I am stating the obvious.
Personally, I have not towed horses with my 4Runner. My towing experience with my 4Runner is with my 20' enclosed car trailer (~5500 lbs).

 

[SLED]

Re: Has anyone towed horses with your V8 T4R? [/B]

Actually, it's the other way around - your V8 tows your 4Runner with about 260 horses.
:lmao: :bash:

 

[2003Can4runner]

IMHO, a trailer with 4 horses is probably too much for your 4Runner for a couple of reasons.
I am no expert on horses but don't many of them weigh 1000 to 2000 pounds each?
If they are all close to 2K each you are way over the 4Runner's limit right there (towing 4 horses) without the weight of the trailer factored in.

It would be a good idea for you to find out EXACTLY what the trailer weighs as well as all the horses that may be towed in it.
In the event of an accident the first thing the police will look into is if you were overweight or not. If you were overweight it will be your butt that is (legally) hanging out in the breeze when it comes to potential lawsuits against you.

Even more important that that is ther fact that horses are LIVING, BREATHING animals that have been know to get excited/upset while being towed.
When that happens and they start moving around in the trailer shifting their weight, that is when it can get VERY NASTY when towing.
That is according to people I know that do tow horses (not with a 4Runner however)

IIRC, the Tundra was rated at at 10K lbs for towing and the 4Runner is rated at 7K lbs. That 3K weight difference could be meaningful.

You have towed the horses before so you probably know all this already. I apologize if I am stating the obvious.
Personally, I have not towed horses with my 4Runner. My towing experience with my 4Runner is with my 20' enclosed car trailer (~5500 lbs).

I appreciate your response! I've learned that towing horses can be a pretty stressful sometimes. Not only is a little nerving having to trust other people with your pride and joy, but they do get excited and can hop around shifting the weight in the trailer.

The most I've had in the trailer was 3 horses, but that was only once. Otherwise its only one horse, sometimes two. I know that if I had 4 that I've definitely be overloaded with the 4runner. I wouldn't make this my regular tow vehicle because its quite a bit of stress on the drivetrain.

My girlfriends horses all weigh ~900-1000lbs. I think if I'm towing one, maybe two I'll be OK weight wise, but I'm more concerned about the stability of the T4R with its fairly short wheel base.

 

[charlier180]

I appreciate your response! I've learned that towing horses can be a pretty stressful sometimes. Not only is a little nerving having to trust other people with your pride and joy, but they do get excited and can hop around shifting the weight in the trailer.

The most I've had in the trailer was 3 horses, but that was only once. Otherwise its only one horse, sometimes two. I know that if I had 4 that I've definitely be overloaded with the 4runner. I wouldn't make this my regular tow vehicle because its quite a bit of stress on the drivetrain.

My girlfriends horses all weigh ~900-1000lbs. I think if I'm towing one, maybe two I'll be OK weight wise, but I'm more concerned about the stability of the T4R with its fairly short wheel base.

The people I know must have pretty BIG horses since they seem to weigh more than your GFs.
I have heard it really gets ugly if a horse falls down in a trailer when towing which can happen (although rarely).

No doubt when horses start shifting their weight it can get stressful when towing.
Kind of like towing a car trailer across a gorge with 50-60 mph cross winds and no sway control.

If your 4Runner has the weight distributing hitch receiver you might consider adding weight distributing & sway control equipment to the trailer & your 4Runner.
It may be tough to justify the expense if you are only towing the horses a couple times/year. For peace of mind and safety's sake it might be worth it.
I use this equipment with my car trailer and it makes a BIG difference in stability & control and peace of mind.

 

[Loki_4Runner]

FWIW, we used to pull 2 Morgan horses (around 1000lbs each) using a V6 Explorer and a weight distributing hitch system without much problem. Figure between 1 and 1.5 tons for the trailer, and 1000lbs for a horse that's 15 hands. More weight if the horses are bigger--Warm Bloods can be in the 0.75-1 ton range. If the 1996 Explorer could do it with 4000lbs without much trouble, I have no doubt that a T4R could manage 6000lbs of horse. The weight distribution bars do make all the difference in the world, though. DEFINITELY worth it for the peace of mind. And hey, it costs, but it's cheaper than a new Tundra.

 

[2003Can4runner]

Thanks a lot guys. I think I'm going to try it out sometime and see how it goes. I'm never towing far, and I don't even have to hit the highway so I think I'll be OK without the sway control. I'm not sure when she will want me to tow them for her, but I will report back after the first experience.

 

[imfrogman]

I have a 2 horse w/ dressing room adam trailer. The trailer weighs 3200 empty, my daughters Hanoverian weighs about 1200. Show trunks, ice chest, tack & hay add about 300 to 400 lbs.. And occasionally we add a another horse at 1000 lbs. My normal tow vehicle is a suburban. The suburban has no problem handeling this setup. I have on occasion used my 2007 v8 sport to haul locally(less than 10 miles on local roads, no highways) with just the one horse. I would not recommend the 4r for any type of extended hauling. The short wheelbase makes the trailer to squirlly to safely tow this kind of weight, even with sway bars, horses are not static weight.