Realist long travel towing capability

[Jszeszko]

Looking for some opinions and information on towing a small camper, something like a ~17 foot 3500lbs ultra light. I plan on traveling 10-15k miles some at higher altitudes/mountain area's with it.

Truck is supercharged and does have a trans cooler and trailer brake already, would also replace all the suspension with rear towing airbags and do tundra brakes before doing it.

Anyone have any insight on towing something like that? Suggestions? 3rd gen capable of something like this? Should I look at getting a V8 4th gen instead?

 

[phattyduck]

3500 dry or fully loaded?

Even so, it is still within the tow rating of the vehicle... It won't be great, but it is doable.

I've personally done up to 3000 lbs (uhaul with surge brakes...), and it felt like up to 4000lbs or so would still be fairly comfortable. I still have 15" wheel brakes, no trans cooler and a stock engine....

Others will have other opinions.

-Charlie

 

[sleepydad]

Looking for some opinions and information on towing a small camper, something like a ~17 foot 3500lbs ultra light. I plan on traveling 10-15k miles some at higher altitudes/mountain area's with it.

Truck is supercharged and does have a trans cooler and trailer brake already, would also replace all the suspension with rear towing airbags and do tundra brakes before doing it.

Anyone have any insight on towing something like that? Suggestions? 3rd gen capable of something like this? Should I look at getting a V8 4th gen instead?

I used to drag around a 3place snowmobile trailer and 3 full sized ATV's + all my gear. so I think I was around 3000 LB behind the truck. don't get me wrong I love my 4runners but tow vehicles they are not.

they will tow that weight without any issues for sure, your not going to be fast and your going to have make sure you leave plenty of room in case of sudden stops. your going to be going places in slow motion.

I now have a different truck with 7700 lbs tow capacity and 370 hp. I would never go back to towing with my 4runner. The 4runner will do it and yes I did that to my 2001 for 10 years without anything ever bad happening.

 

[LittleCaesar]

With all you have, yes. Just go slow. Would I do it many times over the years? No, not at all.

 

[bergie]

We bought our 05 SR5 4 runner primarily to tow our very small trailer. the 4runner is a V6, 5 speed with no upgrades to stock except an electronic brake controller and the hitch with anti sway bar. The trailer we owned when we bought the toyota, weighed 2100 ready to camp. (truck scale) the dry weight was listed as 1940# and it was 14' long. The 4 runner towed it like it wasn't there.

this trailer was so tiny it was getting hard to stay out for much more than a couple of days, which we like to do. Since the 4 runner is rated for 5000# we started looking for something a little bigger.

we found a 3071# trailer that has a GVWR of 3750 and is much longer, but no wider or taller than our first trailer. the tongue weight is 335# and we travel light.
I do plan to weigh toyota and trailer next trip out, just to make sure we are as far under 5000# as I think we are.

the very knowledgeable trailer salesman recommended only an anti sway bar, not a weight distribution hitch. He had them, and would have been happy to sell us one, but said it could be actually unwise. I was glad to read the same information on this forum, that the hitch on our V6 is not the weight distributing hitch, and that a weight distribution hitch isn't really wise without the hitch like the v8 has.

When we tow, we go slow. we aren't in a particular hurry, and are used to camping in VW campers. probably all I need to say, but 55-60 feels great in the toyota. We are also well aware of stopping distances and take care to use gearing to control speed on downhills. I honestly can say I feel very little difference in pulling the trailers. if anything the bigger trailer seems smoother to pull, the short one kind of bobbed around more. the new one has better suspension and is more balanced wheels to tongue.

with our small trailer, we would average 14-15 mpg towing. with the new 19' trailer, we average 13-14 mpg. We live in southern NM and most places we go involve at least some grades and some wind. Although most of our trips are day trips within the southwest, we would like to take longer trips in this set up. Time will tell how well the 4runner handles heat and mountains. We will most probably put in an extra tranny cooler by then.

I'm very impressed with the 4 runner as a tow vehicle for a small camping trailer, but I may be blissfully ignorant. We bought it with 130,000 miles on it and it feels better and tighter than our 2015 dodge van.

I also read somewhere on this forum that our year model 4runner is on a Tacoma chassis. Although I can't find that information again, so I may have read is somewhere else. Not really pertinent to this thread, but I'd like to know if it is.

I really appreciate all the knowledge on this forum. I read here a lot before deciding on the toyota we bought.

 

[calimobber]

My advise is you won't like it. Ive got 31" tires and small lift. I towed my 3000lb trailer a few times and if any wind or hills I was constantly downshifting into 2nd gear. You may do better with the super charger but Id take it for a test drive before you commit or you may be driving in 2nd gear lot on the hill screaming 4000rpm.

 

[Lindenwood]

Am I the only one who thought he was talking about a truck with a long-travel susoension system?

 

[T4RunnerSteve]

I've towed an Acura RSX-S on a UHaul car carrier which collectively tipped the scale at almost exactly 5,000 lbs. My 4Runner was stock at that time and it wasn't a pleasant experience: slow going and the truck was working really hard. Trans temps creeping into the 210-215 degree territory and braking was sketchy at best. Thankfully it was only about 5 miles and mostly flat -- I wouldn't have dared try that in the mountains.

Your upgrades (SC, Tundra brakes, extra tranny cooling) will help but you're going to definitely feel it. Worst case scenario -- you do the upgrades, try it and decide you don't like it -- then get a V8 truck. Upgraded 4Runner -- an additional truck -- what's not to love w/ that plan?

 

[bergie]

This is a topic that is of great interest to me because we tow a smallish trailer with an 05 4 runner v6, 2wd.

I'm posting because I need to increase my number of postings and because I'd like input on our experience and expectations.

We plan on taking our 4r and camping trailer to a scale on Monday to get a base line. To weigh the combination: the trailer will not have water, because we don't travel long distances with water, but it will have everything we keep in it for camping. bbq, dry food, pots and pans...stuff like that. it will have battery and full propane tank. the 4 runner will have full tank of gas, but not much more. We usually have a couple of telescopes, a kayak on top and two smallish dogs, but I'll just take it solo to the scales.

some formulas I've based our decision on is the "20% less than rated rule" and the distance from trailer axle to hitch point should be no more than twice the wheel base of the tow vehicle. our trailer at 3750# GVWR is under 20% less than the 5000# tow limit. 2X the wheel base is 219.6" and our new trailer is 173" from axle to hitch, so we are within those guidelines too.

I don't see anywhere that toyota gives frontal area restrictions, but our new trailer is the same width and height as or old one, just longer. We towed the old one effortlessly, and so far, can tow the new one with ease.

We haven't driven the new trailer much, but have driven up some pretty long and steep grades, and some wind. based on how it towed, I would say it will be fine. we drive in the mountains, and we have some very windy days in NM, and have realistic expectations. As I mentioned, we don't expect to cruise along at 75, we are going camping in the mountains with a trailer. we are retired and like to go midweek to have the places to ourselves.

As far as downshifting, that's normal to expect, I would think. My son has a ford truck well suited to towing a heavy load, and his truck downshifts going up big hills.

so that's my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

 

[rideexileex]

Looking for some opinions and information on towing a small camper, something like a ~17 foot 3500lbs ultra light. I plan on traveling 10-15k miles some at higher altitudes/mountain area's with it.

Truck is supercharged and does have a trans cooler and trailer brake already, would also replace all the suspension with rear towing airbags and do tundra brakes before doing it.

Anyone have any insight on towing something like that? Suggestions? 3rd gen capable of something like this? Should I look at getting a V8 4th gen instead?

What do you mean by “supercharged”? Fuel mods or anything? Upgraded or stock pulley? Sometimes that extra load might make the supercharger ping a bit more at lower RPM with the load depending upon your setup.

 

[D'arce]

I would definitely be adding a trans cooler and bypass filter.
Upgrade the brakes however you can.
Plan on extra oil changes throughout the trip.
You should be fine just gonna have to take it slow on the steeper grades.

If this is something you think you may end up doing often I would suggest getting a heavier, longer and more powerful rig. You will be more comfortable and have better control.

Do they make weight distribution hitches for the smaller trailers? We had one on our 27' and it made all the difference in the world.