Some clarity please...

D

Dbone

New member
I have a question regarding the towing receiver hitch that comes standard on the 2008 V8 4WD Limited...Mine is a Canadian vehicle...not sure if this changes anything or not...

My understanding is that the 2008 4WD V8 Limited is good for a towing capacity of 5000 lbs without using "weight distribution" hitch gear and 7000 lbs when using "weight distribution"...

With this said, please forgive me if the following is a totally dumb question (I have basically nil experience with towing anything with any vehicle...I've never towed) -->

When they talk about "weight distribution" hitch gear are they referring to the receiving hitch on the vehicle, the hitch gear attached to the trailer, or both? I'm just a bit confused on this point...

Basically, I'm hoping that I could just invest in a really good weight distribution setup (likely Hensley) that attaches to the trailer and be able to hook everything up to the 4Runner without having to changeout or modify the receiver hitch that came standard with the vehicle...Is this the case, or would I have to upgrade the receiver hitch to make it "weight distribution capable" (for lack of a better term) in order to achieve my desired 7000 lbs tow rating?

Again, I'm a bit of a dumbass when it comes to this stuff so I apologize in advance if I'm not making any sense :-) LOL

The following is word for word what my 4runner manual says -->

"TOWING CAPACITY:
For weight carrying hitch
2268 kg (5000 lbs )
Also for weight distributing hitch
(4.7 L V8 [2UZ-FE] engine only)
Two-wheel drive models
3311 kg (7300 lbs)
Four-wheel drive models
3175 kg (7000 lbs)"


Again, does this mean if I change the receiver hitch I can do 7000 lbs? Or would using a hensley setup on the trailer and going into the existing receiver hitch achieve the 7000lbs?

Thanks in advance fellas for any help you can provide...

I'm a little paranoid about the whole towing thing and just want to make sure that I get it right for safety reasons etc...

Cheers
 
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My best guess is that a trailor-mounted distribution system would count, and would be possible without changing the hitch that came with our T4Rs.

I think the weight ratings have more to do with vehicle stability than the actual OEM hitch toughness. So long as you don't go over the built-in hitch's weight/tonque load ratings, I think a trailor-side weight distributing system would work fine.

A buddy of mine has a trailor-mounted system on his tow-along RV, and he uses it on several vehicles of various flavors, and never altered their OEM hitches in any way. All he did was add trailer brake controllers to them - something I notice our V8 Limiteds (and maybe all 4Rs) were setup for. There was a trailer brake pigtail in my glove box when I took delivery of my 2008 Limited - but they may come with all trim and engine levels.

If anyone else has definitive experience and disagrees, I yield...lol But I think you are fine with the hitch that came on the 4R and using a system outside of that - on the trailer side of things.
 
In case this is helpful to anyone else...

I answered my own question...

Was digging through the manual for the truck again and as it turns out my "fears" are realized...

In my case if I want to tow over 5000 lbs I have to replace the "weight carrying receiver hitch" that came with my Canadian spec Limited V8 4Runner with a weight distributing receiver hitch. It appears that toyota has one. I suspect that the American spec 4Runners ship with this weight distributing receiver hitch as standard...

Geez, you would figure that the Canadian spec one would already come with it given that we are bending over big time in comparison to you in terms of the money we need to shell out for these 4Runners...

Thanks again for those that responded...

Cheers
 
Hey Dbone, can't help you with your hitch but whenever I see someone from Canada post here, I smile.We vacation in Ontario every year for the past 22 years,''our week in heaven''.We stay just outside Westport between Wolfe and Sandlakes.Theres just a closeness that is really great between our family and the wonderful people we've met over the years in your beautiful country.
 
Dbone...What will you be towing? And yes that does stink. I would guess that, percentagewise, more Canadians tow than Yanks due to the greater open spaces and vast number of lakes. And I agree with CMB....many trips from Michigan over to Ontario. Money with a hockey game on it...priceless.
 
CJ3Flyr said:
:iagree: This should help. http://www.drawtite.com/wedi.html You need the trailer mounted device to 'assist' with tunge weight.

:cheers:
Click to expand...

That's basically exactly what I was talking about/meant when I spoke of a "trailer-sde" solution to the weight distributing issue. My neighbor has a setup exactly like that on his camper and it works great. He just plugs it into whatever truck he wants to tow with - didn't have to change hitches, but did have to add trailer brake controllers to his various trucks.

All I know is that the factory receiver hitch that came on my '08 4Runner looks beefier than the one that came on my 2000 Tundra...and that Tundra is rated for 7200lbs of towing. Maybe it is just an issue on Canadian spec trucks? That's crap if it is that way. They should set them up just as "USA models" are setup IMO.
 
4boer said:
Dbone...What will you be towing? And yes that does stink. I would guess that, percentagewise, more Canadians tow than Yanks due to the greater open spaces and vast number of lakes. And I agree with CMB....many trips from Michigan over to Ontario. Money with a hockey game on it...priceless.
Click to expand...

I would be looking at towing a boat and it would be in the 6000 lbs on the trailer range. Weight distribution or not I am starting to have the feeling that this could be a little on the high side for the runner...this is just based on some reading I have been doing...
 
cmb said:
Hey Dbone, can't help you with your hitch but whenever I see someone from Canada post here, I smile.We vacation in Ontario every year for the past 22 years,''our week in heaven''.We stay just outside Westport between Wolfe and Sandlakes.Theres just a closeness that is really great between our family and the wonderful people we've met over the years in your beautiful country.
Click to expand...

Nice to hear that you enjoyed your time up here in Ontario. Just as an idea for a future trip you might want to consider...

I am originally from Nova Scotia on the east coast of Canada. There is a great area of Nova Scotia called the Cabot Trail. It rated as the number 1 spot to visit in all of North America or something like that a few years back...Very beautiful there...I met a lot of Americans there the couple of time I have been to the Cabot trail...

Cheers
 
SubSonic said:
That's basically exactly what I was talking about/meant when I spoke of a "trailer-sde" solution to the weight distributing issue. My neighbor has a setup exactly like that on his camper and it works great. He just plugs it into whatever truck he wants to tow with - didn't have to change hitches, but did have to add trailer brake controllers to his various trucks.

All I know is that the factory receiver hitch that came on my '08 4Runner looks beefier than the one that came on my 2000 Tundra...and that Tundra is rated for 7200lbs of towing. Maybe it is just an issue on Canadian spec trucks? That's crap if it is that way. They should set them up just as "USA models" are setup IMO.
Click to expand...

Interesting...somewhere around page 377 of my runner manual it shows 2 different receiver hitches that can be on the V8 model...mine is the one that is rated for 5000 lbs...the picture of the other one is one that is good for 7000. It says as long as I have the right hitch receiver my runner is good for 7000 lbs...

But maybe what you are saying is true. Perhaps I only need to do adequate weight distribution on the trailer side of things...I'm just not sure...hard to get a definitive answer...

I am starting to kick around the idea of just saying screw it and buying a dedicated tow vehicle that is capable of easily towing 6000-8000 lbs...perhaps a tundra or something like that...

A little more expensive but doable...

Still need my runner because of my large dog anyway...A pickup truck will not help with him :-)

Won't be putting him in the back of a pickup...

Cheers
 
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