Thinking of towing my car - will it work?

[LargeOrangeFont]

For the most part I leave it in 3rd gear to avoid shifting in and out of OD and that keeps the transmission temps around 175 instead of 200+. It will climb very quickly if you leave it in OD just FYI

Make sure your trailer has brakes, have it setup correctly and have plenty of time to stop. Just use common sense.

Thats a helpful data point, Thank you.

 

[john123drury]

Thanks for all of your help guys. I just got the brake controller from Amazon this evening and will be calling the trailer people tomorrow hoping what I need is available. Also I appreciate the insights into the other tips like the trans monitor and cooler. If I can make this happen, I'm going to try it with the basics for now (no trans add-ons). Per the suggestions I will probably drive on the highway in "4" the entire time. I'm actually in the process of swapping out all of the trans fluid with new WS fluid (for a different reason) so at least I know it'll be new!

I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. Thanks again!

 

[macoyle]

Hey John, you may have the newer 5 speed trans, Im not sure what year your truck is, just make sure its not in overdrive. That way the torque converter is locked and not in the OD gear so that your trans temp is in a healthy spot-

Mike

 

[john123drury]

Thanks Mike. Yeah I do believe it's the 5-speed. It's a 2005 SR5 V6. So I will definitely take that into account and stay in "4" the entire ride.

Just got the Prodigy today and hooked it up. SUPER simple. Now just waiting on the trailer to arrive (hopefully next week). Stay tuned!

 

[john123drury]

So got the new trailer today and hooked it up to the 4Runner. I took it for a small test drive (empty) around town and on the highway a bit. I have to say driving with this trailer was definitely a new experience. You can definitely feel it rattling at the receiver and 'jolting' the car as I speed up or decelerate. For a while I thought I did something wrong. But all of my connections were spot on. I will say that the factory hitch tongue does does not fit snug into the receiver. It has a good amount of play. So I'm pretty sure that's what was causing the rattles / jolts. After getting back I did some more research and it looks like I'm not the only one experiencing this. Seems like a temporary fix would be wrapping some duct / electrical tape to make it fit better. Will try that later and let you guys know how it goes. Thanks.

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

The Reese 2 inch drop starter kits or assembled tongue and tow balls work very well and don't hit the spare tire.

I got mine at Walmart.