Those of you that tow

[Tejas]

1) What are you towing, how much does it weigh, what size and type of trailer are you using?

2) Are you using any tow aides or modifications to the truck to improve the towing capability and experience such as air bags, tow brake controller, heavier rate springs, etc.?

3) What kind of fuel economy are you seeing when towing and over what kind of terrains and altitude/temps?

4) How is the handling and braking with a load in excess of 3,000lbs.

Lastly, are you happy/content with how it handles these tasks or do you want for another vehicle in order to tow more or more easily?

 

[jhguth]

plenty of good long threads on this already

 

[WEAK_E90]

small single triton snowmobile trailer (open) loaded is my summit 154.

Does pretty good. She finds the 5th gear around 65-70ish flatland.

 

[PoopSmith]

1) What are you towing, how much does it weigh, what size and type of trailer are you using?

Built 92 Toyota Pickup. Weighs about 3500lbs. Tow it with a 2500 lb tilt car hauler

2) Are you using any tow aides or modifications to the truck to improve the towing capability and experience such as air bags, tow brake controller, heavier rate springs, etc.?

Brake controller (obviously, this is absolutely required over 3000lbs.) Also installed Air Lift bags on the rear. One of the best mods I've ever done. Handles the weight so much better.

3) What kind of fuel economy are you seeing when towing and over what kind of terrains and altitude/temps?

I average about 12mpg and cruise around 68 on the highway. This is with 275 LRE KM2's @44Psi and a RTT. Altitude is around 1000ft and slightly hilly.

4) How is the handling and braking with a load in excess of 3,000lbs.

Fantastic with trailer brakes! I wouldn't even consider pulling anything over 3000lbs without them (actually in some states it's illegal)

Lastly, are you happy/content with how it handles these tasks or do you want for another vehicle in order to tow more or more easily?

I wish it had more power for passing/getting up to speed on the highway. But that's a V6 problem. I installed an ultragauge to monitor trans pan/TC temp and found that if I keep it in 4th gear it never gets above 210, and typically hangs out around 190.

 

[rb92673]

1. Race car on Carson 16' car carrier, estimated total weight 5k#. One axle of electric brakes.
2. Tekonsha P3 brake controller, everything on 4Runner is stock.
3. ~14 MPG, CA towing, variety of temps 70-100 degrees, variety of elevations including mountain passes, I tow 1000-1500 miles a year.
4. Handling and braking are fine as long as trailer brakes work. Power is adequate if you don't mind revving it. Adequate weight distribution on the trailer is important, if I have the car too far forward or aft on the trailer the handling declines. I usually load it so the rear end of the 4Runner drops about an inch. I would not tow anything over 2500# without trailer brakes.

I have never towed anything with a large surface profile like a camping trailer or box trailer.

I have a limited, I don't know if XREAS helps or hurts.

 

[scarpozzi]

I've not used my 4Runner to tow, but with its horsepower, I'd say you could easily to another vehicle or a medium-sized boat without too many issues. Due to the stock suspension not being extremely robust, I'd definitely keep the loads under 5000lbs.

I have a pickup truck I use for that kind of stuff if I'm towing over 5000 lb trailers.

 

[Whippersnapper02]

Not sure what this guy had as a setup but the car alone is 3725lbs. Definitely over the 5K limit but he said it did ok. I have a GTO and was wondering if I could tow it.

 

[scarpozzi]

Not sure what this guy had as a setup but the car alone is 3725lbs. Definitely over the 5K limit but he said it did ok. I have a GTO and was wondering if I could tow it.

My 2011 4Runner is a great vehicle, but I feel like some of the metal is thin (for weight/gas mileage) and that concerns me when it comes to being robust for towing. I always worry more about what the hitch is actually bolted to and that makes a huge difference on what the tongue weight limitations are of a class 3 hitch. Tongue weight could be as little as 500lbs....or as much as 1000lbs. Just hope for flat smooth roads and keep the speeds under 55mph if you don't know the weight of what you're towing.

 

[YBstranded]

Tongue weight could be as little as 500lbs....or as much as 1000lbs. Just hope for flat smooth roads and keep the speeds under 55mph if you don't know the weight of what you're towing.

Tongue weight should be around 10%-15% of the weight of what you are towing.

If you are setting up 500lbs of tongue weight, then you are already at the max of the 4Runner's capabilities.

You should NEVER have anywhere close to 1000lbs of tongue weight. That's figuring around a 10,000lb load.

I tow a utility trailer and UTV with a total weight of 2500lbs. I get around 16mpg and it does fine. I would not exceed the 5000lb tow rating. And I would definitely be using a weight distribution hitch and properly set-up trailer brakes.

 

[nm_t4r]

"Also installed Air Lift bags on the rear. One of the best mods I've ever done. Handles the weight so much better."

Which air bags did you install?

 

[Jimbo]

Currently tow a medium sized boat on a single axle trailer.

Weighs about 3k lbs, about 250 on the tongue.

Trailer has mechanical surge-type disc brakes.

Acceleration from about 15 mph to 55 is a little slow, but braking is better with the surge brakes. No idea on mileage.

Used to tow a similar setup on a 4th gen, minus the trailer brakes, and I'd wind up doing brake work each fall. Front rotors almost always needed to be resurfaced or replaced.

 

[DAW89446]

Recently replaced my 2002 Tacoma TRD with a lighly used 2018 4Runner. I’ve yet pulled anything heavy, but have towed my trailer to the dump to get rid of some home construction trash.

My trailer is an old, 1950s-1960s era U-Haul, open box, 8’ that my father bought at auction in the early 1980s. I’ve had it since 2009. It is a light trailer, yet heavy duty. I assume its capacity is a half ton, but have regularly hauled home a pallet of heating pellets, a ton per pallet. My trailer handles it well, so did my Tacoma. Placing the pallet centered forward of the axle and about a foot from the forward bulkhead caused little rear sag of the Tacoma. I am not sure how it will go for the 4Runner, since it has coils on the rear vs. leaf springs. Tow capacity for both are the same.

I did have to buy an inexpensive 4-pin wiring extension ($10) at the parts store, as the facory plug is under the cargo floor forward of the bumper. On my Tacoma I installed the frame mounted hitch and wiring, excess wire I looped around the bumper by the license plate, securing it with the plug cap and teather.

Speed limit on the highway that passes the dump is 70mph for about a mile. There is a steep climb to the dump on the side of a mountain. Trailer didn’t feel any different than it did at any speed, loaded or empty, than it did with my Tacoma.

 

[PoopSmith]

"Also installed Air Lift bags on the rear. One of the best mods I've ever done. Handles the weight so much better."

Which air bags did you install?

I followed this guide, but combined both lines into a single valve and ran it into the jack storage area.

Toyota 4Runner Air Bag Suspension Kit - aka Air Lift (Install and Review)

 

[nm_t4r]

[MENTION=331751]PoopSmith[/MENTION] Thank you for your reply and the helpful link.