Tow Capacity Misleading/ Camper RV

[Ryanincc]

That's directly from Toyota's specs. Being a 2wd, you don't have the front diff, CV-axles, front driveshaft, transfer case, etc.

Thanks for posting. Good to know. Im glad I can put that to memory now. I was going off of a 99 sr5 2wd brochure spec sheet. Never saw it on my door jamb sticker or in the manual. What source did you use? I might need other specs as well.

 

[Ryanincc]

because i was moving. i wouldnt want to do that again. my top speed was 60mph. 45-50 going up hills.

That sounds more like what I have experienced, although Ive never towed within 1500 lbs of that weight.

Just curious if you had trailer brakes for that trip?

 

[02SE]

why would anyone want to tow 5,000lbs with a 4runner!? My truck can't get out of it's own way pulling my 4-wheeler and trailer @ roughly 1,000lbs combined, haha.

Because she has the boat, and the 4Runner. It doesn't exceed any weight capacities as it's loaded for the trip, which has all been verified by taking it to a weigh scale. Could other newer, more powerful vehicles tow her boat better? Most likely.

It does fine in the Mountains of Utah, where she lives. Which means starting out at 4500 ft in elevation where she lives, and usually heading to higher elevations from there.

You lose approximately 3% of your power, for each 1000 ft gain in elevation above sea level.

 

[ben550]

That sounds more like what I have experienced, although Ive never towed within 1500 lbs of that weight.

Just curious if you had trailer brakes for that trip?

I did not have trailer brakes for the trailer. It was 8x12 trailer if i remember correctly.

my 4th gen has way more towing power than the 3rd gen had.

3rd gen was very weak but did make the trip without any issues. I just had to take it slow.

 

[02SE]

Thanks for posting. Good to know. Im glad I can put that to memory now. I was going off of a 99 sr5 2wd brochure spec sheet. Never saw it on my door jamb sticker or in the manual. What source did you use? I might need other specs as well.

The 3565 lb curb weight, and 1685 lb payload I posted for your '97 V6 2wd, is exactly as printed in the 1997 4Runner brochure.

I bought my '97 brand new in '97, and still have the brochure I picked up when I was considering buying one.

Of course anything you have added to the vehicle beyond it's completely stock configuration, (bumpers, armor, etc.) will increase the curb weight.

 

[jgue467]

I never thought of mine as sluggish without towing before until the last month where Ive had no acceleration. ... 150 miles on a tank before the light comes on. Clearly something wrong, but since I didn't notice the power loss, until recently when it suddenly dropped off, and my mpgs have been dropping for 6 months, In hindsight I wish I had bought one instead of T4R, but it has served me well and I had no idea at the time that I would be towing a popup and have a family of 4 today.

Yeah i think they can tow 5k on level ground, like between CC and ATX but could do it with alot of struggle in west tx mtns for example. What you're describing especially MPG wise is awful, something is definetly not right. Even when I tow my two full size quads/trailer (2600lbs) at 80 mph I get 15-16 on level ground. No codes? I wonder if the cats are slowly getting clogged? Mines never been able to chirp a tire but then again its heavier being a 4wd and I keep all kinds of crzp in the rear section, I generally take it EZ on the old girl. The 4.0 was once available on the tundra (underpowered there) then was on the 4th gen along with the taco, probably still available on it. Larger displacement and VVTi really help. I'm like you, may need to move up to a big v8 (5.7)for some serious mountain towing (e.g. tahoe and/or steamboat area).

 

[Ryanincc]

Yeah i think they can tow 5k on level ground, like between CC and ATX but could do it with alot of struggle in west tx mtns for example. What you're describing especially MPG wise is awful, something is definetly not right. Even when I tow my two full size quads/trailer (2600lbs) at 80 mph I get 15-16 on level ground. No codes? I wonder if the cats are slowly getting clogged?

No codes and I pulled the o2 sensor right before the cat with no improvement. I was thinking my CEL might not be working so I unplugged the MAF sensor and it threw a code immediately even though it wouldn't start. It sure drives like a clogged cat though. like its starting in 3rd gear or worse. I put it in reverse, and it took almost 5 seconds with it pegged before it even moved. Ive dug around here quite a bit looking for answers to no avail. Really disappointing because this is the first problem Ive had that I couldn't figure out what was wrong either searching here or using my Haynes. I did make another thread about it but didn't get very much help like I'm used to. But I'm sure the regulars here get tired of the mostly lurkers like me who just problem drop.

 

[jgue467]

Not sure if you replaced your plug wires along with the spark plugs but if you did make sure the wiring is like the diagram below. This has eaten my lunch before (not on my runner but other unfortunate vehicles).

 

[Ryanincc]

I actually printed that pic out when I did them. It couldn't hurt to double check, but wouldn't the engine idle/run pretty rough if I had them wrong over the last year or so? The engine starts/idles (mostly)/sounds just fine. It just won't accelerate.