towing 22.5 ft boat with 04 4Runner (v6)

[vtd]

I'm about to buy the 22.5 ft boat, Tahoe 222 (see link below), and planing to tow with my 04 Toyota 4Runner (V6 towing rate is 5000-lbs). The boat dry weight is 3720 lbs + trailer (1200 lbs).
But the total package length (trailer) is 26.7 ft long.
1_ Will it be ok to tow?
2_ If yes, should I add the Weight Distribution Hitch to prevent wagging?

http://www.tahoesportboats.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2174

Thanks.


-----------------------------------------------------------
2004 Toyota 4runner SR5, V6

 

[Spider5]

I'm about to buy the 22.5 ft boat, Tahoe 222 (see link below), and planing to tow with my 04 Toyota 4Runner (V6 towing rate is 5000-lbs). The boat dry weight is 3720 lbs + trailer (1200 lbs).
But the total package length (trailer) is 26.7 ft long.
1_ Will it be ok to tow?
2_ If yes, should I add the Weight Distribution Hitch to prevent wagging?

http://www.tahoesportboats.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2174

Thanks.

, V6

I've been towing for over 15 years including many boats and I would not put my family in the setup your considering. You need at least a ten percent margine for error and also consider at a minimum 6 pounds per gallon of gas in the boat include gear and your well over your 5000# limit. Be careful.

 

[scott3710]

I agree with Spider5. I also have been towing for a while and usually try to stay about 500lbs to 1000lbs under vehicle tow rating.

 

[JungleJim]

I'm about to buy the 22.5 ft boat, Tahoe 222 (see link below), and planing to tow with my 04 Toyota 4Runner (V6 towing rate is 5000-lbs). The boat dry weight is 3720 lbs + trailer (1200 lbs).
But the total package length (trailer) is 26.7 ft long.
1_ Will it be ok to tow?
2_ If yes, should I add the Weight Distribution Hitch to prevent wagging?

Toyota's "weight distribution hitch" will not prevent wagging, but it will increase your max towing capacity so that you'll be within safe limits. A sway bar limits the "wagging".

Boat trailers use a lighter hitch weight...usually 10%. So you're talking about 500 lbs.

The weight of the trailer is not a problem. There are people towing campers with a much larger frontal areas that weigh more with their V6 4Runner. But the length might be the limiting factor, even with a V8, due to the wheelbase of the 4Runner.

If you're towing short distances, you'll probably be fine.

 

[RamThis]

Yikes, I wouldnt. I've towed for John Deere and other companies, using basic trucks and gooseneck and 5th wheel trailers. And the 4Runner is just not made to tow a trailer. It can handle "small" stuff relatively ok, but I'd never put much more than a small pop up camper behind one. If you have something big to haul, go buy a truck. I have a Ram to handle my towing, it's equipped with 4, 5, 6, and 7 pin trailer plugs, trailer brakes, reciever hitch, gooseneck, and 5th wheel hitches. Not much I cant pull with it.

My 4Runner, will never see a trailer. I dont feel the drivetrain is robust enough to handle it without suffering damage. Just my .02........

 

[TRBenj]

I'm about to buy the 22.5 ft boat, Tahoe 222 (see link below), and planing to tow with my 04 Toyota 4Runner (V6 towing rate is 5000-lbs). The boat dry weight is 3720 lbs + trailer (1200 lbs).
But the total package length (trailer) is 26.7 ft long.
1_ Will it be ok to tow?
2_ If yes, should I add the Weight Distribution Hitch to prevent wagging?

http://www.tahoesportboats.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2174

Thanks.


-----------------------------------------------------------
2004 Toyota 4runner SR5, V6

How far and how often do you plan to tow?

If you only plan to do a few short trips a year, the 4Runner should handle it easily. If you plan to tow every weekend or log several thousand miles ever year, Id consider a smaller boat or a bigger truck.

Ive towed my boat over 3000 miles this year with my V8. The boat and trailer weigh in at ~4000 lbs and I have had no problems. Towing almost 1.5x the weight with the V6 over that sort of distance would really be pushing it though.

Conversely, my dad towed the family boat (~3500 lbs with the trailer) for years with smaller trucks including an '82 Jeep Scrambler (I6), and a '91 Ford Explorer (V6). For short trips (<30 miles), just a few times a year, we made it by just fine.

 

[Koz]

With a WD hitch and a trans cooler your rating will go up to 6700lbs. With those upgrades and some kind of sway control you should be OK.

Koz

 

[Northof49]

Yikes, I wouldnt. I've towed for John Deere and other companies, using basic trucks and gooseneck and 5th wheel trailers. And the 4Runner is just not made to tow a trailer. It can handle "small" stuff relatively ok, but I'd never put much more than a small pop up camper behind one. If you have something big to haul, go buy a truck. I have a Ram to handle my towing, it's equipped with 4, 5, 6, and 7 pin trailer plugs, trailer brakes, reciever hitch, gooseneck, and 5th wheel hitches. Not much I cant pull with it.

My 4Runner, will never see a trailer. I dont feel the drivetrain is robust enough to handle it without suffering damage. Just my .02........

A small pop-up camper behind a 4Runner is the limit? You bought something a little tougher than that man LOL

That 4Runner drivetrain is robust as anything from the factory on a POS 1/2 ton Ram...

 

[Northof49]

Re: Re: towing 22.5 ft boat with 04 4Runner (v6)

How far and how often do you plan to tow?

If you only plan to do a few short trips a year, the 4Runner should handle it easily. If you plan to tow every weekend or log several thousand miles ever year, Id consider a smaller boat or a bigger truck.

Ive towed my boat over 3000 miles this year with my V8. The boat and trailer weigh in at ~4000 lbs and I have had no problems. Towing almost 1.5x the weight with the V6 over that sort of distance would really be pushing it though.

Best questions and advice in this thread. If you're just towing down to the local boat launch, I would just hook up and go; relying on your good judgement of what feels reasonable.

If you're going to be on the freeway doing long trips, encountering high speeds/winds, etc, then I would definetly look into the weight distributing hitch and trans cooler. The V6 itself will easily have enough jam, and the chassis is definetly tough enough.

 

[2003Can4runner]

With a WD hitch and a trans cooler your rating will go up to 6700lbs. With those upgrades and some kind of sway control you should be OK.

Koz

those things bump up the towing capacity of the V6 that much? i didn't know that...i thought those things only bumped it up to 5500lbs...

 

[Thai]

those things bump up the towing capacity of the V6 that much? i didn't know that...i thought those things only bumped it up to 5500lbs...

I think that with the WDH, you can go up to 6500 lbs.

 

[Spider5]

All this advise sounds good, but remember if you get into an accident and someone gets hurt or worse, there not going to care about anything except you pushed the weight limited as stated on the truck and your at fault and the insurance will not help you. There was a story about this same issue in the paper several months ago and guess what the owner of the car that pushed the limit is now in jail having killed 3 people. You will be on your own.

PS: after having towed with the 4runner several thousand miles pulling a 4200# load I found that by far the weakest link is the braking system.

 

[TheBlueWave]

All this advise sounds good, but remember if you get into an accident and someone gets hurt or worse, there not going to care about anything except you pushed the weight limited as stated on the truck and your at fault and the insurance will not help you. There was a story about this same issue in the paper several months ago and guess what the owner of the car that pushed the limit is now in jail having killed 3 people. You will be on your own.

PS: after having towed with the 4runner several thousand miles pulling a 4200# load I found that by far the weakest link is the braking system.

I tend to think that as well, although Toyota seems to want us to believe the engine is. If the brakes, chasis, hitch setup (sway, trailer brakes, ect). are all the same and the v8 tows more? Wouldn't the brakes struggle even more with the heavier v8 engine?
I'm an avid fisherman and though I don't own a boat yet, I have towed several of them behind my Runner and never had problems up to about 3,500 lbs. loaded up. I haven't gone over that. Around here, a 3,500 lb fishing boat is pretty damn good sized. If I were buying a 22.5 ft boat that I planned to take on Lake Superior or some other large lakes around here (yes, Lake Soup gets pretty damn rough, it's claimed ocean liners) I would already own a truck that tows around 8-9 thousand lbs.
4runners aren't tow vehicles if you have large things to tow because wheel base also comes in to factor. Even the v8 model is a secondary towing vehicle, where a truck is a primary tow vehicle. Just my $0.02.

 

[sbbamafan]

There are a few things to consider. First - the safety margin people talk about is already calculated by the manufacturer. You can safely tow the amount stipulated in the rating. Period.
Second - you can two up to 6700 pounds with the proper equipment including the trans cooler and the proper hitch. Do you already have a hitch. I recommend the Hidden Hitch #70411 if you can still find one. I understand it has become somewhat difficult.
Third - does your trailer have brakes? I presume it does. Make sure it does and make sure they work!
Fourth - Make sure you calculate the weight of all the other boat stuff, people, etc. and take that into account with the total weight. Did you get the 5.0L 260 HP engine or did you get an upgrade - more weight with bigger engine / drive.
For what it is worth - I tow a boat and trailer that is almost (about 2') shorter than what you describe. It is a 20'3" Chaparral with a built 350 Volvo Duoprop. Heavy engine, drive and boat. On the scale the package weighs about 4300# with 2/3 tank of gas. My '06 4Runner V6 pulls it far better than my Dodge Dakota Quad Cab V8 (with longer wheelbase and length) did. I always pull it with my wife, 2 kids, coolers, tubes, skis, changes of clothes, etc. and it is great. GO FOR IT - THE END OF THE SUMMER IS APPROACHING!!

You might also check a couple of boating boards that have towing forums such as:
boatingabc.com
trailerboats.com
and others.

 

[charlier180]

PS: after having towed with the 4runner several thousand miles pulling a 4200# load I found that by far the weakest link is the braking system.

Just wondering, did the trailer in your example even have it's own brakes and were they working properly???

I tow a 20ft, enclosed, car trailer which weighs around 5,200-5,400 lbs using my V8 4Runner with sway control. After several thousand miles (up and down some mountains and other terrains) I have found the 4Runner brakes to be more than adequate. Back when I was shopping for a trailer I pulled another (empty) 20 footer (3,200 lbs) before I had a brake controller and the 4Runner's brakes did just fine doing all the braking.

I do agree with others here that adding a weight distributing hitch, sway control and tranny cooler will increase the V6 4Runner's load pulling capability. Personally, I think pulling a 27ft. trailer with a 4Runner might be stretching it a bit too far when it comes to the 4Runner's wheelbase.

 

[Spider5]

Just wondering, did the trailer in your example even have it's own brakes and were they working properly???

I tow a 20ft, enclosed, car trailer which weighs around 5,200-5,400 lbs using my V8 4Runner with sway control. After several thousand miles (up and down some mountains and other terrains) I have found the 4Runner brakes to be more than adequate. Back when I was shopping for a trailer I pulled another (empty) 20 footer (3,200 lbs) before I had a brake controller and the 4Runner's brakes did just fine doing all the braking.

I do agree with others here that adding a weight distributing hitch, sway control and tranny cooler will increase the V6 4Runner's load pulling capability. Personally, I think pulling a 27ft. trailer with a 4Runner might be stretching it a bit too far when it comes to the 4Runner's wheelbase.

I believe the story did indicate that there were trailer brakes.

Regarding the 4Runner brakes, please consider that there have been numerous reports both here and other forums that brakes have warped and caused vibration issues, mine included. Now consider that most of those cases were likely caused without throwing several thousand pounds on top of the problem.

 

[Camprunner]

You should have no problems towing this set up with a few upgrades like Trans-cooler and a good hitch set up with some kind of sway control. I tow a 20 ft camper with a max wet weight of around 4,500 lbs with my 06 V6 4runner and it tow's just great and I have no problems doing 70 mph on the hiway. I was told by the stealership to run it in fourth gear when towing and I do so.

 

[charlier180]

I believe the story did indicate that there were trailer brakes.

Regarding the 4Runner brakes, please consider that there have been numerous reports both here and other forums that brakes have warped and caused vibration issues, mine included. Now consider that most of those cases were likely caused without throwing several thousand pounds on top of the problem.

Thank you for that info. I will have to do a search for the brake threads. I am curious to find out more information as I have not yet run into the warping issue myself.

 

[Spider5]

I'm about to buy the 22.5 ft boat, Tahoe 222 (see link below), and planing to tow with my 04 Toyota 4Runner (V6 towing rate is 5000-lbs). The boat dry weight is 3720 lbs + trailer (1200 lbs).
But the total package length (trailer) is 26.7 ft long.
1_ Will it be ok to tow?
2_ If yes, should I add the Weight Distribution Hitch to prevent wagging?

http://www.tahoesportboats.com/boat/index.cfm?boat=2174

Thanks.


-----------------------------------------------------------
2004 Toyota 4runner SR5, V6

I think you guys are missing something here we are talking just the boat dry weight 3720 lbs, add the trailer 1200 lbs we are at nearly 5000 lbs, add fluids, gear, anchor, some coolers, ski's maybe an wakeboard frame and we are exceedingly getting up to 6000 lbs.

As a comparison my boat dry weight is 2480lbs but adding all these other items and the truck scale topped out at nealy 4200 lbs.

 

[gizmopt2002]

I tow a Four Winns Funship 214. Dry weight 3,500, trailer 1,100 plus gear and gas and water. Honestly, the 4Runner (V6) tow's it awesomely (It's a word, it's in spell check too!) It has no problem merging into traffic, and braking is good with the surge brakes. Tow in O/D off and if you tow frequently get a cooler. It helps if you use synthetics, me gusta mucho! it controls it just fine at 60 MPH.