Towing advice

[kseroski70]

I own a 2000 Toyota V6 SR5 4WD and recently bought a boat. The weight of the boat, trailer and gear is less than 3200lbs. It typically gets towed about 20 miles (half highway, half back roads). So I have 2 questions:
1) Would you recommend a transmission cooler for the 4runner? I have had transmission problems in the past, and had a new trans put in 3 years ago.
2) Would you recommend adding brakes to the trailer?

Thanks in advance,
Keith

PS: They look great together!

 

[brian2sun]

IMO, that's way too big to be pulling behind a 4runner - with or without the tranny cooler. But you definitely should still get one. Will an external cooler keep your tranny from grenading after a couple seasons of pulling that big 'ol thing around? I doubt it, but it's better than the stock cooler. 2000 lbs is about the very most I would pull with mine an that's pushing it IMO. I've pulled 3K before and will never do that much weight again. The boat is nice though, I'm just giving you my advice (even though it's not what you wanted to hear).

 

[Pikeman]

First thing is nice combination.

Now to answer your questions.

Turn O/D off anytime you tow.
Yes get a transmission cooler
Trailer brakes recommended for anything over 1500lbs. Get a nice digital brake controller. Surge brakes are ok but electronic brakes are much better especially with a good controller.

even though the off-road trailer I am building will never be over 1500lbs I will be putting brakes on it simply to help control on the trails.

 

[BrianSD_42]

BRAKES on the trailer is a must. I think it might be required in some states depending on the trailer weight. I live in CA so it might be different.

At the minimum you will want bigger brakes on the 4Runner if you are pulling 3200 lbs.

1 more thing, be sure to use something behind your rear tires. The emergency brake on 4Runner is VERY WEAK compared to a bigger suv like a Tahoe. You don't want to lose your rig on the ramp.

 

[econhonda]

Just finished towing 2,800 lbs to a lake 3 hours away and 2,000 feet higher in elevation. My 4runner towed it just fine. I don't have trailer brakes, but it would have made it better, undoubtedly. Toyota lists the towing capacity to be 5,000 lbs so I think 3,200 should be fine. I would go with the tranny cooler though.

 

[brian2sun]

5K is the amount the hitch can support, not how much is safe on the drivetrain to tow. If you actually towed that much, you'd surely do engine/tranny damage before long. I'm even geared low and I still think 2K is max for my truck before I can really feel serious lugging on the engine.

 

[02SE]

My Sister has towed a boat probably twenty times per Summer, for the last ten years. Combined with the trailer, and a full fuel tank, the towed weight is essentially right at the 5000 lbs. her 4Runner is rated to tow. She has an equalizer hitch, and the boat has trailer brakes.

She has an '01 V6, 4wd, with slightly oversized LT 265/75R16 C tires. No problems at all in those ten years. Just regular preventive maintenance.

I wouldn't tow that boat the OP posted, without trailer brakes.

 

[BrianSD_42]

You might not need the trailer brakes if you live in OK but if you plan on driving over any mountain ranges then you are going to probably need them.

 

[econhonda]

5K is the amount the hitch can support, not how much is safe on the drivetrain to tow. If you actually towed that much, you'd surely do engine/tranny damage before long. I'm even geared low and I still think 2K is max for my truck before I can really feel serious lugging on the engine.

Fair enough. Toyota rates the 4runner with a towing capacity of 5,000 though, not just the hitch. No one would argue that towing is harder on the vehicle's drivetrain than not towing, but the reality is that 5,000 lbs is still within Toyota's guidelines. I do agree with you that you will notice the weight for sure behind the vehicle.

 

[BrianSD_42]

the reality is that 5,000 lbs is still within Toyota's guidelines

it does not matter if the Toyota manual says you can tow 20,000 lbs. Across town or on flat highways it might not matter but if you cross over a mountain range you SHOULD NOT be towing more weight than the vehicle itself.

A 3rd Gen 4Runner's curb weight is 3,975 lb

You don't want to be going through the mountains pulling 5000 lbs you will regret it so much.

If the trailer weighs more than the truck and you pop a tire going downhill --> now the trailer is going to try and veer left/right HARD ... well if the trailer weighs 1000 lbs more than the truck pulling it, guess who is going to win.
I know the OP is only at 3600 lbs but I just wanted to comment on the notion that pulling 5000 is acceptable on a stock suspension.

:bat:

 

[02SE]

I should mention that my Sister tows her boat pretty much exclusively in the Mountains of Utah.

Parley's Canyon, East Canyon, Ogden Canyon, Trappers Loop, Sardine Canyon, Logan Canyon, Spanish Fork Canyon on the way to Lake Powell, etc.

No problems.

 

[brian2sun]

All I know is how my runner pulls 3K with 4.88 gears in the mountains and on the flat highway. Not something I'd recommend for safety or for wear and tear on your drivetrain, but that's just my opinion. Has your sister ever towed her 5K lb. boat/trailer with a full size V8 to see the difference?

 

[A&F]

As already mentioned -

Trailer brakes are a must, and just common sense. T4R stockers barely stop just the truck and you don't want to mash them with a nearly 4k # load.

TransCooler is a must. Not only is the stock system garbage, your going to be working that tranny hard.

Double your fluid rotations. Coolant, Oil, brake-fluid, diff-fluid and trans-fluid.

Drive with O/D off. Accelerate slowly.

Tundra brake upgrade. Appears to be a great $300 upgrade and that is for all new parts.

 

[02SE]

All I know is how my runner pulls 3K with 4.88 gears in the mountains and on the flat highway. Not something I'd recommend for safety or for wear and tear on your drivetrain, but that's just my opinion. Has your sister ever towed her 5K lb. boat/trailer with a full size V8 to see the difference?

Yep. She's towed it with her friends first gen Tundra with the 4.7 V8, and with the '08 Tundra with 5.7 V8, that the friend has now. Not to mention the friends previously owned T-100 that had the same engine and trans as my Sister's 4Runner.

Of course both Tundra's had more power, but her 4Runner does just fine on some pretty steep roads, at altitude.

Keep in mind that she doesn't have a lift, really oversized tires, or a bunch of weight added to the 4Runner itself. It's all stock, except for the previously mentioned slightly oversized tires.

In her case she has good trailer brakes on both trailer axles, and drives responsibly.

 

[kseroski70]

Update

Been a couple of years, but I did upgrade the 4Runner's brakes and get the trans cooler. No trailer brakes. Everything has been just fine, even towing throw TN to Norris Lake from Cincinnati.

But now that the 4runner is no longer my summer daily driver (bought a Subaru BRZ) I plan on doing some upgrades on the 4Runner, between the end of boating season and winter driving.

 

[Roadmaster11]

2001 4runner 186k. Mods: air lift 1000 + Monroe load leveler shock/springs in rear, Trans cooler, 4.56 gears with 33's.

U-haul 2200lbs + 3000 BMW=5200lbs towed 200+ miles and got 14mpg. Slow, slow, and very slow but made it without any problem.

 

[Konkordmusk]

2001 4runner 186k. Mods: air lift 1000 + Monroe load leveler shock/springs in rear, Trans cooler, 4.56 gears with 33's.

U-haul 2200lbs + 3000 BMW=5200lbs towed 200+ miles and got 14mpg. Slow, slow, and very slow but made it without any problem.

I just recently did the same. I've got a 2001 4runner with 225k with the OME 861's in the rear. No transmission cooler, stock gearing with 35's (lol)

Uhaul, and a 3000lb Jetta towed around 80 miles and got 11-13mpg at 60mph. No issues, still had plenty of oomph

 

[beingnotdoing]

My Towing Experience

I got home yesterday from towing a vehicle behind my 3rd gen 4Runner and wanted to add my experience to the catalogue of all human knowledge that is the T4R forum.

Tow vehicle
2002 4Runner SR5 with a transmission cooler
One driver and 1.5 passengers at about 390 lbs
Two months worth of camping and living gear at about 300 lbs

Towed vehicle
2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring; curb weight 2,970 lbs
Clothes and miscellaneous crap at about 50 lbs

Towing Trailer
U-Haul Tow Dolly; empty weight 750 lbs
Total towed weight with towed vehicle, crap in said towed vehicle, dolly: 3,770 lbs

Tow route:
611 miles from Massachusetts to Virginia, largely on I-95 and I-81, over two days on Labor Day weekend, 2020.

My experience was entirely without drama or terror, even on I-95 in Connecticut on a Labor Day weekend. Braking was significantly impaired, but it was not a problem that couldn't be handled by increasing my normal following distances. I believe the model of tow dolly I used had surge brakes that engage when they sense the vehicle braking, and that was sufficient. At no time while driving or accelerating did I feel the tow vehicle pushing me around at all (only during braking, as mentioned before). I took the 55 mile per hour speed limit sticker on the tow dolly seriously and did not drive faster than 60 miles per hour.

I track my miles per gallon at the pump and on one fill up I got 14.75 miles per gallon and on a second I got 13.48 miles per gallon. I got into town near empty, but I haven't gotten the third fill up yet, so that'll have to do. I am a little stunned by this fuel efficiency because my usual non-towing mpgs are between 18 and 15 mpg. I figured I'd be much closer to 9 or 10 mpg.

Engine coolant temperatures never went above 194 degrees. With overdrive on, transmission temperatures could climb up to about 210 degrees while going uphill. With overdrive off, I generally hovered between 140 and 170, never going above 190 degrees even while climbing hills in Appalachia. Note that the Appalachian Mountains are not the Rocky Mountains and I was driving like an old lady, so your mileage may vary if you have any real mountains to climb or difficulty keeping your right foot off the pedal.

Good luck and drive safe!

 

[Thebeastlives]

Not sure why any non delusional 3rd gen owner would ever tell you to tow 3000+ lbs behind any 3rd gen if any of that towing involved mtn ranges. The 3rd gen barely can haul it's own weight up steep mtn passes. The 3rd gen is 20+ years old and does not have the torque or braking power for towing anything more than 2000 lbs. Toyota obviously didn't know what it took 20 years ago to tow 5000 lbs in the US. Even my 5th gen is not something I would ever use to tow 5000 lbs in the mtn. Torque is the name of the game if you want to tow adequately then braking power and last a well built 6 speed + transmission with a cooler is all necessary to tow well and safely. If you tow that boat on mostly flat roads then a stock 3rd gen would be ok as long you upgrade the brakes to Tundra 231 mm, and add brakes to the boat trailer. I would definitely add a trans cooler if you want you transmission to be happy. I always use my Truck to tow because these 4 runners just are not decent towing vehicles especially a 3rd gen that is under 200 hp/tq. Btw the speed limit here is 75 mph in Az and towing something 60 mphs is NOT towing well in any world.

 

[Lastplace]

Nope-I have a 2000 and the brakes suck.