Towing capacity of 4Runner vs. other vehicles

[AlexJet]

I was researching over the internet and im puzzled with advertized towing capacities. Why Toyota has so little advertized towing capacity vs. other vehicles?
4Runner has 5'000 lbs towing capacity with 4.0 V6 engine. At the same time Jeep Grand Cherokee has 6'200 lbs with 3.6 V6. Ford F150 has 7'600 lbs with 2.7 V6 and 10'700 lbs with 3.5 V6. VW Touareg has 7'716 lbs with 3.6 V6.

 

[Industrialwrench]

Because Toyota wants your 4Runner to last. Towing is hard on everything. Jeep also has a 5.7 hemi designed to destroy the whole driveline towing over 10k, and comparing to an f series ford truck is not realistic.

 

[Cymon]

Toyota’s have been SAE compliant for years while other companies have not, especially with their SUV’s. Also tow ratings are usually also maxed by tongue weight limits (10-15%) of maximum SAE tow rating. I don’t know if I’d want to tow over 500 lbs of tongue weight on any midsize SUV, espcially one that is not BOF.

 

[AlexJet]

Because Toyota wants your 4Runner to last. Towing is hard on everything. Jeep also has a 5.7 hemi designed to destroy the whole driveline towing over 10k, and comparing to an f series ford truck is not realistic.

Compare to Ford is not SUV vs Pick-up, but engine wise...

 

[UnderFire]

The engine is more than capable of towing a lot more than 5,000 lbs, but there's a lot more than that coming into play, transmission, driveshaft, rear diff, brakes, frame, rear suspension, tires, everything has to do it's part.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

[DZNUTS]

4th Gens with the v8 can tow 7,000 lbs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlexJet]

The engine is more than capable of towing a lot more than 5,000 lbs, but there's a lot more than that coming into play, transmission, driveshaft, rear diff, brakes, frame, rear suspension, tires, everything has to do it's part.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

4th Gens with the v8 can tow 7,000 lbs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Exactly, V8 difference is Transmission Cooler and Frame mounted Hitch, same drivetrain and Transmission. So why 4.0 V6 has so small tow rating..., many 3 liter crossovers without frame can do same 5'000 lbs?

 

[wcjeep]

If you need to tow near/at/above max towing weight of an SUV, get a truck instead. SUV's are built for decent ride. I've seen more than one SUV towing something I would not dream of towing. They are scary to watch going down the road. A pickup truck towing the same weight would be no big deal. Buy an old truck or rent a Uhaul for occasional towing.

Look at the towing figures for Jeep Wranglers (YJ, TJ, JK, JL). They are very low compared to a 4Runner. Comparing the 4Runner to City driven vehicles not really apples to apples.

Adding bigger tires, winch, bumpers all decrease Gross weight and Gross combined weight.

 

[Baystate4Runner]

4th Gens with the v8 can tow 7,000 lbs
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You can't compare published tow ratings from Toyota vehicles from before 2010 with the more recent ones.

A new SAE standard (J2807) was introduced in 2008 and revised in 2010.

Toyota is one of the few manufacturers who agreed to adopt SAE J2807 for model years shortly after 2010.

 

[WNY PAT]

I’ve hooked one of my construction trailers up to the 4R - it did fine on regular roads at about 4,500 pounds or so. It pushes you a bit when stopping, and you feel it. Same trailer with the Tundra is nothing, it’s there but controlled. That said, the Tundra has an integrated electric over hydraulic trailer brake controller and tow-haul mode for the transmission programming. The 4R does not have these so it isn’t apples to apples anyway. The shorter wheelbase of the 4R is probably a limiting factor IMO. But my Tundra can’t match the off road capability of the 4R. Always a trade off.

 

[Jetboy]

The comparison I think that is most fair and a bit confusing for me is the Tacoma vs 4Runner. 4Runner has more power, more torque, stronger frame, is heavier, and has larger brakes, but lower tow rating. I would therefore assume it is the result of the wheel base or the hitch rating. Then I look at a GX460 with a tow rating of 6,500. So then I must assume (given that they share frame, wheel base and suspension) that the difference is not power, weight, brakes, or wheel base. So... the hitch capacity seems to be the only remaining critical factor that I can identify that results in a lower tow rating.

As another point of comparison a Prado 150 is rated for either 5500lb or 6,800lb depending on model.

And as a point of personal experience. My 4Runner struggles mightily to tow my 2500ish lb teardrop trailer into a headwind at more than 65mph. To maintain 75mph it will drop into 3rd gear almost the entire time. And get 12mpg. The wind resistance of the trailer is as important or more so than the weight. And the 4Runner doesn't have much power to spare. So I think 5,000lb is a reasonable rating to give it. With 4.56 gears I suspect it would be a LOT better.

 

[e60ral]

That prado rating probably isnt per J2807 though

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[AlexJet]

Highlander has 5'000 lbs towing rating. It's the same brand - Toyota, so certification base is the same, but it has 3 liter engine vs. 4Runner 4 liter, no frame, weaker transmission and no transfer case, it use viscous coupling instead, electrical clutch type rear end. Highlander even based on Camry platform.
And still somehow 4Runner got the same rating as Highlander...???...

 

[2flyfishin]

Time to get flamed! I would never dream of seriously towing 5,000 lbs with a 4runner. Maybe for a short jaunt out of necessity but that’s it. I have a 6*12 single axle enclosed utility trailer that weighs in at 1250 lbs that I use to go down to Home Depot or Lowe’s to pick up small loads of lumber or appliances etc. For things like that it’s ok. I just bought a Tigermoth trailer for camping last week and it’s only 1300 lbs dry. Pulling it back from Malad ID, my normally 7 1/2 hour drive turned into over 9 hours, as the 4runner struggled to pull it. S4 is where you live, even going down hill and going up hill get ready for loaded semi’s passing you. I didn’t have to worry about a push on braking like mentioned above as it has trailer brakes even though it only weighs 1300 lbs but even with that light trailer it does have a pretty good push on turning. I wouldn’t feel safe really towing 5000 lbs with the 4runner. I realize people do but I think for the 4runner being rated to tow that much is being highly generous. If you read the towing threads on here you’ll see a lot of people saying buy a weight distribution hitch with sway away for towing and you’ll be fine. These are just patches to help fix the fact that the 4runner isn’t great for towing and if you tow that much, or that much weight, you really should look at a different vehicle as it would be all around safer.

 

[Jetboy]

Highlander has 5'000 lbs towing rating. It's the same brand - Toyota, so certification base is the same, but it has 3 liter engine vs. 4Runner 4 liter, no frame, weaker transmission and no transfer case, it use viscous coupling instead, electrical clutch type rear end. Highlander even based on Camry platform.
And still somehow 4Runner got the same rating as Highlander...???...

A highlander is far better geared for towing. 5.52 first gear and 3.0 diff ratio = 16.5:1 first gear. 4runner is 3.5×3.73 is only 13.1:1. When you factorin tire height, the highlanderis more like 18:1.

And it has a close ratio 8 speed. The engine and gearing should tow better.

 

[Raider 47]

....I would therefore assume it is the result of the wheel base or the hitch rating. ....

A short wheelbase makes towing less stable increasing risk and liability for Toyota. That being said, there are so many possible points of mechanical failure that you can’t see as a consumer so who knows what the weakest link is in the chain.

 

[Jetboy]

A short wheelbase makes towing less stable increasing risk and liability for Toyota. That being said, there are so many possible points of mechanical failure that you can’t see as a consumer so who knows what the weakest link is in the chain.

The problem is that the GX has a higher tow rating and the exact same wheel base. I've read through the J2807 guidelines, but I don't know how they do all the testing and what the details are that limit the 4Runner. So it's something we can probably identify by comparing known differences.

But.. it's also just a rating. I've towed a significantly more than 5,000lbs with my 4runner. If I were regularly towing trailers more than about 3500lb - I'd get a different tow vehicle. My RX350 pulls better. It doesn't tow better - the rear suspension is way too soft. But there's no question that it pulls my camper better on long grades and more easily from a stop.

 

[AlexJet]

I was surprised today and read that Audi Q7 with 3.0 v6 gets 7'400 lbs towing capacity. Checked Audi website and it is 7'400...

 

[ryan87]

some of you arnt realizing while only comparing the 4.0 v6 4runner to other v6 on the markets is alot of them a turbocharged these days making over 300hp/torque

 

[Spktyr]

Another point that many are missing here is that towing ratings aren't just a matter of the drivetrain getting the trailer moving but the brakes being able to stop the mass of the trailer and the vehicle being long enough/stable enough to brake the combined vehicles under any circumstances. Comparing the horsepower ratings doesn't mean anything, the ability to get the trailer moving is a lot less relevant to safety than being able to stop and turn at speed while towing.

Smaller/less capable brakes = lower safe towing capacity
Shorter wheelbase/more square wheelbase = lower safe towing capacity
A billion horsepower but smaller brakes than the competition and shorter wheelbase than competition still = lower safe towing capacity than competition.