Towing capacity of 4Runner vs. other vehicles

[2018SilverRunner]

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.

I am with you 100%. I towed a boat a couple weeks ago. It was a 20' ski boat without brakes on the trailer. It was also through hilly terrain here in AZ. I mainly did it because my friend was in a pinch and needed the boat back home. I also wanted to see how the 4runner would do because the wife wants a small camper. Will I do it again? Maybe if it is in a pinch but not preferably. The boat maybe weighed 3k lbs total. The 4runner struggled and was constantly searching for gears. While braking, I was getting some major push. Also the narrow width of the 4runner did not work positively in its favor.

In all reality, if we do end up getting a camper, it will not be towed with the 4runner.

 

[cloud]

I towed a 5000lb tractor on a dual axle flatbed with my V8. I'm pretty sure a load leveling hitch bumps up your capacity to 7500. I'd have no problem doing 10k with a load leveling hitch. I also have the ome springs that are over 40% stiffer than stock with Firestone spring helper airbags that I can install for a heavy job.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

 

[T4R2014]

Of course a 4Runner can tow more, but I think they put more thought into the ratings than others. I was overseas in Asia recently. Where else will you see an original Willys Jeep loaded with patina, 6 guys sitting in it, a trailer with logs hooked up, a trailer hooked up to that trailer with all the cutting equipment, and all going down a busy main road at 25 mph with motorcycles and cars weaving around it?

And that’s how roads in countries like ours differ. Far more regulated which allows for higher average speeds. A 4Runner can tow that same package for years if you stick to a slow speed and utilize your transfer case. Over here where we need to maintain at least 50 mph just doesn’t make a higher tow rating feasible, or even safe. Let alone good for longevity.

 

[raamaudio]

Heaviest I towed with the 03 was a bit to heavy on the hitch, 5k rated original just replaced with OEM 7.3k as it should of come with, equalizer/anti sway would of helped a great deal and I will may one later when I get a small toyhauler or travel trailer. The trailer and load was probably 8k and it wanted to sway at 55 so I kept it at 50 or below, started and stopped like I was on ice meaning nice and smooth, no quick inputs, 30 mile trip using all the slower roads I could to be extra careful about others. I was a rented dual axle very heavy Uhaul and to get it done right away as got a killer deal on a around $5k in building materials from a retiring contractor for $225.

I was between utility trailers, sold my smaller one to buy a 5x10 bigger but still single axle, I would of had time for several trips using it instead of dealing with renting the Uhaul.

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That got me to really think about how much trailer I want to tow with this rig with the short wheel base but then I considered my last tow rig, 2012 Duramax dually towing a 43' very loaded toyhauler which it did incredibly well, 5th wheel makes an huge difference of course.

A dual axle toyhauler or travel trailer properly loaded with the right hitch should be just fine when driven appropriately for the road, weather, etc....so I might go a bit bigger than I thought I would be considering. A narrower trailer, 7ft wide, perhaps 7.5, less wind resistance, not to tall so not as roll over prone, etc....

I will keep the total weight down to 7k or so due to having towed 28' Feather lite towhauler with a race Vette inside, 10k load with the proper hitch with a then new 07 Tundra 5.7, towed great but it was about as far as I would want to go to the local track so I sold it and bought a Duramax, loved the Tundra, wish I still had it, build quality was light years better than the same year Duramax!!!

As for the 03 I will first add air bags and probably a bigger rear sway bar and again load the trailer properly then decide if I need the added benefit of the anti sway/eq hitch. I had air bags and rear sway on the 07 4R and towed an open deck car hauler a couple times just fine but it had great axle placement, very wide track width, car properly placed, etc.

I have towed many trailers, bumper and 5th wheel and take this all very seriously so tires will be an absolute issue to deal with, 4runner and trailer both.

On the big toyhauler, triple axle, as most come with it had horrid tires when new, second day had a Cooper made tire branded as Long March, E rated, installed and there was a huge improvement, 5 years later they were still like new and never had an issue except a leaking valve stem. My tire guy recommended those after replacing dozens of tires of many brands and cost levels on a landscapers small dump trailers and never had another failure so will ask him what to run on the trailer when we get it.

Now to pick 4runner tires, going to post up about that next

Rick

 

[AuSeeker]

Heaviest I towed with the 03 was a bit to heavy on the hitch, 5k rated original just replaced with OEM 7.3k as it should of come with, equalizer/anti sway would of helped a great deal and I will may one later when I get a small toyhauler or travel trailer. The trailer and load was probably 8k and it wanted to sway at 55 so I kept it at 50 or below, started and stopped like I was on ice meaning nice and smooth, no quick inputs, 30 mile trip using all the slower roads I could to be extra careful about others. I was a rented dual axle very heavy Uhaul and to get it done right away as got a killer deal on a around $5k in building materials from a retiring contractor for $225.

I was between utility trailers, sold my smaller one to buy a 5x10 bigger but still single axle, I would of had time for several trips using it instead of dealing with renting the Uhaul.


---------------

That got me to really think about how much trailer I want to tow with this rig with the short wheel base but then I considered my last tow rig, 2012 Duramax dually towing a 43' very loaded toyhauler which it did incredibly well, 5th wheel makes an huge difference of course.

A dual axle toyhauler or travel trailer properly loaded with the right hitch should be just fine when driven appropriately for the road, weather, etc....so I might go a bit bigger than I thought I would be considering. A narrower trailer, 7ft wide, perhaps 7.5, less wind resistance, not to tall so not as roll over prone, etc....

I will keep the total weight down to 7k or so due to having towed 28' Feather lite towhauler with a race Vette inside, 10k load with the proper hitch with a then new 07 Tundra 5.7, towed great but it was about as far as I would want to go to the local track so I sold it and bought a Duramax, loved the Tundra, wish I still had it, build quality was light years better than the same year Duramax!!!

As for the 03 I will first add air bags and probably a bigger rear sway bar and again load the trailer properly then decide if I need the added benefit of the anti sway/eq hitch. I had air bags and rear sway on the 07 4R and towed an open deck car hauler a couple times just fine but it had great axle placement, very wide track width, car properly placed, etc.

I have towed many trailers, bumper and 5th wheel and take this all very seriously so tires will be an absolute issue to deal with, 4runner and trailer both.

On the big toyhauler, triple axle, as most come with it had horrid tires when new, second day had a Cooper made tire branded as Long March, E rated, installed and there was a huge improvement, 5 years later they were still like new and never had an issue except a leaking valve stem. My tire guy recommended those after replacing dozens of tires of many brands and cost levels on a landscapers small dump trailers and never had another failure so will ask him what to run on the trailer when we get it.

Now to pick 4runner tires, going to post up about that next

Rick

Having towed a heavily loaded 16" dual axle trailer numerous times with my 2004 V8 T4R I would highly recommend making sure you have trailer brakes and a brake controller, and also if you intend to haul a heavy trailer often a WDH is a must! IMHO

 

[AlexJet]

4Runner is not a short wheelbase. 4Runner is made based on 5-door Land Cruiser Prado. Prado has 3-door version which would be consider a SWB while 5-door version would be LWB.

 

[Ogre75]

Reading a few of the comments has me confused. I assumed the hitch was mounted to the frame on the 4R, is that not the case?

 

[AlexJet]

Reading a few of the comments has me confused. I assumed the hitch was mounted to the frame on the 4R, is that not the case?

OEM hitch on 4th Gen v6 and all 5th Gen. 4Runner is generally small plate mounted with 6 bolts to the rear cross-member. Exception was 4th Gen v8 which has frame rail mounted Hitch.

 

[thennen]

Towing Capacity

My non-professional opinion is that it's unwise for the average Joe (me) to tow a trailer that is significantly heavier than the tow vehicle. Not referring to 5th wheels here, just rear-mounted hitches. Toyota has never had really high towing capacities, and maybe this is partly why. A good number of people who hitch up a trailer don't do it very often, and their likelihood of getting into a situation where 'the tail is wagging the dog' is much higher than that of an experienced driver.

An F250 can weigh as much as 6700 pounds, and is rated to tow up to 13,300 pounds. That's impressive, and I imagine it could get away from you in a hurry. Of course, anti-sway would help.

Again, just my opinion here.